Shock

Konoha.

The temporary Hokage Building.

Finally, after Yuhi Shin'en rushed over at top speed, Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped out of his shock and confusion.

He also learned that this so-called rebellion was merely the Uchiha Clan finding an opportunity to openly arrest ANBU ninja.

It was not that Uchiha Fugaku had lost his mind and intended to lead the Uchiha Clan against the higher-ups in a bloody battle.

Thank goodness.

It wasn't a rebellion.

The Old Village Chief finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The hidden danger posed by the Uchiha Clan did indeed need to be eliminated.

But definitely not now!

The situation at the borders was tense, and war could break out at any moment. Even with Sarutobi's short-sighted vision, he knew this was absolutely not the time to turn hostile and Overturn the Table.

Suppressing them was one thing. He had used the Three Tomoe in the Nine-Tails' eyes during the chaos to monitor the Uchiha, and that was perfectly reasonable. He had grounds to suspect that the Uchiha were connected to the Nine-Tails Attack.

The Uchiha taking a small loss in this matter, giving up some benefits, and being driven out of the Center of Power was hardly unreasonable.

He had thought Uchiha Fugaku understood that, but now it seemed that kid did not. He had actually dared to make the first move!

After all, Fugaku had previously given others the impression that he had very little control over his clan, possessed no real prestige, and was a green-haired turtle Village Chief who would endure whatever he could.

This surveillance of the Uchiha had also been the Old Village Chief's test.

As long as Fugaku showed no reaction, he would later consider how to completely eliminate the Uchiha threat and lay out a long-term plan.

But now, Uchiha Fugaku's behavior before and after was too vastly different, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen unable to get a read on him.

"Dad, we should still run."

Asuma did not let down his guard just because of Yuhi Shin'en's report.

He looked seriously at his old man and gave a detailed analysis.

"Dad, I think this is a smokescreen put out by the Uchiha Clan. Maybe they're just waiting for you to walk into their trap."

"Looking at the history of battles between our Sarutobi Clan and the Uchiha during the Warring States Period, I've never believed that we could beat them if they really rebelled!"

Asuma spoke with great rigor and even brought out concrete evidence for comparison. He had to make his father understand that their clansmen were all Big Failures and simply could not compete with the Uchiha!

"Dad, you need to know that back in the Warring States Period, the Uchiha beat the shit out of us! We were no match for them at all!"

"We were already like that during the Warring States Period, not to mention how useless the Sarutobi Clan has become under your leadership! And you only got to be Hokage again because there was no one left in the village, not because you were actually capable! Besides, the True Man's Handbook says that a man must know his own limits."

Smack!

Sarutobi had been holding back because Yuhi Shin'en was beside him and he did not want to lose face in front of an outsider, but he finally Couldn't Help It. He gave the other, still-uninjured side of Asuma's face a huge slap.

"Take him home for me! Don't let him embarrass himself outside!"

With a flick of his hand, he had a passing subordinate take Asuma home, then Sarutobi set off with a dark expression.

He had no time to educate his son right now. The Old Village Chief Just Knew that even if this good-for-nothing trained his muscles, he still could not become a True Man. Reading those guides had been completely pointless.

Glancing at Yuhi Shin'en beside him, who was standing there as though he had seen nothing, Sarutobi Gave Up on the idea of having him call for people.

Since it was not a rebellion, there was no need to make the situation overly tense.

"Let's go. Let's take a look at the square."

Compared to educating his son, finding out What Are They Doing was the top priority. He wanted to see what gave the Konoha Military Police Force the nerve to arrest ANBU personnel!

If Danzo giving his son a huge slap counted as disrespecting Sarutobi,

then the Konoha Military Police Force's actions were outright disregard for his authority as Hokage, Rubbed on the Ground his face as Hokage!

No Matter What, this matter had to be resolved.

With the intention of upholding the Hokage's dignity, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at Konoha's Central Square.

Though it was called a square, it was actually one of the hardest-hit areas of the Nine-Tails Attack. It was a genuine vacant zone cleared out by the Tailed Beast Disaster, and it looked remarkably level.

The person in charge of Konoha's reconstruction had also been a Genius and directly Aimed At this area for the Central Square.

There was not even a need to lay foundations. The Nine-Tails had polished the ground smooth and firm; there was no more suitable location.

