Uchiha's personal opinion

As an advisor and elder of the village, Mitokado also knew that there were countless unspeakable dark secrets hidden in the Root. If they were to be exposed, the whole village would be in uproar, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

After a long while, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finally spoke.

"Shinnosuke will handle it..."

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Yan and Utatane Koharu felt a chill run down their spines.

"But Danzo will not have died in vain; one day..."

Chapter 121 Aggressive

Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo led the ninja army back to the village at a slow pace.

This was because many of his ninja troops were wounded after the battles with Kirigakure and Root, and even after emergency bandaging and treatment, they were still unable to advance at full speed. In addition, they needed to wait for replies from the various border troops.

Although Sakumo Hatake was unwilling to force the Third Hokage to abdicate at this time, nor did he support expanding the scope of the purge, he did not mind using this opportunity to weaken the Hokage's authority and expand the Jonin's influence.

Uchiha Tokumitsu also expressed his support for Hatake Sakumo's idea. Although he could not fully achieve his desired goal, expanding the power of the Jonin team would also benefit the Uchiha clan, which has the largest number of Jonin.

Furthermore, after making this concession, Sakumo Hatake also stated that he would support the police department's demands regarding reform and the clarification of responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Tokumitsu secretly instructed his clansmen to send a message to the clan through ninja cats, instructing them to prepare for the possibility that the Hokage might go insane and cause trouble.

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo stopped 20 kilometers away from Konoha, and their Uchiha ninja army and mobile forces also set up camp on the spot.

Their garrison is located precisely within Konoha's perimeter but outside the city's defensive perimeter.

As the area near Konoha, the unusual gathering of ninja forces was quickly noticed by the barrier team and ninjas on missions, and the information was promptly reported to the Hokage's office.

"Let's talk it over. What conditions should we offer Sakumo and the Uchiha?"

Upon receiving the intelligence, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, felt utterly exhausted. Not only was he unable to exact revenge for his friend's death, but he also had to find a way to clean up the mess, which made him, as the Hokage, feel extremely frustrated.

"This matter was an unauthorized action by the root unit, and has nothing to do with the village..."

"Turn to the next room," Xiaochun said softly.

"impossible……"

Before the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could even speak, Homura Mitokado refuted the claim: "Sakumo Hatake might be able to fool us, but the Uchiha..."

Upon hearing this, Xiaochun, who was turning over to her room, remained silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took deep drags on his cigarette.

The Hokage's office fell into a deathly silence.

"Hiruzen, I'll go talk to them..."

After a while, Mitomon Homura volunteered to break the deadlock.

"……Thanks a lot."

After thinking for a while, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sighed and agreed to let Homura Mitokado go to the ninja army camp outside the village to negotiate with Tokumitsu Uchiha.

“You know the bottom line, I won’t interfere with the specifics…” The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, tapped his pipe and said slowly, “The village must not be thrown into chaos, everything else is negotiable…”

“…I understand.” Mitokado Homura nodded in agreement, “It’s just the root area…”

"Shinnosuke should have taken care of it by now..." After refilling the pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi casually lit the tobacco and took a deep drag.

Thick smog shrouded the face behind a haze.

At that moment, another member of the secret service knocked on the door and entered, handing over a note.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, glanced at it and then handed it to the two advisors.

"The entire police force has retreated back to the Uchiha and Uzumaki clan territories..."

The two advisors' expressions grew even more somber.

"The ninja clans probably know by now..."

"There's no time to lose, I'll go right now..." Mitokado Homura got up to leave.

At this moment, another group of secret agents entered to deliver a message.

"The commanders of the Northwest Border Defense Force and the Northern Border Defense Force have both led their troops back without authorization and are camping in the same place as Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo..."

After seeing the information, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, could no longer maintain his expressionless demeanor.

Immediately afterwards, another report came from the Dark Guard, saying that the Ninja Clan was urgently recalling its members.

The bad news just kept coming!

Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo had troops stationed outside, two border troops returned without the Hokage's orders, and Uchiha ninjas from the police department suddenly disappeared from the streets...

All of this was obvious to the ninja clan leaders, unless they were fools; they knew that something was likely going to happen to the village.

"I'll go talk to Sakumo and the others first..."

Mitokado Yan immediately got up, opened the door, and left.

On the high walls of eastern Konoha, a group of ninja leaders gathered together, watching the movements of the Uchiha ninja army and border troops in the distance.

After arranging family affairs, the first thing they did was to get together to share information and observe the Uchiha clan's every move.

"Elder Mitomon has come out..."

The old patriarch of the Moonlight Clan noticed the figure walking out of the Hokage Building out of the corner of his eye, and immediately suppressed his voice and said in a low voice.

