Unleashing the Five-Tails

"The Uchiha do need to be kept in check. As the future Uchiha Clan Leader, Fugaku Uchiha has already surpassed both of you in wartime achievements.

"He has killed several senior figures from the Three Great Ninja Villages of Stone, Sand, and Cloud. He's powerful. If we don't rein him in, Konoha may belong to the Uchiha in a few years.

"You're both strong, but keeping Fugaku Uchiha in check would be difficult even for you. Hiruzen and I have no wish to see an Uchiha become Hokage of Konoha in our lifetimes.

"As the Second Hokage's disciples, we have no wish to go against our teacher's principles, either."

Hearing Danzo speak, Fugaku realized that Danzo had played a part in recalling him to the village.

Otherwise, given the situation at the time, the Third Hokage would not have recalled him so readily.

And since Danzo was about to visit Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, it was not hard to piece together what had happened.

Danzo had probably offered Iwagakure something in exchange for keeping its troops on the northern front and tying down Kumogakure's main force.

Iwagakure had already been unhappy about Kumogakure sending troops in the first place.

Now it could gain something from Konoha and disrupt Kumogakure's plans at the same time. Someone as calculating as Ōnoki would never pass up a deal like that.

Fugaku did not care about the credit for the Land of the Moon. But he would not let himself be schemed against for nothing. He still had no flesh from the Five-Tails, and the Vessel holding it was in the Land of Rain.

He might as well give Danzo and the others something to deal with.

A Tailed Beast's presence was unmistakable. Even sealed inside a Vessel, it still gave off