The Uchiha Clan's Sun

As early as yesterday, the Hokage Building issued a notice to the villagers, stating that in view of the rumors that have been spreading in the village recently, the Anbu ninjas have found that spies from other villages are behind it, and a large-scale cleanup operation will be launched today. The villagers are asked not to go out today to avoid being accidentally injured.

It has to be said that the Hokage Building has a high level of credibility among the villagers of Konoha. Whenever the Hokage Building issues an order, whether it's organizing a welcoming party or staying indoors, the villagers cooperate fully.

Meanwhile, the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building was filled with smoke, and the amount of secondhand smoke was almost lethal!

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe, stood up from his chair, and stretched his arms and legs.

The Uchiha clan meeting last night lasted all night, and Hiruzen Sarutobi also sat in his office all night.

Although the radical faction of Uchiha, led by Setsuna Uchiha, is only a minority in the Uchiha clan and it is unlikely that they will gain a voice in the Uchiha clan, it is better to be safe than sorry. Before the definite result comes out, Hiruzen Sarutobi cannot be completely at ease!

Hiruzen Sarutobi made all these preparations to guard against that one in case!

After all, Uchiha Setsuna was different from Uchiha Ya and Uchiha Fugaku. That guy could say a coup and it really was a coup; he had a history of doing so!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Just then, a dull knocking sounded on the door.

"Enter!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi perked up and looked towards the doorway.

The door to the Hokage's office opened, and Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Orochimaru entered.

Apart from Orochimaru, who was still relatively energetic, the older Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were exhausted after staying up all night.

"Hiruzen, how many cigarettes did you smoke tonight? Are you out of your mind?!"

The thick smoke in the Hokage's office made Koharu and the other two in Utatane instinctively frown. Orochimaru raised his hand, creating a small whirlwind that blew the smoke out of the window.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't respond to the smoking incident, but instead asked, "What brings you here at this hour?"

Mitokado Homura said in a deep voice, "It's getting late. It will be completely light soon. The common people in the village can't stay indoors all day. Is the matter with the Uchiha still not over?"

As the head and deputy head of Konoha's administration, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu could not stand idly by and watch the entire village come to a standstill.

So after the sky brightened, I couldn't sit still any longer and decided to come over and ask about the situation, and also discuss whether or not to lift the ban.

As for Orochimaru... he slept well last night, washing away all the fatigue he had accumulated over the past few days. Now that he's rested, he's planning to come and ask if he can leave.

Orochimaru is extremely busy right now. Thanks to Uchiha Jin's reminder, he has made a new breakthrough in his research on Hashirama cells. In addition, Shimura Danzo has sent him a new batch of materials and equipment. He has no time to waste on these things.

"There's still no news from the Uchiha clan..." Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then changed his tone, "But given the current situation, no news is the best news!"

"It's already dawn. Even if the Uchiha clan makes a move, it won't be during the daytime. Let's lift that ban for now!"

"However, we also need to make it clear to the villagers that this matter is not over yet, and tell them to be careful and be ready to go to the shelter at any time!"

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado both nodded in agreement. If the Uchiha were planning a coup, they would either go all out or prepare themselves by conserving their strength.

They also had a clan meeting all night, so today is definitely not the best time.

"Can I go back now?"

Orochimaru seized the opportunity to ask.

"What's your hurry!" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned at his former prized disciple, somewhat displeased, and said, "Look at the state you're in now! You disappear as soon as you return to the village, and you're holed up in the lab all day long—what kind of behavior is that!"

"Don't think I don't know about the things you and Danzo have been doing behind the scenes. You'd better not go too far!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was extremely annoyed by Orochimaru's current state.

Of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi liked and was most satisfied with Orochimaru the most.

But ever since he let Orochimaru come into contact with Hashirama's cells in his experiments, he has found that Orochimaru is becoming more and more indifferent and less and less humane!

Sometimes he even felt that Orochimaru was like a cold machine!

This also led Hiruzen Sarutobi to completely abandon his idea of ​​training Orochimaru to become the Fourth Hokage!

After all, a person who has no emotions has no weaknesses!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had absolutely no idea what Orochimaru was thinking, let alone how to control his actions!

