Crisis and Proposal

It was the early hours of the morning.

Inside the Hokage Building of the Hidden Leaf Village, the lights were blazing, and the atmosphere was one of frantic activity.

The aftermath of the fierce battle following the defection of the Uchiha Clan left behind a mountain of tasks that needed to be addressed.

Treating the wounded, repairing damaged buildings, calculating losses, suppressing information, and pacifying the populace—all of these left the ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village utterly exhausted.

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office.

Several high-ranking officials of the Hidden Leaf Village were in the midst of a discussion, the atmosphere heavy and somber.

The Third Hokage: Sarutobi Hiruzen.

High-ranking advisors: Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

Added to them was Danzo, the "Assistant Hokage," who was currently lying in a hospital bed and not present.

These individuals constituted the highest decision-making body of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"Hiruzen, how is Danzo's condition?"

Mitokado Homura inquired.

"He is being treated by the Medical Corps and is no longer in danger of losing his life. However, I fear his legs may not be saved..."

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sighed.

He felt a deep sense of pity for Danzo's plight.

"Hmph! The Uchiha Clan has indeed rebelled. I told you, we should have treated them as traitors and executed them immediately!"

Utatane Koharu, standing to the side, snorted coldly, her voice filled with indignation.

"Koharu! Isn't it precisely because of this discrimination that the Uchiha Clan has reached this point today?"

"This was clearly the Uchiha Clan's own choice! They are traitors!"

Mitokado Homura hurriedly intervened:

"Hiruzen, Koharu, stop arguing."

"Now is not the time for this. Let us first discuss how to handle this matter!"

"With so many members of the Uchiha Clan defecting, if we cannot handle this properly, it will surely damage the reputation of the village and the Land of Fire!"

Utatane Koharu spoke up quickly and decisively:

"Agreed!"

"I propose that we immediately dispatch a large pursuit force to capture all the defecting members of the Uchiha Clan, or execute them on the spot!"

"Furthermore, we must place all remaining Uchiha in the village under control; it would be best to execute them all as well!"

"Only then can we truly consolidate the village's authority!"

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately retorted:

"Absolutely not!"

"The Uchiha Clan is naturally skilled in battle, and with the addition of that monstrously talented Uchiha Natsume, attempting to kill or capture them all would require dispatching at least half of the village's ninja force, and there is even a risk of total annihilation!"

"If we fail, the entire defensive strength of the Hidden Leaf Village will be severely crippled, potentially inviting the covetous eyes of the other major ninja villages!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had experienced the divine power of the Susanoo at close range.

In the face of such immense power.

Ordinary Anbu ninjas were completely incapable of resistance.

Look at that old schemer Danzo; even with his strength, he nearly died.

This was enough to demonstrate the terror of that Uchiha Youth.

Rashly sending out a pursuit force might just result in a one-way trip!

The Hidden Leaf Village had already lost enough combat power tonight; they could not afford to take any more risks!

"Are you just going to watch them successfully defect and disregard the prestige of the village?"

"I am the Hokage, and I must prioritize the safety of the village!"

"Moreover, a large-scale pursuit will inevitably consume significant resources—ninja tools for interception, supplies for the ninjas, and so on... none of these are small costs!"

"The village has finally reached a state of prosperity. Is dragging the village back into war really a good thing?"

"Additionally, I do not support resorting to force against the remaining Uchiha in the village. They are also victims of this defection..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen argued back with intense fervor.

Compared to hunting down those who had defected, as the Hokage, he was now more concerned with the village itself.

Soon, the discussion devolved into a dispute.

But it was clear that, due to the events of this night.

The two high-ranking advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, were both more inclined toward severely punishing the Uchiha Clan.

Only Sarutobi Hiruzen hoped to adopt a more moderate approach.

If Danzo were here, he would likely still opt for a radical strategy and agree to dispose of the Uchiha Clan.

To the point that, toward the end of the argument, Sarutobi had no choice but to concede a few points.

However, just at that moment.

Outside the office, an unexpected figure suddenly requested an audience.

Seeing that the person requesting an audience was actually Uchiha Itachi of the Uchiha Clan.

Utatane Koharu immediately shouted angrily:

"Uchiha Itachi? As a member of a rebellious clan, how dare you come here?"

"Koharu! Watch your tongue! Itachi is an Anbu ninja; his status is unrelated to his family!"

"Besides, it was Itachi who originally reported the clan's intent to rebel."

"Hmph..."

Utatane Koharu let out a cold snort and said nothing more.

"Itachi, why have you come?"

Sarutobi looked at Itachi and asked gently.

