The Uchiha Clan's Sun

Uchiha Ya closed his eyes and said calmly, "This afternoon, Mitokado Homura came to talk to me and said that this incident was caused by spies from Iwagakure, and the Third Hokage has already sent people to curb the spread of the rumors!"

"Iwagakure spies? Hah!" Uchiha Hiroichi sneered, saying disdainfully, "Does he really think we Uchiha are fools? The whole thing started because they wanted to embezzle our Uchiha clan's pensions and war merits!"

"Now that things have blown up, you think you can just throw out an Iwagakure spy and call it a day?"

"But the reputation of my Uchiha clan has been completely ruined!"

"Alright! There's no point in saying more now!" Uchiha Ya opened his eyes and said, "The war isn't completely over yet, so we shouldn't make a big fuss about this, or it won't be good for us or the village!"

"Mitokado Homura has already said that the Third Hokage will give our Uchiha some compensation as appropriate!"

"After you go back, try to appease the resentment of your people and get this matter over with as soon as possible!"

Despite saying that, a hint of worry flashed deep in Uchiha Ya's eyes.

For some reason, he had a feeling that there was more to this than met the eye!

Uchiha Hiroichi snorted and said, "That depends on how much compensation the Third Hokage offers! Moreover, he must clear the name of my Uchiha clan, otherwise the resentment of the clan members will not be so easily quelled!"

Uchiha Ya's eyes flickered upon hearing this, and he said, "You all calm down the clansmen first. I'll go with Fugaku to discuss the specifics with the Third Hokage first thing tomorrow morning!"

Uchiha Yaya knew that without seeing something tangible, the resentment of the Uchiha clan would be difficult to dispel, so he decided to go and finalize the matter with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others as soon as possible.

After some time, the talks between the conservatives and the radicals ended.

Meanwhile, the dark clouds hanging over Konoha grew even thicker!

Chapter 106 The Hokage Position Belongs to Me!

Early the next morning, at the Hokage Building.

Before dawn, the Hokage Building was brightly lit. The three Konoha elders and the Hokage's assistant were woken up from their sleep by the Anbu ninja and rushed to the Hokage's office.

"Oh!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand heavily on a document on his desk, his eyes filled with worry and anger!

"Take a look, everyone. This is the latest intelligence from the interrogation department!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe, took a deep drag, suppressed his anger, and looked at the three people in front of him.

Danzo Shimura stepped forward, picked up the document, and began to browse through it alone, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper with each reading.

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura said, "Hiruzen, just tell me what happened. It's a waste of time to look at everyone one by one!"

Xiaochun, who was switching dorm rooms, nodded in agreement.

The fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi would call them all over at this time must mean something big had happened, and they were all a little anxious.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes dark and menacing, and said in a deep voice, "Yesterday, the Anbu sent those two Iwagakure spies and Root ninjas who had colluded to the interrogation department. After the Yamanaka clan ninjas examined their memories, they discovered that the real culprit behind those rumors was someone else!"

"Who?!"

Both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were taken aback upon hearing this and asked in surprise.

"How dare they!" Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could answer, Danzo Shimura suddenly raised his head and roared, "What do these Uchiha want to do!"

"Uchiha?"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were both taken aback upon hearing this, and they both looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with a grim expression and said, "That's right, both the Iwagakure spy and the Root ninja were under the influence of genjutsu! In their memories, they both have a pair of Sharingan!"

"How is that possible! Aren't the Uchiha the biggest victims in this incident? Why would they spread those rumors in the village to ruin their own reputation?"

Mitomon En frowned, somewhat incredulous.

For a moment, he couldn't figure out what the Uchiha's purpose was in doing this, nor could he think of any reason why the Uchiha would do it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura had thought the same thing before, which is why they immediately ruled out the Uchiha clan as suspects and believed that Onoki of Iwagakure was behind it all!

That's why Hiruzen Sarutobi is so furious right now!

I never imagined that someone who spends all day hunting geese would end up getting pecked in the eye by one!

"Ha, what else could it be!" Shimura Danzo sneered, "The Uchiha want to completely sever ties with the village and rebel!"

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura frowned and said, "That's unlikely. I just spoke with Elder Uchiha Ya during the day. Although he was also very angry about this matter, he also expressed his desire to resolve it as soon as possible!"

