I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 120 Konoha High-Level Meeting

Leaf.

The spring rain under the dark clouds showed no signs of stopping, falling from day to night. The peaceful atmosphere in Konoha Village yesterday was replaced by a sense of oppression today.

The Hokage's office building was brightly lit under the gloomy sky, and the highest conference room was filled with all the Jonin from the village except those on duty, on missions, and stationed in the countryside.

Special Jonin are not qualified to attend this meeting. Officially, there are only two types of Jonin in the village: one is Jonin, who are already considered the village's elite, and the other is Special Jonin, which is more of an honorary title. This title is bestowed upon those who possess certain abilities at the Jonin level or who have made great contributions.

The term "Special Jonin" is more accurately described as "Honorary Jonin," and there is another type called "Elite Jonin," which is not a title from the Five Great Ninja Villages but merely a designation.

Those ninjas who are known as the elite among Jonin, or whose reputation is confirmed by enemy ninja villages and ninjas, are called elite Jonin.

Inside the Hokage meeting room.

As people arrived one after another, the brightly lit conference room was filled with a strong smell of tobacco.

"They're all here."

There were over a hundred Jonin who arrived, but this was not the entire strength of Konoha, since Jonin were needed everywhere to keep order after such an incident.

The faces of the various families were all solemn. Today's events were too sudden, and no one could react in time.

The oppressive atmosphere was even more intense than after the Nine-Tails' rampage, and even Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, was present in person.

In just a few short years, the Third Hokage, who last exuded an imposing and dignified air, now looked noticeably more haggard.

"sit."

With a simple, hoarse voice, all the Jonin respectfully sat down and looked at the village's top four leaders. At this moment, everyone's expression was not good, after all, none of them had ever thought of forcing away a Kage-level powerhouse.

The Third Hokage surveyed the crowd, exhaling a ring of smoke from his mouth before speaking in a somber, hoarse voice, "Orochimaru's research into forbidden techniques and his human experimentation have been made public. The village's decision is my decision. Does anyone have any objections?"

Age spots were already visible on his aged face, but the Third Hokage was still a ninja hero, and even in his final moments, he was still like a tiger entrenched in Konoha.

Everyone fell silent, even Uchiha Yoru. This was politics! Some things were clearly orders from above, but as long as you did them in private, everyone knew and it was fine. But once it was exposed, it was no good.

This is still about saving face. If Orochimaru had defected directly, the higher-ups would have dared to deny it and pin all the blame on Orochimaru. In the current situation, this matter has been brought to a muddled end.

For example, what kind of human experiments did Orochimaru conduct? What forbidden techniques did he research? How did his experimental base evade the investigations of Konoha's Anbu, Root, police department, intelligence department, and countless ninjas? How were large amounts of research funds, equipment, and specimens brought to the village so openly?

Can all of this be investigated? So if anyone stands up to investigate at this time, their political career will be over, and they will be blacklisted and become a pawn.

Either you play politics on the surface, or you can't overturn the table before you have the power to sweep through Konoha.

As expected! After seeing countless people silently accept this, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, hoarsely announced, "Anbu Chief 'Sarutobi Umeko' violated regulations, causing turmoil in Konoha. She is hereby dismissed from her position as Anbu Chief. Due to serious dereliction of duty, she is sentenced to death, to be carried out in three days!"

"At the same time, due to the poor handling of the Land of Lightning, Sarutobi Shinnosuke at the front line has been demoted to deputy commander-in-chief, and Nara Shikaku has taken over as commander-in-chief."

boom!

Everyone was shocked, but they also understood. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had caused such a big incident, and he had to give an explanation.

The Jonin present are not stupid. Even if they don't know now, their investigative abilities are extremely strong, and they will be able to find out everything in a few days.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi directly raised the issue, and the person involved even issued a ruthless execution order, considering that this was his eldest daughter-in-law.

"Sarutobi! Sarutobi Umeko is quite strong. Executing her now would only weaken Konoha's strength."

The Konoha leadership was shocked by Hiruzen Sarutobi's decisiveness, and Koharu Utatane frowned as she looked at everyone and spoke in a deep voice about their current situation.

"Orochimaru's expulsion will cause turmoil throughout Konoha and even the Land of Fire. Konoha is currently going through a turbulent time and is in need of manpower. I suggest that we temporarily send Sarutobi Umeko to the front line to redeem herself. After all, the strength of an elite Jonin is indispensable in any ninja village."

