"Bang!"
Just then, the office door was shoved open!
A ninja from the Inuzuka Clan rushed in and said urgently:
"Lord Hokage! Clan heads! There's unusual activity in the Uchiha Clan Compound! Large numbers of Uchiha are secretly gathering. They seem... to be evacuating Konoha!"
"What?!"
Utatane Koharu slammed the desk and rose, glaring at Fugaku. "Uchiha Fugaku! What is the meaning of this?!"
Mitokado Homura stood as well and sneered:
"Evacuating? You mean running away! It seems you Uchiha know you've become everyone's target and want to slip away under cover of night?"
The heads of the major clans all turned toward Fugaku, their gazes hostile.
Shikaku Nara's heart sank.
The Uchiha were evacuating too?
And news of it had actually been exposed ahead of time?
This was no coincidence.
Someone had deliberately leaked the news now to drive the Uchiha into a corner.
And that person...
Shikaku Nara looked out at the night sky, as though he could sense a pair of invisible hands controlling everything.
"Uchiha Fugaku, do you have an explanation?"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke asked gravely.
Although he was young, he was the Third Hokage's son, after all, and had a say on an occasion like this.
Uchiha Fugaku was momentarily stunned by the question as well. The evacuation plan had been meticulously arranged.
He had calculated long ago that by the time Konoha's clans reacted, it would be tomorrow morning at the earliest. Then he and the Uchiha who stayed behind would move to hold them back.
Why had it been exposed early?
But dwelling on that now was useless. Looking at the people before him, he suddenly smiled.
His smile held both relief and mockery.
"An explanation?"
He said slowly, "What do I need to explain?"
"The Uchiha are my clan. If I want them