Konoha Doesn't Need Uchiha's Protection!

Xuandou immediately took the hint and chimed in:

"That is a good thing!"

A smile played on his face:

"After all, Lord Third has a wealth of experience. It is only right that he passes on such valuable knowledge to Minato, our new Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen's face showed satisfaction; he nodded and took a puff of his pipe.

He then shifted the tone of the conversation to the matter at hand:

"Regarding the evacuation drill you mentioned, Minato has already briefed me in detail."

"My opinion is that, in principle, it is acceptable. However, the Uchiha must guarantee the safety of the civilians being evacuated."

"Furthermore, if the civilians are unwilling, you must not force them."

Xuandou nodded immediately, his expression turning serious:

"That is only natural!"

He turned his head to instruct Shisui, who stood behind him:

"Go immediately and tell Uchiha Fugaku to begin the evacuation drill according to the plan."

"Yes!"

Shisui cupped his hands in acknowledgment, his figure flickering as he vanished from the spot.

Xuandou looked back at Hiruzen and asked casually:

"Kushina is about to give birth; have the arrangements been made? If there is a need, we Uchiha can provide assistance."

The smile on Hiruzen's face faded slightly, and his tone grew a bit colder:

"There is no need for you Uchiha to trouble yourselves with that."

He paused, his tone carrying an air of non-negotiability:

"I have already arranged for the Barrier Team to set up a barrier, though the specific location is not convenient to disclose. Furthermore, my wife, Biwako, is leading several medical ninja to oversee the birth. In short, everything is already well-prepared."

Hearing this, Xuandou said no more and simply nodded:

"Since that is the case, I shall take my leave."

With that, he turned and walked toward the door.

Now that he had obtained the Hokage's permission, he had to hurry and oversee the evacuation.

Every additional civilian evacuated meant one more life saved.

Xuandou walked out of the Hokage Office Building and headed along the street toward the center of Konoha, wanting to see how the evacuation work under Uchiha Fugaku was progressing.

Just as he turned a corner, the clamor from the central square of Konoha rushed toward him.

On a high platform, Uchiha Fugaku stood in a row with dozens of members of the Police Force, a striking banner hanging behind them:

"Evacuation Drill."

Below the platform, a dense crowd packed the entire square.

Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward, his voice carrying across the entire area:

"Fellow villagers, I have gathered you all here today to explain the evacuation drill that is about to begin..."

"We are absolutely not leaving!"

A burly, middle-aged man waved his arms:

"By what right do you Uchiha get to order an evacuation just because you say so?"

"How many years has it been since you, Uchiha Fugaku, became the head of the Police Force? We have lived here for decades; what kind of situations haven't we seen?"

"We aren't going anywhere! If you want to drill, do it yourselves!"

"That's right! We aren't going!"

"Let whoever wants to go, go!"

A chorus of agreement erupted from the crowd, the waves of noise growing louder and louder.

Uchiha Fugaku frowned and spoke again:

"Everyone, please calm down!"

"This is a drill approved by the Hokage, intended for everyone's safety!"

"Don't try to pressure us by using the Hokage's name!"

A sharp-featured man jumped up and down, shouting:

"The Fourth has only just taken office; he must have been hoodwinked by you Uchiha!"

"Some evacuation drill, this is."

Someone chimed in with a sarcastic tone.

"In my opinion, it's probably just the Uchiha wanting to show off their power and messing with us civilians for fun."

A landlady wearing an apron shrieked at the top of her lungs.

"What do you Uchiha know? All you do is arrest people, lock them up, and bully the common folk!"

"That's right! All you do is arrest people!"

An old woman leaning on a cane pointed a trembling finger at the members of the Police Force:

"Do you think we don't know what kind of intentions you Uchiha have? You're just looking to abuse your power!"

"My son only committed a minor offense, yet you Uchiha threw him in jail and haven't released him to this day. Don't go pretending to be the good guys now!"

Xuandou, watching coldly from the sidelines, immediately recognized the old woman.

The "minor offense" she spoke of was her son getting drunk and committing murder.

The Police Force's arrest of her son had been legal and compliant with regulations, yet in her mouth, it had become an abuse of power.

"Exactly! The Uchiha arrest people at the drop of a hat; if that isn't abusing power, what is?"

The crowd was in an uproar.

"Get down!"

"Uchiha, get out!"

"We don't want your fake kindness!"

