Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a kind smile.
Yes, he valued that Uchiha child.
As the saying went, you didn't strike someone who greeted you with a smile.
"Uchiha child... Is something the matter?"
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Uchiha Fugaku smiling at him, and a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him.
"Hey, Lord Hokage, are the heroes of Konoha not worthy of having a surname?"
In an instant,
the whole scene fell silent.
Everyone's attention turned to Chiba.
Those who knew what was going on stared at Chiba in shock.
Who said children's words were always innocent?
Chapter 49
Since Chiba bore the name of the Uchiha Clan and had been raised by the clan, he naturally didn't want to bring trouble upon them.
That was precisely why he had sought the clan leader's opinion.
Only after getting Fugaku's support had he stepped forward,
to speak about the things the village had turned a blind eye to.
He didn't want the Uchiha Clan to end up like the Senju Clan was now, appearing only in the textbooks at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
That would be no honor at all. It would be a disgrace.
It was better to stand up now and make his position clear than anything else.
So—
"Are the heroes of Konoha not worthy of having a surname?"
The question was so pointed that it was tantamount to slapping Sarutobi Hiruzen in the face in front of everyone.
And yet, Chiba had said it.
Everyone was shocked because this was practically a direct challenge to the Hokage of Konoha.
But did Chiba care?
Why should he worry about the other man's dignity at a time like this?
Sarutobi Hiruzen had practically been shitting on the Uchiha's doorstep. Was Chiba supposed to hand him some toilet paper, too?
At a time like this, Chiba would only give him a One Thousand Years of Death.
The kind with a kunai and an Explosive Tag.
Sovereignty had never been won through yielding.
That was something Chiba had learned from history before he crossed over.
Reality might cloud your vision and keep you from seeing the future,
but history never lied.
Power had always come from the barrel of a gun.
Sarutobi Hiruzen halted his impassioned speech.
He still wore a smile, but there was no warmth in it now.
To say something like that at a moment like this—
Had it been intentional, or not?
Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't a fool. He could easily make that judgment.
Was this your way of putting me in my place, Uchiha Fugaku?
At that, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze passed over Chiba and finally settled on Fugaku.
Though Chiba had been the one to say it,
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't believe a five-year-old could have come up with such an idea.
In the end, the real target was the Uchiha Clan's leader.
Faced with Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze,
Uchiha Fugaku didn't look away this time.
He couldn't fully agree with what Chiba had said.
But there were some things he thought Chiba had gotten exactly right.
—Sometimes, some things simply had to be fought for!
—Even if they brought us no tangible benefits, at the very least, we had to make our position clear, didn't we?
That was right. Through Chiba, the Uchiha were making their position clear—
they were dissatisfied with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
As the Uchiha Clan's leader, this was the example he had to set for the clan's future and for its children.
At that moment, people from every clan watched Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Fugaku.
They knew
this was a contest between the Hokage and the Uchiha.
And in the end, it was Sarutobi Hiruzen who looked away.
People from every clan were shocked by Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions.
In their eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always dealt with internal matters with an iron fist.
Otherwise, he could never have held on to his position as Third Hokage against the opposition of every clan.
But the war had ultimately forced Sarutobi Hiruzen to compromise.
The adult world was full of checks and balances.
The Uchiha had chosen to yield to the Hokage for the sake of peace.
Now, with a war raging, Sarutobi Hiruzen had chosen to avoid a confrontation with the Uchiha.
Konoha was simply too short on manpower at this time.
So short that Namikaze Minato had to undertake missions with almost no chance of survival, and the Hyuga Clan had to stand firm against Kumogakure's pressure.
The Mist Ninja's restraint was certainly not by choice.
Not one of the Five Great Nations was a pushover.
It was precisely because the Uchiha Clan was on the Mist Frontline that the Mist Ninja had kept such a low profile.
Even though this was no longer the Sengoku era,
the names of the Senju and the Uchiha still carried great weight.
No one actually wanted a no-holds-barred clash with the Uchiha.
Going head-to-head with the Uchiha Clan wasn't bravery. It was sheer stupidity.
The power of the Sharingan needed no further proof.
A smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.
A kind, gentle smile.
He looked at Chiba and spoke.
"Of course the heroes of Konoha deserve to have a surname."
"But no matter which clan a ninja belongs to, they are still ninjas of Konoha, all inheritors of the Will of Fire."
"In my view, drawing such sharp distinctions at a ceremony like this wouldn't be appropriate."
It was a very awkward explanation.
But it wasn't enough to satisfy the Uchiha Clan.
It was merely an attempt to cover up Sarutobi Hiruzen's defeat.
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew
that now someone from the Uchiha had spoken up,
he had to say Obito's surname and give this memorial the meaning it should have had.
Otherwise, the ceremony might not end smoothly.
"Therefore, whether or not we say his surname, he... Uchiha Obito, will always be a hero of Konoha."
In the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen had acknowledged it.
Then, seemingly to change the subject, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued,
"The heroes who have passed away deserve to be remembered."
"And the heroes who are still with us deserve even more to have their names celebrated."
By then, few of the clan leaders were listening to what Sarutobi Hiruzen was saying.
They knew it was all praise for the man who was all but certain to become the Fourth Hokage.
And those young people who would gladly spill their blood on a rush of passion were the ones who loved hearing it most.
The next generation of shinobi would need something to believe in.
In the end,
the whole village chanted Namikaze Minato's name.
His renown even surpassed that of Hatake Sakumo during the Second Shinobi World War.
At the same time, everyone knew
that in the future, relations between the Hokage and the Uchiha would hardly be peaceful.
Danzo watched it all in silence and slowly let out a breath.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, you really made a fool of yourself this time."
"Uchiha Chiba does have some guts."
"Though he's a little too blindly obedient. He does whatever Fugaku tells him."
"Unfortunately, he's been poisoned by the Uchiha."
"He'll need a bit of ideological reeducation."
"He's only five. He can still be saved—"
After saying that,
Danzo turned and walked away with a smile.
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen make a fool of himself made Danzo inexplicably happy.
Chapter 50