Lu Ming took a step forward, his powerful presence pressuring everyone present.
“Since I have taken over as the Chief of the Police Force, I must fulfill my duties as the Minister.”
Lu Ming’s gaze was as sharp as a blade as he stared at Danzo.
“The Konoha Police Force is responsible for maintaining the Village’s security and laws! Law enforcement is about evidence! It’s about procedure!”
“But look at this dark Root!”
Lu Ming waved his hand, pointing at the shady Root Ninjas surrounding them.
“Acting without regard for right or wrong, treating human life like grass, and behaving willfully.”
“In this dark, cancerous style of conduct, where is even a hint of the ‘Will of Fire’ passed down by the First Hokage-sama? It’s simply blackening Konoha’s name!”
Every word struck the heart!
Lu Ming stood directly on the moral and legal high ground, using his status as the Chief of the Police Force to tear Root to pieces!
Danzo was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
“You… you…”
Lu Ming gave him no chance to talk back and turned directly to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
“Third Hokage-sama, Root’s power has completely spiraled out of control.”
Lu Ming’s tone was cold, and his declaration was resonant.
“As the Chief of the Police Force, I am putting my word here today.”
“From now on, our Police Force and the Temple will be watching Danzo and his Root!”
“As long as they dare to make the slightest move of violating regulations or overstepping authority, as long as they dare to harm the innocent, I, Uchiha, will strictly investigate to the end and never tolerate it.”
“When that time comes, don’t blame the blade in my hand for being merciless!”
This domineering declaration made the blood of the forty-three Temple elites behind Lu Ming boil!
“Strictly investigate to the end! Never tolerate!”
The Temple elites roared in unison, their voices shaking the sky.
Hiruzen Sarutobi broke into a cold sweat; he understood that Lu Ming was not joking, but issuing a final ultimatum.
“Clan Head Lu Ming is right.”
While wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly took the opportunity to back down, nodding repeatedly in promise.
“Root’s actions have been too extreme. Rest assured, as the Hokage, I will personally supervise Root’s comprehensive rectification and will never let something like today happen again!”
Hearing the Third Hokage soften his stance and make a promise in public, Lu Ming’s eyes flickered slightly.
The goal was achieved.
With this trip tonight, he had not only established his prestige and shown his strength, but also legitimately gained the power to monitor and suppress Root.
“Since the Third Hokage-sama has made a promise, then I shall wait and see.”
Lu Ming replied, then turned around, flicking the hem of his wide trench coat.
Lu Ming didn’t spare Danzo another glance and directly issued the order:
“Temple, withdraw!”
“Swish! Swish! Swish!”
The forty-three Temple elites moved in perfect unison, guarding Lu Ming’s side.
Under the awe-struck and fearful gazes of all the Anbu and Root Ninjas present,
Lu Ming led the members of the Uchiha Temple, walking calmly out of the dark underground base and disappearing into the night.
With such a grand display, no one dared to stop them!
Looking at Lu Ming’s departing back, Danzo sat kneeling on the ground, his remaining eye bloodshot.
“Hiruzen! You’re just letting him go like that?!”
Danzo hammered the ground in impotent rage, hissing through gritted teeth.
“He is shitting on the heads of the Konoha High Command! This boy absolutely cannot be allowed to live!”
“Enough, Danzo.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head and looked at the venomous Danzo.
In his eyes, there was no longer the tolerance of the past, only deep exhaustion and coldness.
“The times have changed.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi tightened his grip on the Enma Staff.
The terrifying images of Lu Ming’s Mangekyo and those forty-three pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan replayed in his mind.
Facing an Uchiha with three Mangekyo users and a massive reserve of elites, Konoha had lost the capital to suppress them.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo and issued a warning.
“From today onwards, without my permission, you and your Root are not allowed to provoke anyone from the Uchiha again.”
“If you dare to act on your own and stir up conflict again, I will no longer indulge you; I will personally dismantle your Root!”
The Third Hokage’s warning echoed in the empty underground base.
On the scene, Danzo was full of resentment but helpless.
The Third Hokage had completely recognized the Uchiha’s new strength and did not dare to easily indulge Danzo’s suppression anymore.
Inside the Hokage Building, in the top-floor Hokage Office.
“Bang!”
Danzo Shimura’s only intact left hand slammed onto the solid wood desk, causing the classified documents on it to scatter all over the floor.
He couldn’t care less about the sharp pain in his right wrist that had been severed by Lu Ming as he stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sitting in the Hokage’s chair.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado looked at Danzo’s distorted face and did not speak.
“Hiruzen! You’ve simply gone senile!” This story is hosted at g.com.
Danzo roared, spit flying everywhere as he denounced the Third Hokage’s decision.
“What on earth were you doing at Root just now? You actually bowed your head and apologized to an Uchiha brat in front of so many people! You’ve trampled the face of the Konoha High Command and the dignity of the Hokage into the dirt!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his chair without speaking, stuffing tobacco into his pipe.
Seeing that Hiruzen didn’t argue back, Danzo waved his left hand and shouted angrily.
“You think your concessions can bring peace? Wrong! You are letting the tiger return to the mountain!”
“That little beast Uchiha Lu Ming not only awakened the Mangekyo but also secretly cultivated forty-three Three-Tomoe elites.”
“Once this batch of young Uchiha fully grows up, Konoha will no longer have any power to restrain them!”
Danzo approached the desk and roared.
“Now is the perfect opportunity to deal with the Uchiha!”
“They dared to trespass into Root today; that is a ready-made charge of betraying the Village.”
“As long as you give the order, Anbu and Root will move out in full force. While their wings are not yet fully grown, we can strangle Lu Ming and those dozens of Three-Tomoe in the cradle.”
“This is for the future of Konoha; you cannot be soft-hearted!”
Facing Danzo’s clamoring,
Puff, puff.
Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe, took a puff, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
He looked up at Danzo through the smoke.
“Deal with the Uchiha? Strangle them in the cradle?”
“Danzo, do you think the current Uchiha is still the same soft persimmon you could squeeze at will in the past?”
“What do you mean?” Danzo asked suspiciously.
“I’ll tell you a fact.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe on the edge of the desk.
“Just as you sent people to forcibly detain Lu Ming, Uchiha Fugaku came to my office. He reported to me about Lu Ming taking over as the new Clan Head.”
“So what?”
Danzo snorted coldly, his face full of disdain.
“That coward Fugaku stepping down and being replaced by an arrogant brat only shows that the Uchiha have completely lost control and should be eradicated even more!”
“Not only that.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Danzo.
“While Fugaku was reporting to me, he demonstrated his power to my face. He has also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.”