"They probably don't know the inside story of this matter, let alone rebel!"

Mitokado Homura shook his head. He knew Shimura Danzo's attitude towards the Uchiha clan well and disagreed with Shimura Danzo's judgment.

Danzo Shimura glanced at Homura Mitokado and said calmly, "Ya Uchiha may really be unaware, but there are other dissenting voices within the Uchiha clan besides them!"

"Those Uchiha wanted to use this move to completely sever the bond between the Uchiha and the village, leaving the other Uchiha with no choice but to join them!"

"Can't you even understand such a simple method?!"

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura's expression hardened slightly, and he became somewhat uncertain about his own judgment.

Koharu Utatane then spoke up, "Danzo is right. This whole thing was probably really orchestrated by some people in the Uchiha clan! Like that Uchiha Setsuna!"

"He has a history of staging coups!"

Uchiha Setsuna launched a coup during the reign of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and was imprisoned for more than ten years as a result. He was later released after some intervention from the Uchiha clan.

It was precisely because of this that Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others completely inherited Tobirama Senju's will and were extremely wary of the Uchiha clan!

After a pause, Koharu turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hiruzen, this is not a good situation to handle! If things go wrong, the Uchiha clan might really rebel this time!"

"What else can we do!" Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Danzo Shimura blurted out, "Of course, we should strike first and take advantage of the Uchiha's current disunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

“Now is the best opportunity!”

"Otherwise, once the resentment within the Uchiha clan reaches its limit and they unify their consciousness, dealing with them won't be so easy!"

After thinking for a moment, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu surprisingly both sided with Shimura Danzo!

Mitokado Homura said, "Danzo is right. If we're going to make a move, we have to do it now. Otherwise, if we miss this opportunity, the village will pay a heavy price!"

Koharu Utatane also spoke up, "The Uchiha clan is too unpredictable; it's good to take this opportunity to eliminate them!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, "Don't limit your focus to just the village! You must know that Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and even Kirigakure and Sunagakure are still watching us!"

"The situation is still unstable; even a tiny spark could reignite the war!"

"Now is absolutely not the time for internal strife!"

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also showed hesitation. They had indeed not considered things thoroughly!

Danzo Shimura scoffed, "Let's fight if you want! They're just a bunch of defeated men, what trouble can they possibly cause?"

“You make it sound so simple,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said, looking at Danzo Shimura. “Where will the people come from? Where will the money come from? After losing the Uchiha and the forces used to fight the Uchiha, what will you use to deal with attacks from other villages?”

"This Fourth Shinobi World War has already forced me, the Hokage, to abdicate. Do you intend to fight until all the other shinobi clans rebel like the Uchiha before you're satisfied?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi became more and more excited as he spoke, but he didn't notice the subtle glint in Danzo Shimura's eyes after hearing this!

This war did indeed cause many people in the village to become dissatisfied with the village's leaders, but in the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the one who took the blame for all of this dissatisfaction, which led to Hiruzen Sarutobi resigning from his position as Hokage.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi were to quickly hand over the Hokage position to Minato Namikaze, and then use the Uchiha incident to restart the war, wouldn't Minato Namikaze be the one to take the blame again?

Hiruzen Sarutobi has stepped down and is unlikely to succeed him as Hokage; Jiraiya is no longer of any use; Tsunade has left the village; and Orochimaru has been given leverage over him...

If Minato Namikaze steps down, then who else but him can take the Hokage position?

The more Shimura Danzo thought about it, the brighter his eyes became, and he changed his mind about immediately attacking the Uchiha!

"Hiruzen, let's put the Uchiha matter aside for now. You should call back Minato Namikaze!"

Chapter 107 I'm in charge of this village!

"???"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane all looked at Danzo Shimura with surprise.

Weren't we talking about the Uchiha clan? How did it suddenly turn into Minato Namikaze?

"Ahem," Shimura Danzo coughed twice, quickly finding an excuse to explain, "Even if we don't plan to attack the Uchiha right now, what if the Uchiha do attack us?"

"Therefore, we should prepare for the worst!"

"Now that the war between Konoha and Kumogakure is over, it's pointless for Minato Namikaze to stay there. It would be better to bring him and some of the stronger ninjas back to the village as a precaution!"

"As for the remaining ninjas on the front lines, leave them to Jiraiya and have him retreat according to the normal procedures!"

