The Third Hokage Makes His Entrance, Full of Authority

Yamanaka Inoichi's eyes reddened as he stared at Yamanaka Chujiu. "Chujiu, promise me you won't let the Yamanaka Clan be destroyed!"

Yamanaka Chujiu lifted his head and replied, "Big Brother, I promise!"

"The Yamanaka Clan, the Akimichi Clan, and the Nara Clan will all be better off. I want to make Konoha great again!"

Yamanaka Inoichi thought of the First, the Second Hokage, and the Fourth Hokage. At last, he let go of his blind faith in the Third Hokage and sighed. "I'll support you, but I won't openly take sides."

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled. "Big Brother, I'm not a fool. I know how powerful the Third Hokage is."

"I'm not even planning to openly oppose the Third Hokage myself, so why would I have the Yamanaka Clan take sides in public?"

Yamanaka Inoichi looked surprised, then smiled, and finally burst into laughter. "Ha ha! You're still the same clever little rascal."

"Honestly, you sprang it on me out of nowhere that I had to meet Uchiha Mikoto and oppose the Third Hokage. You nearly scared me to death."

Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head. "Can't be helped. You're the clan head, so you have to put up with shocks like this."

Yamanaka Inoichi composed himself and asked curiously, "If you're not planning to step forward yourself, who have you picked as the enemy to put in the Third Hokage's sights?"

Chujiu replied, "The person you're meeting tomorrow, of course."

Inoichi's pupils contracted slightly. "The Uchiha Clan!"

"Mm. They make a perfect target."

"If I meet Mikoto tomorrow, the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō will definitely take notice. But they'll soon find out that I'm only treating Uchiha Itachi."

"That'll clear me of any suspicion of joining forces with the Uchiha in advance, and it'll better protect you."

"You really are devious..."

Yamanaka Chujiu chuckled. "Thanks for the compliment."

Yamanaka Inoichi lightly tapped his younger brother on the head and asked gently, "What other problems does your plan have? Is there anything Big Brother can help with?"

Yamanaka Chujiu frowned and gave a wry smile. "There's only one problem I can't solve: how to persuade Orochimaru."

"I need to stop him from losing heart when he sees the Third Hokage return to power, and get him to compete for the Fifth Hokage position himself."

"Ah— I have no idea!"

Yamanaka Inoichi joined him in a wry smile. "I can't help you with that. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

The Yamanaka brothers had no answers, so they simply gave up, opened the study door, and returned to the living room. They saw a table full of food and Yamanaka Rino holding Ino.

Ino seemed to have just finished eating. She let out three loud burps, followed by a long yawn. She managed a smile at her father and uncle before curling up in her mother's arms and falling asleep.

The little bundle that was Ino was so adorable that all three adults smiled without realizing it, and even their greatest worries were temporarily forgotten.

Yamanaka Inoichi cleared his throat twice. "Go wash your hands, quickly. It's time to eat!"

Dinner was takeout, but the warm, relaxed atmosphere put the three Yamanaka ninja in high spirits.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku had gathered the Uchiha elders. Based on what Yamanaka Chujiu had told them, they spent the whole night discussing the matter with great enthusiasm.

With their limited brains, the Uchiha could only sense that the words "Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Sarutobi Clan aren't the same" offered great hope; they couldn't figure out how to put the idea into practice.

But that was enough for the Uchiha to see a way forward. After an excited discussion, they finally came up with a plan.

Uchiha Fugaku raised his head smugly. "Those words gave us an idea. The Third Hokage surely doesn't know that the Sarutobi Clan has been seizing villagers' homes."

"If we tell the Third Hokage about this and expose the cruelty and darkness of Shanty Town, could he really expect us to move after his own clan has committed such a terrible crime?"

The four Uchiha elders were thrilled, their faces flushed with excitement. They all believed that threatening the Third Hokage with the scandal of stolen homes and Shanty Town would surely force him to back down.

By then, forget ordering the Uchiha to move—even mentioning the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes would be out of the question.

The five Uchiha felt certain of victory and couldn't help bursting into laughter, even joking among themselves.

What they didn't know was that two of the Uchiha ninja guarding the meeting room had secretly sent out the intelligence.

The ninja who received it were Root shinobi, who had been lying in wait outside the Uchiha Compound.

Before long, the intelligence reached Shimura Danzō.

Not long after, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi received the report as well. He summoned Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō to a meeting in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was fifty-seven. Though long past his prime, he was still powerful, and his presence remained imposing and dignified.

Seated behind his desk, he merely swept his eyes over his three classmates, and they fell silent—an unmistakable display of the Hokage's authority.

Hiruzen Sarutobi first turned to Shimura Danzō. "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Shimura Danzō replied, "Just now, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly called a clan meeting."

"Our spy was outside and couldn't overhear the whole thing, but from the bits and pieces he caught, we can be sure it had to do with the villagers the Uchiha dealt with yesterday."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly. Danzō's report matched the Anbu intelligence, which showed he hadn't secretly taken action without Hiruzen's knowledge as he had on the Night of the Nine-Tails.

His tone softened as he asked, "If the Uchiha want to make an issue of those villagers we dealt with yesterday, then there must be something wrong with them."

"Danzō, what exactly happened?"

Danzō curled his lip. "Yesterday, a group of villagers caused a disturbance in the street. They claimed their homes had been stolen."

"The owners of the houses called in the Uchiha from the Military Police Force, who sent all the troublemaking villagers to the Shanty Town built by Root."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "If that were all, Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't have called a meeting in the middle of the night."

Under the watchful eyes of his three old classmates, Danzō hesitated briefly before revealing the crucial detail. "Those villagers' homes really were stolen..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glared furiously. His powerful presence erupted like a volcano, forcing his three classmates to lower their heads involuntarily.

The Third Hokage roared, "Who stole the villagers' homes?"

Shimura Danzō curled his lip. "Your Sarutobi clansmen, Hiruzen. And members of the Utatane and Mitokado families. A few useless members of my family took part too."

Bang!

The Third Hokage slammed his hand on the desk in fury. "How dare they do such a thing?"

"Haven't I given them enough privileges?"

"Why did they have to use such a cruel method, one that could drive people to their deaths, to steal the villagers' most precious possessions?"

"Damn it. The Uchiha must have found some evidence, or they wouldn't be holding such an excited meeting in the middle of the night."

"If Uchiha Fugaku comes to me tomorrow and slaps the evidence in my face, what can I say?"

"How are we supposed to force the Uchiha Clan to move to the edge of the village now?"

The Third Hokage's stern, furious questions could not hide a trace of embarrassment and guilt.