I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Yesterday's dinner party cheered Sakura up a lot, and Kakashi also told her not to worry about Ye Lan.

"What are you two doing here? Isn't the Hokage going to hold a summary meeting? Aren't you going to attend?"

Kakashi looked at the two leisurely figures and said.

"us?"

Ino pointed to herself, feeling a little strange. How could it be their turn to attend such a meeting?

"Have you forgotten that you've already become Chunin? Even if you don't have any opinions, it's good to listen. It will be a test for you to become Jonin in the future."

Oh right, they became Chunin starting yesterday. I didn't care when I heard about this meeting before, but I didn't expect to be able to participate myself.

This meeting is a summary of the Chunin Exams and Tsunade's work over the past year. All Konoha ninja of Chunin rank or above are entitled to attend, not to mention Chunin who are considered the "core" of the village.

Some Chunin wanted to participate but had no connections whatsoever; they were unaware that this was a privilege reserved for them.

"Alright, it's on the way anyway, you can all come with me for this meeting."

Kakashi let Sakura and Ino follow him, hoping to broaden their horizons.

Upon arriving at the largest conference room in the Hokage Building, there were a few empty seats, but a group of ninjas were standing around without taking a seat.

Kakashi casually walked to a spot where Asuma and the others were sitting, and several seats were empty and untouched.

"You've come too."

Shikamaru greeted Sakura and the others listlessly. He had attended this kind of meeting once before, during the last New Year, and as a Chunin, he was already familiar with the process.

He used to participate alone, and the boring things made him drowsy. This time, at least he had a classmate to suffer with him.

"Shikamaru, don't be so lazy. Sasuke and the others have all become Jonin. I'm counting on you."

Asuma looked at Shikamaru and said that he cared a lot about teaching students. Shikamaru's promotion to Chunin had made him quite proud.

Now that both Kakashi's team and Might Guy's team have produced Jonin, their own team can't afford to fall too far behind.

"Yes, yes, yes, the key is that this is my skill level. I'm really sorry I couldn't become a Jonin~"

Shikamaru yawned. He was very clear about his own strength. He had his family's secret techniques, but how could they compare to the Sharingan and Byakugan?

"Alright, that's enough. The Hokage has arrived."

Kakashi looked around and spotted an Anbu member wearing an eagle-face mask; judging from his figure, it should be Sasuke.

However, the other party didn't seem to care about his direction at all, which made Kakashi take a few more glances. It had been a long time since he'd seen Sasuke, and he had matured a lot.

Next, several advisors and Tsunade came to the hall and sat at the lectern in the center of the hall.

Tsunade was in a bad mood. Ye Lan's disappearance made her unhappy, and the lack of news about Gray Wolf and Antelope made her even more uneasy. She had wanted the two of them to keep an eye on Sasuke.

Today, she only saw Sasuke and did not see the two subordinates she had personally promoted, which puzzled her even more.

This morning, Hongdou came to her again to ask about Ye Lan's whereabouts, which made her even more confused. After learning that nothing had happened in the village, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

This made Tsunade overthink things. She was the Hokage, yet it seemed like she didn't know what was happening in the village.

Anko was clearly trying to hide something from her, but Tsunade, who was in a hurry to attend the meeting, could only suppress her thoughts and ask her later.

Anko also said she wasn't feeling well and asked for two days off, then bid farewell to Tsunade.

...

Banishing the random thoughts from her mind, Tsunade rallied herself. This meeting was, after all, a form of praise and affirmation for her; everything could be discussed after the meeting.

Ibihi walked to the front of the stage, coughed twice, and announced the start of the meeting.

Then, sitting at the very front of Kakashi and the others, several clan leaders began to speak in turn.

Most of the suggestions were made after Konoha, under Tsunade's leadership, had overcome its previous gloom and was developing positively. Finally, some suggestions that would benefit the clan were put forward.

After each clan leader finished speaking, the advisors and Tsunade would discuss the matter. As long as the demands weren't too unreasonable, Tsunade would generally agree.

For example, the Inuzuka clan needed a new testing equipment, the Aburame clan needed to expand their insect breeding farm, and the Akimichi clan needed to open several more barbecue branches, etc. Tsunade agreed to all of these requests.

Even civilian ninjas had representatives who spoke, and they talked about improving the treatment of ninjas, but these requests were sternly rejected by several advisors.

It was made clear that the village's current financial situation was not good and that things were still very difficult. It was hoped that everyone would work hard for the sake of Konoha for a while longer.

Tsunade thought about it and also refused the request. What the advisors said was true; they didn't have the resources to help these civilian ninjas right now.

Under the questioning and persuasion of the advisors, the commoner ninja slowly withdrew and no longer made such a request.

Next, Nara Shikaku made his final speech. Instead of trying to secure more benefits for his clan, he focused on explaining the current relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure and Kirigakure.

Shikaku suggested maintaining friendly relations with both countries and uniting with the other two villages, so that neither Kumogakure nor Iwagakure would act rashly.

Furthermore, Kumogakure and Iwagakure have a long-standing feud, so it's highly unlikely that these two villages will unite. Konoha can seize this opportunity to develop.

Although the ninja world has been at peace for more than a decade, there have been three ninja wars in the past forty years. Considering the timeline, even if there are more days of peace, there probably won't be many more.

As Konoha's top strategist, Shikaku possesses exceptional vision and abilities, and as the leader of the Jonin class, his proposals were taken seriously by Tsunade and several advisors.

Tsunade, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane were discussing Shikaku's opinion when Danzo coughed twice, drawing their attention.

"These things are important, but we can discuss them later. Everyone, I have something important to tell you."

