'Horse Bones'

"...The Nine-Tails Incident caused damage to many buildings in the village."

"Taking this opportunity for reconstruction, we need to make some changes to the village's zoning."

At the long table, Danzo spoke eloquently, looking as though he had everything under control.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this so-called plan to rezone the village had likely already been discussed with the Third Hokage and the other two advisors; the current meeting was less of a consultation and more of an announcement.

Danzo pointed to a square area on the map near the Konoha forest and said unhurriedly, "Please have the Aburame clan move to this area. They proposed long ago that their clan requires a forest to satisfy their needs for ninjutsu training."

Beside Fugaku, the head of the Aburame clan, Shibi Aburame, nodded slightly to show his agreement.

"The residences of the Nara clan suffered no damage and will remain as they are. The same applies to the Akimichi clan and the Yamanaka clan."

"...The destroyed headquarters of the Konoha Military Police Force will be rebuilt here."

Fugaku's expression darkened as he saw the location Danzo was pointing to on the map.

This location was quite remote, situated almost right against the outer wall of Konoha.

Danzo continued, "Furthermore, to facilitate operations, the Uchiha clan should also move to the vicinity of the Konoha Military Police Force..."

This was an attempt to drive the Uchiha out of the center of the village.

Fugaku felt a surge of anger, stood up abruptly, and retorted, "Lord Danzo, the Uchiha are the Konoha Military Police Force responsible for maintaining order in the village. This location is far too remote; if an emergency were to occur, the Konoha Military Police Force would be unable to respond in time."

His argument was logical and well-founded, and the other clan heads nodded slightly.

Facing the questioning, Danzo raised his head, stared at Fugaku, and replied indifferently, "In the event of an emergency, the Anbu will be dispatched."

Fugaku's expression shifted slightly as he caught the subtext.

Danzo was implying that the Uchiha had done nothing during the Nine-Tails Incident.

But the Uchiha had been acting under orders—orders that you yourselves had issued.

Fugaku turned his head to look at the head of the table.

The Third Hokage sat with his eyes slightly closed, offering no response, but the two advisors spoke up one after another, "The Konoha Military Police Force often travels to the training grounds for practice, right? This area happens to be adjacent to land suitable for training."

"That's right, you can use that place as a dedicated training ground for the Uchiha."

The reasoning was nonsense; the logic was akin to saying, 'You Uchiha have to defecate too, so why not live in a cesspit?'

However, Fugaku received a signal from this: the village leadership was determined to squeeze the Uchiha out of the core area of Konoha.

How could this be? How could they allow this?

Could it be... Fugaku subconsciously looked at Orochimaru on the other side of the long table, his eyes filled with suspicion and inquiry.

It was no wonder Fugaku reacted this way; after all, things that come for free are the least reliable. To have one of the Sannin keep a secret without paying any price was simply unbelievable.

Orochimaru sensed the probing gaze from Fugaku, shook his head slightly, and returned a sinister smile.

The implication was clear—little brother, it wasn't me.

Fugaku believed him.

It wasn't that he thought Orochimaru was simple and honest and incapable of lying; if the village leadership had confirmed that the Nine-Tails Incident was the work of an Uchiha clansman, moving them to the corner of the village would be far too light a punishment.

And if it were merely because the Uchiha clan was under suspicion for the Nine-Tails Incident, this measure was far too heavy.

Fugaku's eyes turned gloomy as he thought of a possibility.

During the era of the Second Hokage, the Uchiha clan was ordered to establish the Konoha Military Police Force and take charge of the village's defense and security. While it appeared they held great power, in reality, their status was equivalent to mere city guards.

And if they wanted to participate in foreign wars to improve their status, the clansmen would fall under the management of the village leadership.

Those who were close to the village were given important roles and promoted to the Anbu, like the faction Shisui belonged to; conversely, others would be pushed back into the Konoha Military Police Force.

Right now, this was simply a continuation of that trend.

Fugaku clenched his fists, his expression growing increasingly dark.

It was only natural for the Hokage faction to suppress clans for the sake of the village, and he had no objection to that.

But why was it that only the Uchiha were being targeted like this?

