Hiruzen Sarutobi's compromise!

"Kakashi would never do something like that. That child inherited the will of fire!"

At Mitokado Homura's words, Utatane Koharu nodded in agreement beside him.

Everyone knew only you inherently evil Uchiha would do something like this!

"Then by your logic, we Uchiha would never do it either. When the will of fire first appeared, your clans weren't even in Konoha yet!

Whose will of fire in Konoha is purer than our Uchiha Clan's?!!!"

Holy shit!!!

Would you fucking listen to what you were saying!?

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, along with the three elders who had accompanied Bai Ye, all froze.

Bai Ye's words left their mouths hanging open in shock. For a moment, none of them knew what to say.

You Uchiha inherited the will of fire!?

At first, that sounded perfectly reasonable, but the more they thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

Wait, what?!

What gave you Uchiha the right to claim you inherited the will of fire?!!!

And yet they genuinely couldn't refute him!

After all, questioning whether the Uchiha had inherited the will of fire meant admitting they no longer trusted the clan. That would give the Uchiha legitimate grounds to rebel.

More importantly, were you the one who fucking came up with the will of fire?!

How could you say that with such righteous conviction!?

Anyone who didn't know better would think your ancestor hadn't fought the First at the Valley of the End!

Fuck!!!

They never imagined a day would come when an Uchiha left them speechless!

In the past, the four of them had toyed with the Uchiha as easily as they would a dog.

One played good cop, another played bad cop, and they kept the Uchiha firmly under their thumbs.

But now the Uchiha had brought in someone educated?

They knew perfectly well that he was spouting nonsense, yet there was nothing they could do about it.

"Ahem. I also believe the Uchiha wouldn't do such a thing. But the land has already been allocated. If we abruptly ask those clans to give it up, it will only deepen their prejudice against the Uchiha.

To resolve the issue between both sides, I can authorize some compensation for the Uchiha. But we cannot compensate you for everything. The village simply doesn't have that much money!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and stepped in to smooth things over.

This wasn't a subject they should explore too deeply.

And what he had just said was, to some extent, shameless evasion.

He had offered money without specifying how much.

Clearly, he was deflecting now.

The others understood that perfectly well, so they remained silent.

Even the more aggressive Danzo held back, given Bai Ye's earlier, pointed remark.

He still didn't know whether Bai Ye actually had something on him.

"So if we don't demand it back, they'll have no prejudice against the village?! Lord Hokage, let's stop with the empty talk. Leave the other clans aside for now.

How much of our land have your four clans-the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, and Utatane Clans-occupied?!

Previously, only the Sarutobi Clan lived anywhere near the center of the village.

Yet after the Nine-Tails' Rampage, all four of your clans moved in. So which is it?! Are the other clans dissatisfied, or are your clans lining their own pockets?!"

Bai Ye stopped beating around the bush.

Most of the land that had once belonged to the Uchiha Clan was now occupied by those four clans.

They refused to mention their own holdings and used the other clans as a shield instead.

Their hypocrisy drew a cold sneer from Bai Ye inwardly.

Those words essentially stripped Hiruzen Sarutobi of all dignity.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was instantly left speechless.

Bai Ye had, after all, dropped all pretense of civility.

He had laid it out openly, demanding that their four clans return the land they had occupied.

"Exactly! That land belongs to us Uchiha. What right do you have to occupy it?!"

Uchiha Setsuna immediately chimed in.

Exactly!

This was the attitude they needed!

Uchiha Huo felt that nothing like this could ever have happened with Uchiha Fugaku in charge.

Unlike Setsuna, however, Uchiha Huo was somewhat worried. Taking such a hard line and openly falling out with them might truly lead to that final step.

Uchiha Hui's expression barely changed, but his feelings were complicated as well.

Still, none of the three could object now. Bai Ye was negotiating for the Uchiha Clan's interests as its leader. How could they undermine him?!

"What's this?! Do you Uchiha intend to become a clan that goes back on its word?!"

Danzo's sneering remark made Uchiha Huo's face flush red.

