A Ragtag Troupe?

After Uchiha Setsuna, representing the Uchiha, and Shimura Danzō, representing the Third Hokage, engaged in a round of passionate verbal sparring, the people who could actually make decisions stepped onto the stage.

Uchiha Fugaku was mild and spineless, lacking decisive leadership and excelling only at compromise and procrastination.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, possessed a similarly soft temperament, lacking decisiveness and being even more prone to compromise than Fugaku when dealing with external affairs.

Even though the situation had escalated into a fierce conflict, the two soft-hearted leaders reached a compromise in an instant, deciding to end the standoff by having both sides take a step back.

Of course, a compromise still required a facade; appearing too weak would demoralize their supporters, shatter morale, and cause hearts to scatter.

If the people's hearts were lost, how could one manage such a massive organization?

Thus, the two lined up their forces to build momentum and force people to pick a side!

The Uchiha wore their uniform clan attire, every one of them glaring with red Sharingan, standing in three rows behind Uchiha Fugaku.

Even nine-year-old Uchiha Shisui was in the ranks.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had even more ninjas standing behind him: the Konoha F4, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, the Anbu, and Root. The dense crowd of heads looked incredibly oppressive.

Standing within the ranks of the Yamanaka Clan, Yamanaka Chujiu watched the scene before him. He felt neither worry nor excitement, but rather, a strong urge to laugh.

The scene looked exactly like a gang leader showing off his muscle in a classic triad film.

He had always known that the world was a giant, poorly run stage, and Konoha was a relatively less rotten stage in the ninja world.

But the scene before him proved that Konoha didn't even qualify as a stage.

At best, it was a criminal gang draped in a layer of legal clothing.

With the backdrop set and the biggest display of force pulled out, and after a few people stepped forward to spout threats, the entire procedure was considered complete.

The Uchiha felt they had shown their might for the night, while the other ninja clans and the Anbu felt that the Third Hokage could still suppress the Uchiha, perfectly satisfying the needs of both leaders.

Next, they each suppressed the radicals on their own sides, restored order, and finally held a face-to-face exchange.

Uchiha Fugaku agreed to drop the investigation into the Shanty Town, and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed not to pursue the Uchiha for killing the Root ninjas.

Furthermore, he promised to hold a meeting in his office tomorrow to discuss the conditions for the Uchiha Clan's relocation; the move was still going to happen.

At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi announced the total demolition of the Shanty Town, declaring that such a living hell must never exist in Konoha.

With both sides reaching a reconciliation and providing an explanation to the villagers, the matter was thoroughly concluded.

Everyone dispersed and headed home to sleep.

The Uchiha left first, and while still on the road, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna began to bicker.

Fugaku initiated the confrontation: "Elder Setsuna, you mobilized the clan's elite ninjas behind my back as the clan head. Don't you think that was inappropriate?"

Setsuna did not indulge him: "The Clan Head is quite majestic today, but have you stopped to think why you were able to stand tall in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi today?"

"It was me!"

"It was I who took the initiative to mobilize the clan ninjas and fight a real battle against Root, establishing our prestige and deterrence!"

"It was also me! I went head-to-head with Shimura Danzō and cursed his sophistry right back at him."

"Our efforts gave you the opportunity to speak with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Instead of acknowledging our contribution, you think we were meddling?"

Fugaku was left tongue-tied, staring blankly at Elder Setsuna, feeling as if he were looking at a different person—someone entirely unfamiliar.

Uchiha Setsuna's heart was filled with passion, fueled by the endless inspiration provided by Yamanaka Chujiu, which sent his combat effectiveness soaring.

"Do you think I've changed?"

"Clan Head Fugaku, it is not that I, Setsuna, have changed, but that I have become completely disappointed in you. I have not a shred of respect left!"

"Let me be clear: I, Uchiha Setsuna, believe that you, Uchiha Fugaku, are not fit to be the head of the Uchiha Clan!"

"If Elder Sifang and I had consulted you, besides telling us to abandon the action and not cause trouble, would you have made any other decision?"

"Starting seven or eight years ago, ever since you returned from the war against Sunagakure, you changed!"

"You are no longer the 'Wicked Eye' Fugaku who once dominated the world; you have become a soft, slug-like, spineless Fugaku!"

"I don't know what happened to you, but if you cannot change your current state, I will no longer respect you as the clan head!"

"You are unworthy!"

Uchiha Fugaku was flushed with anger, yet he could not utter a single word in rebuttal. Finally, he could only snort coldly and flick his sleeves in displeasure, walking away.

Uchiha Setsuna was even angrier: "Look at that! Just by speaking the truth, he gets so angry he abandons his own clansmen and storms off. Where is his sense of responsibility as a clan head?"

His voice was loud enough for all the Uchiha to hear, and clear enough for the departing Uchiha Fugaku to catch every word.

Uchiha Fugaku had not expected that his departure would also be a mistake.

But he had no face to turn back now, so he could only grit his teeth, pretend not to hear, and use the Body Flicker Technique to vanish quickly.

While the Uchiha were arguing, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō were doing the same on the other side, but it did not affect the other clansmen heading home.

After confirming that Uchiha Fugaku had fled, Yamanaka Chujiu lifted his influence over Uchiha Setsuna.

As the mastermind who intervened halfway through the night's sudden conflict, he had not only developed a new ability for his Heart Severing Realm but also achieved all his goals. It was a harvest well-reaped.

In particular, his mental control over Uchiha Setsuna allowed the target to maintain independent thought, seamlessly converting his own ideas into the target's natural inspiration.

This method was indeed overly cumbersome, but it would leave absolutely no traces behind; even if Yamanaka Inoichi were to perform a memory search himself, he would be unable to discover anything.

Such a technique was more terrifying and far more covert than turning someone into a puppet, to the point that even Yamanaka Chujiu felt a lingering fear.

He secretly made up his mind that he must set restrictive prohibitions for this new ability as soon as possible, otherwise, he truly did not know when he might become addicted to manipulating human hearts and fall into depravity without even realizing it.

Suddenly, Yamanaka Inoichi spoke up and asked, "Chujiu, what is your take on tonight's events?"

Yamanaka Chujiu gathered his thoughts, pondered for a moment, and said, "Tonight's events prove two things: first, the internal division within the Uchiha clan has intensified, and Uchiha Fugaku's authority has declined severely."

"Second, the Third Hokage's handling of affairs... is becoming increasingly muddled; I truly find it hard to accept."

Yamanaka Chujiu's words were filled with the regret of someone lamenting that things were not turning out as they should.

Although he regarded Hiruzen Sarutobi as an enemy and knew that the worse the man performed, the easier he would be to deal with, the fact that the Hokage of Konoha was in such a sorry state still left him feeling very displeased.

Yamanaka Inoichi nodded and said, "Shikaku, Choza, and I feel the same way as you; the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage was truly too..."

Yamanaka Inoichi suddenly stopped, and Chujiu exchanged a glance with him, both tacitly agreeing not to continue the topic.