A Chance to Hold Their Heads High
Konoha, Hokage's Office.
When Taiichi returned, it was already evening, but the office was still brightly lit. The continuous stream of bad news had kept the entire Konoha High Command working non-stop all day.
Rest? That's simply impossible. Only someone who doesn't love Konoha would rest at this time.
And the higher-ups in Konoha happen to be the ones who love Konoha the most.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even have time to smoke; the entire office was filled with a stifling atmosphere, and there wasn't even a trace of smoke.
Assigning personnel, allocating supplies, and discussing the situation.
It seems there's always something to keep them busy.
Upon noticing Taiichi enter the office, Mitokado Homura frowned, his expression noticeably darkening. But before he could speak, Utatane Koharu asked, "Taiichi, it's been so long, haven't you left yet?"
Although it was a casual question, it carried a hint of reproach. At this tense moment, with tasks already assigned so long ago, it was rather ungrateful of you to still be staying in the village.
But she couldn't let Mitokado Homura say these words. The two had just clashed during the day, and she didn't want her old friend to clash with this rising star of Konoha again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was also somewhat displeased. He put down the scroll in his hand and looked at Taiichi, waiting for his answer.
"Hokage-sama, Elders, I just returned from the Southern Camp. Jiraiya- sensei sent me back to report on the battle results."
Taiichi flashed a bright, sunny smile, making the three Hokage almost think that the bad news they had heard today was just a hallucination.
"Oh, you've come back from the front lines." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Taiichi's smiling face and understood what was going on. "How many Cloud Ninja have you killed? You're in such a hurry to come back and report the good news!"
In his mind, it must have been Jiraiya organized a pursuit and achieved good results, which is why Taiichi returned to report the victory and reassure the higher-ups.
"Hokage-sama is truly insightful and has foreseen everything!" Taiichi immediately showered him with flattery, then happily added, "Except for the new AB Duo and one Jonin, the rest of the Cloud Ninja were wiped out by Senior Disciple Brother Minato and me on the East Coast of the Land of Rivers."
"Clatter."
The scroll in Mitokado Homura's hand fell to the ground, but no one paid any attention to such a trivial matter at the moment.
"Say that again!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stared wide-eyed at Taiichi, "This is no laughing matter."
Taiichi knew that this did sound a bit far-fetched at first glance, so he smiled and repeated, "Besides the new AB..."
Apart from the group and one Jonin escaped, this group of Cloud Ninja has been wiped out by me and my Senior Disciple Brother Minato."
"Great! Well done!"
Now Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer had any doubts. Actually, it wasn't so much doubt as just now; it was just that the news was so explosive that he instinctively felt disbelief.
Even Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were beaming with joy.
The previous ambush of Konoha Camp by the Cloud Ninja was a disgrace to Konoha, but Konoha did not allow this disgrace to linger for long and immediately sent people to eliminate all those who had attacked them.
This saved face and also served as a declaration to the entire Ninja World: Konoha is not to be trifled with; anyone who tries to mess with us should be prepared to pay the price with their life.
This result is quite inspiring, comparable to the exhilarating effect of a victory.
"Hokage-sama, don't be too happy yet, there's more good news!"
Seeing how happy everyone was, Taiichi didn't forget to add fuel to the fire of the already enthusiastic atmosphere.
"Oh, is there any other good news? Tell us quickly so we can all be happy again."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was now quite relaxed. The news of the complete annihilation of the Cloud Village raiding force had greatly reduced his pressure. Although Miyo's losses would not be reduced as a result, the negative impact had been largely offset.
Matsushita, Hiruzen Sarutobi unconsciously picked up the pipe on the table, filled it with tobacco, lit it, and took a deep, satisfying drag. As a wisp of smoke was slowly exhaled, he revealed an expression of enjoyment.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, not minding inhaling Hiruzen Sarutobi's secondhand smoke, both looked at Taiichi with smiles, hoping he would have some better news.
"We retrieved all the supplies that the Cloud Ninja had looted from the Land of Wind; it filled five large crates with Sealing Scroll."
"Pfft----cough cough cough."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was truly stumped. He looked at Taiichi in front of him, not knowing what to say.
Cloud Village's situation is a bit too tragic. He even felt sorry for these guys. They put in a lot of effort and worked hard for more than two months, only to have their efforts wiped out by Minato and Taiichi.
