Hokage's Attack

If not for the firm sense of responsibility driving him, Namikaze Minato would have quit long ago.

The moment Shimura Danzō entered the Hokage Office, he pointed at Sarutobi Hiruzen's nose and began cursing him out.

"Hiruzen! I've heard all about it. You've completely disgraced our teacher! How could you let a mere Uchiha act so arrogantly?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "Where did you hear that?"

What had happened in front of the Security Division had clearly involved only the three of them. It should have been impossible for the news to leak.

Shimura Danzō was so furious that his hands trembled. "The Uchiha have already issued a notice. That villager arrested in the street has been officially charged with rebellion, and you, the Hokage, have confirmed it. And you still say this isn't your fault?"

Hearing that, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his vision go dark.

Those Evil Uchiha! How could they be so evil?!

He had barely left when the Security Division issued the announcement.

In some people's eyes, what was the difference between that and him ordering the Uchiha to frame an innocent villager?

Danzo sneered as he watched Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression.

"This is all because you're too weak. That's why you've allowed the Uchiha to become this arrogant!"

"Today, they dare to grab a civilian at random in the village and slap a rebellion charge on him. Tomorrow, they'll dare to openly surround the Hokage Building!"

"Hiruzen, we absolutely cannot keep indulging them! The Uchiha must pay for what they've done!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had already been in a foul mood. Pressured by Danzo like this, he immediately recalled Xuanye's face-to-face mockery back at the Security Division.

I can't control the Uchiha, but do you think I can't control Shimura Danzō?

Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately vented all his anger on Danzo.

"Enough! Danzo! I am the Hokage!"

A certain Little Sun hiding behind the desk: "..."

Wasn't he the current Hokage?

Forget it. Whoever wanted the position of Hokage could have it.

This was far too humiliating!

Danzo snorted heavily and slammed the door as he left.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this. You'll definitely regret this!"

Perhaps because Sarutobi Hiruzen had lost his temper at him, Danzo repeated "you'll definitely regret this" twice before forcefully slamming the door shut.

As expected, the Hokage soon summoned Fugaku. The Anbu messenger's tone was extremely severe, his words filled with intent to hold Fugaku accountable.

Xuanye went along as well. Although he had already told Fugaku what to do, he was still worried Fugaku might drop the ball at a critical moment.

Inside the Hokage Office, Namikaze Minato was nowhere to be seen. Only Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō, whose head was wrapped in bandages, were waiting inside.

Perhaps Little Sun also found the atmosphere too oppressive and had gone to keep his wife company during her maternity leave.

The moment Xuanye saw those two old bastards together, he knew this matter would most likely not end peacefully.

Sure enough, as soon as Fugaku entered the Hokage Office, Shimura Danzō stood up and pointed at him as he demanded:

"Uchiha Fugaku! What exactly are you trying to do?"

"The Uchiha ninja have been unusually active lately! Are you Evil Uchiha planning to betray the village?!"

Danzo had immediately placed a massive accusation on the entire Uchiha clan.

In the past, Fugaku would definitely have hurried to explain himself. Then, after Danzo finished playing the villain, Sarutobi Hiruzen would step forward as the good guy and use the opportunity to make the Uchiha sign a series of Unequal Treaties.

But this time, Fugaku did not respond at all. Even his expression remained unchanged, as though he had not heard a single word Danzo had said.

He did not even glance in Danzo's direction, merely looking coldly at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

It was exactly the same scene as yesterday.

Xuanye wasted even fewer words. He found himself a sofa, sat down, and leisurely watched the farce unfold.

That was right. In Xuanye's eyes, this was a farce, and one that had been performed countless times before.

As everyone knew, if a joke was told too many times, no one would laugh anymore.

Sarutobi Hiruzen believed his methods were highly refined, but to Xuanye, who had gone through Nine-Year Compulsory Education, they were ridiculously childish.

Still, with chakra in existence, ninja themselves were War Machines capable of fighting a hundred enemies alone. There had even been monsters like Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, beings beyond what ordinary people could oppose.

So it was only natural that political struggles in the Ninja World seemed somewhat laughable.

It was not that Xuanye had failed to see through it before. He simply believed at the time that the Uchiha had no hope of winning.

And the Uchiha would never take seriously the words of an ordinary Chunin without even Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Now that Xuanye had awakened the system and obtained Mangekyō, he had the qualifications to speak as an equal—or even flip the table. Naturally, he had to let these natives know what real struggle was.

After shouting for a long time without anyone joining in, Danzo finally felt that something was off.

Sarutobi Hiruzen also found Fugaku's behavior today somewhat unusual, but he did not think too much about it.

In his eyes, Fugaku would definitely choose to compromise just as he always had.

He was extremely confident in that. Fugaku's personality was simply too easy to control.

Seeing that the time was right, Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Enough, Danzo. Say no more. The Uchiha are still part of Konoha."

"But Fugaku, I must criticize you here as well. That previous incident did cause considerable public outrage."

"For Konoha's sake, please make a small sacrifice."

"The Uchiha Clan Compound... should temporarily be relocated to the edge of the village. After all, you wouldn't want to be rejected by every Konoha resident, would you?"

It was still the same classic tactic of punishing both sides equally. Except Danzo only received a verbal reprimand, while the Uchiha had to make actual concessions.

Relocating the Uchiha Clan Compound to the edge of the village was no longer merely suppressing the Uchiha. It was an attempt to completely exclude them from Konoha's core of power!

And from beginning to end, Sarutobi Hiruzen never said how they were supposed to relocate, nor did he mention any compensation. It was as though moving nearly a thousand people only required him to flap his lips a couple of times.

Even the costs of relocating the clan compound would have to be borne by the Uchiha themselves.

Fugaku still said nothing, and there was not the slightest ripple in his gaze.

But deep inside, towering waves had already risen.

More than anger, what he felt was shock.

Because Xuanye had not only accurately predicted the steps Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo would take against him today, but had even precisely foreseen Sarutobi Hiruzen's subsequent demand.

If this were not such an inappropriate occasion, Fugaku would have dearly liked to ask whether Xuanye's awakened Mangekyō ability was related to foreseeing the future.