"Lady Tsunade!"
Many Ninja recognized the person blocking the path between the two sides as Lady Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin and the Konoha Princess, a name familiar to all.
Fugaku only saw her as an accomplice to the Third Hokage, so his imposing aura didn't diminish in the slightest; instead, it intensified.
"Stop, Uchiha Fugaku."
Tsunade turned her back to the Uchiha side, standing in front of all the Uchiha and confronting her teacher.
"Hiruzen-sensei, I believe the Uchiha's demands are reasonable. Let them present their evidence first. With everyone here, we can see if what they say is true or false."
This attitude surprised everyone. Before this, no one thought Tsunade would side with the Uchiha and oppose her teacher.
But now, she was doing just that.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was incredulous and angrily said, "Tsunade, what are you doing? Stand down!"
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado also played good cop, bad cop, expressing their dissatisfaction with her "rebellious" behavior.
"Tsunade, do you know what consequences your actions will lead to? Hurry and stop!"
"Hmph, what evidence? Everyone knows the Uchiha thrive on chaos. This is all their conspiracy!"
Facing the combined suppression and denial from the three, Tsunade stood her ground, unyielding, her eyes firm: "No, I won't back down! Some things must be resolved now! Otherwise, you might as well just fight!"
Looking at her teacher's shifting expression, Tsunade felt both disappointment and anger.
Disappointed that her once ambitious teacher had become indecisive and wavering, allowing Danzo to wantonly oppress one of the Village's most important Ninja Clans, almost causing a riot.
And angry at his cold indifference, that even now he would collude with Danzo, misrepresenting the facts to the victims, wishing to wipe them out to cover up his own dereliction of duty.
If the Uchiha were to perish, Konoha would irredeemably fall into an abyss, with no justice left, ultimately leading to its own destruction.
Therefore, Danzo's crimes must be exposed, and everything he has done must be punished.
Even if the truth coming to light tonight would damage the Hokage's prestige—even requiring his resignation—she could not stand by and watch her teacher be dragged down by Danzo, going deeper and deeper down the wrong path, unable to turn back.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost unable to maintain his composed and dignified facade. His anger urged him to order his subordinates to attack again, but reason held his arm tightly, rendering him immobile.
Just as he was wavering, caught between rationality and emotion, another familiar figure landed beside Tsunade.
"Jiraiya?"
Danzo, hidden in the shadows, felt a bad premonition.
Just by looking at Jiraiya, it was clear he shared Tsunade's opinion. With two of the Sannin siding with the Uchiha, Konoha's morale would surely waver, and their fighting spirit would be completely gone.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, would have to weigh the chances of victory and the consequences of starting a battle now.
Sure enough, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, seeing that most of his subordinates and the Ninja Clans' leaders showed expressions of entanglement and hesitation to varying degrees. His anger, suppressed by reason, gradually subsided.
He pulled out his pipe and took a few puffs. Much of the irritation in his chest was carried away by the smoke. After weighing the pros and cons of forcefully suppressing the Uchiha, he reluctantly realized that the moment had passed.
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