Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and talked for a long while, but he still didn’t receive a single word in response from Fugaku.
Whether it was defiance or compromise, not a single word came.
Fugaku just stood there, quietly watching them perform.
No matter how slow Hiruzen Sarutobi might be, he had realized by now that something was wrong.
He secretly made a hand sign with his hand hidden behind his back; it was better to have the Anbu summon Minato Namikaze back first.
At least with Minato Namikaze there, Fugaku shouldn’t be so arrogant.
On the surface, he spoke without letting the atmosphere cool down at all: “Since you don’t have any objections to this matter, Fugaku, hurry up and implement it.
If there’s any need, the village will provide a certain amount of support.”
Still, there was only silence.
It was so quiet that a drop of cold sweat trickled down Hiruzen Sarutobi’s forehead.
Something was wrong—extremely, incredibly wrong.
How could Uchiha Fugaku, a man accustomed to compromise, show such an indifferent attitude at a time like this?
He glanced at Genya, who truly seemed to have nothing to do and was even munching on a piece of fruit he’d taken from the table.
Gritting his teeth, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up a document from the desk.
Obviously, this matter wasn’t decided on a whim; the written requirements had already been prepared, and even the Hokage’s seal had been stamped.
“Fugaku, this is a decision issued by the village.
You must ob—”
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to take a hard line, he looked up and saw three pitch-black tomoe appear in Fugaku’s eyes.
That wasn’t all.
The three tomoe slowly merged together, forming a complex shape similar to those they had seen before.
Both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were elders who had lived through the Warring States period, people who had experienced the era of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara.
How could they not recognize these eyes?
The Mangekyo…
Uchiha Madara!?
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki of Both Scales, was so scared that his legs shook when he saw the reincarnated Madara, which immediately triggered his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
As people from the same era as Onoki and as ninjas from the Konoha side, how could they not recognize these eyes?
Young ninjas who hadn’t experienced the Warring States period couldn’t imagine what kind of powerful deterrence Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara held over that era.
Without experiencing the Warring States period, looking at Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara was like a frog in a well looking at the moon in the sky.
For those like them who had lived through the Warring States period, looking at those two names was like an ant looking up at the vast blue sky.
Although they were young at the time, they had all witnessed Uchiha Madara’s world-scorning arrogance, as well as the hundreds-of-meters-tall Wood Golem and Susanoo.
Was that really a level a human could reach?
Although textbooks said that he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the strongest Hokage of all generations.
But only he knew that in front of people like Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara, he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was just a little girl!
You’ve got to be kidding me!
They had clearly suppressed them so hard, so how could another pair of Mangekyo appear in the Uchiha clan?!
Konoha doesn’t have a second Hashirama Senju now!
If Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized it, how could Danzo not?
He subconsciously took a step back, wanting to use Hiruzen Sarutobi as a shield in front of him.
But unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, an unmaskable trace of greed also appeared in his eyes.
Danzo Shimura was incomparably obsessed with the power of Wood Style and the Sharingan, even to the point of madness.
Over these years, he had been constantly researching the Wood Style cells of the First Hokage and had secretly collected many Sharingan, all to obtain these two powers that could pacify a chaotic world!
Everyone thought it was the Senju and Uchiha clans reaching a reconciliation, then establishing the hidden village system and deep cooperation with the great nations, that ended the Warring States period.
But the older generation knew that it wasn’t the Senju and Uchiha who ended the chaotic era, but two individuals: Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara!
Just how powerful were those two?
They were so powerful that as long as they didn’t die, no one even dared to start a war.
And indeed, in the battle at the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara faked his death, and Hashirama Senju was heavily injured.
What happened next was very simple: Hashirama Senju died in the morning, and the First Shinobi World War began in the afternoon.
Those who hadn’t witnessed the Thousand-Armed Kanon and the Perfect Susanoo couldn’t even begin to imagine such mighty power.
No one who had seen the ruins of the Valley of the End would ever dare to imagine that those were traces left by a battle between a mere two people.
In front of that kind of power, whether it was a Genin, Chunin, or even a Jonin, they were all just fodder to be kicked to death; numbers held no meaning against such a ninja.
Even the so-called Tailed Beasts were completely insignificant before these two, nothing more than slightly larger pets.
But could this Uchiha Fugaku in front of them, who had always been considered an easy-to-bully soft persimmon, have quietly obtained this kind of power?
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mind was filled with the image of Uchiha Madara manifesting a hundreds-of-meters-tall Perfect Susanoo and leveling a mountaintop with a single sword stroke.
Just thinking of that scene made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a bit break into a cold sweat, just like Onoki of Both Scales.
He was terrified that Fugaku would release his Susanoo right here in the Konoha Hokage Office Building.
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t care about Danzo pushing him to the front anymore; he hurriedly reached out his hand—not to form a seal, but to try and temporarily stabilize Fugaku.
At least until the Anbu notified Minato Namikaze and he rushed back.
“Fugaku, please don’t be impulsive.
Whatever it is, we can sit down and talk; there’s nothing that can’t be discussed.”
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi missed the Little Sun immensely; when Minato Namikaze was around, at least their side had a martial deterrent.
However, recalling Uchiha Madara’s world-towering Susanoo giant, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but start to doubt whether Minato Namikaze really had the ability to defeat Fugaku.
Minato Namikaze seemed to be an peerless harvesting tool in group battles, but against truly powerful individuals, his attack power was ultimately somewhat insufficient.
He couldn’t expect him to take that specially-made kunai and pierce through the defense of a Susanoo, could he?
And more importantly, this was the center of Konoha; if it were on a battlefield, Minato could escape if he couldn’t win—no one could stop a Minato Namikaze who had learned the Flying Raijin Jutsu.
But in a battle erupting inside Konoha, to protect the village, Minato might be forced to take a Susanoo’s attack head-on.
Before a Perfect Susanoo, Minato Namikaze was still a level short.
The first thing Hiruzen Sarutobi had to do now was naturally to stabilize Fugaku first.
Konoha had just finished the Third War and couldn’t afford the losses caused by a Susanoo rampaging inside the village.