Let your child be my father, are you satisfied now!

A week later.

The Ninja World began to churn with unrest, everyone preparing to watch Konoha make a fool of itself.

Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire sent a formal inquiry.

Some were even fearful that a new round of war was imminent.

Inside Konoha, wartime management was restored, and martial law was imposed.

Various ninja clans began to huddle together for warmth.

In this way, the alliances between clans within Konoha were exposed.

It made the interest groups painstakingly cultivated by the Third Hokage appear even clearer, now laid bare before the eyes of Shinichi Hyuga.

Finally.

The high-level meeting convened by Minato Namikaze was held in the conference room of the Hokage Building.

Those who could attend today were either heads of important departments in Konoha or patriarchs of ninja clans.

The originally scheduled time was nine in the morning.

Yet, these people had arrived at the conference room early, seeking out those they were familiar with.

Sitting in the main seat, Minato Namikaze was the Hokage, regardless of the circumstances.

Flanking him on both sides were the retired Third Hokage and the three Shadow Assistants.

Next were the patriarchs of the various clans.

Opposite them sat Fugaku Uchiha and the Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan.

Shinichi Hyuga could have sat closer to the center, but he sat quietly in the corner, observing everything before him.

Bang!

With the sound of a palm slamming against the table, Shimura Danzō, acting as the blade charging into the fray, revealed his edge.

"Fugaku, does your Uchiha Clan intend to rebel? To think you would actually have the Uchiha Clan surround the Hokage Building!"

Shimura Danzō struck first to seize the initiative, putting pressure on Fugaku Uchiha across from him.

Fugaku Uchiha kept his hands tucked into his sleeves, offering no response to Shimura Danzō, instead looking toward the Third Hokage.

"Danzō, it is all a misunderstanding; listen to Fugaku's explanation."

The Third Hokage spoke up at the opportune moment.

The two of them played the roles of good cop and bad cop.

They shifted all the blame onto the Uchiha Clan.

However, the truth was that when the Fourth Hokage sent out the invitations, he had specifically requested the entire Uchiha Clan.

At this moment, Fugaku Uchiha still held a sliver of hope in his heart as he looked toward the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Minato Namikaze offered no response.

Before this meeting began, they had already reached an agreement internally.

In the end, the Uchiha Clan would simply be suppressed and forced to return to serving Konoha obediently.

"Stop putting on a show here! Was that 'Uchiha Clan Extermination Plan' not drafted by Tobirama Senju specifically to target the Uchiha Clan?"

The Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan bypassed Fugaku Uchiha beside him and directly issued the challenge.

"What plan? It is nothing more than intelligence meant to confuse us, yet it has made your Uchiha Clan so restless. It seems you have long been dissatisfied with the village?"

Shimura Danzō did not fear the Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan in the slightest.

He was already irritable; his own Shimura Clan had suffered heavy losses, and he actually hoped the Uchiha Clan would jump out.

That would give him a reason to encroach upon the interests of the village and the Uchiha—was that not how things had always been done?

But the Uchiha Clan had come here, and the Uchiha Clan no longer had the courage to resist.

He had also seen that intelligence report; it seemed logical, but not a single point had been verified.

"Fugaku, what do you have to say?"

The Third Hokage looked at Fugaku Uchiha with a smile.

He wanted to know if Fugaku Uchiha, whom he had hand-picked, had slipped out of his control.

"Konoha needs to give the Uchiha a definitive answer: that no sanctions will be implemented against the Uchiha."

Fugaku Uchiha's words were somewhat stiff. As he scanned the room, he finally understood that the Uchiha Clan had never had any allies, and a trace of sorrow filled his heart.

He began to weigh his options; the Uchiha Clan no longer had the means to resist.

The Third Hokage was very dissatisfied with Fugaku Uchiha's words at this moment.

The elders present had all received the teachings of Tobirama Senju.

Their attitude toward the Uchiha had always been one of vigilance; if they truly gave such a promise, the end result would only be to swallow their pride and endure the humiliation.

"Ahem." The Third Hokage gave a few feigned coughs, signaling to Shimura Danzō at his side.

"The Hokage and our Council of Elders can guarantee that we harbor absolutely no malice toward the Uchiha Clan." Shimura Danzō spoke without the slightest burden; this was the role he had always played.

The promises he made carried no weight whatsoever.

"We can allow ninjas from the Uchiha Clan to join the Anbu." The Third Hokage followed up by tossing out his own terms.

"Fugaku, all of this is a misunderstanding. We are comrades, after all; let us not destroy the trust between us because of some fabricated intelligence."

Minato Namikaze wore a friendly smile on his face, patiently explaining to Fugaku Uchiha.

The three men sang in harmony, and combined with the pressure exerted by the other surrounding clans, Fugaku Uchiha's resolve began to waver.

The Great Elder of the Uchiha, seeing this attitude from Fugaku Uchiha, grew increasingly disappointed.

Their Uchiha Clan no longer had any other choice.

After the founding of Konoha, they had not followed Madara Uchiha in leaving.

At that time, their Uchiha Clan had already become a vassal of Konoha.

Prioritizing clan interests had shifted to prioritizing the interests of the ninja village; they had already made their choice.

When those in power in the ninja village do not trust you, what can you do?

There is only one way: find a way to launch an assault on the positions of the upper echelons.

This was also the reason why they later chose a coup d'état instead of relocating the entire clan.

A tacit understanding had formed among the Five Great Nations regarding the concept of rogue ninjas, leaving their Uchiha Clan with no other options.

The purpose of Fugaku Uchiha coming here today was also to see if Konoha was prepared to take action against their Uchiha Clan.

The current situation was very unfavorable for them.

He even suspected that once that plan for the clan's extermination was fully disclosed, the other ninja clans would actually approve of it.

After their Uchiha Clan perished, those families would all receive benefits to varying degrees.

"Fugaku, everything is for Konoha!"

The Third Hokage saw the wavering in Fugaku Uchiha's eyes and offered words of comfort.

He continued, "Didn't you ask for my opinion earlier? Regarding naming your child Sasuke. I agree to it! The Uchiha Clan should integrate better into Konoha."

This sentence completely solidified Fugaku Uchiha's determination.

They were even letting him name his own child; surely that should be credible, right?

"Very well, the Uchiha Clan remains a pillar of Konoha, and I will pacify the clansmen."

The Uchiha Clan had no other choice but to pin their hopes on the kindness of Konoha.

"Minato will make a special trip to explain to your clansmen that all of this is merely other nations sowing discord."

The Third Hokage and the others exchanged a smile; this result was well within their expectations.

The only cost was a few verbal conditions; they had plenty of hot air to spare.

This farce appeared to have vanished into thin air, but the cracks had already been laid.

The destruction of the Uchiha Clan was already fated.