Following

An old man leaned on a cane and slowly walked out from not far away.

Hane narrowed his eyes slightly and knowingly asked, "And who are you, old man?"

"Hmph! This is outrageous insolence. Is this how Fugaku taught you?" Danzo stared at Hane with a venomous gaze.

"How my father raised me has nothing to do with you, old man!" Hane replied disdainfully. With his current strength, he might not have been able to contend against Konoha alone.

But he did not fear old men like Danzo and Sarutobi either. So long as he was not besieged by Kage Level opponents, it was still uncertain who would come out on top.

"Lord Danzo!" The Anbu ninja standing atop the notice board hurriedly jumped down and dropped to one knee before Danzo.

Danzo nodded, and the Anbu ninja respectfully moved to stand behind him.

"Brat! You are not allowed to question the higher-ups' decision!" Danzo slowly stepped forward, staring coldly at Hane.

"Higher-ups my ass. The village belongs to everyone. If the higher-ups can't keep their promises, then don't bring up relocation. Don't give me that nonsense about the war being tense when you just want a free handout. Why aren't the Sarutobi Clan or your Shimura Clan the ones making sacrifices?"

Hane immediately shot back without a second thought.

Danzo's face darkened. "Brat, you are questioning the higher-ups' decision. Men, seize this ignorant fool and take him back. Since Fugaku cannot teach his son properly, the village will teach him instead."

In an instant, dozens of Root ninjas leaped out and surrounded Hane.

Yet just as the tension reached its peak, suddenly...

"Let me see who dares take away the Uchiha Clan's young clan head!"

A furious voice rang out. Several young men wearing matching Uchiha Clan uniforms and carrying swords at their waists hurried over under Uchiha Retsuyō's lead.

They surrounded Hane and, without hesitation, drew their swords and aimed them at the Root ninjas.

"Young Clan Head, are you all right? It's my fault for arriving too late and letting you suffer this humiliation!" Uchiha Retsuyō said to Hane with a face full of shame.

Hane wanted to pat Uchiha Retsuyō on the shoulder, but when his hand was halfway up, he realized he was too short to reach!

He awkwardly tried to withdraw his hand.

Before he could pull it back, Uchiha Retsuyō immediately dropped to one knee. "Today, we will defend the young clan head's dignity!"

Uchiha Retsuyō turned toward the people he had brought with him, his expression firm.

"Yes, Captain Retsuyō!" the youths answered excitedly. Over the past few days, they had often heard their captain speak of Young Clan Head Hane and had long developed a measure of admiration for him.

Besides, the young clan head was only six years old, yet he dared confront Konoha's higher-ups directly. That only deepened their impression of him.

Hane suddenly felt a little moved. With subordinates like these, what more could he ask for?

He gently patted Retsuyō on the shoulder and coldly looked at Danzo.

Danzo narrowed his eyes. He did not understand why Uchiha Hane, despite being so young, already possessed such prestige within the clan. But clearly, this was not the time to think about that.

"Hmph! Are you gathering a mob to rebel?"

"Heh, old man, whether this is rebellion is not for you to decide. We only want justice from the Hokage. Why have the relocation funds for our Uchiha Clan been canceled? Not only that, but you are planning to force our Uchiha Clan to relocate.

"This alone is enough to make us question the Hokage's credibility. My father has an official document issued by the Hokage himself, black words on white paper. Do the higher-ups intend to renege on their debt?"

As soon as Hane finished speaking, the surrounding clansmen immediately began shouting.

"That's right! That's right! We only want justice. Why break the agreement?"

"Justice! We ask the Hokage to give us an explanation!"

Yet Hane did not notice that Itachi, who had been following behind him, had already vanished somewhere.

As the situation developed in an increasingly unfavorable direction, Danzo's expression grew uglier and uglier.

"Even if you want justice, it is not something a sharp-tongued brat like you can demand. Call Fugaku over. I'd like to see what kind of justice he wants."

"You will see. But for now, Lord Danzo, are you still going to stop us?"

Danzo looked coldly at the smiling Uchiha Hane. "What do you want to do?"