He held this gifted genius ninja, who cared for the village and understood the greater good, in high regard.

Moreover, a ninja who could endure the pain of deciding to betray his own family and bear the weight of sin for the sake of the village and the greater good was rare and commendable indeed!

"I have come to report my father's proposal to the village."

"Oh? What does Fugaku have to say?"

Sarutobi became curious.

After all, Fugaku was a genuine participant in tonight's battle.

Itachi lowered his head and began to recount the message, following the instructions left for him by his cousin Uchiha Natsume.

"Father says: As the clan head and captain of the Police Force, he failed to detect the signs of defection within the clan in advance and failed to stop the defection of Uchiha Natsume and the others. The responsibility lies entirely with him; it was his dereliction of duty."

"He requests that Konoha punish him!"

"Furthermore, in his name as the Great Clan Head, he will publicly declare: This was an internal conflict within the Uchiha Clan! It was entirely a matter within the clan and has nothing to do with Konoha. On the contrary, Konoha helped suppress the internal strife and maintained the Uchiha Clan."

"Finally, Father guarantees that he will do everything in his power to capture or execute all those who have defected!"

"He requests the village's permission!"

Hearing this account.

The eyes of Sarutobi and the others lit up.

Itachi's report completely solved the two biggest problems they were struggling with!

First, as long as the Uchiha Clan was willing to claim this was an internal family conflict rather than a defection from the village, and proactively take the blame, it would perfectly preserve Konoha's reputation and prestige! It might even add to their reputation for justice.

Second, letting the remaining members of the Uchiha Clan go and capture the defectors would save Konoha a massive amount of manpower!

Even if they failed to capture everyone, or if there were casualties along the way, it would only deplete the strength of the Uchiha Clan. For Konoha, it was killing two birds with one stone—all benefit and no harm!

This was far better than sending a large number of Konoha ninjas to hunt them down!

The three of them fell silent.

They seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of this proposal.

But no matter how they looked at it, adopting this proposal had more advantages than disadvantages!

A moment later, Sarutobi was the first to speak:

"How is Fugaku's condition?"

"Father's injuries are somewhat severe; I fear it will take several days for him to recover."

"Itachi, from Konoha's perspective, what is your opinion?"

"What my father said should be the truth!"

"Previously, my father's intention to rebel was mostly instigated by the radicals within the clan. My father never wanted to rebel."

"Now that those radicals have mostly fled, my father can naturally act freely."

"Moreover, most importantly, besides my father, I suspect there is hardly anyone in the entire village who can contend with Natsume's Susanoo, right?"

Itachi spoke in an orderly fashion.

Clearly, he had prepared his words well in advance.

After all, if he could not convince the Konoha higher-ups here...

The remaining members of the Uchiha Clan within the village are in danger!

Hearing this, Sarutobi nodded once more.

The logic remained the same; the strength displayed by that brat Uchiha Natsume was simply too formidable!

It even made Sarutobi secretly wary.

If he could help it, he truly did not want to sacrifice the lives of Konoha ninja just to pursue him and court death!

"Koharu, what is your take on this?"

"While this proposal is sound, how can we guarantee that the Uchiha ninja sent to hunt down the traitor won't simply defect as well?"

Itachi paused for a moment before continuing his explanation.

"We need only keep the families of the remaining Uchiha Clan ninja under control within the village. They will certainly not dare to act recklessly and will obediently hunt down the traitor for the sake of the village!"

"Hmm! Itachi is right."

"This is indeed a brilliant strategy!"

Mitokado Homura, standing to the side, also praised the proposal.

They truly had no reason to refuse such a strategy, which was not only beneficial to the village but would also force the Uchiha Clan to turn on their own.

Before long.

Sarutobi reached his decision.

"Very well. Itachi, we will give this proposal serious consideration."

"You may return for now."

"Remember, keep a close watch on the remaining Uchiha clansmen and do not let them cause any more trouble."

"Furthermore, set aside the instructions Danzo gave you for the time being."

"Understood!"

Itachi nodded in agreement.

Yet, his heart surged with sudden joy.

He understood that this was practically equivalent to the Konoha high command adopting the proposal.

In this way, the remaining Uchiha clansmen in the village were temporarily safe.

Father, mother, Sasuke, and the others—they were all safe.

At the same time, Itachi was secretly struck with even greater shock:

Is this the contingency plan left behind by cousin Natsume?

With just a single proposal, he has dissolved the crisis facing the remaining clansmen! He even made the village take the initiative to reuse the remaining Uchiha!

Could it be that he had already foreseen this step? Did he even predict the decisions of the Third Hokage and the others?

Cousin Natsume, just how deep do your secrets go?