Two days later, early morning.
As the sun slowly rose, villagers of Konohagakure gathered along both sides of the main road at the village gate.
The day before, the villagers had already received notice that the shinobi who had achieved victory on the Kumogakure frontline would be returning today, and everyone was asked to prepare to welcome them.
The villagers were more than happy to participate.
Moments like this were when they felt the most pride.
"Hey, did you hear? Lord Minato Namikaze is leading the returning forces this time!"
"Of course I heard! If Lord Minato hadn't captured the Fourth Raikage candidate, A, along with the Eight-Tails jinchuriki on the battlefield, the war wouldn't have ended so quickly!"
"Lord Minato really is incredible—no wonder he's known as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf!"
"That's right! But have you heard another piece of news?"
"What news?"
"It's about the Third Hokage. I heard the reason the village got dragged into a prolonged war with Sunagakure was because of his earlier strategic misjudgments. That gave the other villages an opportunity to launch a joint offensive against us."
"I heard that too! Because of all those wars, the village's resources were heavily drained. The treasury apparently can't even cover pensions for fallen shinobi or rewards for those who earned military merit."
"And that's why they approached the Uchiha Clan, asking them to give up their compensation and rewards. Apparently the Uchiha were only the first clan they approached. They planned to ask the other clans as well, but the matter fell through after the Uchiha refused."
"The village is in such a difficult situation? But didn't we just sign an agreement with Kumogakure recently? I heard they paid us a huge amount in reparations."
"Idiot, that's not how accounts work! First of all, Kumogakure's compensation hasn't even arrived yet. And besides, the agreement we signed earlier with Sunagakure involved giving up a lot of benefits."
"What? How could that be? Didn't we win the war?"
"I heard the Third Hokage made that decision to appease Sunagakure and end the war quickly."
"But the war still dragged on for years! We win the war yet still give up benefits? Then what about the shinobi who bled on the battlefield? What kind of justice is that?"
"Heh, that's not even the worst of it. I heard Elder Koharu Utatane negotiated with Iwagakure yesterday following the Third Hokage's orders. Even though Konoha won the war, we still had to concede some benefits."
"Why would that happen? Why would the Hokage make such a decision? Did all the elders agree?"
"Well, I heard Elder Danzō Shimura opposed the decision. But precisely because he opposed it, the Third Hokage has already suspended him from his duties."
"The Third Hokage has really grown senile…"
"Hmph, and the Uchiha are no better. The village is already in this situation, yet they still stir up trouble!"
"They were swaggering around the village yesterday. Can't those people behave themselves for once?"
…
The villagers clustered together in small groups, chattering endlessly.
All sorts of rumors spread through the crowd, causing even the shinobi responsible for maintaining order to exchange uneasy glances.
They had also heard many of these stories.
In fact, because they were shinobi, they knew even more than the ordinary villagers.
Everyone could vaguely sense that the atmosphere in the village was like the calm before a storm.
No one dared speak too much, afraid of being swept into whatever was coming.
"They're here! They're back!"
Suddenly, someone near the village gate shouted.
Everyone instinctively turned to look.
At the far end of the road outside the village, a group of dust-covered figures gradually appeared.
Leading them was the man known as the Yellow Flash—
Minato Namikaze.
"AAAAHHH!!!"
No matter what they had been discussing before, the villagers of Konoha now erupted into deafening cheers.
It was their way of expressing excitement and joy.
The returning shinobi, who had rushed back after a forced march, also forgot their exhaustion as smiles spread across their faces.
No matter what—
They had finally come home.
Hokage Tower — Hokage's Office
"Bang!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk and glared angrily at Uchiha Fugaku.
"What exactly is the Uchiha Clan trying to do?! The rumors have already spread to me!"
"Are you trying to ruin me so you can take my place?!"
The anger in Hiruzen's heart could no longer be described with words.
Originally, he had voluntarily proposed stepping down as Hokage in order to preserve his reputation and calm the dissatisfaction among the village's shinobi.
But now that such rumors were spreading through the village, what would become of his reputation?
By the time he resigned, his decision might not appear voluntary at all—it would look as though he had been forced to step down due to incompetence and misconduct.
How could he still face the village after that?
This time, his tolerance for the Uchiha Clan had truly reached its limit.
Fugaku forced a bitter smile.
"Please calm your anger, Lord Hokage. There's little I can do about this matter either."
"The First Elder has gone mad."
"Mad?" Hiruzen sneered, killing intent flickering in his eyes.
"At this rate, I might go mad myself!"
Fugaku's expression tightened.
"Lord Hokage, I didn't realize the full situation before. But when the Second Elder and I confronted him earlier, we discovered that after the inhumane treatment he suffered in the Konoha Prison, his mind had become twisted."
He paused, lowering his voice cautiously.
"He even said… he intends to create a 'New Konoha.'"
Crack!
Hiruzen stared at Fugaku in shock.
His grip unconsciously tightened, snapping off a small chunk of the solid wooden desk.
"You're saying… Uchiha Setsuna wants to do what?"
He asked again, as if unsure he had heard correctly.
Fugaku hurried to reassure him.
"Please rest assured, Lord Hokage. That is only the First Elder's personal ambition. The Uchiha Clan will never follow him down that path."
"The Uchiha will always be Konoha's Uchiha."
"Please give me a little more time. Tomorrow I will convene the Uchiha Clan Assembly and completely eliminate the First Elder's faction."
A cold glint flashed in Hiruzen's eyes, though his tone gradually calmed.
"Fugaku… I'm glad you thought to tell me about this."
"But I don't like the way you handle things."
"The hidden dangers within the Uchiha Clan are simply too great."
"I'm giving you one last chance."
"If you can handle it, then handle it."
"If you can't—"
"I'll handle it for you."
Fugaku immediately responded with firm determination.
"Please rest assured, Lord Hokage. This time I will not hesitate."
"The village needs stability, and the Uchiha Clan also needs stability."
"I will not allow anyone to destroy the peace between the clan and the village."
Seeing this, Hiruzen finally nodded with satisfaction.
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