It must be said that Danzo Shimura's reasoning was reasonable and well-founded, which made Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane nod in agreement.

Koharu Utatane spoke up: "Danzo is right. It's better to be safe than sorry. We should definitely take some precautions!"

Mitokado Homura added, "The village currently only has Orochimaru as its top-tier fighter, so its defenses are indeed somewhat weak. It's necessary to bring Minato Namikaze back!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. Although Danzo Shimura's words made a lot of sense, he still felt that something was not right.

Danzo Shimura's purpose seems to be more complex than it appears.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitate, Danzo Shimura continued, "Besides, didn't you intend to hand over the position of Fourth Hokage to Minato Namikaze? Minato is still too young, so you can take this opportunity to teach him how to be a qualified Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's doubts deepened. How could Danzo Shimura have suddenly changed his nature?

If bringing Minato Namikaze back was to deal with the Uchiha clan, that would be somewhat in line with Danzo Shimura's usual style. But saying that he would teach Minato Namikaze to become a qualified Hokage is something Danzo Shimura would never say!

When will the dark side of the ninja world, which prioritizes profit above all else, start to care about its juniors?

"What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

Danzo Shimura knew that he had been too hasty and aroused Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion, so he stopped talking and simply threw the question back to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"No!" Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't figure it out, so he put the question aside for the time being. He gave Danzo Shimura a deep look and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking too."

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Danzo Shimura smoothly changed the subject, saying, "If you don't use force, how do you plan to resolve the Uchiha problem?"

"This time they're serious!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag of his cigarette and said, "Of course, the Uchiha's affairs should be resolved by the Uchiha themselves! I will call Fugaku Uchiha and Yashiro Uchiha over to talk later."

"Based on my understanding of Fugaku Uchiha, this matter should not have been his doing."

"Once they find out that it was their own people who did it, they naturally won't blame the village!"

"They have a good sense of the big picture, and I believe they will keep those Uchiha members who want to cause trouble in check!"

"At the same time, we must also take action to quell the rumors circulating in the village as soon as possible!"

"These are extraordinary times, and everything should be done in a stable manner!"

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, if they handled this matter themselves, it might provoke an overreaction from the Uchiha. The best way to deal with it was to let the Uchiha resolve it themselves.

Fortunately, the Uchiha clan wasn't a monolithic group; most of them were still loyal to the village.

In particular, Fugaku Uchiha and Yasushi Uchiha, who held real power in the Uchiha clan, were not radicals and were very pragmatic.

With the support of the village, it would be easy for them to suppress the radical faction within the Uchiha clan.

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo frowned and asked, "What about the compensation and rewards? Are you still targeting the Uchiha?"

"Are you crazy!" Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at him, annoyed. "Are you afraid they won't rebel if you continue to target them at this time?"

Danzo Shimura opened his mouth as if to say something more, but Koharu turned around and interrupted him.

Koharu Utatane said, "Alright, Danzo, even if the rumors die down after this incident, the Uchiha's reputation in the village is completely ruined. We've achieved our goal!"

Mitokado Homura also spoke up, saying, "Those compensation funds were originally meant for them. Now that we're taking them out, consider it compensation for them. Let Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Ya take them to appease the people!"

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo's eyes flickered. He wasn't going to let this matter pass by like this, but there was no point in arguing here now, so he decided to let them be!

Anyway, when the time comes, they can say what they want, and he can do what he wants.

"Let's leave it at that!" Hiruzen Sarutobi made the final decision, then looked at Koharu Utatane and said, "Koharu, go to the front lines of the Land of Rain and finalize the peace talks with Iwagakure as soon as possible."

"Since Onoki wasn't behind this, let's finalize the agreement before he realizes what's going on, so he doesn't find any fault with it and try to make exorbitant demands!"

"Even if it means giving up some resources, we're willing to do it!"

"Afterwards, I will personally go to the Daimyo's residence to recommend Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage and at the same time, I will ask the Daimyo to allocate funds for post-war reconstruction!"

"With a new Hokage taking office, I don't think the Daimyo will refuse this request!"

To avoid further complications, Hiruzen Sarutobi has decided to sacrifice some of the village's resources to cut the Gordian knot quickly!

As for the resulting shortfall, it will be covered by funds allocated by the daimyo!

In this way, the village can finally settle down and recuperate.