This Honor, I, Uchiha White Dove, Will Not Enjoy Alone!

"The Root shall be disbanded, Danzo will be imprisoned, and I will also have the Anbu thoroughly investigate the matter of Shisui to provide you Uchiha with an explanation!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen still intended to protect Danzo.

Because these punishments of his were all superficial, failing to touch the core of the issue.

Once the Root was disbanded, it wasn't as if it couldn't be reorganized; it was just a matter of a single word, anyway.

As for Danzo being imprisoned, that was even more of a farce.

Although the prison was under Uchiha management, if the Hokage issued an order, could the Uchiha really dare to defy it?

"Lord Hokage, Danzo stole the Uchiha's Kekkei Genkai. Now that the witnesses and evidence are all here, I hope you will let him pay for his blood debt with his own blood!"

White Dove did not accept Sarutobi Hiruzen's verdict.

"Audacious!" Utatane Koharu frowned and scolded, "Are you Uchiha trying to defy the Hokage's orders now?"

She naturally saw through Sarutobi Hiruzen's intentions, so she helped provide cover... besides, hadn't Danzo only transplanted one of your Uchiha Sharingan? Was there any need to be so relentless?

Hm, having been high-ranking officials of the village for decades, they had long since viewed themselves as the masters of the village, their status far above everyone else's.

They truly loved Konoha, but it was a Konoha led by them.

It could be said that this was the true ninja world.

The kind of character seen in anime, entirely devoted to the village without a shred of selfish desire, was truly just a fantasy.

"In other words, our Uchiha Kekkei Genkai has been stolen, yet we cannot even demand the basic 'blood for blood'?"

White Dove was not afraid of this advisor elder, Utatane Koharu, so he retorted whenever he felt it necessary.

"White Dove..." Just as Uchiha Fugaku was about to persuade White Dove to quit while he was ahead, he received a "death glare" warning.

"Use titles when at work!"

A single sentence from Uchiha White Dove left Uchiha Fugaku speechless... that was his line!

Stepping past two Anbu, White Dove arrived before Sarutobi Hiruzen. His aggressive demeanor vanished, replaced by a low voice:

"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha hopes to obtain a share of missions, the surveillance outside our clan grounds must be lifted, we must receive the promised relocation funds, and finally, we must reclaim one of the Sharingan from either Kakashi or Danzo!"

He laid out his conditions.

The goal of damaging the prestige of the village's high command had already been achieved through this commotion; now it was time to secure tangible benefits.

If he were to actually force Danzo to his death, he wouldn't be happy about it.

Danzo was his "own brother" from a different father and mother, after all; how could he possibly want the man's life?

He was still waiting to "farm gold coins" from him later and use him to strike at the Hokage faction.

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the Uchiha White Dove before him in surprise.

He had not expected the other party to propose these specific terms of trade.

"You..."

Utatane Koharu, standing nearby, naturally heard the conditions White Dove proposed. Just as she was about to curse him for his wishful thinking, she was interrupted by Mitokado Homura.

The situation was currently unfavorable to them!

Because of Danzo transplanting the Sharingan, coupled with the Shisui incident, their prestige as high-ranking officials had already been damaged. Had he not seen how those ninja clans had all retreated a certain distance?

If the Uchiha were to use this as an excuse to launch an attack, these ninja clans would definitely stand by and watch.

They certainly wouldn't allow a rebellion, but as for taking action to protect their own Kekkei Genkai, it was already decent enough that they weren't helping the Uchiha; how could they possibly help the high command?

Therefore, they had no choice at all.

Unless they were willing to abandon Danzo, agreeing to these conditions was the only way out.

"...Very well!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, his voice tinged with weariness.

The conditions White Dove proposed were above his bottom line and did not involve selling out the village.

Most importantly, Danzo was already in the other party's grip; if he didn't want to sacrifice Danzo, he had no choice but to agree to the terms.

To Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo was his true love.

The two had not only grown up together, but they were also the light and shadow of the village, completely inseparable, so it was no wonder he would compromise.

Had it been anyone else, whether it were Utatane Koharu or Mitokado Homura, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have compromised so quickly.

Hearing the other party agree to his conditions, White Dove felt a surge of wild joy.

Because for the Uchiha, achieving any one of these conditions was a good thing.

Under normal circumstances, the village high command would never have agreed.

But today, by leveraging the Shisui incident and fanning the flames toward Danzo, he had directly forced the high command to concede.