After Koharu Utatane spoke, Homura Mitokado frowned and said in a deep voice, "Sarutobi, I think Koharu's suggestion is good. The strength of an elite Jonin is very important on the front line. No one knows what will happen."

At this moment, almost all the ninjas fell silent, but some lowered their heads, filled with resentment. It was Uchiha Shisui, who was hiding in the crowd. Hearing the words of the higher-ups, he felt extremely ironic. An elite Jonin? Why not mention that they had also lost a Kage-level powerhouse who could intimidate enemy countries?

At this moment, the Jonin of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan all gave a wry smile. Akimichi Choza then put on a simple and honest smile, "I agree with the two advisors' suggestion. After all, the role of an elite Jonin on the front line is extremely important."

I agree.

"Indeed, the head of the Dark Division has worked hard, even if he hasn't done anything particularly outstanding. Nobody knew things would develop this way."

"I agree."

After someone spoke up, one Jonin after another nodded in agreement. Most of them did not want to get involved in this matter, while some were simply supporters of the Third Hokage and naturally had to speak up for their own people.

"Let's discuss Sarutobi Umeko's matter later, Sarutobi! The current issue is how to quell the turmoil following Orochimaru's expulsion." Koharu Utatane, that old woman, is indeed a veteran of politics; she first released a signal, and now she directly changed the subject.

As expected, the third generation frowned and said in a deep voice after hearing about the important matter: "I have already ordered the border areas to be on guard, especially since some small countries may take the opportunity to sow discord between major powers."

After this incident, the Third Hokage's first consideration was how serious the impact would be, and he had already issued a series of orders.

However, at that moment, when Shimura Danzo saw the Uchiha's figure, his one exposed eye revealed a sinister look. "Third Hokage, it seems that the matter of the 7th Division of the Police Department, which is in charge of Uchiha Yoru, has not been resolved yet."

The atmosphere fell silent instantly. Everyone shut their mouths, knowing that the main event was about to begin. Orochimaru had been expelled, so what would become of this direct disciple?

Facing Shimura Danzo's indifferent gaze, Uchiha Yoru calmly looked at the Konoha F4, saying, "The Seventh Division of the Police Department is carrying out orders from Root."

"presumptuous!"

Danzo Shimura snorted coldly, but inwardly he sneered. No one had expected Orochimaru's situation, but it had already happened, and now the only thing to do was to deal with it quickly. In fact, it might not be a bad thing for him.

This incident shattered the Sarutobi clan's fantasy of having two Hokage from one family. After all, no one expected Orochimaru to react so strongly. Look at Sakumo Hatake, he quietly went home to suffer, unlike Orochimaru, who was directly aiming to become a rogue ninja.

He had eliminated almost all of his opponents, but the power Orochimaru left behind remained, and it was a formidable force. Danzo's greatest desire now was to recruit it into his ranks.

Hyuga Hizashi's face turned ashen upon hearing this. He had thought he had found a powerful ally, but in the blink of an eye, he had become a hot potato. Uchiha Shisui clenched his fists tightly, while Hatake Kakashi kept his head down, his expression unreadable.

When faced with the difficulties posed by the highest-ranking person in Konoha, Uchiha Yoru remained calm and composed. He even waved his hand behind his back, signaling everyone not to make any rash moves.

They are the weak! They cannot defy everything, but they are a group, a village with rules. Since they cannot break the rules, they will fight back within the scope of those rules.

"Third Hokage, the Police Department is independent of all other departments in Konoha and has its own authority. It is only responsible for following orders from the Hokage, but it also has the responsibility to assist other departments, right?"

Uchiha Yoru completely ignored Shimura Danzo. Since he knew the other party was targeting him, why not just confront him directly? Right now, he still needs to accumulate enough power in the power struggles at the higher levels, so he needs to bring people in, such as the Third Hokage, since the higher-ups owe him something for this matter.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned and said in a deep voice, "That's right, the police department has a responsibility to assist the various departments."

"So, Uchiha Yoru, the seventh squad leader of the police department! What has been so outrageous about assisting the former vice-commander of Root?"

Danzo Shimura was filled with rage by Danzo's words. He was furious because no one had dared to challenge the authority of Konoha's higher-ups for so many years. In all these years, no one had dared to challenge the F4, yet now a brat had the guts.

Besides, who doesn't know that was Orochimaru's previous position as the deputy head of Root?

