Another Danzo

Konoha Building, Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his broad desk. Before him stood the heads of Konohagakure's major shinobi clans, whom the Anbu had summoned early that morning.

"The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan has been invaluable in spotting opportunities on the battlefield."

Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a warm smile, his tone earnest. "And the coordination of the Ino-Shika-Cho has always been a pillar of the village. Konohagakure's stability today would not have been possible without all of your support."

"You flatter us, Lord Hokage. Protecting the village is simply our duty."

The Hyuga clan head responded in a deep voice.

"Under Lord Hokage's leadership, we have merely done our part." The Nara clan head respectfully added.

The other clan heads nodded in agreement.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction, then his tone shifted, gaining a trace of heaviness.

"However, the situation is difficult now. The major shinobi villages are stirring, and the village's forces are indeed stretched thin. Danzo's previous request for reinforcements from all of you was also a measure born of necessity..."

The expressions of the clan heads remained unchanged.

After the Third Hokage finished his polite formalities, they had already anticipated this question and prepared their responses.

They had rejected Shimura Danzō's request; they could not reject Sarutobi Hiruzen as well. If they wanted to continue getting by in Konohagakure, that was the consensus among them all.

They did not possess the Uchiha Clan's strength.

The Nara clan head was just about to say that the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans could continue sending some of their members to join the shinobi army as a show of support—

At that moment, someone violently knocked on the office door. Without waiting for a response, the Anbu commander pushed the door open. After glancing at the clan heads present, he dropped to one knee, his voice urgent.

"Lord Hokage! An emergency!"

"An Uchiha Military Police Force unit, near their clan grounds... detained eight Anbu operatives who were carrying out a mission in the street under the pretext of arresting spies. Several of them were seriously injured!"

"What?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen abruptly rose to his feet. The gentle smile vanished from his face, replaced by disbelief and towering rage.

Veins throbbed on the Third Hokage's forehead, and fury burned in his eyes, but he quickly noticed a point of doubt—when had he ever arranged for Anbu operatives to monitor the Uchiha Clan?

"Wait, was this Danzo again?"

"With a war looming, why provoke those Uchiha people?!"

"The Uchiha Clan has gone too far! Root is also Anbu, yet they dared attack them. Next time, will they dare to assassinate people at the Hokage Building?!"

Thoughts raced through Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind as he slowly sat back down.

His dark expression carried not only displeasure toward Shimura Danzō, but also wariness toward the increasingly restless Uchiha Clan.

"The Uchiha Clan's previous demands have yet to receive a resolution. Are they causing trouble now to force our hand, or do they have some other objective?"

The questions circled in his mind, and Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent.

The Hyuga clan head lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the thoughts within them.

The Nara clan head sighed softly and rubbed his brow, exchanging even more complicated looks with the Akimichi and Yamanaka clan heads beside him.

The words they had prepared were all stuck in their throats.

The Uchiha Clan, who should have merely shouted a few complaints and played the aggrieved party, had suddenly struck back. Most likely, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had pushed them too far!

So what exactly had happened?

And which side were they supposed to take?

In that suffocating silence, the doors to the Hokage Office were once again flung open with a BANG. The force was so great that the door slammed heavily into the wall with a deafening crash.

That all-too-familiar impact made everyone present frown.

Shimura Danzō's face was livid. Half of it was hidden beneath bandages, while the exposed eye burned with rage so intense it was nearly tangible.

Ignoring the other clan heads, he strode straight to Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk and slammed his cane hard against the floor.

"Hiruzen! You heard it, didn't you?! The Uchiha Clan! It was the Uchiha Clan!"

Danzo's voice was warped and hoarse with extreme fury. "They actually dared to openly attack and detain my subordinates! This is rebellion! Naked, outright rebellion!"

He abruptly turned, his lone eye sweeping across the Hyuga and Ino-Shika-Cho clan heads. His gaze was as sinister as a venomous snake, as though he wished he could condemn the Uchiha Clan for rebellion on the spot.

"Teacher Tobirama said long ago that the Uchiha Clan is Konohagakure's tumor. They are evil by nature and cannot be trusted at all!"

"We should strike first—"

"Danzo, stop saying things that undermine unity!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sharply cut him off. At that moment, his mood was even worse than when he had heard that the "Anbu" had been detained by the Uchiha Clan.

Some things could be said however one pleased in private.

But because Shimura Danzō intended to force the Uchiha Clan into rebellion and even drag all of Konohagakure down with them, no one would agree to it!

Among the clan heads present, quite a few—led by the Hyuga Clan—turned cold.

They would have to be insane to fight the Uchiha Clan just because of a few words from him.

Those red-eyed madmen became a clan no shinobi clan in the Land of Fire dared provoke after the Senju Clan ceased to exist!

Even if the Uchiha Clan truly rebelled, they were not the Hokage. There was no need for them to panic.

"Things that undermine unity? The evil Uchiha Clan is the one doing things that undermine unity!"

Danzo laughed in fury.

He turned back, glaring fixedly at the Third Hokage as he roared out a bloody proposal.

"The Uchiha Clan has already rebelled! We must mobilize every force we can, catch them off guard, and eliminate them once and for all!"

The words "eliminate them" were like icy blades slicing through the air, causing the expressions of the clan heads to shift as their gazes grew deeper.

"Enough, Danzo!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his hand down on the desk and shot to his feet, glaring at his old friend as he fiercely rebuked him.

"Look at what you have become! You are calling for the slaughter of your own people without a shred of evidence."

"Is this the bearing a high-ranking official of Konohagakure should have?! Every other word out of your mouth is 'eliminate' and 'rebellion.' Where exactly are you trying to lead this village?!"

He pointed at Danzo, his tone firm and beyond dispute.

"The village's greatest threat right now is the major shinobi villages watching us from the borders, not the Uchiha Clan you decided to monitor for no reason!"

"What you should be doing now is preparing for battle, not exhausting ourselves in internal strife!"

Danzo choked on the string of reprimands. His lone eye widened as he tried to retort, but Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him no chance.

"I now command you in the name of the Hokage!" The Third Hokage's voice boomed like thunder, filled with decisiveness and authority.

"Immediately gather your men and proceed to the northeastern border front. Take command of the border forces and repel any possible attack from Kumogakure!"

"Without further orders from me, you are not to leave without permission!"

He stared fixedly at Danzo, emphasizing every word.

"Your battlefield is at the national border, not inside the village! Immediately! At once! Get moving!"