That was so damn satisfying!
Of course, the Hokage must maintain his composure; these words can only be thought in his heart and must never be spoken aloud.
But this could not conceal Hiruzen Sarutobi's joy. He stood up and went to Taiichi, looking at his grand-disciple who was almost as tall as him, and felt boundless happiness.
He reached out and patted Taiichi on the shoulder to show his affection and encouragement, "You and Minato have really worked hard. You've saved Konoha from a huge loss this time."
"Ah~ Haha, this is all we should do. Protecting the village is everyone's responsibility!"
These words struck a chord with Hiruzen Sarutobi; they were so full of the Will of Fire. No wonder he was Hiruzen Sarutobi's worthy grand-disciple.
"Come on, tell us quickly, how did you and Minato defeat those Cloud Ninja?"
Now, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also joined in, eager to know just how much strength it took for these two to defeat so many Cloud Ninja.
So, Taiichi vividly recounted the series of actions the two had taken against the Cloud Ninja. Of course, some details that needed to be kept secret were still kept secret, such as the Fire Transformation Technique, a life-saving divine skill, which he certainly wouldn't mention.
This lecture lasted a full half hour, leaving the three Hokage completely excited and eager to personally join the fray and wreak havoc.
However, it was through Taiichi's explanation that these three high-ranking officials, who had been away from the front lines for a long time, understood the current level of Taiichi and Minato's strength.
It is truly Konoha 'Konoha good fortune that these two outstanding young talents emerged during this period.
After reporting all the matters concerning the Cloud Ninja, Taiichi took out the scroll about Yohei that Jiraiya and handed it to the Hokage.
He didn't even wait for the Hokage to read the report. After submitting it, he immediately took his leave. After all, there were still a large number of wounded soldiers waiting for him to treat at the front lines, and he wasn't at ease leaving his Shadow Clone there alone.
After Taiichi left, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the report written by Jiraiya, first checking the integrity of the scroll's secret text to ensure it hadn't been opened before reading it.
As he read, his brows, which had been furrowed at first, gradually relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were standing nearby, were quite curious. What kind of report could cause Hiruzen to behave so differently in such a short time? Was it another battle report?
After reading the entire report, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the two curious people in front of him, said nothing, and handed the report over directly.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu didn't hesitate; after receiving it, the two huddled together to look at it.
As they watched, their expressions began to differ; Mitokado Homura's mood was somewhat unpredictable, Utatane Koharu showed delight.
After the two finished reading, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "What do you think of what Jiraiya said?"
"I'll say it again: always be wary of the Uchiha." That was all Mitokado Homura said. He clearly knew that saying anything more would be useless; they still had to Danzo for Danzo to address the Uchiha issue.
"If it were before, I would have had some doubts about the power imbalance that Jiraiya mentioned, but judging from the fighting strength shown by Minato and Taiichi in the First Shinobi World War against the Cloud Ninja, it seems that there is indeed no need to worry too much."
Utatane Koharu's assessment was quite objective, which was exactly what Hiruzen Sarutobi had thought. With such strength, the Hokage lineage was not afraid of those Mangekyou Mangekyo at all.
The key point is that the owner of these Mangekyo is on my side, and with the protection of Taiichi's Medical Ninjutsu, everything is so wonderful.
Perhaps the Uchiha problem can be resolved during his term, leaving the next leader with an even better Konoha.
"After that, we will proceed with Uchiha's suggestion regarding the Jiraiya clan. I will first arrange a meeting with Fugaku Uchiha to discuss sending more Uchiha children to the Ninja Academy."
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, neither expressing any objection.
"Also, spread the news that Minato and Taiichi annihilated the entire Cloud Ninja. I want the whole Ninja World to know what the consequences of attacking Konoha will be."
The two elders nodded happily, as they were quite willing to do it.
While a meeting was being held in the Hokage's Office, a similar meeting was also taking place in a large conference room within the Uchiha clan compound.
There were nearly twenty people in the meeting, all of whom Jonin Uchiha who were currently staying in the village.
However, the atmosphere here was quite strange. Some attendees were excited, some were worried, some were confused, and some were quite indifferent.
--
Inside the hall, Fugaku Uchiha, sitting in the head seat of the household, was quite troubled. The news that had come back from the Southern Battlefield earlier that day was a bolt from the blue for the entire Uchiha.
