Applying to Establish Konoha Second Ninja Academy

"Clan Head Fugaku, is the Uchiha Clan trying to split the village?"

The next day, at Konoha's Jonin Meeting, the Konoha F4, the Uchiha, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Aburame, Ino–Shika–Cho, Hatake Sakumo, and other jonin gathered in one hall. The atmosphere in the meeting room was grave, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Fugaku Uchiha.

After a brief opening statement, Danzo looked directly at Fugaku Uchiha and launched his attack in an icy tone.

"What do you mean by that, Lord Danzo?" Fugaku Uchiha remained calm, his tone carrying a hint of indifference.

"Three days ago, Hiruzen already apologized to you." Danzo spoke coldly, with a trace of mockery in his voice. "While I indeed should not have personally approached Uchiha Chuan, fundamentally, it was for Uchiha Chuan's development. Hiruzen and I both believed that Uchiha Chuan was qualified to join the ANBU and become one of its elites, which was why we personally invited him. It was an act of care on my part. It was merely that Root, being focused on external intelligence affairs, tended to act somewhat forcefully, which led to the misunderstanding. That was why we sincerely admitted our mistake at the time and offered no rebuttal."

In just a few words, Danzo had turned the situation around. After all, this was the result of two or three days of consideration after he returned.

"Lord Danzo, are you taking advantage of the fact that I wasn't there?" Fugaku Uchiha remained calm, though his tone carried a touch of sarcasm. "At the time, you could hardly wait to kill Uchiha Chuan outright."

"I am the Hokage's advisor, after all. Challenging my authority is challenging the Hokage's authority, and challenging the Hokage's authority is challenging the village's authority. It is only natural that I reacted somewhat excessively, but I was merely intimidating him. I knew my own limits." Danzo sneered, his tone full of disdain. "Do you think we didn't come to blows because your Police Force stopped me? No. That was my own restraint, my own bottom line. Clan Head Fugaku, don't assume everyone else is as impulsive as you just because you are impulsive."

Once again, Danzo justified his own actions in just a few words, his tone aggressive and overbearing.

"Oh, if that's the case, then why is Lord Danzo bringing up old matters again?" Fugaku Uchiha remained calm, his tone indifferent. "Didn't the Hokage already apologize? Wasn't the matter over?"

In the past, if Fugaku had been targeted with such brazen distortion of right and wrong, he would have been unable to resist defending himself. But now, he was like a fisherman patiently waiting for the fish to take the bait. No, the fish had already bitten. He was merely waiting for it to bite deeper before reeling it in.

"Hmph. You say it's over, but has the Uchiha Clan truly moved on? Or are you using this as an excuse to begin splitting the village?" Danzo snorted furiously, his tone accusatory.

"Lord Danzo's accusation is quite serious." Fugaku Uchiha gave a cold smile, his voice laced with mockery. "What have we done that counts as splitting the village?"

"What have you done? You don't know what you've done? You personally went to the Ninja Academy—how could you not know? The entire Uchiha Clan withdrew from school. If that isn't splitting the village, then what is?" Danzo finally revealed his true intentions, his tone filled with anger.

"I went to the Ninja Academy only to withdraw Uchiha Chuan from school." Fugaku Uchiha spoke calmly, his tone composed. "As for the other Uchiha withdrawing, that was their own choice. And who says the entire Uchiha Clan withdrawing from school amounts to splitting the village?"

"Hmph. Everyone present is a jonin or the head of a clan. What? Are you going to violate a resolution that we once passed together?" Danzo's tone grew even colder, his eyes radiating chilling frost.

"Hehe, I originally intended to report this separately." Fugaku Uchiha suddenly smiled, his tone carrying deeper meaning. "But since Lord Danzo has put it this way, I can only report it ahead of time. Lord Hokage, everyone, this is why the Uchiha withdrew from school as a whole."

As he spoke, Fugaku Uchiha took a stack of documents from his robes and distributed them one by one to the clan heads and jonin present, only handing them to the Konoha F4 last. This action instantly darkened Danzo and the others' expressions.

"Fugaku, what trouble is your Uchiha Clan preparing to stir up now?" Danzo barked angrily, his tone questioning.

"Lord Danzo, you haven't even read the documents, yet you've already concluded that the Uchiha are causing trouble. Isn't that inappropriate?" Fugaku Uchiha shot back coldly, his tone mocking. "Then I could also say that you, Danzo, are Kumogakure's chief spy, couldn't I?"

"Hmph, I'd like to see what you're plotting!" Danzo snorted disdainfully. He lowered his head and opened the first page of the document.

What met his eyes was none other than—an application for the Uchiha to establish Konoha Second Ninja Academy.

"What? The Uchiha are applying to establish Konoha Second Ninja Academy?" Utatane Koharu cried out in shock.

The jonin and ninja clan heads who had seen the document first were already dumbfounded.

"That's right. This is why all the Uchiha students withdrew from school." Fugaku Uchiha spoke calmly, his tone composed. "Because the teaching at Konoha Ninja Academy is simply too poor, and there is far too little it can teach. So, once they learned that the Uchiha would be applying to establish Uchiha Second Konoha Ninja Academy, they immediately chose to withdraw and prepare to enroll there."

"Fugaku Uchiha, and you still claim the Uchiha aren't splitting the village? You even want to split the village's ideology! Uchiha Konoha Second Ninja Academy? It's clearly just your Uchiha's own Ninja Academy! This is proof that you are splitting the village! Someone, seize Fugaku Uchiha at once!" Danzo slammed his palm against the table and roared. His voice echoed through the meeting room, carrying unquestionable authority.

However, the moment his words fell, the Uchiha First Elder, along with the Second Elder, Third Elder, and a group of Uchiha jonin, instantly activated their scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan. They stepped forward and stood in front of Fugaku Uchiha.

"Let's see who dares! Danzo, are you declaring war on the Uchiha?" The Uchiha First Elder spoke coldly, killing intent chilling his voice. His Sharingan gleamed scarlet, as though he were ready to unleash Genjutsu at any moment.

"Are you trying to rebel?" Danzo's face instantly turned livid, his tone full of anger.

"You're the one forcing us to rebel!" The Uchiha Second Elder's eyes were equally scarlet, his voice icy. His Sharingan stared fixedly at Danzo, as though he would launch an attack the next second.

"Enough!" At that moment, the Third Hokage slammed his hand against the table and shouted furiously. His voice exploded through the meeting room like thunder, instantly silencing everyone.

"Third Hokage, three days ago, you protected Danzo. Now, are you going to protect him again?" The Uchiha First Elder looked coldly at the Third Hokage, his tone demanding an answer. "The Uchiha submitted a proper application. If everyone present disagrees, then naturally we will not build any Konoha Second Ninja Academy. What, are the Uchiha no longer even allowed to submit an application?"

"For Konoha's sake, you should not have made such an application." Utatane Koharu spoke coldly, her tone mocking.

"What a coincidence. We believe that for Konoha's sake, the Uchiha, as one of the clans that founded the village, should make such an application." The Uchiha Third Elder responded just as coldly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"We are Konoha's upper echelon. We are the ones truly acting for Konoha's sake. You are merely acting for the Uchiha's own interests." Mitokado Homura took over, his tone disdainful.

"We are one of Konoha's founding clans. We are the ones truly acting for Konoha's sake. You are merely acting for the interests of your Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane clans." Fugaku Uchiha immediately threw the same words back at him, his tone mocking.

"You..." Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were instantly angered by the Uchiha's retort until their faces turned livid, leaving them speechless.