Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent. There was nothing he could do about that.
He had taken office in a crisis, with trouble both inside and outside the village. Even the Senju Clan had raised plenty of objections to his becoming Hokage.
Without everyone's support and Mito Uzumaki's help, he might never have secured the position. Being Hokage was hard enough; becoming one who could make every decision alone was harder still.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he could not do it. Even now, with Uchiha Yi's support allowing him to consolidate power, did he truly have the final say?
Not a chance.
Uchiha Yi's words could sway him. In the end, he simply was not that kind of person.
But Shimura Danzō had disappointed him all the same.
He had even dared to touch the Konoha Orphanage's funds.
"Lord Hokage, what do you think? This is the Konoha Orphanage!" Before, Shimura Danzō had only diverted Konoha's supplies. The orphanage's money, however, was untouchable. If this came to light, the entire village could be thrown into chaos.
People were risking their lives on the front lines, only for someone to siphon off money from the Konoha Orphanage, leaving the children without enough to eat or proper beds to sleep in. Who would still be willing to fight for Konoha?
Some funds could be touched. Others could not.
Before crossing over, Uchiha Yi had not thought much of Shimura Danzō diverting the Konoha Orphanage's funds. Back then, he had assumed the orphanage took in children from outside the village to raise as cannon fodder for Konoha.
If that was the case, so what if its funding was cut?
Was he supposed to support other people when he was not even doing well himself?
Help the world when you prosper; look after yourself when you do