If it weren’t for his firm sense of responsibility driving him, Minato Namikaze would have long since wanted to throw in the towel.
As soon as Danzo Shimura arrived at the Hokage’s office, he pointed at Hiruzen Sarutobi’s nose and cursed.
“Hiruzen!
I’ve heard everything.
You’ve simply brought shame to our teacher’s face!
To actually let a mere Uchiha be so arrogant!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.
“Where did you hear this from?”
Clearly, only the three of them were present when the incident occurred in front of the Police Force.
It shouldn’t have been possible for the news to leak out, right?
Danzo Shimura’s hands were trembling with rage.
“The Uchiha’s public notice has already been posted.
The villager who was dragged off the street has been convicted of rebellion.
You, as the Hokage, have confirmed it.
Do you still dare say this isn’t your fault?”
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if his vision was turning black.
That wicked Uchiha!
How could he be so evil?!
He had barely left when the Police Force immediately issued the announcement.
In the eyes of some people, what difference was there between this and him ordering the Uchiha to frame an innocent villager?
Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression and sneered.
“This is all because you are too weak, which is why you’ve indulged the Uchiha’s arrogance to this point!”
“Today they dare to snatch a commoner and slap a charge of rebellion on him; tomorrow they will dare to openly besiege the Hokage Building!”
“Hiruzen, we absolutely cannot continue this indulgence!
The Uchiha must pay the price for their actions!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was already in a bad mood, was pushed by Danzo like this, and he immediately recalled Genya’s mocking words to his face back at the Police Force.
I can’t handle the Uchiha, but do you think I can’t handle you, Danzo Shimura?
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately vented all his anger onto Danzo.
“Enough!
Danzo!
I am the Hokage!”
A certain ‘Little Sun’ hiding behind the desk: “…”
Isn’t he supposed to be the Hokage right now?
Forget it, anyone who wants this Hokage seat can take it.
This is just too stifling!
Danzo gave a heavy, cold snort and slammed the door as he left.
“Hiruzen, you will regret this!
You will definitely regret this!”
Perhaps because Hiruzen Sarutobi had lost his temper with him, Danzo repeated that he would regret it twice this time before violently slamming the door.
…
Unsurprisingly, the Hokage soon summoned Fugaku.
The Anbu’s message was very stern, with every word implying he would be held accountable.
Genya followed along.
Although he had already told Fugaku what to do, he was still worried that Fugaku might drop the ball at the critical moment.
Inside the Hokage’s office, Minato Namikaze was nowhere to be seen at the moment.
Only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, who had bandages wrapped around his head, were waiting inside.
Perhaps the ‘Little Sun’ also felt that such an environment was too oppressive and went to accompany his wife during her maternity leave.
Seeing these two old fossils appearing together, Genya knew that today’s matter would likely not end well.
Sure enough, as soon as Fugaku entered the Hokage’s office, Danzo Shimura stood up and pointed at Fugaku, questioning him:
“Uchiha Fugaku!
Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“The Uchiha ninjas have been very active lately!
Do you ‘evil’ Uchiha intend to defect from the village?!”
Right out of the gate, Danzo slapped a massive label on the entire Uchiha clan.
In the past, Fugaku would have actively offered an explanation.
Then, after Danzo finished playing the ‘bad cop,’ Hiruzen Sarutobi would step in as the ‘good cop’ and use the opportunity to make the Uchiha sign a series of unequal treaties.
But this time, Fugaku didn’t respond at all.
Even his expression didn’t change, as if he hadn’t heard a single word Danzo just said.
He didn’t even look in Danzo’s direction, instead keeping his cold gaze fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was a scene identical to yesterday’s.
Genya didn’t waste any words either; he even found a sofa to sit on, slowly enjoying this farce.
That’s right, in Genya’s eyes, this was a farce—and one that had been staged many times before.
As everyone knows, when a joke is told too many times, no one laughs anymore.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought their methods were very sophisticated, but in the eyes of Genya, who had undergone nine-year compulsory education, it was childish to a ridiculous degree.
However, with the existence of chakra, ninjas themselves were war machines capable of taking on a hundred men alone.
There had even been beings like Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara, whom no human force could resist.
Therefore, it was normal for political struggles in the ninja world to appear somewhat laughable.
It wasn’t that Genya couldn’t see through it before, but back then, he believed the Uchiha had no hope of winning.
Furthermore, the Uchiha wouldn’t have valued the words of a mere Chunin, an ordinary person who hadn’t even awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Now that Genya had awakened his system and the Mangekyo, possessing the qualification for equal dialogue—or even for flipping the table—he naturally had to let these natives know what a real struggle looked like.
Danzo shouted for a long time before realizing no one was playing along, and he suddenly felt a bit strange.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt that Fugaku’s behavior today was unusual, but he didn’t think too much of it.
In his view, Fugaku would surely choose to compromise just as he had in the past.
He was very confident in this point; Fugaku’s personality was simply too easy to manipulate.
Seeing that the heat was about right, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward to act as the mediator.
“Alright, Danzo, you should say less.
The Uchiha are, after all, a part of Konoha.”
“But Fugaku, I have to say a few words to you here.
The incident last time did cause a great deal of public outrage, after all.”
“For the sake of Konoha, please make a small sacrifice.”
“The Uchiha clan grounds…
let’s temporarily relocate them to the edge of the village for now.
After all, you probably don’t want to be ostracized by all the Konoha villagers, right?”
It was still the classic act of appearing to scold both sides, except Danzo only received a verbal reprimand while the Uchiha were expected to make a substantial concession.
Relocating the Uchiha clan grounds to the edge of the village was no longer just about suppressing the Uchiha; it was an attempt to completely exclude the Uchiha from Konoha’s core of power!
Moreover, from start to finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi never mentioned how the relocation would happen, nor did he offer any compensation.
It was as if moving nearly a thousand clan members could be done with just a flick of his tongue.
Even the costs required for the relocation would have to be borne by themselves.
Fugaku still didn’t speak, and his gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.
But deep in his heart, a massive wave had already surged.
More than anger, what he felt in his heart was shock.
Because Genya had not only accurately predicted the steps Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo would take to attack him today, but he had even accurately predicted Hiruzen Sarutobi’s subsequent demand.
If it weren’t for the fact that this setting was a bit inappropriate, Fugaku would have really liked to ask if the Mangekyo ability Genya awakened was related to predicting the future.