A Small Victory

A week later, Fugaku Uchiha finally gained the support of the Branch Family.

Therefore, he demanded that the village severely punish Danzo, citing Danzo of Danzo 'Root attempt to kill Yohei Uchiha and seize the Uchiha Sharingan.

Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two Advisor elders didn't take it seriously. After all, some time had passed, and there was no point in bringing it up again. Besides, the Uchiha had made many suggestions, but they were all ruthlessly rejected.

However, this time, the situation was far beyond their expectations. First, the Hyuga, Kurama, and Gekko Bloodline Limit Family, seconded the motion, and then the Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, and Inuzuka Clans, among others, followed suit.

Now Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not underestimate them anymore. These clans that had endorsed the movement accounted for almost 70% of Konoha's power. If they joined forces, they could even impeach him as Hokage.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized that the breakthrough the Uchiha were looking for was not the life or death of one person, but the fact that Root was actually trying to seize the Sharingan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately pulled out the report that Jiraiya had given him and read it carefully again. Sure enough, when describing Yohei Uchiha's attack, it mentioned that the enemy tried to gouge out Yohei's eyes as soon as they made a move.

However, the description was too simplistic, and I was distracted by Danzo's series of outrageous actions, which is why I didn't consider the possibility of seizing Kekkei Genkai.

He didn't doubt the authenticity of Jiraiya's report. Since it was submitted, it must have been verified from various aspects. At the very least, the act of gouging out eyes did indeed occur.

Now, Hiruzen Sarutobi had a headache, and so did Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

Danzo is absolutely capable of Danzo Sharingan. As far as they know, there are more than one pair of Sharingan in the Root base; those were obtained from the eyes of Uchiha who died in battle.

But now, someone has seized on this as leverage.

"Hiruzen, these Uchiha are going too far! What are they trying to do? Are they planning a rebellion?" Mitokado Homura already disliked the Uchiha Clan, and now that he had the chance, he naturally wanted to give them a good Uchiha.

"Shut up, Yan. Watch your words. The Uchiha are just making their legitimate demands. Don't they even have the right to voice their opinions?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was truly enraged this time. "Are you, Mitokado Homura, a pig-brain? The Uchiha clan is backed by the vast majority of Konoha's clans. Instead of trying to minimize the losses, you want to escalate the conflict between the two sides. Do you really think so many clans are pushovers?"

Utatane Koharu, also tugged at Mitokado Homura from behind, signaling him to shut up.

"Hiruzen, calm down. Yan is just worried and confused. But I noticed that the Uchiha only said to punish severely, but didn't specify how. That means they're still leaving us some room to maneuver. All that's left is for us to agree on the terms."

Utatane Koharu's analysis conveniently solved Hiruzen Sarutobi's immediate problem.

As Utatane Koharu had said, when Hiruzen Sarutobi Uchiha to discuss the handling of the Yohei incident with the Uchiha clan, it wasn't just Fugaku Uchiha who came; Hyuga Hiashi and Inoichi Yamanaka also arrived.

One represented Bloodline Limit Family, and the other a family of secret arts; they came together to witness this negotiation.

This is because this matter is no longer just about the Uchiha Clan; it involves a power struggle between the village and these clans.

"Fugaku, I never expected this to involve the struggle for the Sharingan. The Southern Front's report only mentioned it briefly, which I overlooked. Look how far this has gone, it's even alarmed everyone."

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately used a feigned retreat to advance, leaving Fugaku with a bellyful of questions to keep to himself.

They've already admitted their mistake, so you can't keep pressing the issue. They're the real Hokage; if you really piss them off, nobody will get away with it.

"Hokage-sama, you flatter me. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. As long as we resolve the matter in the end, it's all just a minor issue."

"Yes, we must prioritize the overall situation. Although Konoha currently holds the advantage on all three fronts, each advantage is hard-won, and any mishap could wipe it all out."

I really don't want any more turmoil on the front lines; otherwise, more than just one or two ninjas will die.

Hiruzen Sarutobi played the emotional card, and he did it very well. Not to mention Hiashi and Inoichi who were watching from the sidelines, even Fugaku was moved. There were quite a few Uchiha also had many Uchiha ninjas under his Danzo.

"Hokage-sama, please speak frankly about how to handle this matter. After all, this situation has escalated to the point where it's no longer just a matter for my family. My Uchiha Clan is merely representing all the clans of Konoha in this matter."