In the Second Hokage's time, they were gathered into a corner of the village and their power was limited to the Konoha Military Police Force. Now, were they going to take away the power of the Konoha Military Police Force as well?

But... what should he do now?

Fugaku Uchiha scanned the room with his peripheral vision; the other clan heads wore expressions of indifference, as if this had nothing to do with them.

He understood the origin of this attitude.

The Nine-Tails Incident and the suspicion surrounding the Uchiha were merely a pretext. Because they had suffered no losses and had preserved all their strength, they were now too conspicuous in the village.

"Forget it, forget it..."

Fugaku sighed inwardly. This time, the Uchiha clan was isolated and helpless. Continuing to argue would be meaningless and would only invite resentment.

Fugaku sat back down. Danzo glanced at him and then withdrew his gaze, a look of cunning and triumph appearing in his eyes. Just as he was about to continue detailing and refining the relocation of the Uchiha, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out.

Danzo turned his head to look, his expression darkening.

It was Orochimaru; what kind of Demon was he trying to stir up?

Orochimaru was laughing quite happily, and he was truly happy.

He had gained a great deal from this Konoha meeting, no less than learning a forbidden jutsu; things he could never see before were now laid bare before his eyes.

Fugaku and the Uchiha's dilemma, Danzo's aggressive stance in suppressing the Uchiha, the hesitation of the various clan heads as they watched the Uchiha fall into misfortune, and the Third Hokage, who appeared indifferent but was actually controlling the entire situation...

"Orochimaru, what kind of occasion is this? Mind your posture," Danzo barked.

Under Jiraiya's tugging, Orochimaru stopped laughing, though the smile on his face remained undiminished.

Fugaku did not understand where the malice from the village's upper echelons came from or why they were targeting the Uchiha, simply attributing it to the conflict between the village and the clan.

Orochimaru had thought the same before, but the Genie had provided a very interesting perspective:

The Uchiha and the Hokage faction had different understandings of the founding of Konoha.

In the eyes of the Uchiha, Konoha was a ninja village founded by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan shaking hands and joining forces after the Warring States period.

This was, of course, a fact, but it was only a part of it—the most beautiful fact for the Uchiha.

However, the Hokage faction believed that the foundation of Konoha's establishment was that the Senju Clan had defeated the Uchiha Clan, and that Hashirama Senju had defeated Madara Uchiha.

After the Uchiha were defeated, the First Hokage did not exterminate them; instead, he embraced the hatred between the two clans and established Konoha.

This was completely different from the slaughter and annexation between clans since the Warring States period; Konoha could cast aside past blood feuds and accommodate different families.

After all, if Konoha could accommodate even the Senju and Uchiha, who had a notorious blood feud, what family's blood feud with the Senju could exceed that of the Uchiha in the Warring States period?

Therefore, the Ino-Shika-Cho, the Aburame Clan, and other Warring States ninja clans came to join, and the village was able to grow strong.

In this, the First Hokage undoubtedly displayed the bearing of a king, while the Uchiha Clan was merely the "horse bones" used to attract the "thousand-gold horse."

Even the "horse bones" that achieved the best results were still just "horse bones."

The Senju and the Uchiha were different; the Senju could dissolve their clan after the founding of Konoha, and even Hashirama Senju's granddaughter could abandon her surname—could the Uchiha Clan do that?

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, the smile on his face becoming increasingly unrestrained.

The Second Hokage established the Konoha Military Police Force with the intention of protecting Konoha, using the Uchiha as a "blade."

Now, this "blade" was becoming increasingly dangerous, and the old man and the others found it difficult to control, so they exiled them, even harboring the thought of destroying them if the situation became critical.

But this meant nothing to him.

Orochimaru thought that if the Genie were still here, such a scene should be left for him to handle.

The Genie was adept at social maneuvering and would surely be able to play these people in the palm of his hand.

However, he also had his own methods.

Orochimaru thought of the intelligence he had received earlier and gave a sinister laugh, "Lord Danzo, by driving the Uchiha to the edge of the village, are you trying to confirm the Uchiha Clan's suspicion in the Nine-Tails Incident?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the village's high-ranking officials and the various clan heads in the meeting room all changed.

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