Shisui was killed by him, after all!

Although Danzo had obtained a Mangekyo Sharingan, it had been swapped by him in advance for a three-tomoe one; it was a total case of losing the girl and the army to boot.

"Thank you for your fairness, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha will forever be the blade and shield of Konoha!"

White Dove raised his voice, placing a high hat upon Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He still had to give the man some face; he couldn't squeeze him dry all at once.

The village still possessed a vast amount of good things.

"Let's go!"

Having secured the promise, White Dove led his clansmen away at the first opportunity.

He wasn't afraid of Sarutobi Hiruzen reneging on the deal; after all, if the other party dared to go back on his word, he would dare to lead his clan in rebellion.

Compared to the consequences of an Uchiha uprising, the conditions agreed upon were actually nothing.

At the very least, as long as the village wasn't prepared, it could not afford the losses incurred by forcing the Uchiha to revolt.

Halfway back, he whispered an instruction to Inabi.

"You and Tekka go to the One Heart Chamber of Commerce immediately and bring back the money from the vault. Remember, all the cash!"

Regardless of anything else, his clansmen were willing to follow him, and no matter the reason, he certainly wouldn't let them work for nothing.

There was nothing more direct than handing out money.

Of course, this money wasn't a gift; later, when negotiating relocation funds with the village, he would naturally be able to balance the books.

The Uchiha had long since assumed that money was lost, so when he retrieved it and distributed a portion, it would surely bring his clansmen immense surprise.

Coupled with the mission quotas and the cancellation of surveillance, it was enough for the clansmen to know who was the right choice to support.

The procession moved slowly toward the clan grounds located on the edge of the village.

The atmosphere within the group had relaxed, yet they were also incredibly excited.

Originally, most of them had held a "death-defying" resolve, determined to make the village leadership pay in blood even if it meant their own demise.

They hadn't expected that not a single person would die, while simultaneously slapping the village leadership in the face and venting the grievances of the Uchiha.

This was something Uchiha Fugaku could never have achieved.

The man would only tell them to endure, while holding clan meetings to discuss things—meetings that went on forever, yet never resulted in any actual action.

Although they didn't know why Uchiha White Dove had suddenly ordered them back to the clan grounds, his performance today made every Uchiha willing to trust him, following him back without the slightest shred of doubt.

With the gloom and anger in their hearts vented, the expressions of the Uchiha softened considerably.

The group returned to the plaza within the clan grounds.

The plaza!

This was also the clan's public training ground and assembly point.

By now, even the Uchiha who had remained behind had heard the news and rushed over. Aside from a small number who truly couldn't move or were away on missions, all the Uchiha were present.

Including the Police Force!

This was something White Dove had specifically requested.

He had to make the village leadership realize the importance of the Police Force!

In the past, the Uchiha couldn't get their funding approved not just because of suppression from the higher-ups, but more crucially, because they were "too diligent."

With the village order so well-maintained, the leadership naturally didn't realize the importance of the Police Force. If they wanted to suppress you, they would naturally take the knife to the Police Force first.

But from now on, White Dove wouldn't indulge these unruly Konoha commoners or the village leadership.

He would first let them get a taste of the terror of an Uchiha strike.

When negotiating the conditions earlier, he had deliberately left the Police Force funding out of the deal—not only to avoid asking for too much at once, but also to consolidate his own prestige through this struggle, while simultaneously continuing to strike at the prestige of the village leadership.

Since he wasn't using a cheat, he naturally had to take things slowly.

When all the Uchiha had finished assembling, White Dove slowly stepped onto a wooden platform about a meter high in the plaza.

Thud, thud!

Standing on the platform, looking at the faces below—some excited, some expectant—White Dove loudly declared:

"Clansmen, from this day forward, the Uchiha will no longer allow the village leadership to slander and suppress us! Everything we have lost, we will take back one by one. This is not to prove how great we are, but to declare to the world: the Uchiha have risen once again!"

"And this glory, I, Uchiha White Dove, will not enjoy alone!"

As he spoke, he signaled with his eyes for Inabi and Tekka, who had just arrived, to bring the boxes onto the platform. They placed the boxes beside him and opened the lids.

Under the gaze of everyone below, White Dove suddenly kicked the open box beside him.

Bang!

The box tipped over onto the ground, and its contents spilled out, causing everyone below to nearly stop breathing.