Orochimaru's lips curled up at the words, and he licked his lips with his long tongue, saying, "Isn't this better? This saves you a lot of trouble, teacher!"

"What kind of attitude is this!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared in anger, "Do you still consider me your teacher?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Orochimaru's words.

Orochimaru was considered the most suitable candidate to become the Fourth Hokage in Konoha at that time, and he enjoyed a high level of prestige in the village.

If Orochimaru were to run for the Fourth Hokage, even with Hiruzen Sarutobi's support, Minato Namikaze wouldn't be able to guarantee his victory!

Since returning to the village from the front lines, Orochimaru has secluded himself in his laboratory and rarely appears in the village, completely detached from the situation. This has indeed reduced a lot of trouble for Hiruzen Sarutobi!

Although that is the truth, Orochimaru's use of this tone to state the truth in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi was undoubtedly an expression of his dissatisfaction!

This made Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had betrayed Orochimaru first, feel ashamed and angry!

Orochimaru, seemingly oblivious to Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger, smiled and said, "Sensei, do you think I still have a chance?"

Seeing that there were no outsiders in the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi became a little emotional and said angrily, "If you really still consider me your teacher, then immediately terminate your cooperation with Danzo Shimura!"

"I'm warning you one last time, or I won't be able to protect you!"

Chapter 140 Hiruzen Sarutobi's Fury!

Orochimaru simply smiled without replying, but his meaning was quite clear.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi became even angrier, and his breathing became even heavier!

At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi's dissatisfaction with Danzo Shimura reached its peak!

If Orochimaru's own changes were the main reason why Hiruzen Sarutobi abandoned him, then his involvement with Danzo Shimura was another reason why Hiruzen Sarutobi abandoned Orochimaru!

Who was Shimura Danzo? The Dark Lord of the Shinobi World!

You have to understand that Shimura Danzo usually does shady things, so what good things can Orochimaru possibly do by getting involved with him!

The Hokage of Konoha is a leaf that should bask in the sunlight; how could he have such a stain on his body!

Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew exactly what Danzo Shimura was thinking!

Danzo Shimura had long coveted the position of Hokage, but for various reasons he had never been able to achieve it!

By collaborating with Danzo Shimura on those things, Orochimaru was essentially handing over his weaknesses to Danzo!

If Orochimaru were to become the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, it would be foreseeable that Danzo Shimura, who holds Orochimaru's secrets, would become the Hokage above the Hokage!

At that time, Danzo Shimura's power will reach a terrifying level!

Konoha, this great tree, does indeed need its roots buried deep underground to do many things in the shadows, but if all the roots buried underground were to be exposed above ground, then Konoha, this great tree, would not be far from collapsing!

Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!

As for Shimura Danzo... Hmph, if you're going to be part of Root, you have to be prepared to be one! He shouldn't even dream of becoming Hokage!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, recalling Danzo Shimura's recent antics, made up his mind that it was time to teach his old comrade a lesson!

"Alright, now's not the time to talk about this!" Mitokado Homura stepped in to smooth things over and change the subject, saying, "Hiruzen, what about Minato Namikaze? He still has over a thousand ninjas on standby!"

"Such a big target can't be hidden for long!"

"We'll have a hard time explaining ourselves if the other families in the village start asking questions!"

A thousand ninjas constitute a formidable force, capable of sweeping through any country in the ninja world except for the Five Great Nations.

If no one notices the deployment of such a force outside the village without any reason, that's fine. But if someone does notice, they'll definitely have to give the villagers an explanation!

Moreover, although it's obvious to anyone with eyes that this power is used to guard against the Uchiha clan, there are some things that can be done but cannot be said!

After all, the Uchiha clan has not shown any extreme behavior from beginning to end, and they are also victims in this incident.

It would be unreasonable to take such precautions against the Uchiha clan based on a fabricated charge!

If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold; the village will also lose the hearts of the people!

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned upon hearing this, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Since we can't hide it, then we won't hide it! After dawn, we'll issue a notice to the village saying that the village is preparing to hold a grand military parade to deter troublemakers when the Fourth Hokage takes office!"

