Xuandou immediately took the cue and chimed in:
"That's a good thing!"
He wore a smile:
"After all, Lord Third has a wealth of experience. It's only right for him to pass that precious experience on to Minato, the new Hokage."
Hiruzen looked pleased at this. He nodded and took a puff of his pipe.
Then he changed the subject and got down to business:
"Minato has already told me in detail about the evacuation drill you proposed."
"In principle, I approve. But the Uchiha must guarantee the safety of the civilians they evacuate."
"Also, if the civilians are unwilling, you cannot force them."
Xuandou immediately nodded and said solemnly:
"Of course!"
He turned to Shisui behind him and instructed:
"Go tell Chief Fugaku to begin the evacuation drill as planned."
"Yes!"
Shisui cupped his fist in acknowledgment, then vanished in a flash.
Xuandou looked at Hiruzen again and asked casually:
"Kushina will be giving birth soon. Has everything been arranged? If necessary, we Uchiha can help."
The smile on Hiruzen's face faded slightly, and his tone cooled:
"There's no need for you Uchiha to concern yourselves with that."
He paused, his tone leaving little room for discussion:
"I've already arranged for the Barrier Team to set up a barrier. I cannot disclose the exact location. In addition, my wife, Biwako, will oversee the delivery with several medical ninja. In short, everything has been arranged."
Hearing this, Xuandou said no more and simply nodded:
"In that case, I'll take my leave."
With that, he turned and headed out the door.
Now that he had the Hokage's permission, he had to hurry and oversee the evacuation.
Every additional ordinary villager evacuated meant another life saved.
Xuandou left the Hokage's office building and walked toward the village center, wanting to see how Fugaku's evacuation work was progressing.
He had just rounded a street corner when the clamor from Konoha's central square hit him.
On the raised platform, Fugaku stood in a row with dozens of members of the Konoha Military Police Force, a conspicuous banner stretched behind them:
"Evacuation drill."
Below the platform, a dense crowd packed the entire square.
Fugaku stepped forward, his voice carrying across the square:
"Fellow villagers, we gathered everyone here today to explain the evacuation drill that is about to begin..."
"We're not leaving!"
A burly middle-aged man waved his arms:
"Why should we evacuate just because you Uchiha say so?"
"How many years have you even been police chief, Uchiha Fugaku? We've lived here for decades! What haven't we seen?"
"We're not going anywhere! If you want a drill, do it yourselves!"
"That's right! We're not going!"
"Whoever wants to go can go!"
A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd, each wave louder than the last.
Fugaku frowned and spoke again:
"Everyone, calm down!"
"This drill was approved by Lord Hokage! It's for everyone's safety!"
"Stop using Lord Hokage to push us around!"
A man with a pinched, monkey-like face stamped his feet and shouted:
"The Fourth only just took office! You Uchiha must have fooled him!"
"Some evacuation drill."
Someone chimed in sarcastically.
"If you ask me, the Uchiha probably just want to show off what they can do and jerk us civilians around for fun."
A proprietress wearing an apron shouted shrilly.
"What do you Uchiha know? All you do is arrest people, lock them up, and bully civilians!"
"That's right! All you do is arrest people!"
An old woman leaned on her cane, pointing shakily at the police force members:
"Do you think we don't know what you Uchiha are up to? You just want to abuse your power!"
"My son only did one little thing wrong, and you Uchiha arrested him! You still haven't released him, and now you're pretending to be good people!"
Watching coldly from the side, Xuandou immediately recognized the old woman.
The "little thing" she referred to was her son killing someone while drunk.
The police force had arrested her son lawfully and according to procedure, yet in her telling, it had become an abuse of power.
"Exactly! The Uchiha arrest people at the drop of a hat! If that isn't abusing their power, what is?"
The crowd erupted.
"Get off the stage!"
"Uchiha, get off the stage!"
"We don't need your fake kindness!"
The civilians surged forward, pointing at the police force members on the platform and pouring out years of pent-up resentment.
Just then, a stern rebuke rang out.
"What is all this shouting? Have you no sense of decorum?"
The crowd parted on its own.
Shimura Danzō slowly approached.
