Late at night in Konoha, outside the clan heads' rooms.
A cloth sack containing a bloody head lay quietly on the ground, its stench thick in the air.
"Th-this is... Damn you, Uchiha! You actually dared to kill my men!"
"Uchiha! What a fine Uchiha Clan! They even delivered a head right to my door. I'm definitely reporting this to the Third Hokage!"
"Sigh. As expected, the Uchiha's strength is not to be underestimated. Still, I'm rather surprised he could identify the expendable operatives my clan sent."
The Uchiha Clan had struck with ruthless speed, killing every ninja sent to test their strength and delivering their heads back.
This deadly response far exceeded the expectations of Konoha's clan heads, thoroughly intimidating the vast majority of them!
So after this incident, apart from a handful of major clans that stepped forward to report it to Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi...
The overwhelming majority of the major clans chose to remain silent.
After all, the Uchiha Clan was riding far too high right now.
Before his death, Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had publicly acknowledged them!
To hold back the Nine-Tails and protect Konoha, members of the Uchiha Clan had suffered deaths and injuries. Even their clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, had been severely wounded.
That had won them a tremendous amount of public support!
Moreover, Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, had been entrusted to the Uchiha by Senju Ye, a powerful disciple of the First Hokage who could wield Wood Release.
Whether his claimed identity was true or false...
Someone powerful enough to subdue the Nine-Tails single-handedly was simply not an enemy they could afford to provoke!
With all these factors at play, the Uchiha Clan was untouchable!
"..."
After Shisui Uchiha made this move, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, the respective heads of the Anbu and Root, naturally learned of it immediately.
Thus, for the sake of their mutual interests, the two eventually gathered their trusted subordinates for a meeting.
Konoha's other two elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, were also present!
After all, the Uchiha Clan's prestige had grown so great that the two elders, who had frequently suppressed them in the past, were now feeling uneasy as well.
Bang!
The meeting had barely begun when Shimura Danzō slammed his hand on the table, his entire bearing radiating menace.
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!" Those evil Uchiha actually dared to make such a blatant show of force against the major clans. If we keep letting them run wild, Konoha will be plunged into chaos!"
"That's true."
"The Uchiha have gone too far this time."
Seeing that both Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura agreed with him, Shimura Danzō turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sat beside him with a pipe between his lips, and spoke coldly.
"Hiruzen, this is what your balancing tactics have led to. Look at the Uchiha Clan now. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"This isn't the time for infighting."
Faced with Shimura Danzō's challenge, Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring before adding gravely.
"Our most pressing concern now is how to reclaim custody of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
"If we use force, none of us knows whether that man called Senju Ye will intervene again. He's in the shadows, while we're out in the open. Fighting him wouldn't be worth it."
Utatane Koharu frowned slightly at his words.
"In other words, we can only find some other legitimate grounds?"
"Yes."
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the table, his brows tightly knitted as though deep in thought.
Shimura Danzō and the other two remained silent, waiting for his conclusion.
When it came to scheming, Hiruzen Sarutobi was unquestionably the most calculating among them!
A short while later, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Shimura Danzō.
"Danzo, keep your subordinates in line for the next two days. Stop doing those pointless things."
"Save all your efforts for Minato's funeral three days from now."
"That brat Minato's funeral?"
At Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Shimura Danzō seemed to realize something, and his brow furrowed slightly.
"That's right. That very day."
"In terms of personal ties, Naruto's father was Minato, Minato's teacher is Jiraiya, and Jiraiya's teacher is me. It would be perfectly reasonable for me to take custody of Naruto in front of everyone."
"That is the power of personal ties. Even Senju Ye won't be able to do anything about it."
Although this would ultimately put custody of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands, which displeased Shimura Danzō somewhat...
He would still rather give Hiruzen Sarutobi custody of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki than leave him with Senju Ye, who had pinned him to the ground and beaten him!
"But aren't you afraid he'll use force?"
Mitokado Homura suddenly spoke up, his face full of concern.
Had the intelligence not revealed that Senju Ye was powerful enough to subdue the Nine-Tails, he would never have come here to join forces with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had clearly already considered his concern.
"You needn't worry about that. Judging by the intelligence, even if Senju Ye isn't a disciple of the First Hokage, he still has some connection to him. He is one of Konoha's hidden protectors."
"After all, if he truly belonged to the Uchiha Clan, there would have been no need to wait until they suffered such heavy casualties before intervening. The price of staging that would have been far too great. Even Uchiha Fugaku nearly failed to make it back alive."
"Furthermore, Senju Ye watched Minato sacrifice himself without making any move to stop him, even though Minato treated the Uchiha relatively well. The reason must be that he is only proficient in Wood Release and doesn't know any Sealing Jutsu at all."
The eyes of Shimura Danzō and the other two lit up at Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.
Exactly! If that man truly belonged to the Uchiha Clan, there would have been no reason for him to let Minato Namikaze die.
After all, Minato Namikaze's death left the Hokage's position vacant. How could he be certain that the next Hokage would treat the Uchiha well?
At that thought, Shimura Danzō and the other two, whose hearts had been heavy, all breathed sighs of relief.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura even wore faint smiles and began discussing their children and grandchildren.
They looked as though they could already see themselves publicly obtaining custody of Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, at the cemetery two days later.
Yet, even as Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura entertained those thoughts, an unusual gleam flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
Although he had just said all that, no one could guarantee that something theoretically impossible would never happen.
So, to be safe, he had to do something over the next two days without the other three knowing.
Meet Uchiha Fugaku and show him his goodwill toward the Uchiha!
"Very well. In that case, that concludes today's meeting."
"Yes. See you in two days."
Before long, the four left with their respective bodyguards.
But shortly after they disappeared into the darkness, Shimura Danzō watched Hiruzen Sarutobi's departing figure, his eyes filled with coldness.
"You want all of us to cooperate with you so you can easily gain custody of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki afterward?"
"Heh heh heh. Impossible!"
"Hiruzen, just you watch. The final victor that day will be none other than me, Shimura Danzō!"
"..."
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