At the same time, he couldn't help cursing Uchiha Fugaku inwardly.

If Uchiha Fugaku hadn't agreed back then, none of this could have happened.

Whatever they said, they really had agreed to it. Now they were demanding it back, and Danzo's remark instantly robbed Uchiha Huo of his confidence.

He instinctively glanced at Bai Ye. In the end, he could only pin his hopes on him.

"Going back on our word!?"

Bai Ye quietly repeated Danzo's words, then his tone abruptly sharpened:

"Aren't you hypocrites the ones who truly go back on your word?!

When the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha founded Konoha together, they promised the two clans would govern as equals.

But starting with the Second, the Uchiha were excluded from the core of power.

During the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Sharingan became grounds for suspicion. Without any evidence, Konoha forcibly relocated the Uchiha to the edge of the village.

And you stationed countless Anbu and Ninja Clans around us to keep us under surveillance.

You claim the Uchiha agreed back then. But by the time Fugaku arrived, hadn't you already arranged everything?!

Did you consult the Uchiha at all!? You promised to investigate thoroughly and handle the matter fairly.

Yet after all these years, the Uchiha are still blamed for the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

The land we surrendered was carved up entirely by your four clans. Three insignificant fringe clans took so much-did you deserve it?!

And Hiruzen Sarutobi, do you need me to remind you?!

When you need the Uchiha to sacrifice, you talk about the will of fire and the village's greater good.

But when the Uchiha demand that you honor your promises, suddenly we're undermining unity and going back on our word.

What?!

You get every benefit, and we Uchiha are just here to take the blame, is that it?!

Let me make this clear today: we will not kneel and accept your handouts. We will stand and reclaim what belongs to us!

And don't forget, strictly speaking, we Uchiha can leave the village whenever we choose.

As one of the two clans that founded the village, we aren't like you clans that joined halfway through.

If we can't stay in Konoha, we can go to Kumogakure or Iwagakure just as easily!"

Bai Ye spoke coldly.

He admitted that he had underestimated their hypocrisy earlier.

Since they had gone that far, there was no reason to preserve the last shred of civility.

The Uchiha had been the targets from the very beginning.

Ever since the Second's time, their policy had always been: I hit you, and you feel wronged, but you have to endure it.

If the Uchiha erupted, they would say, Look! This is exactly the kind of clan the Uchiha are!

How right we were back then! Keeping the Uchiha away from the center of power was such a wise decision!

These people truly had no shame whatsoever.

They could blame even this on the Uchiha!?

Besides, the Uchiha Clan was different from the other clans. The others had joined Konoha; the Uchiha had founded it.

The Uchiha could simply leave.

Hadn't Madara wanted to take the Uchiha Clan away with him back then?!

No one had been willing to leave with him at the time, but that didn't mean the Uchiha couldn't leave.

Upon hearing Bai Ye's words, everyone present's expression changed.

The Uchiha wanted to leave!

If they really fucking left, everything would be ruined!

The Uchiha were one of Konoha's two founding clans. With the Senju Clan already gone, the political implications would be enormous if the Uchiha Clan left too.

Then there was the Uchiha's fighting strength.

Without a doubt, whether it was Kumogakure or Iwagakure, even though many of their shinobi had once died at Uchiha hands, they would take them in.

They would absolutely welcome the Uchiha.

Of course, life there wouldn't necessarily be any better.

Bai Ye himself knew that too.

He was merely applying pressure to speed things up.

His plans didn't hinge on this negotiation.

If negotiations could solve this, Uchiha Fugaku would have resolved it long ago. Why would it have dragged on until now?!

Precisely because negotiations couldn't solve it, Bai Ye had never placed his hopes in this matter.

This was merely groundwork for his later plans.

"Bai Ye, do you realize what you're saying!?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Bai Ye with a grave expression.

He actually intended to lead the Uchiha out of Konoha?!

If that was the case, they really couldn't stop him!

What grounds could they use?!

The Uchiha were betraying the village?!

After being treated this way, they were choosing to leave through proper procedures, not simply walking away like other shinobi.

