Escape from Konoha.

Liuli was very unhappy; she had no intention of returning to the village.

She's only been on the front lines for a few days, and now she's going back? They're really treating her like a toy.

Half an hour later, a number of ninjas had gathered at the Konoha camp, and many carriages had been prepared, with many wounded people resting inside.

Besides Shiraishi and his two companions, there were more than 30 Konoha ninjas, including four Jonin. There were also several medical personnel in the group, who were responsible for treating the wounded.

……

Why send the three of them back?

Inside the tent, Tsunade sat to one side, looking at the pale-faced young ninja with a puzzled expression.

His long, jet-black hair fell straight down, and his face was handsome, yet he possessed a somewhat effeminate air.

This person is none other than Orochimaru, the commander-in-chief of Konoha's frontline forces against Sunagakure.

She is one of the Legendary Sannin, alongside Jiraiya and Tsunade.

When faced with Tsunade's question, Orochimaru's reason was simple: "With a great war imminent, I don't want this place to become a mess because of such troublesome political disputes."

"But letting the three of them go back like this..."

"Sakumo must not know about this. He is not suited for this kind of political arena and may cause other trouble. Konoha's main goal right now is to defeat the Sand Village, and I don't want to be distracted by this."

Orochimaru shook his head; whatever the truth of the matter, he was not interested.

He wouldn't let such a thing distract him, and the final outcome would depend on the Hokage's own decision; he wasn't the one who made the final decision.

"I'm not worried about the Uchiha and Hyuga girls, but that kid..."

"You care about him a lot?"

Orochimaru looked at Tsunade with apparent interest.

“He is one of my former students. I don’t want him to be exposed to the dark side of the village. I just want him to do his job as a medical ninja and survive.”

Tsunade sighed.

"Yes, in such chaotic times, just surviving is the best outcome. But human growth is often accompanied by pain, and experiencing the coldness of the world. Just like Rope Tree for you, and for me."

As Orochimaru spoke, a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes as he looked at his own hands.

"Actually, there's nothing we can do, nothing we can change..."

Chapter Sixty-Three: A Clan's Considerations

noon the next day.

“We already know what happened, Hiruzen.”

In the conference room of the Hokage Building, advisor elders Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both let out a soft sigh after reading the contents of the scroll, their brows furrowing as if they were also troubled by something.

This scroll contains intelligence sent back by Orochimaru, the commander-in-chief of the Konoha front.

The mission to attack the Sunagakure supply point did not match the actual situation, resulting in the dispersal of Sakumo's squad's combat strength and nearly causing them to be killed in the Sunagakure's encirclement.

Although they didn't mention the word "root" much, as advisors, they were well aware of the hidden meaning behind it.

All fingers were pointing at another high-ranking elder of Konoha, Shimura Danzo.

The Root ninjas, through deception, were involved in framing Sakumo's team and even planted spies within the Hokage's direct ANBU, thus becoming the source of this incident.

"So what's your take on this?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, looked at the two of them expressionlessly.

Menyan and Koharu wanted to exonerate Danzo and shift the blame to Sunagakure, but the others weren't fools. Doing so would only worsen the already dire situation.

"Danzo went a bit too far this time..."

"Is it just a little excessive?"

Hiruzen's face suddenly darkened. He could tolerate having spies planted within the Hokage's direct ANBU.

However, he can only represent himself, not the views of the Uchiha clan.

This is the real difficulty in this incident.

Placing Uchiha Ruri in Sakumo's team for training was a deal between himself and the Uchiha leadership.

This team has only just started to gel, and this accident has already happened. How will the Uchiha leadership view him as Hokage?

"What do you plan to do about that Rizan? After all, he's a high-ranking member of the village, and he's done countless good deeds for the village over the years, dealing with many enemies who have harmed it..."

Upon hearing that Menyan was pleading for Danzo, Hiruzen waved his hand impatiently, signaling him to stop talking.

Where is Danzo right now?

"In the land of grass."

"No reply?"

He said everything was normal, except...

"Just what?"

"His four men were on a secret mission in the Land of Rivers when they suddenly disappeared without a trace. They are likely dead."

After hearing this, Hiruzen nodded and said, "I understand the general situation. I'll deal with the Uchiha. You guys contact Danzo and tell him to behave himself and stop doing these unnecessary things. How to deal with the Uchiha is my responsibility as the Hokage. This is not something Root can interfere with."