The crowd surged forward, pointing at the Police Force members on the stage, pouring out years of pent-up resentment all at once.

Just then, a stern reprimand cut through the air.

"Making such a racket, what kind of decorum is this!"

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

Shimura Danzō walked forward slowly.

Danzō reached the front and asked with a frown:

"What is going on here?"

"Lord Danzō!"

A man immediately rushed up and gave an exaggerated, biased account of the situation.

After listening, Danzō raised his eyes to look at Fugaku:

"This is utter nonsense."

"What evacuation drill? This is nothing but fear-mongering!"

Danzō turned to the crowd and raised his voice:

"There is no war right now; what enemy could possibly invade Konoha?"

"Even if there were..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the people:

"I would lead the Root and be the first to charge to the front, protecting the people of Konoha!"

The crowd stirred.

"Lord Danzō is a student of the Second Hokage!"

"I believe in Lord Danzō!"

The bald man was the first to shout:

"Lord Danzō said there's no need for an evacuation!"

"That's right! Lord Danzō will protect us!"

"We don't need the Uchiha worrying about our safety!"

The crowd was in an uproar again, but this time it was with excitement and triumph.

They shouted at the stage:

"Did you hear that? Lord Danzō will protect us!"

"You Uchiha, go find somewhere else to cool off!"

"Stop making a fool of yourselves here!"

Danzō turned his head to look at Fugaku, his eyes filled with contempt:

"Did you hear that?"

"The people of Konoha do not like you."

"You had better take your people and leave."

He paused, lowering his voice so that only those nearby could hear:

"Using such cheap tricks to gain power is laughable."

Fugaku opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at those excited faces and mocking smiles below the stage, the words died on his lips, and he could say nothing at all.

A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.

Xuandou had appeared beside him at some point.

Xuandou's gaze was calm as he swept over the crowd below, over those smug faces, and over the cold sneer at the corner of Danzo's mouth.

He spoke slowly to the public:

"Since you have said you do not need the protection of the Uchiha..."

"Then we shall comply."

"I only hope that when you truly encounter danger, you will not regret it!"

The crowd froze for a moment, then erupted into even louder cheers.

"We won't regret it!"

"Get out! Leave quickly!"

"Who cares for your protection!"

"Even if danger strikes, Lord Danzo will protect us!"

Xuandou ignored the clamor, looking only at Danzo as he said indifferently:

"I hope that when the people of Konoha face danger, you can truly step up."

Upon hearing this, Danzo said with contempt:

"That is none of your concern."

Xuandou said no more and turned to Fugaku:

"Withdraw."

With that, he took Shisui and left without looking back.

Behind them, the cheers rose in waves.

"The Uchiha are gone!"

"Long live Lord Danzo!"

"Let's see if they dare to throw their weight around again!"

Walking out of the plaza, Xuandou paused and glanced back at the noisy square in the distance.

Since the people of Konoha were so naive, they would have to pay the price for their innocence tomorrow when the Nine-Tails was released.

"We have done what we could."

"If they do not want it, then... let it be."

Now, he had to rush to the clan's compound.

After all, besides his malice toward Konoha, Obito also held significant malice toward the Uchiha clan.

He had to get back to prevent Obito from suddenly changing his mind and raiding their home.

Thus, he said to Shisui and Fugaku:

"I am heading to the clan compound first. You two remain vigilant in Konoha; if anything happens, contact me immediately."

"Yes!"

With his orders given, Xuandou left Konoha without looking back.

This farce quickly became the talk of the town for the villagers of Konoha.

In taverns, at dinner tables, and among groups of women, voices of discussion were everywhere.

"Ah, today was truly satisfying! Did you see the look on the Uchiha's faces?"

"Indeed! They wanted us to listen to them? In their dreams!"

"Lord Danzo's words were so firm! 'I will lead Root to the front lines first'—that is what you call a real man!"

"If you ask me, the Uchiha are just bored. There is no war now, what danger could there possibly be?"

"Exactly! What danger could there be?"

"Come, drink up! Let's celebrate the Uchiha getting shut down!"

"Cheers!"

In this atmosphere, another day and night passed.

Night fell.

Outside the village, atop a large tree.

Space slowly twisted and rippled.

A man wearing a mask slowly emerged from the distortion.

He stood on the treetop, looking down at Konoha below.

Beneath the mask, only a single scarlet Sharingan was visible.