Fugaku's words are quite interesting. By hiding himself among the entire Konoha clan, he wouldn't be so conspicuous, could still achieve his goals, and could also ease tensions between the Uchiha and all the Konoha clans—it was a win-win-win situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Fugaku Uchiha a deep look, realizing for the first time how difficult the Uchiha clan leader was to deal with.

"Alright, then I won't say much more. As for Danzo's punishment, he will be stripped of his position as an elder. However, considering that he and Root are both on the Western Front resisting the attack of Iwagakure, his positions as Commander of the western front and leader of Root will be temporarily suspended. We will decide on a decision based on the situation after the war ends."

Furthermore, I can guarantee Root such a thing will never happen again. If it happens again, I will kill them without mercy.

Finally, regarding Yohei Uchiha, I will promote him to Jonin and give him a chance to choose Ninjutsu from the Scroll of Sealing.

"Fugaku, what do you think of this approach?"

Upon hearing this, Fugaku Uchiha couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Taiichi had indeed guessed correctly. Removing Danzo's highest title would quell everyone's anger, but Danzo himself would not be punished, and Yohei would also receive some compensation. This should be the final answer.

He glanced at Hiashi and Inoichi sitting to the side. What he had just said wasn't an excuse; it was simply that the Uchiha wasn't entirely in charge now, and he also had to consider the demands of other clans.

Hiashi and Inoichi exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other's meaning. In fact, as long as the Hokage could guarantee that he would not steal the bloodline limit and secret techniques of other clans in the future, that was fine. As for the rest, that was the Uchiha's business and had nothing to do with them.

Seeing the two nod, Fugaku said directly, "Hokage-sama, let's do it that way. I also hope that Konoha will become more and more prosperous under your leadership."

After chatting for a while to build rapport, the group said their goodbyes and left. As for their true feelings, at least on the surface, they all seemed to have a pleasant conversation.

Soon, a notice was officially issued, which downplayed the seriousness of the matter and stated that Danzo was responsible for serious dereliction of duty, which led to his subordinates making a big mistake and Danzo himself was also responsible for poor leadership. Danzo was now stripped of Danzo position as an elder of Konoha and sent to the front lines to atone for his crimes.

Once the announcement was released, those in the know understood. Some were overjoyed, while others remained indignant. But the storm that had lasted for about half a month had finally subsided temporarily.

Western Front, Central Command Tent.

At this time, only Danzo and his loyal subordinates from the Root were in the tent.

When the village's punishment decision was delivered to him, he could hardly believe it was real, but then, he soared into the sky—

His anger surged to the top of his head, almost burning away his reason.

After finally calming down, he saw the intelligence report sent along with the punishment decision. After understanding the whole story, even he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

He only Sharingan, and this was a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, which were of extraordinary value for research and other purposes.

Unexpectedly, this move allowed the Uchiha to seize the opportunity and unite all the bloodline and secret technique clans of Konoha to launch a joint condemnation. Fortunately, he was on the front line, otherwise, not only would he lose his position as an elder, but he would also lose his position as the leader of Root.

After reviewing the intelligence report again from beginning to end, Danzo felt an inexplicable sense of unease. The report described Fugaku Uchiha as extremely shrewd, demonstrating remarkable control over his clan members, decisiveness in uniting with other Ninja Clan, and even a measured approach to the final negotiations.

He showed no signs of his usual indecisiveness, which made Danzo certain that there was someone behind Fugaku Uchiha advising him, but he couldn't figure out who that person was.

But regardless, this feud has been formed. After he finishes dealing with the Iwagakure on the other side, he must find a way to completely eliminate the Uchiha clan when he gets Danzo. After all, only dead Uchiha are good Uchiha, and Danzo has always firmly believed in this.

Land of Hot Water, Konoha Camp.

When the information about Danzo's punishment was delivered here, Taiichi had just finished a day's combat mission and returned to the Camp to rest. Looking at the intelligence that Orochimaru had specially sent to deliver, Taiichi was not surprised at all.

As he had predicted, Danzo was at most given a minor punishment; the talk of post-war punishment was utter nonsense.

However, this wasn't without its gains. I understood the Uchiha's attitude and also laid a good foundation for the Uchiha to reintegrate into Konoha. All of this made it all worthwhile.

