Reason

After listening to the Anbu ninja's account of the incident, Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively wanted to take a puff of his pipe, but unfortunately, he hadn't brought it with him when he left.

Shimura Danzō had secretly hidden Sharingan, Uchiha Sora had defeated Shimura Danzō, and Uchiha Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan...

The situation here was far more complex than the one involving the Nine-Tails.

At least when facing the Nine-Tails, one only had to consider life and death.

If the situation here could not be stabilized and the entire Uchiha clan rebelled tonight...

Sarutobi Hiruzen could already foresee Konoha suffering heavy losses and other hidden villages invading the village.

One had to remember that the Third Shinobi World War had not completely ended; Kumogakure was stirring restlessly on the borders of the Land of Fire and could restart the war at any moment.

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice:

"Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzō has falsely issued orders in the name of the Hokage; he is hereby dismissed from his post and taken into custody. As for the Sharingan on his person... I will give you all an explanation."

"All members of the Military Police Force, return to your posts. I promise to deal leniently with those who took action."

"The most important thing right now is to support Minato. Fugaku, come with me!"

Although the actions of the Uchiha clan were clearly tantamount to betraying the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen could not be like Danzō and start a fight with them here.

Endure, he must endure!

These accounts could be settled after the Nine-Tails was sealed!

As for the captured Danzō...

Forget it.

Taking Fugaku away would also leave the Uchiha clan without a leader, preventing them from taking any overly radical actions.

Like Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not pay much attention to Uchiha Sora; clearly, Fugaku, who possessed the Mangekyō, was the greatest threat.

However, after he spoke, Fugaku did not move, but instead looked toward Uchiha Sora.

"Third Hokage..."

Uchiha Sora spoke indifferently: "You seem to have failed to grasp the situation."

"Our demand is for negotiations, not to take orders from you."

"Insolent!!"

Mitokado Homura shouted angrily: "Do you really think that by relying on the strength of a single clan, you can oppose the village! You..."

"Silence! Homura!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen truly felt exhausted.

Previously, he had always avoided terms like "the Uchiha clan," referring to them instead as the Military Police Force, precisely because he did not want to sever the relationship between the Uchiha and the village.

It was one thing to say it in private, but those two, Koharu and Homura...

Could they not see the situation clearly? Still harping on about "the clan"—were they not satisfied until they pushed the Uchiha out of the village entirely?

Right now, it could still be called an internal factional struggle, but once it was denied that the Uchiha were members of the village, that was a schism!

"Uchiha Sora... is it? I know of you; the villagers all say you are a child who keeps his word."

Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that Fugaku was waiting for Uchiha Sora to signal his stance, and he could not help but despise this Uchiha clan head for actually having to look to a brat for direction.

He said slowly: "It was you who uncovered Danzō's treacherous acts, wasn't it? Truly worthy of being a genius of the new generation."

As he spoke, his tone sank.

"But your methods are too ruthless!"

He pointed at the village, which was ablaze with fire, and said sternly: "The village is currently suffering a massive crisis. Regardless of what your demands are, you should not be resorting to violence at a time like this!"

"The others might be considered excusable, but you alone!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not hide his anger: "Why did you kill comrades of the village! Only this, I absolutely cannot forgive!"

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly, a single sentence crushing Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"At the very least, I killed in battle; they rushed up to throw their lives away. Orochimaru, on the other hand, even attacked ordinary civilians."

"Third Hokage, please answer me."

"How did a mere Orochimaru manage to escape the village while both you and the Fourth were present?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression dimmed; he opened his mouth to speak, but did not know what to say.

"Hiruzen, do not hesitate! Minato is still waiting for you!"

A single eye manifested upon the Adamantine Enma Staff, and Enma King spoke, "Brat, if you want to emulate that snake, then run."

"You have chosen a good time; at the very least, we have no time to hunt you down in the near future!"

Uchiha Sora shook his head, "Not enough."

"Let me be blunt: I demand that the entire Uchiha clan leaves."

"Impossible!"

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could speak, a man wearing an Anbu mask interjected.

Judging by his attire, he was likely an Anbu captain-level figure: "Uchiha Sora, you are too arrogant!"

"By what right do you decide for the entire clan? No one wants to live the life of a rogue ninja with you. They are living well in the village and are a part of it!"

Hearing Uchiha Sora's words, even Shisui, who knew of the impending clan extermination, wore a look of hesitation, to say nothing of the other clansmen.

In their estimation, going to war with the village would at most lead to their own deaths, but the crime would not extend to their families.

The Fourth Hokage was magnanimous and would not pursue their kin.

But for the entire clan to leave the village...

Even those lacking political acumen understood that the village would never allow such a thing to happen; that would truly be a crisis of total annihilation for the clan.

The proud Uchiha did not believe that the Uchiha clan alone could contend with the most powerful Konoha Village.

"Judging by the voice..."

"It is Mr. Sarutobi Shinnosuke, is it not?"

Uchiha Sora's expression dimmed slightly, his eyes lowering, "If the facts were truly as you say... then you would not be speaking before me right now."

Click—

The man removed his mask, his features bearing a striking resemblance to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

It was indeed Sarutobi Hiruzen's eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke.

"What do you mean by that? Do you know me?"

After a brief pause, Uchiha Sora raised his charred palm and held up two fingers.

"When I was two years old, my mother died."

"The ninja world is plagued by constant war, and many in the village have lost loved ones; that hardly seems special..."

He pointed his finger at Shinnosuke, speaking calmly.

"I remember that day at the hospital very clearly."

"The medical ninja meant to treat my mother never came, no matter how long I waited... When I went to look for them, they were treating you."

"We were both injured on missions, yet my mother arrived first, and her injuries were clearly more severe."

"A part of the village?"

"Perhaps that is what you believe, but others do not think so."

Uchiha Sora recounted calmly, "This is not an isolated incident; for years, our clan has always been the last to receive aid."

"Shisui making a name for himself on the Mist battlefield seems to have made you overlook one thing."

"Sending ordinary Uchiha clansmen, who excel at Fire Release, to fight Mist ninja who excel at Water Release is an incredibly unreasonable arrangement."

"I understand that stronger ninja deserve more resources; pursuing equality for everyone in the ninja world is foolish."

"But why must we be subjected to unfair treatment? We are clearly not the weak ones."

"The words Advisor Utatane left unfinished are the reason."

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly, "Because we are a clan born of evil—isn't that what you all think?"