Hokage In the assistant office, the aroma of tea has long since dissipated.
Uchiha Fugaku was about to get up and say goodbye.
The tea was cold, the business was done, and the etiquette was complete. He just wanted to leave this room that made him feel uneasy as soon as possible.
Uchiha Setsuna lowered his old eyelids, and his fingertips had already touched the edge of the seat.
At this moment, the door was slammed open.
One Uchiha Jonin even forgot to salute, and his voice was hoarse from running so hard.
"Master Fugaku! Master Uchiha Setsuna! Something happened in the clan. Danzo sneaked into the inner warehouse and stole Sharingan. He was discovered on the spot and resisted arrest! Captain Feng and Captain Uchiha Inabi were injured! Danzo has been captured now!"
The tea cup slipped from Uchiha Fugaku's hand, and the brown tea soup poured onto the tatami, leaving a dark stain.
He didn't pick it up, and didn't even notice that his fingers were trembling slightly.
"... what?"
And Uchiha Setsuna has already stood up.
The figure of this great elder, who was over seventy years old, was still slightly stooped due to an old back problem, but now he was as straight as an unsheathed sword.
Those turbid old eyes, Three-Tomoe Sharingan, rotated silently, and the scarlet light penetrated the aging appearance, revealing the fangs that had been buried for many years.
He didn't look at the secret guard who reported the message. He turned his head and looked at Mitokado Homura.
He knew why the assistant Hokage in front of him called him and Uchiha Fugaku together.
Uchiha Setsuna looked at the old man who had invited him and Fugaku out of their clan and created an opportunity for Danzo to take advantage of for two hours.
"...Mitokado Homura."
Uchiha Setsuna's voice is raised.
This sound made Mitokado Homura's back tighten unconsciously.
Mitokado Homura sat where he was, without getting up or speaking. His hand was still holding the empty tea cup, and his knuckles were white.
Uchiha Setsuna didn't wait for his response.
"This matter," he said, "Hokage must give us Uchiha an explanation."
Mitokado Homura's lips moved but no sound came out.
Utatane Koharu stood up abruptly. Her movement was too hasty, and the hem of her clothes on her knees swept off the brush on the tea table.
The inkstone overturned, and black ink spread on the spread out accounts, turning the dense numbers into a stain.
"Uchiha Setsuna!"
Her voice was sharp and tight, filled with irrepressible anger.
"What kind of attitude do you have! This is what you should have for your assistance to Hokage--"
"Koharu."
Mitokado Homura raised his hand and interrupted her.
His voice was soft and tired.
"Stop talking."
Utatane Koharu's words were stuck in his throat.
She looked at Mitokado Homura's pale face and the grayness in his eyes that she had never seen before.
She opened her mouth, but finally just sat back down heavily at the table.
Uchiha Setsuna didn't look at the two of them again.
He turned around and said in a deep voice to Uchiha Fugaku, who was still kneeling in the same place, as if he had lost his soul.
"Fugaku, let's go back."
Uchiha Fugaku stood up in a hurry as if he had been awakened.
His movements were a little flustered, and he almost tripped over the hem of his own clothes.
He bowed hastily to Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. The etiquette was still thorough, but his voice was as dry as sandpaper scraping his throat.
"Two adults... I will take my leave."
No one responded to him.
The door closed behind the two of them, and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
There were only two people left in the office, and Utatane Koharu finally couldn't bear it anymore.
She suddenly slapped her palm on the tea table, causing the empty tea cup to jump up and fall down, making a crisp knocking sound.
"Who the hell is he Uchiha Setsuna! How dare an old man who has taken a back seat to talk to us in this tone! He must be confessed? Who does he think he is? Uchiha Clan hasn't even become Hokage yet, yet he dares to boss Hokage around -"
"Koharu."
Mitokado Homura's voice interrupted her anger.
He didn't look at her. He lowered his head, looking at the cold tea stains in front of him, and at the accounts soaked in ink.
"This matter... is beyond our ability to handle."
Utatane Koharu's voice stopped suddenly.
Silence spread between the two.
After a long time, Utatane Koharu spoke, his voice no longer as sharp as before, leaving only a suppressed low tone.
"... Why is he still so brave?"
Mitokado Homura did not answer.
He also wanted to ask.
Sneaked into Uchiha Compound, stole Sharingan, resisted arrest after being discovered on the spot, and injured two Jonin captains.
How dare you.
Mitokado Homura Close your eyes.
He thought of Danzo standing deep in his mansion last night, with the candlelight flickering half of his bandaged face.
"Tomorrow morning, I need you to call out Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna."
He didn't ask why.
After so many years, he has become accustomed to not asking.
He thought that this time, just like countless times before, Danzo was dealing with those "shady things" in the dark, and that he only had to cooperate in the open and remain silent in a tacit understanding.
He didn't know anything, but he understood that everything was irreversible.
Mitokado Homura Open your eyes.
"... I'm going to find Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"This is the only way..."
Hokage Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen put down his pipe and looked at the two old colleagues in front of him for decades.
Mitokado Homura stared at the ground, Utatane Koharu looked out the window, no one looked at him.
"So," his voice was very low, "You two helped him adjust Fugaku and Uchiha Setsuna."
No one answered the call.
"What does Danzo want Sharingan to do?"
Mitokado Homura's shoulders moved slightly, but he did not raise his head. Utatane Koharu bit his lip and remained silent.
Sarutobi Hiruzen slapped his palm on the table, causing the pipe to jump up in shock.
"I'm asking you something!"
Mitokado Homura lowered his head, his voice muffled in his throat. "... He didn't say anything."
"You guys helped him without saying anything?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest heaved violently.
"Is he Hokage or am I Hokage? Do you still remember who is Third?"
Utatane Koharu raised his head suddenly. "He said there was something important, how did we know he was going to do this-"
"I don't know? If you don't know, you dare to transfer Uchiha Clan Head and the elders from the clan?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted her.
"You two are assistants to Hokage, not Danzo! You will do whatever he asks you to do? Will you go if he asks you to die?"
Utatane Koharu opened his mouth and closed it again.
Mitokado Homura still stared at the ground without saying a word.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and sat down again. He pressed his forehead, his knuckles turning white.
"When we were young, we followed Lord Second to the battlefield."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
"Danzo rushes to the front, you cover him, Koharu is responsible for guarding the flanks, and Jing uses Sharingan to help us predict the enemy's situation. At that time, I thought that we would be comrades who can trust each other in our lives."
He didn't look at anyone, just looked at the cup of cool tea on the table.