The Second Meeting: Danzo Changed His Argument

The atmosphere in the Hokage Building's conference room was heavier than it had been at the first meeting.

The Nine-Tails' Attack had only recently ended, and black smoke could still be seen rising in the distance outside the window.

Order had not been fully restored in Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the table, three scrolls laid out before him.

One contained a tally of the damage.

One was a report on order in the temporary Resettlement Zone.

The last was a record of disaster relief assistance submitted by the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force.

The record was thick.

So thick that Utatane Koharu's brow creased slightly when she opened it.

Shimura Danzō stood in the shadows, his cane resting on the floor, in no hurry to speak.

This time, he did not immediately say, "The Uchiha are under suspicion."

The first meeting had already proved that those words alone could not crush the Uchiha for now.

The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes still cast a shadow.

But the anomalous spatial traces at the South Street Entrance, Takuya Yamashiro's testimony, and the Uchiha Perimeter Rescue Records also made an immediate verdict of guilt less straightforward.

So he changed his argument.

"The Uchiha Relocation is not merely a precaution."

Danzo's voice was low.

"It is also intended to protect the Uchiha."

The conference room fell silent for a moment.

Mitokado Homura looked at him.

Danzo continued, "Since the Nine-Tails' Attack, villagers have begun to fear the Sharingan. Conflicts have also occurred in the temporary Resettlement Zone. Allowing the Uchiha to remain in the village's central district will only increase friction between the two sides."

He raised his eyes.

"Moving them to the outskirts will facilitate the village's coordinated defense while preventing public anger from directly striking the Uchiha Clan Compound."

This argument was harder to refute than his first.

It did not call the Uchiha guilty.

It spoke of safety.

Of order.

Of protection.

But Uchiha Fugaku heard it clearly.

Beneath the word protection, it was still isolation.

He sat on the other side of the conference table, his expression composed, the official records compiled by the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force beside his hand.

This was the first time he had entered the Hokage Building's conference room as clan leader with these materials in hand.

In the past, the Uchiha had been accustomed to silence.

They had silently accepted suspicion, silently waited for explanations, and silently believed that as long as they did nothing wrong, they would one day be understood.

But after last night, Fugaku knew that road had reached a dead end.

"I understand Lord Danzo's concerns."

Fugaku did not raise his voice when he spoke.

Danzo looked at him.

Fugaku pushed the first record onto the table.

"But the conflict in the temporary Resettlement Zone was not a breakdown caused by the Uchiha. This document bears the signatures of medical ninja, logistics chunin, and villager representatives."

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the scroll.

Its contents were detailed.

The Third Squad had redirected the crowds.

Supply quantities had been made public.

Medical ninja had examined the injuries.

No evidence of injuries caused by Uchiha shoving had been found.

Villager representatives had confirmed that the Konoha Military Police Force had neither drawn blades nor attacked civilians.

Fugaku continued, "If the Resettlement Zone conflict is to be used as grounds for relocating the Uchiha, then we should at least establish how that conflict began."

Utatane Koharu read through the records, her expression complicated.

She disliked the Uchiha.

But she understood even better that every argument presented at the meeting had to hold up under scrutiny.

Mitokado Homura asked, "Have these records been verified?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Anbu beside him.

The Anbu lowered his head. "Preliminary verification is complete. The testimony of the medical ninja, logistics chunin, and several villager representatives is consistent. Large-scale disorder did indeed cease in Resettlement Zone supply distribution after the Konoha Military Police Force intervened."

The balance in the conference room shifted slightly.

Danzo's gaze did not change.

"The more thorough the records, the more thoroughly the Uchiha must have prepared."

Fugaku looked at him.

Danzo said slowly, "Immediately after the Nine-Tails' Attack, the Uchiha released rescue rosters, Resettlement Zone records, and daily reports on the Konoha Military Police Force's assistance. Fugaku, are you trying to restore order, or exploit a disaster to win public support?"

As those words fell, the air in the conference room tightened again.

This was Danzo's second blade.

If the Uchiha did nothing, they were cold and suspicious.

If the Uchiha took action, they were competing for public support.

Whichever path they took, he could drag them back into suspicion.

Fugaku's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly.

A few days earlier, he might have chosen silence.

Because any argument could be framed as the Uchiha defying the village.

But now, he had records before him.

Names.

Testimony.

And a boy had asked him in the Clan Meeting Hall: if the Uchiha did not preserve the facts, who would speak for them?

Fugaku raised his head.

"The Konoha Military Police Force did not release its records to compete for public support."

