Calling a Deer a Horse

At this point, even if Utatane Koharu's brain were failing her, she knew the current situation was completely out of their control.

She had no choice but to leave in a disheveled state, supported by her old partner, Mitokado Homura.

As Mitokado Homura pushed open the heavy doors, Uchiha Fugaku's voice rang out from behind them, "Advisors, many spies from other nations have infiltrated Konoha recently. I hope you will look after your own safety."

Upon hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, the two of them paused in their tracks.

Mitokado Homura took a deep breath to steady his emotions, then bowed slightly, "Many thanks for your concern, Clan Head Fugaku."

At that moment, Mitokado Homura was filled with humiliation, yet he was forced to accept Fugaku's threat.

After they left the Konoha Military Police Force building, Uchiha Fugaku watched their retreating figures and spoke coldly to his trusted aide beside him, "Give them a warning. Aside from those two old things who cannot die just yet, everyone else is expendable."

"Understood." The aide did not hesitate, quickly walking out of the office to begin organizing the mission.

Judging by his demeanor, he seemed to have been waiting impatiently for this.

Uchiha Fugaku remained seated in his office chair, swirling the tea in his cup.

He took a sip, a flash of killing intent crossing his eyes.

Those two old things could not be kept, but with Jiraiya around, it was inconvenient to tear off the mask of civility just yet.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura left the Konoha Military Police Force in a sorry state.

Once they were far away from the Konoha Military Police Force, Utatane Koharu first looked around cautiously.

After confirming they were safe, she said with a look of dissatisfaction, "Homura, what exactly does this Uchiha mean? To dare to openly..."

Mitokado Homura looked at her, shook his head helplessly, and explained, "Koharu, don't forget who our authority comes from."

Utatane Koharu replied without thinking, "The Hokage, of course."

As the words left her lips, she suddenly realized the truth.

Indeed, her power had been derived from Sarutobi Hiruzen; now that Sarutobi Hiruzen was dead, wasn't she just a clan head of a mediocre clan and an ordinary jonin?

Though she understood, she still said unwillingly, "Homura, are we just going to sit here and wait for death?"

Mitokado Homura shook his head and replied, "Of course we won't sit and wait for death, but we simply misjudged the situation at the start."

"Next, we only need to secure the Anbu and re-establish our alliance with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and the Hyuga clan. The other smaller clans will naturally fall into line, and Konoha will remain under our control."

Utatane Koharu's intelligence seemed to have reclaimed the high ground.

"What about Danzo? Shouldn't we try to win him over?"

Mitokado Homura's eyes turned cold as he said faintly, "Rest assured, as long as the Uchiha are not wiped out, Danzo will always be on our side."

The two continued their conversation as they walked.

The streets of Konoha in the dead of night were eerily quiet.

Because the "Konoha Crush Plan" initiated by Orochimaru had only just ended, most of the streetlights on either side of the road had been shattered by the shockwaves of the battle, leaving only a few remaining lights flickering on and off.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura moved quickly, escorted by a group of loyalists.

Although they had suffered utter humiliation at the Konoha Military Police Force, once they returned to their own sphere of influence, their minds began to stir again.

"First thing tomorrow morning, I will personally go to see Hyuga Hiashi and Nara Shikaku," Utatane Koharu said, her eyes filled with resentment. "I refuse to believe that the Uchiha clan can truly withstand the combined pressure of all the major clans in Konoha!"

Mitokado Homura was just about to nod in agreement when his ninja intuition suddenly made the hair on his body stand on end!

"Something's wrong! Stop!!"

Mitokado Homura's roar sounded particularly jarring in the empty street.

But his warning was ultimately a beat too slow.

Squelch!

The two guards leading the formation, responsible for scouting the path, didn't even have time to scream before their heads went flying high into the air. Hot blood sprayed out like a fountain, instantly staining their ornate robes a deep crimson.

"We're under attack! Protect the Advisors!!"

The remaining four loyalists were terrified. Before they could even form hand seals, they drew the ninja swords from their backs.

The moment they caught sight of the enemy's position, several pairs of scarlet, dazzling Three-Tomoe Sharingan ignited in the pitch-black night!

"The Konoha Military Police Force is conducting an investigation. Bystanders will be killed without mercy."

During his time as clan head, Uchiha Fugaku had naturally kept trusted members of the Uchiha Hawk Faction by his side to maintain balance.

These men were die-hard members of the Uchiha Hawk Faction, and since they had received Fugaku's orders, they would naturally show no mercy.

To be precise, they were enjoying this mission.

Thus, every strike they made was a lethal one.

Those guards were naturally no match for the elites carefully cultivated by the Uchiha.

Some had their hearts pierced by blades coated in Lightning Release chakra the moment they drew their swords.

Others were unlucky enough to be foolish enough to meet the gaze of an Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

They naturally fell into a genjutsu in an instant, only to have their throats easily slit by the Uchiha clansmen.

The entire battle lasted less than a minute before it came to a complete end.

It was a one-sided massacre.

Utatane Koharu stared at everything before her with a blank expression.

At this moment, her face and clothes were splattered with the blood of her own trusted aides.

Pointing at several Uchiha members, she said with a tremor in her voice, "What exactly are you trying to do? Are you Uchiha planning to commit treason?"

The leading Uchiha clansman sheathed his blade.

He looked at Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, saying in a calm tone, "My apologies for the shock, but according to our investigation just now, these individuals were suspected of colluding with Sunagakure and Orochimaru. The situation was urgent, so if there was any offense, then so be it."

"Colluding with Sunagakure?" Upon hearing this absurd accusation, Mitokado Homura trembled with rage, his voice rising inexplicably. "They have been our trusted aides for decades! How could they possibly collude with Sunagakure?!"

"Evidence? Advisor, aren't these corpses all over the ground the best evidence?"

The leading Uchiha elite sneered, completely indifferent to Mitokado Homura's fury.

He walked slowly to the body of a guard who had just breathed his last, bent down, and in front of the two advisors, skillfully rummaged through the corpse's robes with the same kunai that was still stained with blood.

Just then, someone nearby reported, "Captain, we found something."

With that, he handed him a scroll that was clean and devoid of any bloodstains.

"Look, caught red-handed," he muttered to himself.

The Uchiha clansman took the scroll and dabbed it in blood right in front of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, deciding that this "evidence" now looked convincing enough.

He waved it in front of the two of them and explained, "Orochimaru is attacking the village, yet these guards were wandering the streets in the middle of the night with the two advisors, even attempting to approach the Military Police Force Building where high-risk criminals are held."

"If our Military Police Force hadn't discovered them in time and executed them on the spot, who could have guaranteed the safety of the two advisors?"

"Who could guarantee they weren't planning to hold the two of you hostage to claim credit with Sunagakure?"