As an advisor, Danzo naturally had the right to speak, so Tsunade and the others could only stop their discussion and see what opinions Danzo would have.

"Before that, I need a witness to strengthen the credibility of this matter. Uchiha Sasuke, come forward!"

Danzo's words shocked everyone present. The ANBU member wearing the eagle-face mask walked out from the corner and slowly approached Danzo.

What on earth happened?! Kakashi couldn't believe it. Sasuke had actually walked over like that, and judging from Danzo's tone, he said he was going to be a witness. Given Sasuke's personality, how could he possibly listen to Danzo?

He even suspected that the ANBU member was someone Danzo had sent in disguise, but Sasuke walked to the center and immediately took off his mask, revealing his signature Sharingan.

This shattered Kakashi's last glimmer of hope.

Kakashi, who was known for his composure, finally panicked. The thought of Ye Lan's whereabouts made his heart leap into his throat.

"Uchiha Sasuke, tell everyone, did Uchiha Yoru steal village secrets last night, betray the village, and then brutally murder his fellow villagers after being discovered?"

Danzo spoke loudly, making sure every ninja present could hear him.

After listening to Danzo's speech, everyone present stared at Sasuke. As fellow Uchiha, Sasuke's answer was crucial. If Sasuke gave an affirmative answer, then the fact that Yelan betrayed the village and killed his comrades would be confirmed.

"Yes, that did happen last night."

Sasuke's words were devoid of emotion, as cold as a machine, but these words instantly chilled the hearts of Kakashi and the other ninjas who were on good terms with Ye Lan.

"Are you kidding me? How could Brother Yelan do such a thing? What happened to Sasuke?"

Ino covered her mouth in disbelief. Yesterday she was celebrating becoming a Chunin, and today this happened. She felt like she was in a nightmare.

Sasuke has a problem. Kakashi forces himself to calm down and continues to think.

Sasuke's expression was very strange; it showed no emotion whatsoever. Moreover, he believed that even if Ye Lan had really done such a thing, Sasuke would not say he was with Ye Lan, but he would definitely not come forward to testify.

The ninjas in the conference room began to whisper among themselves, some excited, some disdainful, and some sighing, revealing the true nature of Konoha.

"Uchiha Sasuke, are you telling the truth!"

Tsunade couldn't believe it either. She preferred that Sasuke was lying or being blackmailed by Danzo, otherwise why would he say such a thing?

"That's right, Lord Hokage, I'm certain of this. I saw everything with my own eyes."

Sasuke's expression remained as calm as ever, and his bland words were hard to believe.

Tsunade scrutinized Sasuke's expression repeatedly. She sensed something was amiss, but she couldn't figure out what had happened to him.

Could he have fallen under a genjutsu? But who would dare use genjutsu on the Uchiha clan? Sasuke isn't a recent graduate anymore; he's already a Konoha Jonin who can skillfully control the three-tomoe Sharingan. How powerful must the genjutsu be to make him fall for it?

In Tsunade's understanding, besides Ye Lan, she really didn't know who else in Konoha could do that. Even if it was Ye Lan, there was no need for Sasuke to smear her.

"Uchiha Yelan, I've finally found you!"

Hongdou looked at Yelan approaching him with a cold expression.

"I didn't expect you to wake up so quickly. I thought you would sleep for a while longer. It seems that your strength has improved more than I thought."

Ye Lan frowned slightly as he looked at Hong Dou blocking his way. He hadn't expected Hong Dou to stop him here.

What exactly are you planning to do?

This was on the streets of Konoha. Hongdou's shout had just attracted the attention of the crowd. She walked to Ye Lan's side and whispered in his ear.

"What moves to use depends on how the opponent makes their moves."

Ye Lan did not answer Hong Dou's question directly, but instead walked past her and headed towards the Hokage Building.

"I don't know what you're planning, but if you're going to betray the village, I will absolutely not let you get away with it!"

Hongdou was dissatisfied with Ye Lan's answer and grabbed Ye Lan's arm, saying fiercely.

Betrayal was the thing she hated most in her life, and in her eyes, Orochimaru had betrayed her. If Ye Lan did that, she would absolutely do it.

"Betrayal? I've never betrayed anyone. Let go, I still have to attend the debriefing meeting."

Ye Lan said casually, as if everything that happened that night was an illusion.

Hongdou was stunned for a moment, not expecting Ye Lan to answer like that. Unintentionally, Ye Lan was freed from his constraints. For the first time, she felt that Ye Lan was so unpredictable.

Ye Lan arrived at the door of the meeting room, where Shen Yue Chu Yun and Gang Zi Tie were standing guard.

I never expected to run into them at this time, especially since they were doing this kind of thing. It just goes to show that everyone has their own expertise.

"Ye Lan, why are you only just getting back?"

The two were also surprised to see Ye Lan. The news of Ye Lan's inexplicable disappearance had spread throughout the entire Konoha ninja circle, and it was said that some advisors had even criticized it.

The two people who were somewhat familiar with Ye Lan were worried, but they didn't expect Ye Lan to return at this time.

"Sorry, something urgent happened earlier, so I'm a little late."

Ye Lan said with a smile that the first two people he met when he returned to Konoha were these two.

Even through the thick doors, the noise from inside the conference room could be heard, which puzzled Gangzi Tie, who said something.

"What's going on? Why is it so noisy inside?"

"It must be something interesting." Ye Lan's smile never left his face. Everyone he met today could see that Ye Lan was happy, which made people feel a sense of goodwill towards him.

"Oh, don't say so much, Ye Lan, you should go in quickly. I'm sure Lady Tsunade will be relieved to see you."

Izumo Kamatsuki interrupted his friend's desire to continue chatting and was about to open the door to let Ye Lan in.