Uchiha's personal opinion

Although he had collaborated with Uchiha Tokumitsu in the past, and his laboratory had even received interns from the Uchiha clan, he had no choice but to dismiss the Uchiha interns after his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, revealed the secret laboratory.

This was originally just a normal transaction completion, but as the Hokage candidate list incident continues to escalate, Orochimaru has repeatedly been "targeted" by the police department.

"Lord Orochimaru, the personnel belonging to Laboratory No. 3, which was sealed off by the police department, have been released, but the equipment and data are still in custody..."

Inside Orochimaru's residence, his subordinates were reporting the situation to him.

After the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, announced the list of candidates for Hokage, Orochimaru, with his keen sense of smell, immediately arranged for the relocation of various secret laboratories. However, the police department blocked several of them and arrested all the personnel.

The Uchiha ninjas' reason was that the laboratory had not been registered with the police department and was suspected of endangering the villagers of Konoha, so it had to be shut down. Although Orochimaru sent people to the police department to negotiate many times, the police department ultimately only agreed to release him on parole.

"...All personnel should be gathered and transferred to the Internal Affairs Department base in the Death Forest."

Orochimaru said coldly.

"Understood!"

The subordinate breathed a sigh of relief, quickly bowed, and left.

What troubled Orochimaru the most was that compared to the Uchiha clan's vast power and elite ninjas, his subordinates were almost no match for the Uchiha ninjas.

In the numerous raids on the laboratory, Orochimaru's subordinates who clashed with the police were all easily defeated and captured by the Uchiha ninjas.

Orochimaru originally thought that the strength of his ninjas was relatively average, but after all, they were all veteran ninjas who had been tested on the battlefield. Compared with the police ninjas, who were "flowers in a greenhouse", they should still have some advantages. However, he did not expect that after the actual conflict, they were so incompetent.

Given such a disparity in combat strength, if the Uchiha clan were to launch a coup and ignite a civil war, who in Konoha would be able to subdue these crazed Uchiha?

Moreover, the Uchiha ninjas who remained in the police department were only considered second-rate ninjas within the Uchiha clan; the real elites were concentrated in the Tokukō Shogunate and the Hōmon Shogunate.

Once the two Shoguns lead their troops back to the village, how can the Hokage lineage possibly stop them?

Will it really plunge the village into internal strife?

"Teacher... what are you really thinking?"

Orochimaru's gaze turned towards the Hokage Building.

……

Although the police department was only nitpicking within its jurisdiction, the various clans under the Hokage's influence were greatly troubled by it.

For several days in a row, the heads of various ninja clans sought help from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even when the Anbu were dispatched to communicate with the police department, the Uchiha ninjas still rationally and tactfully cited those inexplicable laws that seemed to have come from nowhere to show that they had done nothing wrong and were merely regulating the behavior of the village's ninjas.

As for the ninjas who were taken to the police department's interrogation room, they were only required to assist in the investigation. If they were too busy, they could even pay bail to leave.

However, no Konoha ninja would inexplicably end up with a criminal record with the police department, and the ninja clans were unwilling to endlessly pay bail to the police department.

Therefore, the antagonism within the village became increasingly apparent.

What troubled the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the most was the impeachment motion being orchestrated by the Jonin class.

The only one who can quell this matter is Sakumo Hatake.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, pushed forward the list of Hokage candidates with the aim of dealing with Sakumo Hatake.

"Don't blame me, Sakumo..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sighed silently.

“You’ve become too close to the Uchiha clan, but the village needs a balance; it can’t be dominated by one family…”

Chapter 245 On the Brink of Civil War

The Uchiha clan had been chanting the slogan of rebellion for many years.

The police department is both a source of power and a prison; some members of the Uchiha clan understand this principle.

But so what?

When the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, took charge of Konoha, the Uchiha clan was divided among conservative members such as Kagami Uchiha, and faced pressure from the Senju clan and other major ninja clans in Konoha. The Uchiha clan members, who considered themselves powerful, could only be confined to the small territory of the police department. Their so-called "rebellion" was just the radicals making noise at small-scale factional gatherings. If they were to actually raise their flags, the first to come and suppress them might very well be the conservative clan members.

For ninjas, peace is the biggest obstacle to increasing their strength.

The Uchiha ninjas, who were constantly bogged down in the various trivial matters of the police department, naturally became weaker with each generation.

However, with the rise of Uchiha Tokumitsu, the Uchiha ninjas were finally able to break free from the constraints of the police department, regain their true nature, and once again unleash the fiery light of the Uchiha upon the ninja world.

In addition, the establishment of the police preparatory school trained many genin police officers, who entered the police department after graduation and took on most of the tedious tasks. This freed up time for the Uchiha clan's police department ninjas to either train on their own or find opportunities to participate in the shogunate's rotational battles. At the very least, they could go home and have more children.

Overall, the Uchiha clan today is in a state of upward and vigorous development.

This is why the Uchiha clan could no longer accept the suppression from the Hokage lineage.

Konoha belongs to all Konoha ninjas, and the Hokage is chosen by the Jonin. Why should the current Hokage be responsible for drafting the list of candidates for the Fourth Hokage?

What's even more absurd is that it was actually submitted to the daimyo for review!

How many Jonin does the Daimyo have?