“These days, the village will gather ninjas to conduct advance drills!”

Upon hearing this, Koharu shook her head and said in a deep voice, "But the war has only just ended, and the situation is tense. Making such a commotion at this time might provoke an overreaction from other villages!"

"If they think that Konoha is planning to start a war, the flames of war will probably reignite!"

Although all the villages had signed a ceasefire agreement by this time, everyone's nerves were still on edge!

At this time, Konoha's mobilization of a ninja army of over a thousand people will undoubtedly put other villages on high alert once again!

Mitokado Homura also spoke up, saying, "Moreover, such a move would attract too much attention. If the Uchiha really staged a coup and ended up with both sides suffering heavy losses, those other villages might strike first!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi also realized something was wrong, but he couldn't think of a better solution at the moment.

Orochimaru chuckled and said, "Since a thousand ninjas are too big a target, why not break them down into smaller groups?"

"Have them organized into ninja squads and platoons, and distribute them to every corner of the village to prepare for battle."

"If anything really happens, we can quickly assemble a usable force in a short period of time!"

Orochimaru really didn't want to get entangled with these old guys any longer, so he proposed a solution.

Konoha Village isn't particularly large or small; it's manageable to break it down into smaller units and, with the help of the Anbu, hide over a thousand people.

The key is that as long as the state of combat readiness is not lifted, it won't take much time to regroup them.

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura's eyes lit up, and he said, "Hiruzen, this is a good method. We can also make corresponding arrangements based on the location of the Uchiha clan's territory. As long as the arrangements are made properly, there shouldn't be any major problems!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Orochimaru a deep look and sighed inwardly.

If his disciple hadn't made any mistakes, he really would have been the best candidate to become Hokage!

"Then let's do it this way..."

"brush!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, about to agree, when an Anbu member suddenly appeared in the Hokage's office!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze sharpened, and he immediately changed his question, asking, "Shin-nosuke, is there any movement from the Uchiha side?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded and said, "Hokage-sama, just three minutes ago, the Uchiha clan members, under the arrangement of Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Ya, began packing their belongings and returning to their clan's territory in an orderly manner!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback upon hearing this, and asked in surprise, "You're Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Ya together?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded and affirmed, "Yes!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, his mind filled with doubt.

Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Ya were respectively representatives of the radical and conservative factions within the Uchiha clan. Last night's Uchiha clan meeting was a contest between the radical and conservative factions for the right to speak.

But now the representatives of the radical and conservative factions have come together. What exactly happened at the Uchiha clan meeting last night? And which faction won the final victory?

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was wondering, Shinnosuke Sarutobi spoke up again: "Furthermore, the Uchiha clan head Fugaku Uchiha and King Uchiha are already on their way to the Hokage Building."

"They said they have important business to discuss with you, and they hope that you can summon the heads of various departments of Konoha, including several elders of Konoha, to witness the handover of power in the Konoha Guard!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen: "???"

Koharu, who switched dorm rooms: "???"

Mito Menyan: "???"

Orochimaru: "Achoo~~~"

Chapter 141 The Power Division in Konoha!

What is the power transition within the Konoha Guard?

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others stared wide-eyed at what he said, wondering if they had misheard.

It should be noted that the power of the Konoha Police Department has always been held by the Uchiha clan, and it is the greatest power held by the Uchiha clan!

The heads of the Konoha Police Department are all current members of the Uchiha clan!

If the head of the Konoha Police Department has changed, it means that the head of the Uchiha clan has also changed!

Wasn't last night's Uchiha clan meeting a clash between the radical and conservative factions within the Uchiha clan?

The current head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha, is a neutral figure within the clan. Logically, Fugaku Uchiha is someone that both the radical and conservative factions want to win over. So why has this incident affected Fugaku Uchiha?

Hiruzen Sarutobi had always been quite satisfied with Fugaku Uchiha, the sensible Uchiha clan leader, so this sudden turn of events caught him completely off guard.

"Hiruzen, now is not the time to dwell on these things. Let's gather the heads of all departments and see what the Uchiha are really up to!"