Mitokado Homura's attitude made the Third Hokage sigh inwardly. Sending Haruka to the Land of Rivers back then had been his only option, meant to keep Danzo from attacking Hizashi's Squad out of consideration for Mitokado Homura.
Now it had driven a wedge between them, yet he could not blame Danzo or Mitokado Homura. He had been the one to do it.
The Third Hokage glanced at Itachi. Since Itachi could see the resentment, presumably his ability to dispel it was real as well.
That meant he no longer needed to worry about Naruto, but Danzo was right. If Fugaku really had concealed his strength, letting Itachi interact with Naruto posed a potential danger to Konoha.
With no external enemies, and having kept Danzo in check through the Kirigakure battlefield over the years, the Third Hokage turned his attention back to the Uchiha.
Despite the promise he had made to Uchiha Yan, he still could not help suspecting the Uchiha, and his previous stance began to waver.
Unlike the Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu still remembered her promise to Uchiha Yan and was willing to give the Uchiha a chance.
"Hiruzen, let's wait until Yan comes back. He might have a way to solve Naruto's problem."
"Heh!"
Danzo chuckled, his voice dripping with mockery. "What? Without Uchiha Yan, is Konoha going to be destroyed?
"He's clever! What good is being clever? Against a tailed beast, strength is what matters. Does he have that strength?
"Even I can't do anything about the Nine-Tails. What could he possibly do? Aren't you giving him too much credit?"
The Third Hokage also felt that they could not afford the slightest carelessness with Naruto. The Uchiha could no longer be allowed to participate in this matter.
After a long silence spent thinking, the Third Hokage made