Danzo resorted to such unscrupulous means because he, as Hokage, had recently adopted a conciliatory policy towards the Uchiha clan.

This is indeed a dangerous sign for the roots of the radical faction.

The Uchiha clan has a mixed reputation in Konoha. While they can't be said to have fully integrated into the village, it would be too absolute to dismiss their interpersonal relationships as worthless.

Just like the Konoha leadership, which is divided into conservatives and radicals.

The Uchiha clan also has radical and conservative factions.

But Hiruzen knew perfectly well what the Uchiha's ultimate goal was, whether they were radicals or conservatives.

He simply wants to gain more power in Konoha, to have a say in the village's major decisions, and even to become Hokage and defeat the Senju clan.

Once Hiruzen knew their purpose, he felt the rest would be very easy to handle.

If it weren't for the Danzo incident, he could have improved the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village before the next Hokage took office, preventing it from becoming as strained as before.

"Hopefully, after this lesson, Danzo will behave himself..."

Sometimes, Hiruzen didn't know how to deal with his close friend Danzo, and could only sigh in exasperation, hoping that Danzo's personality would become more restrained from now on.

Neither Menyan nor Koharu spoke. If Danzo were such an honest and upright person, he wouldn't have become the leader of Root.

"We'll explain things to the Hyuga clan. As for the Uchiha clan, since you want to handle it alone, then we'll leave it to Hiruzen. But remember one thing: no matter how you plan to appease the Uchiha, you can't completely trust the people of that clan. There are many ninjas in that clan who have inherited that person's dangerous ideas."

After giving Hiruzen a deep look, Menyan finished speaking and left the conference room with Koharu.

"Did Madara Uchiha... still have the Mangekyou Sharingan...?"

Hiruzen muttered something to himself as he sat in his seat.

Madara Uchiha's battle against the First Hokage at the Valley of the End had a significant impact on Konoha.

Although Madara Uchiha was the loser, the First Hokage, who returned to the village, also died soon after, leaving no one to suppress that era. A few years later, the devastating First Shinobi World War broke out.

Madara Uchiha's signature power was the ultimate Sharingan – the Mangekyou Sharingan.

That was the most mysterious and darkest power recorded in the Uchiha scriptures.

His teacher, Tobirama Senju, said more than once that Uchiha ninjas who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan had already fallen into the darkness of the abyss and could no longer be regarded as normal people.

Arrogant, extreme, mentally unstable, and prone to doing things that defy common sense and are difficult for ordinary people to tolerate.

We must act promptly to prevent this from causing a major disaster for Konoha.

But for now, Hiruzen is not worried about that.

Since Madara Uchiha's death, no one in the Uchiha clan has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

No matter how talented an Uchiha ninja is, the Sharingan in its three-tomoe state is the ultimate limit they can reach.

The Sharingan with three tomoe was not enough to frighten him, the Hokage.

◎

3 PM.

Shiraishi and his two companions followed the group back to Konoha, the village they had been away from for several days.

The peaceful and tranquil scene was in stark contrast to the somber and oppressive atmosphere on the front lines.

This peace was won by countless ninjas on the front lines who gave their lives.

"Then let's part ways here."

At a fork in the road, Ayane was the first to suggest parting ways.

Neither Shiraishi nor Ruri objected; now was indeed not the time to discuss trivial family matters.

The Uchiha clan's territory remained as usual, neither bustling nor deserted, but some children dressed in clothes embroidered with fan symbols were playing in the streets of the Uchiha territory.

They are all new generation members of the Uchiha clan.

They all seemed to know Liuli, the clan's top genius, and came up to greet her sweetly, calling her "Sister Liuli."

Liuli also took out some candy from her body and gave it to the children, telling them to be careful while playing.

"I'm going to see the elders to find out about the situation in the village. You can go back now."

Liuli watched the children leave, then turned to Baishi and said something.

"Okay, anyway, someone like me can just quietly be invisible."

Shiraishi had nothing to complain about.

Ruri nodded. In this respect, Shiraishi's mindset was indeed good.

I've been like this since I was a child. Whether I'm looked down upon or ignored, I always act like I don't care.

"Although I don't think the way things were handled will satisfy you personally."

Before leaving, Shiraishi said this sentence again.

Upon hearing this, Liuli involuntarily frowned.