If that counted as betrayal, wouldn't Tsunade and Jiraiya count as Rogue Ninja too?!

And what would the other clans think?!

The Uchiha, who had founded Konoha, were choosing to leave because they had been targeted.

If they refused to let the Uchiha leave, what did that mean for the other clans?!

If this happened to another clan, would they also be forbidden from leaving?!

That made this extremely troublesome!

At the very least, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that dealing with Bai Ye was more than a hundred times harder than dealing with Uchiha Fugaku!

This man knew exactly what the village feared most right now.

Even knowing this might merely be a threat from Bai Ye didn't help.

After all, the Uchiha Clan had killed so many shinobi from other villages. If they really dared to go there, wouldn't those who held grudges against them fight them to the death?!

But even knowing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he could leave.

Even if the other villages had poor relations with the Uchiha, they would still accept them.

Then he would lose a major clan, and if Kumogakure or Iwagakure gained the Uchiha Clan, the consequences would be dire.

War might break out between them immediately.

With Konoha in its current state, he truly couldn't afford that gamble.

The Sannin had left, Minato Namikaze had fallen in battle, and Hatake Sakumo had committed suicide.

Konoha was now at its weakest. Had this been the old days, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have feared this at all.

The Uchiha Clan wouldn't even have dared bring it up.

Now, he didn't dare gamble in the slightest.

Even a one-percent chance was more than he was willing to risk.

The Uchiha Clan really did seem capable of doing something like this now.

"Bai Ye, it's not that the village doesn't want to give the Uchiha an explanation. We simply haven't uncovered anything despite all these years of investigation."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly explained.

He really had investigated. After all, that Three-Tomoe Sharingan had been plain to see. How could he possibly not investigate?!

But subsequent investigations revealed that every Uchiha with any significant strength had been attending a clan meeting that day.

The Uchiha had even wanted to provide support after discovering the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had stopped them.

With the Sharingan visible in the Nine-Tails' eyes at the time, he truly hadn't dared let the Uchiha Clan approach.

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Bai Ye couldn't help sneering inwardly.

What a joke!

Of course they couldn't find anything. They were investigating someone who was already "dead."

Still, when it came down to it, this really had been Kakashi's fault.

If Kakashi hadn't said those things at Obito and Rin's graves back then, Obito could never have overheard them.

"That isn't our problem. It's yours. The burden of proof lies with the accuser. Since you cannot prove that the Uchiha Clan did it, you shouldn't allow those rumors to keep spreading through the village.

That is your failure as Hokage, not a problem with us Uchiha. The same goes for our land. I don't want to say it a third time!"

Bai Ye spoke flatly.

With those words, Uchiha Setsuna was practically ready to shower Bai Ye with flattery on the spot!

Exactly!!!!

Why hadn't I thought before that whoever made the accusation had to provide the evidence?!

After all these years, had life ever been easy for us Uchiha?!

Why did it feel like Bai Ye had handled these matters countless times better than Uchiha Fugaku ever had since taking charge?!

Even Uchiha Hui and Uchiha Huo could clearly feel the difference now.

Could it really be that only radical action could save the Uchiha?!

At that moment, everyone was waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer. For him, this truly was a difficult choice.

Did he really have to hand it back?!

If the Uchiha had made this threat when the land was first divided up, he absolutely would not have done it.

But so many years had passed since then.

They had already settled there.

Yet when he thought of what Bai Ye had said earlier...

He felt a little uneasy. After all, this man might actually follow through.

So it seemed he could only agree to the man's demand?!

"Fine, you can have it!!!!!" Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and finally made his choice.

As soon as he said that, everyone present stared at him in shock.

"Sarutobi!!!!"

Utatane Koharu's voice grew shriller. This belonged to them! Was he really going to give it to the Uchiha Clan!?

Things had never been like this before!!!

How had Hiruzen Sarutobi become so weak?!

Danzo's expression darkened as well. Sarutobi... you've grown old. Your fists are no longer ruthless enough, no longer fast enough...

"However... I have one condition!!!"