Facing the airtight and watertight “spy theory” presented by Red, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always been eloquent and had governed Konoha for decades, was now, surprisingly, plunged into a long and awkward silence.
It was not that he did not want to refute it, but rather that there was simply no way to refute it.
What could he say?
Was he supposed to admit, right in front of all the surrounding villagers, that these bound individuals were not spies from other Villages at all, but simply people who disliked the Uchiha Clan and had gathered to insult and verbally abuse the Uchiha Ninja who were enforcing the law?
Hiruzen Sarutobi could never bring himself to say those words, even if it killed him.
Because once he admitted this “truth” aloud, it would be equivalent to publicly acknowledging that he, as Hokage, had governed incompetently and failed to discipline his subordinates; that for years, he had allowed and condoned the entire Village in practicing ethnic discrimination against the founding family, which had ultimately led to today’s street brawl.
This burden, heavy enough to shake the foundations of his rule, was one that Hiruzen Sarutobi absolutely could not bear.
The old man’s withered fingers gripped his pipe tightly, and a feeling both extremely complex and bitter welled up in his heart.
The Uchiha Clan, as a prestigious family that had followed the First Hokage Senju Hashirama to build this Village together, possessed genuine contributions to the founding and had rendered distinguished service.
Yet now, in the mouths and eyes of these common villagers, they had actually become synonymous with “heinous crimes” and were treated as pariahs that everyone wanted to beat.
This in itself was the greatest irony and tragedy under the “will of fire” that Konoha took such pride in.
Seeing Hokage-sama forced into silence by his words, unable to speak for a long time, the mockery on Red’s face flashed and vanished.
He did not continue to dwell on this topic and casually waved his hand.
“Tekka, take all these suspects who are disturbing the peace and are suspected of being spies back to the Konoha Military Police Force.”
“Yes, Red-sama!”
Uchiha Tekka respectfully acknowledged the order and immediately directed his subordinates to drag the ashen-faced villagers up and escort them away.
Just as this farce was about to end and Red turned to leave.
He seemed to suddenly remember something, paused his steps, and turned back around.
At this moment, Red wore an incredibly “thoughtful” and “respectful” expression, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a smile, his tone as affectionate as a junior reminding an elder.
“By the way, Hokage-sama.”
Red was all smiles, as if the aggressive sophist from just a moment ago had never existed.
“You are busy with countless affairs and work, but please don’t forget the batch of supplies and compensation promised to our Uchiha Clan today. Remember to send someone to deliver them to our compound on time.”
These words were like a honey-coated soft knife, piercing accurately into Hiruzen Sarutobi’s heart.
He was so angry that his vision went black, and he nearly spat out three liters of blood on the spot.
He considered himself to have lived for most of his life, having experienced three Ninja World Wars and countless battles of wits and courage, yet he had never in his life suffered such naked, such stifling humiliation!
This brat had first used the spy theory to shut his mouth in public, and then had the audacity to come running back to him with a smile to “collect a debt”!
However, there were countless eyes watching from all around.
In order to maintain the superficial harmony and unity of Konoha, and even more to preserve the “kind Hokage” persona he had painstakingly cultivated for years, Hiruzen Sarutobi swallowed that mouthful of blood.
He forced himself to squeeze out a kind and harmless smile through gritted teeth, and bit the bullet as he replied.
“Hehe… Red, rest assured.”
“Since the Village has promised the compensation, it will certainly keep its word. I will definitely send someone to deliver the compensation to the Uchiha Clan’s compound on time and in full.”
“Then thank you for your consideration, Hokage-sama.”
Red nodded in satisfaction, hands in his pockets, and walked away with a group of beaming Uchiha Ninja.
Watching that back figure disappear completely at the end of the street.
The kind and amiable smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face collapsed and melted away instantly like ice and snow.
He could no longer maintain the high and mighty dignity of the Hokage, and almost with unsteady steps and like a fugitive, he dove back into the Hokage Building.
Inside the Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slumped heavily into that wide chair, his body hunched, looking as if he had aged another ten years in an instant.
He silently took out his dry pipe and puffed on it deeply, one breath after another, trying to use the choking smoke to calm the manic, surging, and irrepressible feeling of humiliation in his chest.
Wisps of white smoke curled and rose, blurring the old man’s uncertain and cloudy face.
After puffing on the smoke for a long time, a trace of resolve finally gradually condensed in Hiruzen Sarutobi’s cloudy eyes.
This cannot go on any longer.
He secretly made up his mind that he must find an opportunity as soon as possible to call Red alone to the Hokage Office for a good “heart-to-heart talk.”
In Hiruzen Sarutobi’s stubborn perception, he was always unwilling to believe that Red was inherently so tough.
He wishedfully believed that Red was not bad at heart, and that the reason he was at odds with him, the Hokage, and held hostility, was purely because he had been bewitched and influenced by those stubborn elements within the Uchiha Clan, which had led to deep “misunderstandings” about him and the Village. Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.
As long as he showed enough sincerity, appealed to his emotions, reasoned with him, and supplemented it with some “compensation,” he would surely be able to reform this lost young man.
If things were allowed to continue like this, Red’s hostility toward him and the Village would likely only grow deeper.
“Hiruzen, are you still dreaming?”
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was immersed in these wishful, soft-hearted fantasies.
From the darkest corner of the Hokage Office, a meaningful and mocking cold laugh suddenly came.
A hunched figure, leaning on a cane with half of his body wrapped in bandages, slowly stepped out from the shadows.
It was his lifelong close friend and also his nemesis—Danzo Shimura.
Who knows when this “darkness” had already lurked here like a ghost, taking in the farce on the street just now, as well as Hiruzen’s current embarrassment.
“Hiruzen, I have warned you again and again before.”
A sinister and cold light flickered in Danzo’s single eye, and his face was filled with the “I told you so” attitude of a victor.
“Back then, if you had been willing to listen to my advice and taken advantage of the time before the Uchiha Clan had grown their wings to completely suppress and divide them with iron-fisted, thunderous means, how could you have fallen to the point of being defecated on by a brat in public today?”
He walked closer step by step, his voice like a poison-tipped needle.
“I said long ago that your hypocritical soft-hearted reform would sooner or later make you regret it! Now, have you tasted the bitterness?”
Facing the merciless Taunts and mockery of this old friend and nemesis, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was already holding a belly full of fire, narrowed his cloudy eyes suddenly.
He turned his head sharply and stared fixedly at Danzo.
In those originally tired and aged eyes, a sharp edge and absolute authority, unique to the “shadow of fire” and not to be questioned by anyone, suddenly burst forth.
“Danzo.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly stood up, enunciating each word clearly and forcefully, his voice low but carrying the weight of a thousand tons.
“Don’t forget, the person sitting in this position is me.”
“I am the Hokage of Konoha!”
Inside the smoke-filled office, the two elderly men stood in confrontation across the room.