A Dispute!

After leaving with the two Uchiha Clan ninjas, Li was taken straight to the reception hall in the Hokage Office Building. As soon as he entered, he saw many unfamiliar faces. The Third stood at the front with his hands behind his back, while Kushina stood behind him with her head lowered. When she saw Li arrive, she immediately winked at him. From the looks of it, she hadn't suffered much.

Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and Uchiha Hao stood to the Third's left, along with several Konoha Jonin. On the right was the delegation from Sunagakure, led by the Third Kazekage, followed by Elder Chiyo and Ebizo. They had brought a sizeable number of ninjas as well. Two stretchers sat in the middle of the hall, both covered completely with white cloth. There seemed to be two people underneath. Li's pupils contracted at the sight, and he immediately understood.

"Greetings, Third!" Li cupped his hands slightly.

As soon as Li appeared, the Sand Ninja fixed their eyes on him, their expressions turning sour. If not for this kid, they would already have gotten Sunagakure's next Jinchuriki out of the village.

"Li, I assume you know why I called you here. Tell us what happened last night," the Third said mildly, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Yes." Li nodded, then looked at the two bodies on the stretchers. "Last night, I was teaching Kushina how to throw Kunai. While I was away, these two Sand Ninja broke into her home and abducted her. I discovered them and killed them."

Li still didn't know exactly what was going on, so he could only answer truthfully. Besides, Kushina was here, which meant the incident had already come to light. There was no point in lying.

"Utter nonsense! What an ignorant, presumptuous brat. These two ninjas of mine were elite even among the Genin. Never mind that you're just a kid who hasn't graduated—at your age, even a genius couldn't have killed them both alone! Even the Uchiha couldn't do that." Elder Chiyo gave a cold snort and glared at Li. Then she turned to the Third and said icily, "Third, my Sunagakure has had its disputes with Konoha on the battlefield, but the fighting is over now, and we've accepted our defeat and agreed to compensate Konoha for its losses. Yet your village still clings to those old grudges and kills our ninjas. You even claim my subordinates were killed because they tried to abduct one of your ninjas! What is the meaning of this?" Elder Chiyo paused, then looked at Hatake Sakumo and the others. Her eyes narrowed as she said sharply, "I think some of your ninjas lost comrades on the battlefield and took this chance to exact revenge while we were here negotiating the compensation terms!"

Elder Chiyo's gaze toward Hatake Sakumo was hostile—no, it was filled with deep hatred. Near the end of the Second Shinobi World War, Hatake Sakumo had killed Elder Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law. She hated him to the core.

After hearing Elder Chiyo's words, Li immediately understood. Sunagakure wasn't trying to target him; they wanted to use the deaths of the two Sand Ninja to make trouble for Konoha. He had probably been called here as a witness.

"Elder Chiyo, what do you mean by that? Li is the greatest prodigy of the Uchiha Clan. Your Sand Ninja tried to run amok in Konoha, and Li discovered and killed them. Now you think you can come here and make trouble for us?" Uchiha Hao snorted, furious. He might have let it go if Elder Chiyo had questioned someone else, but Li was a Uchiha Clan prodigy who represented the clan's honor. By questioning Li's strength, Elder Chiyo was questioning the honor of the Uchiha Clan. How could Uchiha Hao tolerate that?

"So you're the head of the Uchiha Clan? Hmph. What an absurd thing to say. No matter how powerful your clan is, he's still just a kid. Do you really think the Uchiha Clan has become Invincible in the Shinobi World?" Elder Chiyo intended to make a scene today. Since the attempt to capture Kushina had failed, she at least wanted to reduce the compensation. They might not be able to wipe it all out, but they could surely get half of it knocked off. Sunagakure was a defeated nation, and the village had already lost an enormous amount of resources. Having to compensate Konoha on top of that would greatly weaken Sunagakure, and it would likely fall further and further behind Konoha.

"You..." Uchiha Hao was instantly enraged. As head of the Uchiha Clan, he had always been proud of his clan. How could he stomach such an insult? Back when Madara Uchiha was around, the Uchiha Clan had looked down on the entire Shinobi World. Across all the nations and villages, who would have dared to oppose the Uchiha?

"Uchiha Hao, stand down!" A glint flashed in the Third's eyes as he glared at Uchiha Hao. The Third was in the prime of his life, every bit the Shinobi Hero, and that single look was enough to silence Uchiha Hao. Though unhappy, he closed his mouth and stepped aside.

Seeing this, Elder Chiyo gave a faint, mocking smile. The Uchiha Clan, once so arrogant, was no longer what it had been.

Li shared Elder Chiyo's view. After so many years, the Uchiha Clan had long since lost its fangs. It had become a tiger that could only roar but never bite.

After silencing Uchiha Hao, the Third narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the Third Kazekage, who had not spoken once. "Third Kazekage, we still don't know the truth of the matter. I suggest we sit down and wait a few days. Once Konoha has investigated what happened, we can discuss this again."

The Third was helpless. Though he knew Sunagakure had its eye on Kushina, and he believed the two Sand Ninja had abducted her and been killed by Li, in the end, that was only his own assumption. He had no evidence to offer. The only two witnesses were from Konoha. After all, what if Kushina was the victim? She was still from Konoha. People might claim this was a plot concocted by Konoha: the victim was from Konoha, the eyewitnesses were from Konoha, and neither the victim nor the witnesses had been harmed—only the supposed perpetrators were dead. That would hardly convince anyone.

Hearing this, the Third Kazekage was just about to nod in agreement when Elder Chiyo spoke first. "Third, whatever the truth may be, there's one thing we know: this kid named Li claims he killed two of my elite Genin by himself. So I have a proposal. If he really is that strong, then regardless of whether the incident happened as he says, Sunagakure will consider the matter closed. What do you say?"

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