Yet whenever villagers passed through here, their eyes would be filled with deep sorrow. The vast square only made them Imagine the corpses buried beneath it.

So naturally,

when Fugaku stood there with a face full of righteousness, pointing at the ANBU pinned to the ground and condemning them, he stirred the resonance of countless villagers and drew wave after wave of cheers!

"Speaking of which, it was also the failure of my Konoha Military Police Force!"

The righteousness on Fugaku's face was mixed with a trace of grief.

"If my Konoha Military Police Force had continued patrolling and guarding the village on the day of the disaster, perhaps we could have prevented the Nine-Tails from being exploited by Petty Individuals and avoided this disaster."

He directly took the responsibility upon himself!

According to Hitoshi Brother, the Uchiha had not participated in the battle against the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails Attack, which might already have caused dissatisfaction among others.

So they had to clear their name while they had the chance and push the responsibility elsewhere!

So far, Fugaku had handled it very well.

Hyuga Hitoshi, standing among the crowd, silently Gave Himself a Thumbs Up to Fugaku. Looking around, it was obvious that the villagers were also considering whether this was possible.

That was a good thing.

After all, if the Nine-Tails Attack had nothing to do with the Uchiha, then someone must have exploited the Jinchuriki to cause the disaster.

What if the disaster could have been prevented if the Konoha Military Police Force had put in some effort that day?

Hadn't the Konoha Military Police Force recently stepped up its efforts and directly "arrested" quite a few suspects from other villages?

To put it plainly,

according to Hyuga Hitoshi, since the High-Level Meeting had discussed sharing the blame, what was the point of doing it on a small scale?

They might as well put the matter out in the open!

Let every villager and ninja join this blame-sharing assembly and discuss together who should carry the blame!

Now, Fugaku had already taken responsibility.

But he could not truly shoulder the blame, or all the people arrested today would have been arrested for nothing.

As for the steps to clear their name, Hyuga Hitoshi had long since told Uchiha Fugaku about them.

They did not need to settle everything in one move. At the very least, they needed the villagers to understand why the Uchiha had not joined the battle back then.

"Clan Head, this isn't your fault! It isn't entirely the brothers' fault either."

Receiving Fugaku's Hint, the quick-witted Uchiha Satoshi immediately Stood Out.

His tone was heavy with grievance, and he looked like there was more to the matter that he simply could not hold back any longer.

"That day, we carried out our usual night patrols. It was an order from Lord Third Hokage for us to hand over that day's Guard duties to ANBU and get off work early."

"We merely followed orders!"

Uchiha Satoshi said in a Frustrated tone.

He was not being particularly subtle, and his meaning was clear.

He was telling everyone that if Petty Individuals had exploited an opening afterward, that was ANBU's responsibility. What the hell did that have to do with the Uchiha?

That was the truth.

Sarutobi and Minato had even argued a little over this matter. In the end, Minato had been persuaded by Sarutobi's Words of Experience, allowing ANBU to take over the Konoha Military Police Force's Guard duties. The one who gave the order was also the Old Village Chief.

The reason was naturally simple.

The Sharingan's ability to control Tailed Beasts was no secret.

The Jinchuriki giving birth was classified information and had been concealed from the Uchiha. Since they wanted to keep it hidden, it was only reasonable to have the Konoha Military Police Force get off work early and send ANBU in personally.

One was the Hokage's personal force, while the other was an Aggressive Kid who could control the Nine-Tails. It Can Be Imagined who would be chosen as the guards.

Invisibly, a huge black pot was directly placed on the heads of the Third Hokage and ANBU.

It even gave everyone the illusion that ANBU was inferior to the Konoha Military Police Force!

After all, the Uchiha might Like to Show Off, but nothing happened while they were on duty. So why did everything go to shit the moment it became ANBU's turn? And it was the Nine-Tails taking one massive shit.

"Satoshi, stop talking!"

Fugaku wore the expression of someone who understood the greater picture and wished to prioritize the overall situation.

But the Uchiha's grievances clearly did not end there!

Defying the Clan Head's order, Satoshi dropped another bombshell the very next second!

"Clan Head, there are things I simply have to say! There are things I cannot stand by and watch!"

"We had a great chance to prevent the disaster from the beginning! The Fourth would not even have needed to die! The village would not have been ravaged like this!"

The entire crowd was shocked by those words!

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