The Uchiha Clan, after so many years, has produced another pair of eyes like that. This not only surprised the Konoha High Command, but also the clan's own leaders, who found it hard to believe.
It's important to know that ever since Madara Uchiha and his brother died and one betrayed the village, there have been instances within the clan Mangekyō Sharingan has been considered for reawakening. Some radical clan members even made the cruel attempt to kill their own blood relatives.
Without exception, none of these people succeeded. This cruel method once made everyone in the Uchiha feel insecure. It wasn't until later that the clan's higher-ups reached a consensus and, under strong pressure, completely suppressed this evil trend.
It was from that time that the higher-ups intentionally blocked all information about the Mangekyo. As a result, the new generation of Uchiha ninjas basically only knew that the Three-Tomoe Sharingan the highest level, and they had never even heard of the Mangekyo.
"Fugaku, I propose we immediately demand Yohei Uchiha from Hiruzen Sarutobi him back to the clan. He's no longer fit to stay outside the village; let him return to the Police Force."
The Second Elder spoke up. As the leader of the Radical Faction, he was extremely distrustful of some of the village's higher-ups. Such a genius from the Uchiha might be assassinated while he was away.
Before Fugaku could speak, the Fourth Elder objected, "This is inappropriate. We are at wartime, Yohei Uchiha is already a ninja fighting abroad. If we recall him without a proper reason, what will the other ninjas think of our Uchiha?"
"What do they think of us? Can't our prestigious Uchiha Clan even send back one of our own ninjas? At worst, I'll send one back and two more to the front lines. That should be enough face for them, right?"
This time, it was the Third Elder who spoke. He was clearly a very self-centered person who didn't care about the feelings of others at all. However, his own strength was that of an elite Elite Jonin, and there were few people in the clan who could match him.
"How can these be compared? You're just making excuses!"
The Fourth Elder was so angry he laughed. "You really dare to say that! Do you really think the Uchiha is still as invincible as they used to be, able to do whatever they want?"
"Who are you calling unreasonable! You old fool, do you want to practice your skills?" The Third Elder immediately bristled, his aura surging, staring at the Fourth Elder with a predatory look.
The Fourth Elder wasn't afraid of him at all and immediately glared back. He really wasn't going to back down; this guy actually dared to make a move here.
"Have you made enough of a scene?" Fugaku Uchiha roared from his position as clan leader.
Unfortunately, he had only recently taken over as clan leader and did not yet have enough prestige to subdue the two elders, so their standoff continued.
Fugaku Uchiha, sitting at the head of the table, had veins throbbing on his forehead and his Three-Tomoe eyes involuntarily widened.
As the situation grew increasingly tense, the Great Elder, who sat first among the guests, finally spoke.
"You're all getting on in years, yet you still have such a temper. Feng Huo, what are you doing? You want to start a fight at the clan gathering? How about I give you a sparring match!"
The Great Elder spoke calmly and gently, but it was like a bucket of cold water poured on a flame, instantly calming the tense atmosphere.
"This... Great Elder, you're joking! How could I dare!" Uchiha Fenghuo scratched his head awkwardly, his eyes glancing towards the Second Elder, as if pleading for help.
The Second Elder also received his signal, glanced at him discreetly, and then said to the Great Elder, "Feng Huo's words were a bit impulsive, but they weren't without reason. Other Ninja Clan have done similar things before, so why can't we Uchiha do it? Is the village discriminating against us Uchiha?"
The Great Elder is silent now. He is Neutral Faction, and this is the time for the Conservative Faction and Radical Faction to clash. There's no need for him to step forward.
The Great Elder turned his gaze back to the Fourth Elder, his meaning clear: it's time for you to step up.
However, the Fourth Elder didn't know how to respond. What could he say? Could he say that the village simply disliked the Uchiha, and that other Ninja Clan might not face any consequences for doing so, but the Uchiha would most likely be in trouble?
If that were the case, most of the Uchiha Jonin would call him a traitor.
Just as the Fourth Elder was caught in a dilemma, Fugaku Uchiha, who was at the head of the table, finally spoke up again, "You all seem to have forgotten what Yohei Uchiha's own attitude is!"
One sentence left all the Jonin stunned!