Putting aside intelligence gathering, Taiichi's current focus should be on the situation on the Northern Front.

The brief truce between Konoha and Cloud Village has ended, and the ninjas from both villages are once again clashing on the front lines.

However, unlike previous battles, Cloud Village seemed to have realized that Miyo was not someone to be trifled with. They changed their previous aggressive combat strategy and took the initiative to withdraw from all their strongholds in the Land of Hot Water, and directly redeployed their defenses in the Land of Moon.

On Konoha's side, Orochimaru originally wanted to press his advantage, but under the village's orders, he ultimately stopped at the border of the Land of Hot Water.

As for why, it's quite simple. The Land of Fire, which occupies the most fertile land in the Ninja World, has no intention of expanding its territory, and Konoha doesn't want to fight to the death with Cloud Village. If both sides can maintain the current situation, that would be the best situation for Konoha.

The Cloud Village seemed to have understood the Konoha's intentions, and the two sides returned to the small-scale offensive and defensive battles that ninjas were good at, instead of the large-scale battles that had been frequent before.

The intensity of combat on the entire battlefield has been decreasing, and Taiichi is now much more free. He even has the leisure to arrange for a Shadow Clone to follow Orochimaru and conduct research.

"Taiichi, there's probably no one else in the entire Konoha who can use Shadow Clone to your extent!"

Orochimaru repeatedly expressed his envy towards Taiichi, saying that he could also create Shadow Clone, not to mention six, even sixty would be no problem for him. But to maintain six Shadow Clones at all times like Taiichi could not do that.

Taiichi initially thought that as long as his physical condition and mental strength were high enough, maintaining more Shadow Clone to work around the clock would be a natural thing.

But as his strength grew and he came into contact with more people, he realized something was wrong. Even Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, who were all Kage Level powerhouses, had incredibly high levels of mental and physical strength, they didn't maintain Shadow Clone like Taiichi did all the time.

Looking back at the original work, it seems that only Naruto frequently maintained Shadow Clone for extended periods of time for training, but he wasn't like Taiichi, who maintained Shadow Clone all day long.

Only then did Taiichi realize that he possessed this unique talent in his Shadow Clone, which was why Taiichi was able to have such strength at such a young age.

Taiichi simply smiled, ignoring Orochimaru's words, and instead changed the subject. "Orochimaru has been spending more and more time on research lately. Isn't that a bit much? There's fighting going on at the front lines every single moment."

"I have to thank Taiichi your Shadow Clone; it relieved a lot of the pressure for me. Besides, this is a battlefield, and research materials that are rare in normal times are plentiful here. If I don't seize this opportunity, I won't have so many materials to study in the future."

Orochimaru didn't care. He kept talking to Taiichi, but his hands never stopped moving.

This was the fourth time Taiichi had worked alongside Orochimaru on research. Orochimaru truly lived up to his reputation as a mad scientist; even on the battlefield, he would conduct various research projects whenever he had the time.

There are Ninjutsu research, Curse Mark research, biological research and so on. Orochimaru called Taiichi along not only because Taiichi also has a research spirit, but also because he was impressed by Taiichi's medical skills.

It must be said that Taiichi's Medical Ninjutsu has now reached a very high level. Coupled with his profound Yang Release Nature Transformation, ordinary patients can be saved in front of Taiichi as long as they do not die immediately.

This ability proved incredibly useful in Orochimaru's experiments. Many biological experiments failed because the subjects couldn't withstand the strain, but Taiichi's involvement significantly reduced the mortality rate of the subjects, providing the experiments with much more valuable data.

In Taiichi's view, at least at this stage, Orochimaru's experiments were far too crude, especially in biological experiments. Without prior research or animal testing, he directly conducted human experiments on prisoners, which was simply a blatant disregard for human life.

Taiichi had warned Orochimaru before, but all he got in return was Orochimaru's disdainful mockery. In his words, there were plenty of test subjects on the battlefield now; if one died, they could just capture another, and there was no need to slow down the efficiency of the experiments.

Taiichi was powerless to do anything about it. After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade him, Taiichi gave up. Everyone has to be responsible for their own actions.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. After experiencing such a comfortable experimental environment, will Orochimaru be able to adapt when he returns to the previous conditions where experimental subjects were scarce?

This might also be the reason why Orochimaru later secretly captured his own villagers for experiments.