"If the Uchiha come knocking and we give it back, the loss won't actually be that great for our three clans. The real problem is that we're allies of the Sarutobi Clan. That's the trickiest part!"
Inoichi Yamanaka understood that perfectly well.
The Hyuga Clan had no such concerns.
At most, they would lose a little face, but judging by the statements issued by the Uchiha and the Hyuga...
At least on the surface, neither side had openly fallen out. After negotiations, the Hyuga Clan had also agreed to return the land that had once belonged to the Uchiha.
Their stated reason was that the land had belonged to the Uchiha in the first place.
They had put it so nicely that they had practically left the others roasting over a fire.
If this land had originally belonged to the Uchiha, what were they supposed to do?!
If they weren't allies of the Sarutobi Clan, they would have returned the land without a moment's hesitation.
After all, this wasn't Uchiha Fugaku's era anymore.
The resolve and ability Bai Ye had shown were truly not to be underestimated.
"Then what do we do?! Give it back or not?!"
Listening beside them, Choza Akimichi was starting to get a headache.
They kept analyzing it over and over.
Shouldn't they come up with a solution already?
The Uchiha would come knocking sooner or later. Whether they returned it or not, either choice would be difficult.
"Give it back."
Shikaku Nara fell silent for a while before speaking slowly.
The moment he finished, the other two stared at him in astonishment. Clearly, they hadn't expected him to say that.
"Shikaku, you...?!"
"I know what you're thinking, but I have no reason to cling to land that never belonged to us. That newspaper now controls public opinion in Konoha.
"Haven't you read the latest issue?!
"That story didn't spell it out, but the Uchiha now hold the absolute high ground when it comes to procedural justice.
"All they're doing is reclaiming what once belonged to them.
"We have no grounds to stop them. And the truly clever thing about that newspaper is that it laid out everything the Uchiha, the other clans, and even civilian-born shinobi have contributed to the village over the years.
"What does that mean...? It means the Hokage is no longer the one protecting the village. The ones protecting it are them, us, and everyone else!"
In Shikaku Nara's eyes, the Uchiha newspaper was an exceptionally clever move.
Why had everyone been so prejudiced against the Uchiha before?
Wasn't it because the Uchiha were too arrogant, combined with public opinion being steered in certain directions, gradually shaping people's views?
"But wasn't that because of what happened..."
"There's still no conclusion even now. Can't you see what that means?!"
After Shikaku said that, the other two fell silent.
That was right...
No conclusion meant they had never actually established whether the Uchiha had done it.
It was true that the Three-Tomoe Sharingan had been visible in the Nine-Tails' eyes back then.
But according to the intelligence available at the time, no one in the Uchiha Clan had been capable of controlling the Nine-Tails.
The main issue was that controlling the Nine-Tails required immense ocular power.
Even the strongest Uchiha at the time would probably have gone blind after controlling him for just a few minutes.
"Then how do we face Lord Hokage?!"
The key issue was how to deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Everything else was secondary.
"I'll speak honestly with Lord Hokage about this. If this incident can resolve the current conflict between the Uchiha and the village, I don't think that's a bad thing. I believe Lord Hokage will understand!"
After considering it for a while, Shikaku Nara felt it would be better to explain things clearly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At least given the current situation, returning the land that originally belonged to the Uchiha might offer both sides a chance to reconcile.
The Uchiha really had been misunderstood all these years. The newspaper had clearly detailed their contributions from the very founding of the village.
Thinking it over carefully, that really did seem to be the case.
So Shikaku also felt there was no need for them to hold on to the land.
"All right, then. We'll go with you!"
Since they were going to speak with Hiruzen Sarutobi, they might as well go together.
The three of them immediately went to the Hokage's Office, found Hiruzen Sarutobi, and explained the matter to him.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked, an indescribable look settling into his eyes.
Now that Ino-Shika-Cho had switched sides, he understood that their intention was to resolve the conflict between the village and the Uchiha.
Yet it still made Hiruzen Sarutobi sense something unusual.
It seemed he couldn't let things continue like this.
He wasn't someone who opposed the Uchiha at every turn, the way Tobirama Senju and Danzo did.
But deep down, he did agree with the idea that the Uchiha posed a threat.
After all, the First had died because of his battle with Madara Uchiha.
Then there was the Nine-Tails' Rampage. No matter how little evidence implicated the Uchiha, the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes couldn't lie!
Two Hokage had already died because of the Uchiha.
So in his heart, he had come to accept the notion that the Uchiha were a threat.
And as he had grown older, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer the Shinobi Hero he had once been.
The more trouble the Uchiha stirred up in the village, the more he felt that they might truly pose an enormous threat.
And now, the threat was no longer limited to the Uchiha themselves.
The village's other shinobi clans also seemed to be growing restless.
After that incident back then, he had thought the Hyuga Clan would remain obedient. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
Now, only two paths lay before him.
One was to step down, admit his failure, and find a Hokage capable of balancing all sides.
The other was to make an example of someone, just as he had done with the Hyuga Clan. This time, he would have to choose a clan with real weight.
The Uchiha Clan was the best choice.
But doing so would mean an outright rupture.
The Uchiha were different from the Hyuga. At least, the current Uchiha were.
They would not endure it!
Either he did nothing, or he went all the way.
It seemed he would have to make his decision before Shisui and Itachi returned again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood and looked down at the bustling crowd below, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.
After the Hyuga Clan took the lead and Ino-Shika-Cho also decided to return the Uchiha's former clan grounds...
The other clans followed suit and decided to return their land as well.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha sent people to negotiate with the ordinary villagers still living in the central district. In the end, they too agreed to the Uchiha's relocation plan.
Unlike those clans, these people had only this one place to live.
