On a quiet night, especially in a place like Konoha, even the faintest sound would draw plenty of attention.
Ensei Uchiha was dragging someone down the street, so it didn't take long for Konoha's patrolling Anbu to notice.
But the Anbu clearly knew what kind of person Ensei Uchiha was, so they didn't dare stop him. They only sent some of their number to notify Hiruzen Sarutobi.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi received the news, he was quite pleased.
But by the time he reached the lodging of the Kumogakure envoy team, all he saw were the furious eyes of its members and two headless corpses lying on the ground.
"What happened here?"
On seeing the scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but understand what had happened.
He hadn't expected Ensei Uchiha to go this far. Capturing the enemy was one thing, but why kill them in front of everyone?
Was the Uchiha Clan trying to provoke a war between Kumogakure and Konoha?
Many possibilities flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, but he had to deal with the trouble at hand first.
"Hokage... Is this how Konoha treats peace talks?"
"If you don't give us an explanation for what happened today, there's no point continuing negotiations. We'll go to war!"
The leader of the Kumogakure envoy team spoke first, laying blame in an attempt to give Kumogakure the moral high ground.
Public opinion was sometimes useless, but at other times, it was extremely important.
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Ensei Uchiha's cold voice rang out.
"An explanation? What explanation do you want?"
"Kumogakure tried to seize the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan. You're the ones who should be giving me an explanation!"
"War? Even if those two idiots acted on their own, Kumogakure still owes me an explanation."
"Otherwise, then let's go to war!"
"The entire Uchiha Clan will mobilize. We'll fight to the death!"
Ensei Uchiha spoke calmly, so calmly that his words sounded like a joke.
But after he finished speaking, the scene fell silent. No one expressed any objection to his decision.
At that moment, everyone present was reminded of the Uchiha Clan of the Warring States period.
Do you know why Kirigakure has so many Kekkei Genkai clans?
It's simple. The Uchiha Clan beat them into submission.
Uchiha shinobi had a particular trait: among their many Genin and Chunin, powerful fighters would suddenly emerge in large numbers.
Sometimes, the Uchiha Clan would even grow stronger as a battle went on.
Thus, during the Warring States period, aside from large clans like the Senju Clan, few clans were willing to provoke the Uchiha Clan.
"Heh... Hehehe. Is Konoha being run by a child now?"
At last, someone in the Kumogakure envoy team couldn't stand the strange silence and spoke up mockingly.
"Mm, that's right. I suppose I'm the one in charge of Konoha now. Third, what do you think?"
Ensei Uchiha admitted it without hesitation, seizing the chance to issue Hiruzen Sarutobi what amounted to a veiled threat.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi deeply regretted getting involved.
He'd already handed the matter over to Ensei Uchiha. Couldn't he have just pretended not to know? Why had he come here just to embarrass himself?
"Cough, cough!~"
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"Everyone, calm down. Mobilizing the entire clan and fighting to the death is a bit much. Kumogakure is a village, not a clan. You can't kill them all, can you?"
"And you people from Kumogakure, don't be hasty either. Coveting another clan's Kekkei Genkai demands an explanation. Otherwise, what's to stop anyone from sticking their nose in?"
"How about this... It's already late. Let's continue talking tomorrow."
Hiruzen Sarutobi tried hard to put on a conciliatory air, but the shinobi of Konoha and the Kumogakure envoy team could all see that he wasn't very confident.
The members of the Kumogakure envoy team exchanged glances. They understood that they had misjudged the situation in Konoha, and their original plan had clearly failed.
"After all this, what is there left to discuss?"
"If Konoha doesn't want to be accused of murdering Kumogakure's envoys, then please let us pass so we can return to Kumogakure."
"As for what happens next... Lord Raikage will decide."
The Kumogakure envoy team secretly sneered at Hiruzen Sarutobi and took the opportunity to try to leave Konoha.
After all, given the situation, if another conflict broke out, they could all end up dead in Konoha.
They weren't afraid of death, but they didn't want to die for nothing.
Hearing the Kumogakure shinobi's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help turning to look toward Ensei Uchiha.
"Fine. I'll wait for the Raikage's reply here in Konoha."
"If I don't get an answer within ten days, the Uchiha Clan will take the initiative and wage war on Kumogakure."
Ensei Uchiha nodded and spoke.
After Ensei Uchiha answered, the crowd parted to make way, allowing the Kumogakure envoy team to flee Konoha in the middle of the night.
The next day, Konoha's Jonin meeting was held again.
Though no one had dared to say anything the night before, quite a few Jonin voiced their objections at the meeting, criticizing the Uchiha Clan's brazen actions.
Some of them were likely arranged by Konoha's Council of Elders. Some were genuinely concerned for Konoha, while others had their own motives.
Ensei Uchiha dismissed all these voices with a single remark.
"Last night, I was speaking only on behalf of the Uchiha Clan."
"Or have you already decided that I can speak for all of Konoha?"
No one dared to answer.
Everyone knew that Ensei Uchiha held a special position in Konoha, but the Third was still in office, and they wanted even less to see the Uchiha Clan rebel.
If the Uchiha Clan had rebelled before, Konoha might have suffered alongside them. But if the Uchiha Clan rebelled now, only Konoha would be harmed.
After all, the Uchiha Clan now had three Mangekyo Sharingan.
Ensei Uchiha didn't actually have the Mangekyo Sharingan, but everyone thought he did. Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan had also been discovered, along with Shisui's...
The Uchiha Clan's unity now surpassed even what it had been during Madara Uchiha's time.
They even had one more Mangekyo Sharingan, so no one dared to disregard the Uchiha Clan's position at this moment.
After a moment of silence, Utatane Koharu suddenly spoke:
"The village has prepared contingency plans for a war with Kumogakure."
"But what worries us now is that if war breaks out with Kumogakure, Iwagakure and Sunagakure will inevitably join in. There's also a good chance Kirigakure will join them."
"Then Konoha will face the entire Shinobi World as its enemy."
"Does the Uchiha Clan really think it can face a situation like that?"
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