Yet, perhaps it was an illusion, but everyone present was astonished to discover that the three giants actually stopped at the same time as soon as Utatane Koharu finished speaking.
Just then, someone in the crowd shouted again.
"Back then, the Uchiha and Senju founded Konoha together, creating the great family that is our village. Isn't every individual's family business also the business of our greater family?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi: (一`ˊ一)
Hiruzen Sarutobi discreetly glanced at the jonin who had spoken, his beard twitching slightly.
If he remembered correctly, although this fellow wasn't a member of the Uchiha Clan, he seemed to have married into it...
That raised a question: were these people, who clearly belonged to the Uchiha camp, speaking up to give Fugaku a slope to ride his donkey down-a graceful way out? Or had they planned this beforehand, hoping to erase some of the stereotype that the Uchiha Clan completely disregarded everyone else?
After turning it over in his mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt it was both. A bomb that could explode at any moment was one thing, but if that bomb was volatile yet didn't explode without reason, it gave people a different impression.
They were all Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, yet Kushina hadn't faced much hostility during the Fourth's time, and Mito Uzumaki hadn't been treated with hostility either.
Although they, too, would explode at the slightest spark, what powerful figure in the Shinobi World didn't have their own arrogance? The difference was simply that they could control themselves and didn't act without reason. At the same time, they were dangerous enough that people dared not provoke them, and they had backing so powerful that no one dared stand against it.
Sometimes, in the still of the night, Hiruzen Sarutobi would wonder whether the First Hokage had regretted it before his death: instead of bringing lasting peace to the Shinobi World while no one dared oppose him, he had distributed the tailed beasts throughout it-living weapons that fell short of absolute deterrence while greatly increasing military strength...
The Uchiha's actions today brought those years of war back to mind again. As he watched the three Uchiha gradually dismiss their Susanoo and return to the ground, then looked at the ninja behind him, who were visibly relieved and grateful, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a jumble of emotions.
This incident was different from the Nine-Tails' Attack. Back then, everyone had known it was a crisis of life and death. Their opponent had no reason, and they could only fight to the bitter end.
Today was different. Even if the Uchiha possessed power like the Nine-Tails', that alone wasn't enough to strip every Konoha ninja of the will to fight. The crucial point was that the Uchiha were fellow members of Konoha. Why should their own people fight one another?
If they could clearly be friends, why become enemies?
In the end, the three Uchiha hadn't continued fighting, choosing instead to listen to everyone's appeals. That also made more people feel that the Uchiha Clan wasn't impossible to communicate with.
The same advice carried different weight: when a superior advised a subordinate and the latter accepted it, that was only natural; between equals, accepting advice meant giving the other person face; but when someone advised a superior, that was something else entirely.
In a world where the strong devoured the weak, even a small matter could be magnified countless times in relationships between people.
Just then, Uchiha Fugaku, neither flushed nor out of breath, led Shisui and Itachi straight toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and the large force with him.
Wherever they passed, the ninja instinctively looked at them with awe and stepped aside to open a path. Yet Fugaku no longer displayed the high spirits and unbridled swagger he had shown in battle. Instead, all three looked distinctly unlike Uchiha, smiling and nodding with unusual gentleness at those who greeted them, their eyes carrying a hint of apology.
Raising a hand to indicate that he needed no protection, Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed aside the ANBU blocking his way and approached the three with an expressionless face.
"Lord Hokage." Uchiha Fugaku cupped his hands slightly, his face full of remorse.
"Chief Fugaku." Lifting his head slightly to look Fugaku straight in the eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze flickered.
"We've made a spectacle of ourselves today. The Uchiha Clan will take full responsibility for all losses. However much compensation is required, we will pay it." Uchiha Fugaku spoke sincerely, but just as the Third Hokage was about to respond, a discordant voice rang out from somewhere.
"Ha! The Uchiha Clan Head certainly puts on quite a grand air. So many people died today. How could you possibly repay those lives?"
Everyone looked toward the voice. It belonged to someone they didn't recognize, whose skin color was rather strange: half black, half white.
But the response seemed to catch that person off guard. Far from being stirred up by his provocation, the people around him instead gave him distinctly odd looks.
"Casualties?" Behind his ANBU mask, Shinnosuke Sarutobi wore a rather strange expression. As the Hokage's son, he held an important position in the ANBU and had remained on the front lines throughout the night.
Normally, a disturbance of this scale anywhere in the village would have caused terrible casualties.
But...
He swept his gaze across the surrounding ruins, picturing how they had looked before. Apart from the buildings being intact, the place hadn't been much better than these ruins.
After all, the Uchiha Clan had moved to Konoha's outskirts because of the Nine-Tails' Attack, and their reputation meant they had practically no neighbors.
He hadn't been idle all night. Although there was no detailed tally yet, to put it bluntly, these three Susanoo had really been like huskies: they had torn the place apart without hurting anyone. Of course, that was only the situation outside the Uchiha Clan Grounds. The interior was somewhat sensitive, so they hadn't gone in.
Truth be told, though, anyone who died inside the Clan Grounds wasn't their responsibility.
Recalling some things Hiruzen Sarutobi had told him about Root, Shinnosuke Sarutobi's gaze flickered.
"Huh? Where's the person who just spoke?" Just then, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd, and everyone discovered that the fellow who had made that snide remark had abruptly vanished.
His brows knotting tightly, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt another weight settle in his chest. Seeing that there still seemed to be activity inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, he immediately got straight to the point.
"Chief Fugaku, as the head of Konoha's Military Police Force, how could you take the lead in ignoring the rules and wreaking havoc within the village? Could there be some other reason?"
At those words, everyone suddenly realized it too. Indeed, Uchiha Fugaku had always been very patient. Although he had stirred up wind and rain even before this Clan Meeting, leaving rumors flying everywhere, how had things suddenly come to this?
"Ah, Lord Hokage, you have no idea. These past few days, everyone in our clan has felt someone following them, even while eating or using the toilet. Even walking down the street, we've been targeted by mysterious people. Even during the Clan Meeting...
"So many of our clansmen became unsettled and agitated, and arguments broke out. Because of this, I lost control of my emotions as well, leading to my actions today. I am deeply sorry."
Hiruzen Sarutobi almost laughed in anger. That bastard Danzo really fucking knows how to make trouble for me. And Fugaku is a fucking old fox too. Dragging this out in front of everyone-what is he trying to do? Purge the ruler's court?
Speaking of which... where is Danzo?
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. Barely two minutes had passed since the fox-man stood up. For some reason, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt uneasy and snapped his head toward the interior of the Uchiha Clan Compound. Had the Susanoo Fox-Man disappeared?
Before you continue