It was precisely this kind of thinking that led the Uchiha clan to actively provoke conflict with the Hokage's faction, and the conflict between the two sides grew increasingly intense.

As the conflict between the two sides continued to escalate, Mitomon Homura broke the agreement and mobilized the Internal Affairs Department ninjas to be stationed in the village, confronting the Northern District Police Station of the Police Department.

The Uchiha clan was equally resolute. Clan leader Uchiha Shimo gave an order to deploy the headquarters' rapid response force to the North District Police Station. The East and West District Police Stations issued orders to enforce curfews, and the police hospital began to free up a large number of beds, entering a state of wartime readiness.

Even the secret service has clashed with the police department in public on several occasions, but the police department, which has a numerical advantage, always wins in each conflict.

Subsequently, the various ninja clans of the Hokage lineage began to gather ninjas in the village, preparing to join the conflict.

Although both sides maintained a degree of calm and restraint, and no one was killed in the numerous clashes, it seems that if neither side chooses to back down, it is only a matter of time before the conflict escalates into a civil war.

The final chance for peace, in the eyes of the Konoha ninja, rested on Sakumo Hatake.

However, Hatake Sakumo was also in great distress. Although Uchiha Tokumitsu had promised him that he would not start a civil war, he had not yet had time to negotiate with the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to discuss the peace terms offered by Uchiha Tokumitsu, and the conflict between the two sides began to escalate.

Even the instigator, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, did not expect the conflict to escalate so violently, and Sakumo Hatake was even less prepared for the Uchiha clan's reaction to be so intense.

Perhaps it was the long-suppressed emotions that finally erupted after the fuse was lit, or perhaps the Uchiha clan was no longer willing to wait any longer, but in any case, Konoha could not be thrown into chaos!

This is Sakumo Hatake's creed!

Therefore, when the ANBU were sent to the Jonin team to convey the Hokage's summons, Hatake Sakumo immediately went to the Hokage Building.

……

"Knock knock!"

Sakumo Hatake knocked twice on the door of the Hokage's office, and without waiting for a response from inside, he immediately turned the doorknob and pushed the door open to enter.

"Lord Hokage, I've arrived..."

Hatake Sakumo nodded to everyone in the office, "Good day, both advisors."

"And...Tsunade, it's been a long time."

"Sakumo-kun, we've been waiting for you. Please have a seat..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still had that same kind and smiling expression as he greeted Sakumo Hatake.

Sakumo Hatake nodded and sat down on the sofa on one side of the office.

Although they were in the same room, he appeared to be clearly separated from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the others.

"...Konoha is a community, and the village cannot be in chaos, so the behavior of the Uchiha clan must be controlled."

There was a moment of silence in the Hokage's office before Mitokado Homura spoke first: "Sakumo-kun, this is your responsibility."

"responsibility?"

Sakumo Hatake countered, "Why does the village always like to shift blame before things have even calmed down?"

"Lord Hokage, if I'm not mistaken, the reason you summoned me here is to quell this conflict, isn't it?"

"If we were talking with this attitude, and it wasn't me sitting here but Tokuko-kun, the Hokage Building would probably have been destroyed by Susanoo by now!"

Sakumo Hatake's barrage of rebuttals left Homura Mitokado speechless, his face turning ashen.

Seeing his friend like this, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sighed slightly and put down his pipe.

"The village must not be in chaos; this is the fundamental principle..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said sincerely, "We are all Konoha ninjas. Even as Hokage, we serve the ninjas of our village. We can talk openly and honestly."

"As for the responsibility... it was just that Advisor Yan spoke rashly in a moment of anger, please don't take it to heart."

Since Sakumo Hatake had said such a thing as the Hokage, he couldn't continue to pursue the matter.

After the atmosphere eased a bit, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, continued, "But ultimately, this time... the police department went too far."

"The Jonin team should exercise its supervisory authority over the various departments of Konoha and should not be biased."

Xiaochun, who was switching dorms, chimed in.

"However, since Sakumo-kun took office as the leader of the Jonin team, his work performance has been remarkable, so I hope that you can quell this incident."

"Besides, this is within the purview of the Jonin team, right?"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, picked up the pipe on the table again and slowly began to smoke.

But out of the corner of his eye, he was still secretly watching for changes in Sakumo Hatake's expression.

Unlike in the past, this time Sakumo Hatake's expression was unusually calm, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama..."

Sakumo Hatake remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "What do you think is the cause of this incident?"

"The Uchiha clan has become too arrogant..."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was not going to feign ignorance as he had done in the past: "Their ambitions have been known to everyone in the village since the Second Hokage took over Konoha."

Indeed, in the past, the Uchiha clan members, who were known for their loose tongues, would often shout things like storming the Hokage Building and seizing the Hokage position. Anyone who had any contact with this clan was generally aware of this.

"So... is it a mistake for the village's ninjas to aspire to become Hokage?"

Sakumo Hatake calmly asked, "You know, the Ninja Academy's teachings are to instill in every student the dream of becoming Hokage and to motivate them to work hard for it..."

"And this is the source of Konoha's strength!"

"You mean Uchiha Tokumitsu, right?"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, narrowed his eyes. "But what if a member of the Uchiha clan became the village's Hokage? What do you think would happen to the village then?"

Given the strength of the Uchiha clan, if the Hokage position were to truly become theirs, then all the other Konoha ninjas would become Uchiha retainers.