He pushed the second scroll onto the table.

"It did so to prevent misunderstandings from spreading."

The scroll unfurled.

It listed disaster relief routes.

The number of times the wounded had been escorted.

The road sections cleared of debris.

The number of missing persons registered.

Witnesses to supply distribution.

Every entry bore the signature of a non-Uchiha ninja or a civilian representative.

Fugaku said, "If none of this can be made public, then all the villagers will hear are rumors. More rumors mean more conflict. More conflict makes relocation look increasingly like the only option."

He looked at Danzo.

"I do not believe that benefits the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze deepened.

Those words did more than speak for the Uchiha.

They also served as a reminder to him.

If prejudice and rumors were allowed to drive policy, Konoha would tear open a second wound in the wake of the Nine-Tails.

Utatane Koharu said gravely, "Fugaku, the Uchiha are indeed in a sensitive position right now. Even if you did not participate in the Nine-Tails' Attack, you cannot deny the villagers' fear of the Sharingan."

Fugaku nodded. "I do not deny it."

"Then on what grounds do you demand that relocation be postponed?"

Fugaku did not answer immediately.

He recalled the few words Uchiha Gen had raised in the Clan Meeting Hall.

Order.

Records.

Irreplaceable.

He placed the third scroll on the table.

"Because the Konoha Military Police Force is still playing a role in restoring order after the disaster."

Fugaku said, "If the entire clan is relocated immediately, the existing Resettlement Zone, missing-person registration points, and medical escort routes will all have to be reorganized. At least during the initial reconstruction period, a rushed relocation will hinder the village's recovery."

Mitokado Homura opened the scroll.

Inside were the findings brought back by the survey team.

The timing of relocation required reassessment.

The Konoha Military Police Force's current stations still served a role in restoring order after the disaster.

Their immediate withdrawal could affect medical care, supplies, site cordons, and missing-person registration.

The Uchiha had not written this themselves.

The Konoha Survey Team had written it.

Danzo tapped his cane lightly against the floor.

"So the Uchiha have already begun influencing the survey team's judgment."

Fugaku's gaze turned cold.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke. "Danzo."

The conference room fell silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the records on the table, deep shadows marking his weary face.

He still could not possibly trust the Uchiha completely.

The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes was a fact that could not be sidestepped.

But neither could he pretend these records did not exist.

"Relocation remains open for discussion, but its implementation date must be reassessed."

Danzo looked at him.

"Hiruzen."

"The village's most important priority right now is restoring order."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely, "The Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force will continue assisting with reconstruction. All records will be cross-checked concurrently by the Hokage's Anbu. If further conflicts occur, they will be handled according to the facts. No conclusions are to be drawn in advance."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance.

This decision did not cancel the relocation.

It merely postponed it.

It also subjected the Uchiha to Anbu verification.

But for the Uchiha as they stood now, this was the first stretch of time they had managed to win.

Fugaku stood and bowed his head. "The Uchiha will cooperate."

Danzo said nothing more.

After the meeting ended, Fugaku walked out of the Hokage Building.

Uchiha Gen was waiting for him at the foot of the steps.

The boy was not eligible to enter the conference room.

But the moment he saw Fugaku's expression as he emerged, he had already guessed the result.

"They postponed it?"

Fugaku glanced at him.

"For now. The Anbu will cross-check all the Konoha Military Police Force's records as they are compiled."

Uchiha Gen nodded.

"Better than immediate implementation."

Fugaku said gravely, "Danzo called the release of our records an attempt to win public support."

"As expected."

Uchiha Gen was not surprised.

"He won't stop at saying the Uchiha are dangerous anymore. Next, he'll try to prove that everything the Uchiha do has an ulterior motive."

Fugaku looked at him. "How do you plan to respond?"

Uchiha Gen raised his head and looked toward the distant Resettlement Zone.

"Records alone aren't enough."

His voice was very quiet.

"Records can only prove what we did. They can't prove who's creating chaos in the Resettlement Zone."

Fugaku's gaze shifted slightly.

Uchiha Gen continued, "We need concrete evidence that Root is inciting conflicts in the Resettlement Zone."

"Not a scapegoat."

"The command chain."

Across the street, an Anbu stood quietly on a rooftop, seemingly carrying out the Third Hokage's verification orders.

Farther away, someone else silently withdrew into the shadows.

The Two-Tomoe Sharingan of Uchiha Gen slowly rotated.

He knew that from this moment on, both sides would move beyond public records and begin gathering evidence in the shadows.