"Where to go?"

"They're either going to the Uchiha clan's territory or the village's outpost!"

"What on earth is the Uchiha doing?!"

An elder from the Takagi clan, who had a past grudge against the Uchiha, complained.

Upon hearing this, the high wall fell completely silent.

"It can't be that bad..." The elder of the Gao family was also a little out of breath and said hesitantly.

"It shouldn't be that bad..."

The head of the Nara family thought for a moment and gave his judgment, "Given the Uchiha's personality, if they really intended to... they wouldn't just stay here like this."

Although he didn't say it outright, the meaning implied in the words of Elder Takagi and the head of the Nara family was clear to the leaders and elders of the various ninja clans present.

After all, the hearts of the Uchiha are known to all in Konoha.

When the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was in charge of Konoha, the Uchiha clan still maintained communication with the village because of the existence of Kagami Uchiha. However, after Hiruzen Sarutobi became Hokage, the relationship between the village's leadership and the Uchiha clan gradually deteriorated.

Although they are all ninja clans, the various ninja clans of Konoha are not very willing to deal with the Uchiha, nor will they say a word in defense of the Uchiha.

Unlike the law-abiding Hyuga clan, the Uchiha clan's aggressiveness is something that makes people wary.

Moreover, the Uchiha clan is too powerful. If the clan were to be given a status commensurate with its strength, the interests of other ninja clans would inevitably be eroded.

Therefore, in the past, the various ninja clans adopted a wait-and-see attitude, watching the Hokage lineage and the Uchiha clan fight each other.

Although after Uchiha Tokumitsu repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, a small number of members from collateral branches of the clan, at the suggestion of the ninja clan's higher-ups, gravitated towards the Uchiha clan. However, this was merely a habitual diversification of their investments, and neither the ninja clan's higher-ups nor the Hokage's faction cared much about it.

"Speaking of which...why isn't Lord Danzo here?"

The head of the Inuzuka family seemed to suddenly realize something, slapped his forehead, and blurted out, "He shouldn't be missing at a time like this!"

The leaders of each ninja clan were also greatly encouraged.

Yes! Danzo!

It's truly baffling that the infamous Uchiha nemesis chose not to appear at this crucial moment!

"Hey! Hyuga clan leader, have you seen Danzo?"

An impatient ninja clan leader asked the Hyuga clan chief.

Instead of explaining as usual that he and his clansmen would not activate the Byakugan in the village, the Hyuga clan chief simply shook his head, indicating that he knew nothing about it.

Although the Hyuga clan leader didn't have any other special sources of information, before arriving at the high walls after receiving the news, he had already used his Byakugan at home to observe for a while to see if there were any unusual movements in the village.

The only anomaly discovered was that the barrier at the root base had disappeared.

Although he was unable to penetrate the soil and see the actual scene of the root base due to the limitations of his pupil power, he could naturally guess some of the truth behind it by combining the performance of Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo and the abnormality of the police department, as a shrewd and calculating member of the clan.

"Ryoma, who stayed in the clan's insect nest, suddenly went berserk yesterday..."

The usually quiet chieftain of the Oil Maiden Clan suddenly spoke up and dropped a bombshell.

Everyone was startled, only then realizing that the Oil Maiden Clan Chief was also there.

"The insect hive is rampaging... Could it be that Longma is dead?"

The mountain clan chief tentatively asked.

The oil-producing clan chief nodded silently.

This is a serious matter...

Aburame Ryoma was not only one of the strongest members of the Aburame clan, but also Danzo's right-hand man. His death was linked to Uchiha Tokumitsu and Hatake Sakumo jointly stationing troops to spy on the village, as well as the advisor elder Mitokado Homura taking the initiative to go out of the village to communicate... Although none of this was explicitly stated, as seasoned riddle solvers, everyone was naturally able to deduce the truth.

"Sakumo-kun has actually gotten involved with the Uchiha clan..."

After a long while, the mountain chieftain sighed, seemingly casually.

The high-ranking members of the ninja clans seemed oblivious, watching as Mitokado Homura walked towards the Uchiha ninja army's camp.

"From then on, a turbulent period began..."

The head of the Nara family shook his head helplessly.

……

Uchiha Tokumitsu did not make a show of it when Mitokado Homura arrived, but instead had someone take him directly to the central headquarters of the residence.

"How does the Hokage intend to handle this matter?"

Sakumo Hatake invited Homura Mitokado to sit down, while Tokumitsu Uchiha went straight to the point.

"The Root organization will be disbanded, and no more internal ninja organizations will be established from now on."

Mitomon gave the first condition.

"Not enough! Far from enough!"