Takeoka

"Elder Shinsuke, don't you have a different opinion? You, I, and Elder Ize once fought side by side and risked our lives together.

Now that he's ended up like this, surely you have something to say." Elder Ishihara's voice rang out abruptly.

Elder Shinsuke stopped just as he was about to leave. "What is there to say? It's already happened, and the culprit was an ordinary villager.

Even if there's a conspiracy, the mastermind won't show himself in person. Besides, what a villager believes to be the truth may itself be something he was led to believe.

What happened to Elder Ize might even be the beginning of a conspiracy. Leave the questioning to the Security Force.

If the Elders Council gets involved, it'll only make things more complicated."

Elder Ishihara had nothing to say as he watched Elder Shinsuke leave the meeting room.

The Third Hokage sighed softly and turned to leave. His voice drifted back to them.

"When Elder Ize wakes tonight, we'll hear what he thinks about this."

Ishihara glared at Ize's two guards. "You two bear considerable responsibility for this. Return to regular Ninja units for now and await further punishment."

"Yes."

Meanwhile, on Konoha Back Mountain, Fugaku Uchiha sat cross-legged in a tree, waiting to see how events unfolded.

That afternoon, Uchiha Jin appeared on the mountain and handed Fugaku a Scroll.

"This is the latest update. Senior Saki handled it well. He stood his ground against Elders Ishihara and Genki."

Fugaku read the Scroll carefully, then smiled. "That's Senior Saki's style, all right. The Uchiha have never been on particularly good terms with the Elders.

There's no need to pretend otherwise at a time like this. Come on. It's your turn."

Jin looked at Fugaku in confusion. "Shouldn't we keep our distance? If we