These clans, relying on the Third Hokage's and the Advisor Elders' names, had long been accustomed to acting arrogantly and doing as they pleased, with no one daring to interfere. Sometimes, matters would simply be glossed over with a perfunctory gesture.
However, some matters, while seemingly insignificant, could become overwhelmingly serious once subjected to proper scrutiny. Standing on the side of justice, the Uchiha Clan insisted on thoroughly investigating the actions of the three clans and holding them fully accountable.
After a period of investigation and interrogation, the Uchiha Clan successfully exposed much of the corruption and conspiracy hidden within Konoha's upper ranks and immediately made it public, leaving the Third Hokage and the others with no time to react.
These exposed facts shocked the entire Konoha Village, and the villagers' opinions of the Uchiha Clan began to shift, expressing admiration and support.
The Third Hokage and the two Advisor Elders were now faced with two choices.
They could either sacrifice their own prestige to protect their clansmen, at the cost of losing credibility and provoking dissatisfaction among a large number of lower-level ninja.
Or they could allow the Uchiha Clan to handle everything according to the law: those who deserved imprisonment would be imprisoned, those who deserved forced labor would be sentenced to forced labor, and those who deserved the death penalty would face execution. The Uchiha Clan was clearly intent on imposing the harshest punishments.
The Uchiha Clan, however, acted strictly in accordance with Konoha's laws, so even if the three knew the Uchiha Clan was deliberately targeting them, it was useless.
If even the Hokage and the Advisor Elders did not abide by Konoha's laws, then this Ninja Village would not be far from collapse.
But there was no choice. Their clansmen had broken the rules and were caught red-handed by the Uchiha Clan, so they could only bear the consequences.
As members of the three clans continuously fell from grace, the darkness hidden within Konoha was increasingly brought to light, and the prestige of the three clans plummeted.
The Third Hokage and the two Advisor Elders now found themselves in an increasingly difficult position.
If they chose to protect their clansmen, they would have to pay an enormous price—the continual erosion of their own prestige.
This could lead to lower-level ninja losing trust in them and even trigger even larger-scale discontent.
However, if they allowed the Uchiha Clan to proceed according to the law, then those who deserved imprisonment would be imprisoned, those who deserved forced labor would be sentenced to it, and even those condemned to death would not be spared.
Moreover, the Uchiha Clan had made it abundantly clear that they intended to use this opportunity to severely punish their clansmen in retaliation for years of suppression.
Furthermore, although the three high-ranking officials clearly knew that the Uchiha Clan was deliberately targeting them, they were completely powerless.
After all, the Uchiha Clan was acting entirely in accordance with Konoha's laws, without violating a single regulation.
If even the Hokage and the Advisor Elders could not uphold the dignity of Konoha's legal system, then this Ninja Village would likely not be far from dissolution.
Therefore, they neither could nor dared to save those clansmen and could only let them fend for themselves.
To be honest, in all his years as Hokage, the Third Hokage had never hated his teacher, the Second Hokage, as much as he did now for entrusting such crucial judicial authority to the Uchiha Clan.
Faced with this situation, they could only reluctantly accept reality.
As more and more members of the three clans continuously fell from grace, Konoha's dark side gradually surfaced.
Many long-buried secrets began to come to light, and the reputations of the Third Hokage and the two Advisor Elders suffered an unprecedented blow.
As the saying goes, "When a drum is broken, everyone beats it; when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down."
When a person or group falls into hardship, those around them often seize the opportunity to kick them while they are down rather than lend a helping hand.
Now, even old grudges that had long been suppressed by the Third Hokage and the others were brought up again, becoming common topics of conversation.
It was at this time that Uchiha Xiao, relying on The Seed, a virtual world seed obtained from the Sword Art Online World, together with his Sealing Techniques further enhanced by the Mind System,
used the Chakra granary contained within Kurama no Kami, the ability of his right eye, to create a virtual world composed of data and Chakra, establishing the Ninja World's Chakra Bank and Chakra Credit System.
In daily life, ninja could upload their excess Chakra to Chakra Bank through a seal for storage and receive a certain amount of Chakra interest. The more they stored, the higher the interest they received.
During combat, they could also withdraw their stored Chakra at any time, transforming themselves into turret-like ninja, using their vast Chakra reserves and various Ninjutsu to overwhelm their opponents.
At the same time, Uchiha Xiao also created Chakra Credit System, allowing ninja to borrow Chakra in advance through a credit system.
However, they would need to repay it with interest the following month. The more they borrowed, the longer the repayment period and the higher the interest.
This move immediately caused countless lower-level ninja to erupt in cheers, as they finally had the opportunity to obtain more Chakra!
The greatest difference between lower-level ninja and high-level ninja was the amount of Chakra they possessed.
Whether practicing Ninjutsu or casting Ninjutsu, sufficient Chakra was indispensable.
And Ninjutsu itself was the martial arts manual of the Naruto World; cultivating Ninjutsu was, in essence, cultivating Chakra.
Whether it was elemental transformation, the width of one's Chakra pathways, or even the total amount of Chakra, everything was determined by the number of times one practiced Ninjutsu.
The more one practiced Ninjutsu, the more Chakra one accumulated, and the more Chakra one possessed, the stronger one became.
A ninja with abundant Chakra was not necessarily powerful, but a ninja with little Chakra could certainly never become truly strong.
Even the Eight Gates Formation, hailed as the pinnacle of Taijutsu, was essentially powered by burning one's life force to rapidly increase the body's Chakra.
Therefore, a ninja's battle is fundamentally a battle of Chakra, and the ninja profession itself is one where the strong grow stronger while the weak remain weak.
But now, with the existence of Chakra Bank, lower-level ninja could steadily increase their temporary Chakra reserves through daily deposits, thereby enhancing their own strength.
They were no longer restricted by their natural Chakra capacity and could cast powerful Ninjutsu much more freely.
For them, this was undoubtedly an opportunity to change their fate.
Relying on Chakra Bank's storage function, even a Genin could unleash the power of a Chunin or even a Special Jonin after saving Chakra for a period of time.
Although a single battle might consume several weeks' worth of accumulated Chakra, it did not diminish the tremendous power they could unleash in a short period.
And in the Ninja World, power represents influence.
As the strength of lower-level ninja surged because of Chakra Bank,
these lower-level ninja, in turn, began opposing the Third Hokage and the Advisor Elders because of the scandals involving their clans, and instead threw their support behind the Uchiha Clan, who had given them power.
Under such circumstances, the Third Hokage had only two options: either openly sever ties with the Uchiha Clan and enter into direct conflict with them,
but then it would merely become a private conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Sarutobi Clan.
As long as it did not escalate into an internal rebellion within Konoha, no one would intervene if the clans fought to the death.
Even the Third Hokage had no right to mobilize the Ninja Army against the Uchiha Clan, who were legitimately exercising their law enforcement authority and maintaining Konoha's order.
As for causing a civil war and splitting Konoha Village apart, that was an even greater joke—they simply were not worthy.
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