"Nothing. We merely wish to go to the Hokage Building and hear the Hokage's explanation. Are you going to stop us even from doing that, Lord Danzo?"

Danzo looked at the sword-bearing youths guarding Hane, then at Hane's hypocritical fake smile.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to order them all killed. But if he did that, these hotheaded fools would fight to the death. Then it would become a complete falling-out between the village and the Uchiha Clan, and that was clearly not something he wanted to see right now.

"Uchiha Hane, you will regret the decision you made today!" With that, Danzo coldly stepped aside.

Seeing this, Hane flashed a broad grin. "Regret? We'll talk about that when the day comes! Come, clansmen! Let's go to the Hokage Building and ask the Hokage why he did this!"

Hane raised his arm, and the hundreds of Uchiha clansmen surrounding him instantly formed neat ranks behind him.

They marched energetically toward the Hokage Building.

Just halfway there, Hane saw Uchiha Yashiro, one of his father's most trusted men, catch up with a group of Military Police Force clansmen.

Neither side said much. They simply headed silently toward the Hokage Building.

The villagers on the streets looked on in confusion, clearly unaware of what had happened.

Naka Shrine.

Uchiha Fugaku knelt alone before the memorial tablets of his ancestors.

Under the dim light, Uchiha Fugaku's shadow flickered uncertainly, much like his gaze at that moment.

Suddenly, the shrine doors were thrown open, and a small figure ran in anxiously.

"Father, this is bad! Brother brought people to confront Konoha's higher-ups..."

"Itachi! Stop talking! Be quiet!" Fugaku interrupted Itachi before he could finish.

"Father... the clansmen and Brother..." Itachi was overwhelmed with anxiety. On one side was the brother he loved, and on the other was the village.

Fugaku remained unmoving, his voice growing heavier. "Itachi! I said be quiet!"

Under Fugaku's imposing attitude, Itachi suddenly felt helpless. He could only stand silently behind Fugaku and look toward the ancestral tablets.

As Itachi waited anxiously, Fugaku finally moved. He unhurriedly walked out of the ancestral hall and slowly descended the stone steps down the mountain.

Itachi hurriedly followed him. "Father, hurry and stop Brother! If we wait any longer, Brother will lead the clansmen into conflict with the village."

Fugaku lowered his head and looked at the anxious Itachi. "Why should I stop him? Did your brother and the clansmen do anything wrong? He is the young clan head. Haven't you noticed the clan's attitude toward him over the past month?"

Fugaku's string of questions left Itachi stunned.

Though he did not agree with his brother's beliefs, he had noticed during the past month, on the way to and from the Ninja Academy, that the clansmen had become increasingly respectful toward his brother.

"So that was why Brother had already left, but turned back when he saw the Anbu ninja preparing to bully the clansmen!"

Itachi's young mind recalled the sigh his brother had let out as he turned around.

"Father! Are we really not going to do anything? This will intensify the conflict between the clan and the village."

Seeing Itachi's puzzled expression, Fugaku could not help sighing. "Itachi, do you know where you differ from your brother?"

Itachi's eyes flickered.

Fugaku continued speaking to himself. "He understands that the village is important, but he also understands that the clan is his foundation. Between the village and the clan, he would choose the clan without hesitation. Even I, his father, am inferior to him in that regard. That is why the clansmen respect him."

"Father, aren't you going to intervene? With Brother's extremism, he might trigger a large-scale conflict with the village!"

At that moment, Itachi grew even more confused. He could not understand why his father, who had instilled so many ideals of peace in him when he was young, would indulge his brother's conflict with the village like this.

"Itachi, you underestimate your brother. He will not go that far, at least not while he lacks absolute strength."

Fugaku's eyes flickered. Sometimes, he felt that he understood his eldest son. Usually, Hane kept a low profile and never fought for attention. Even though he possessed such formidable strength at the Ninja Academy, no reputation as a genius had spread.

Yet at other times, Fugaku felt he could not see through that boy at all. Whenever the clan was involved, Hane became extreme and aggressive, like a wild wolf hunting prey. When still, he quietly hid in the grass, resting and regaining his strength. Once he moved, he would certainly leave a fatal wound on his enemy.