When Koharu Utatane saw this, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head, saying, "Danzo, you've been suspended."

Looking at F4's seemingly impartial demeanor, as if they were standing up for justice, they were actually playing good cop and bad cop.

"Lord Hokage, this is all the evidence that the Seventh Division of the Police Department assisted Root."

Uchiha Yoru slowly took out a scroll from his robes. Many people were surprised at this moment, but then they all fell into deep thought.

Was Orochimaru prescient? Or was the Uchiha clan already prepared to protect themselves should anything go wrong?

"The former deputy head of the Root Group once ordered me to raise research funds from various families under the pretext of village secret research, saying that the Root Group and the village would make up for it later. These are all the IOUs."

Once again, he took out a scroll from his pocket. Uchiha Yoru's expression remained calm, but at this moment, all the major clans were moved and could no longer sit still, and they all looked at Shimura Danzo.

However, Shimura Danzo, after receiving the money scroll, sneered and opened it. In an instant, one of his eyes widened in shock as he was stunned by the series of numbers.

When the Third Hokage saw this, he couldn't help but snort coldly and glared at Danzo with dissatisfaction. "If you hadn't made such a big fuss, this wouldn't have happened. So much money, serves you right!"

As for the Sarutobi clan's 500 million, he was even more heartbroken. He wasn't heartbroken about the money, but rather about the loss of a Kage-level fighter under his command.

Uchiha Yoru sneered inwardly. Now that Orochimaru-sensei had left behind a force after leaving his homeland, it had become a hot commodity. Some people who were not close to him didn't care, but there were quite a few ninjas who had already been marked.

Only two people were truly confident in accepting this power: the Third Hokage and Danzo. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were in charge of diplomacy, and especially at their age, they had long lost Danzo's fighting spirit.

Danzo wants to recruit people to Root? Ask Konoha how many ninjas are willing to go.

"That's right, it was personally signed by the former deputy minister of the Root Department." The clan leader of the least noticeable Aburame clan said in a deep voice. You should know that the fifty million that their clan lent out was worth a lot.

After someone spoke up, the other powerful families also chimed in. Seeing this, Shimura Danzo gritted his teeth in hatred, and the Third Hokage was furious at their lack of ambition.

They didn't expect things to turn out this way, so now what's the difference between Orochimaru and a defector? It's just that Konoha still has one last fig leaf.

The three legendary Sannin, Tsunade, lived outside of Konoha and hardly cared about anything, which Konoha tacitly accepted. Jiraiya, on the other hand, spent most of his time investigating the ninja world and at least didn't get involved in the power struggles within the village. This is evident from the fact that Konoha ninjas exclaimed "legendary ninja!" when they saw him during the Chunin Exams in the original story.

Orochimaru's research for Konoha has backfired, caused by some people acting out of self-interest. They took all the research data and funds, meaning Orochimaru gained nothing and even forced a Kage-level ninja to flee to another country. He was clearly just a hair's breadth away from becoming a rogue ninja.

"The village is currently facing a shortage of funds. Once the village stabilizes, these funds will be gradually used to make up for the shortfall in funds for each family." Mitomon En frowned as he looked at the large sum of money in the bag, directly expressing the village's current determination. The family members breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. It was good that they acknowledged it; otherwise, if such a large sum of money were to go down the drain, they would truly be devastated.

It was precisely because of this large sum of money that none of the families took advantage of his misfortune. Orochimaru, now listed as an S-rank dangerous ninja, was already teetering on the edge of becoming a rogue ninja. If he crossed that line, he would be considered a rogue ninja who absconded with the money, and they would have nowhere to get their money back.

Similarly, the Konoha leadership also considered the matter very carefully, as it was not worthwhile to classify Orochimaru as an S-rank rogue ninja for a mere amount of money.

"Uchiha Yoru, I would like to offer my condolences to the ninja in charge of the front lines in the Land of Water, on behalf of the Seventh Division of the Police Department. What do you think?"

Now comes the main event. The Orochimaru affair has come to an end, so let's leave it at that. But what follows is Orochimaru's direct forces. The Seventh Division of the Police Department is just a microcosm. The real main event is the ninja army on the front lines.

Orochimaru has been stationed on the border for so many years, and he has countless supporters on the front lines, including quite a few fanatics. The Third Hokage's solemn expression when he spoke about this matter was an attempt to appease Orochimaru by using Uchiha Yoru's identity as Orochimaru's disciple.

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(End of this chapter)