The Uchiha provided them with new homes and promised to give them a sum of money later, after which they would move out.
With that settled, naturally, no one wanted to cause trouble anymore.
Now, the Uchiha could finally hold their heads high.
The major clans and the ordinary villagers there had all agreed to return the Uchiha's clan grounds.
It looked as though moving back in was only a matter of time.
The relationship between Uchiha Hui, Uchiha Setsuna, and Uchiha Huo was no longer what it had been.
The clan's three internal factions had effectively reconciled.
After all, Bai Ye had truly kept his word. At the very least, he was far more capable than Uchiha Fugaku had been during his tenure.
"Elders, something's happened at the Konoha Military Police Force!!"
Just as the three were enjoying drinks together...
A member of the police force rushed in through the door, agitated.
"What?! Something happened at the police force?! What happened?!"
Uchiha Hui narrowed his eyes and looked at the newcomer in confusion.
Seriously?!
Everything had been flourishing, heading in the right direction.
How had trouble suddenly broken out at the police force?!
"Here's what happened..."
The police officer then explained the entire sequence of events.
The police force had received a great many complaints recently.
And every single one targeted the Uchiha.
Although the Uchiha had already separated the administrative office from themselves...
Those villagers still kept coming to the Uchiha.
Whenever their problems weren't addressed, they simply sought out the Uchiha.
After hearing his account, anger flashed across Uchiha Huo's face.
"What?! What does this have to do with us Uchiha?! We're not the ones handling it!!! We've already outsourced the police work, and they're still coming after us?!"
By now, that work had been completely outsourced.
And they were still coming to make trouble for the Uchiha?!
"Wait!! Where are you going?!"
"Exactly! Our reputation in the village has only just started improving. If you act recklessly, won't all our earlier efforts go to waste?!"
Seeing Uchiha Setsuna about to rush over...
Uchiha Huo and Uchiha Hui immediately stopped him.
The Uchiha's reputation had only just begun to recover.
If something went wrong now, wouldn't all their previous efforts be wasted?!
"We can't just let them keep making a scene, can we?!"
Hearing their words, Uchiha Setsuna sat back down, seething.
Of course he understood. He had even guessed that this might be someone else's ploy.
But if they simply let these people continue causing trouble...
Wouldn't the outcome be exactly the same?!
"Let's ask Bai Ye."
Nowadays, whenever the Uchiha Clan encountered something they didn't know how to resolve, couldn't they just go to Bai Ye?
The three exchanged glances, then went to find Bai Ye together.
They told him exactly what had happened.
After learning about the police force's situation from the three of them, Bai Ye wasn't particularly alarmed. If anything, he wanted to laugh.
"Have someone spread the word that we're holding group training. Put up a notice saying we've taken this issue into consideration, so the police force will be conducting internal training soon!"
"What?! Training?! Are we just admitting defeat?!"
Hearing Bai Ye's words, Uchiha Huo immediately grew restless.
This was completely different from what he had imagined!
To Uchiha Huo, Bai Ye's proposed approach was hardly any different from admitting defeat.
More importantly, even if Bai Ye took a step back this time...
Other problems would inevitably arise later.
So he didn't believe backing down was the better choice now.
Besides, Bai Ye hadn't been like this before...
Why was he suddenly starting to compromise now?!
"See? You're getting worked up again..." Bai Ye shook his head and said helplessly, "You haven't understood what I mean at all!
"We'll first put out a statement saying we've recognized the shortcomings of the police force's members.
"Then we'll gather them all for training. During that time, everything that happens in the village will be handed over to the Hokage to deal with.
"Just have all the villagers go to the Hokage. As for how long our training lasts, isn't that up to us?!"
Holy shit!!!
That fucking works too?!
After hearing Bai Ye's words, the three exchanged glances and immediately caught on.
Well, damn...
How was this a compromise?!
He was clearly passing the buck to Hiruzen Sarutobi and his people!
Some of the trouble at the police force had indeed been orchestrated by people with ulterior motives.
But much of it consisted of petty matters that hadn't been resolved, prompting people to come here and make a scene.
Back when the Uchiha handled those matters themselves, they had been an absolute headache.
It was precisely those petty matters-something happening at one household today, something else tomorrow. Any tiny dispute would send people clamoring for the Konoha Military Police Force.
And since these were disputes between two households, no matter how they handled them, they would end up offending one side.
Dealing with all those trivial matters was thus one of the reasons the Uchiha had such a poor reputation among the villagers.
Now, Bai Ye had not only outsourced the work, but was even going to use training as a reason to dump the matter on the village.
And they had handed him that excuse themselves!
"But won't this end up coming back to bite us?!"
Even so, they couldn't shake the feeling that this might end up landing on their doorstep.
It might even damage the good reputation they had worked so hard to build.
"It's fine. Just let them go to Hiruzen Sarutobi. If Hiruzen Sarutobi can handle it, then that's that. But if he can't, our Uchiha clan's reputation won't just remain intact-it'll get even better!
Besides, I don't believe they can handle it properly. They'll inevitably offend some people, after all!"
Did they really think everyone in Konoha was righteous and noble?!
They had bullied Naruto when he was the demon fox, then treated him like a hero once he became one.
They should just dump the police force on Konoha.
"Then we'll do as you say and put out an announcement!"
Soon, the Uchiha issued an announcement stating that the police force needed training.
They said they would make sure the officers learned their lesson. The police force would temporarily close its doors and reopen once the training was complete!
And once that announcement went out...
Danzo looked at the announcement his subordinate had handed him, a cold sneer tugging at his lips as he thought, Heh... what difference will training make?!
He had planted some of those people himself.
Their sole purpose was to find fault.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately caught on after reading it.
Holy shit!!!?
They're coming after me!!!
Before you continue