Danzo walked to the front and asked with a frown:
"What happened?"
"Lord Danzo!"
A man immediately hurried over and gave an embellished account of what had happened.
After hearing him out, Danzo looked up at Fugaku:
"This is utterly ridiculous."
"What evacuation drill? This is nothing but alarmism!"
Danzo turned toward the crowd and raised his voice:
"We're not at war. What enemy could possibly invade Konoha?"
"Even if one did..."
He paused, sweeping his gaze across the crowd:
"I would lead Root into the fray before anyone else to protect Konoha's civilians!"
A stir ran through the crowd.
"Lord Danzo was Lord Second's student!"
"I trust Lord Danzo!"
The bald man was the first to shout:
"Lord Danzo said there's no need to evacuate!"
"That's right! Lord Danzo will protect us!"
"Our safety is none of the Uchiha's concern!"
The crowd erupted again, but this time with excitement and smug satisfaction.
They shouted toward the platform:
"Did you hear that? Lord Danzo will protect us!"
"You Uchiha can go get lost!"
"Stop making fools of yourselves here!"
Danzo turned to Fugaku, his gaze full of contempt:
"Did you hear that?"
"The people of Konoha don't like you."
"You should take your people and leave."
He paused, lowering his voice until only the few people nearby could hear:
"Trying to gain power through petty tricks like this. Laughable."
Fugaku opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but as he looked at the excited faces and mocking smiles below the platform, the words reached his lips, yet he could say nothing.
A hand suddenly settled on his shoulder.
At some point, Xuandou had come to stand beside him.
His gaze calm, Xuandou looked over the crowd below, over those smug faces, and over the sneer on Danzo's lips.
He slowly addressed the civilians:
"Since you've said you don't need the Uchiha's protection..."
"Then we'll do as you ask."
"I only hope you won't regret it when you really are in danger!"
The crowd froze for a moment, then burst into even louder cheers.
"We won't regret it!"
"Go on! Hurry up and leave!"
"Who wants your protection?"
"Even if there's danger, Lord Danzo will protect us!"
Xuandou ignored their jeers and simply looked at Danzo, saying evenly:
"I hope you really can step forward when Konoha's civilians are in danger."
At this, Danzo immediately replied with contempt:
"That's none of your concern."
Xuandou said no more. He turned to Fugaku:
"Withdraw."
With that, he left with Shisui without looking back.
Behind him, wave after wave of cheers rose.
"The Uchiha are gone!"
"Long live Lord Danzo!"
"Let's see if they dare throw their weight around again!"
After leaving the square, Xuandou paused and glanced back at the noisy square in the distance.
Since Konoha's civilians were so naive, they would have to pay for that naivety when the Nine-Tails was released tomorrow.
"We did what we should."
"If they don't want it, then... let them be."
Now he had to head to the clan's settlement first.
After all, besides his malice toward Konoha, Obito bore considerable malice toward the Uchiha Clan as well.
He had to hurry back in case Obito suddenly changed his mind and attacked their home.
So he said to Shisui and Fugaku:
"I'll head to the clan's settlement first. You two stay vigilant here in Konoha. Contact me immediately if anything happens."
"Yes!"
With the arrangements made, Xuandou left Konoha without looking back.
The farce soon became a topic of casual conversation among Konoha's villagers.
In taverns, at dining tables, and among groups of women, people discussed it everywhere.
"Ah, today really felt good! You should've seen the Uchiha's faces!"
"Didn't it just! They wanted us to obey them? In their dreams!"
"Lord Danzo sounded so tough! 'I'll lead Root into the fray before anyone else.' That's a real man!"
"If you ask me, the Uchiha just have too much time on their hands. We're not at war now. What danger could there be?"
"Exactly! What danger could there be?"
"Come on, drink up! Let's celebrate the Uchiha getting put in their place!"
"Cheers!"
In this atmosphere, another day and night passed.
Night fell.
Outside the village, atop a large tree.
Space slowly twisted and folded.
A masked man slowly emerged from the distortion.
He stood in the treetop, looking down over Konoha below.
Beneath his mask, only a single scarlet Sharingan was visible.