The eyes of the four elders sharpened instantly.
Uchiha...
Konoha's current predicament was entirely caused by the Uchiha. Regardless of the root cause, it was the Uchiha who had launched this civil war.
"Let him in."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
A moment later, the door opened, and Fugaku Uchiha walked in.
"Lord Hokage, I apologize. This is all the fault of the Uchiha clan. My father, as the Clan Head, failed to restrain and manage the clan members, leading to this great chaos."
As soon as Fugaku entered, he lowered his posture completely.
Even though he didn't fully agree with his father's decisions or methods, Fugaku had no other choice now.
The first thing the rebel faction led by Yashiro Uchiha did was kill Sangaku Uchiha—Fugaku's father.
This meant that even if Fugaku wanted to join the rebels, they wouldn't accept him.
"We killed your father, and you want to join us? There's no one like that in this world. It must be a trap!"
So Fugaku had no choice.
He could only lead the remaining Uchiha to completely throw themselves at the mercy of Konoha and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Only in this way could they have a chance of survival.
Danzo glared at Fugaku.
"Fugaku Uchiha! What exactly is your clan planning? Was this rebellion plotted long ago? What other conspiracies do you have?"
Hiruzen interrupted Danzo.
"Danzo, enough."
"Fugaku's father was the first person they killed. Fugaku is not with those rebels. There is no need to vent your anger on him. He is a victim too."
Danzo trembled with rage.
The Uchiha are victims now?
Danzo scoffed coldly and turned to leave without another word.
"Fugaku, what is the current situation of the Uchiha?"
Hiruzen asked.
Fugaku replied, "Reporting to Lord Hokage, the rebel faction's action was too sudden. We were completely unprepared. There were many casualties. Now, the entire Uchiha clan has only a few dozen people left."
He paused, then continued, "Lord Hokage, the rebel faction has caused great harm to the village. I am willing to cooperate with the village to confiscate the assets of those rebels."
"We can use them to compensate the villagers who suffered losses."
Hiruzen nodded.
He was satisfied with Fugaku's attitude.
And with Sangaku's death as a testament, it was easier for Hiruzen to accept Fugaku's surrender.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Hiruzen said, "Fugaku, rest assured. I will truthfully inform the villagers of this matter. I will let them know that you are different from those rebels."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief.
The reason he humbled himself so much and offered up a portion of the clan's wealth was to get this promise from Hiruzen.
Only then could the remaining Uchiha have a place in Konoha.
Hiruzen waved his hand.
"Go back for now."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
After Fugaku left, only Hiruzen and the two advisors remained in the office.
Homura Mitokado hesitated.
"Hiruzen, you mentioned earlier that you want to take Root back from Danzo?"
"Correct."
Hiruzen said, "Over the years, Danzo has done some reckless things with Root. I know of quite a few, not to mention the ones I don't know."
"But this time, it was egregious."
"At such a critical moment for the village, he deliberately intensified the conflict with the Uchiha. Even I, the person directly challenged, held back. I don't know what he was thinking to do such a thing."
Homura nodded.
"Danzo indeed went too far."
"Hiruzen, how about I manage Root from now on? I handle things with much more discretion than Danzo. You know that."
Hiruzen glanced at Homura.
"You?"
Homura felt uncomfortable under Hiruzen's gaze.
That look, that tone... it was as if Hiruzen thought he wasn't qualified to manage Root.
But he was one of Konoha's elders, a Hokage Advisor, and a direct disciple of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Could he not do what Danzo did?
Hiruzen hesitated for a moment.
"Alright. I'll trouble you then, Homura."
Homura finally smiled.
"Hiruzen, don't worry. I will definitely do better than Danzo."
---
The moment Fugaku returned to the clan compound, he gathered all the remaining Uchiha.
The massive meeting hall felt empty.
There were only a few dozen figures.
And among these few dozen, more than half were non-combatants.
everyone looked nervous.
They hadn't chosen to join the rebels. Between the clan and the village, they chose the village.
But now they were worried the village they chose would take its anger out on them because of the rebels.
"I just met with Lord Hokage. He promised me that he would distinguish us from the rebel faction and make this distinction public."
"We are still members of Konoha. We are the Uchiha of Konoha."
Everyone's expressions relaxed instantly.
"That's great!"
"Lord Hokage is wise. He didn't lump us in with the rebels."
Fugaku continued.
"However, we need to cooperate with the village to inventory the assets of the rebel faction and use them to compensate the villagers harmed by the rebellion."
Hearing this, some expressions changed slightly.
"Lord Fugaku, but those are Uchiha assets..."
Fugaku shot a glance at the speaker.
"If you can't bear to part with it, you can go talk to Lord Hokage yourself."
The man shrank back, daring not to speak again.
Fugaku looked around the room and shook his head internally.
In his eyes, the current Uchiha could hardly be called a ninja clan anymore. There were barely any real ninja left.
And those with talent, those who could strengthen the clan in the future... there were even fewer.
A trace of confusion appeared in Fugaku's eyes.
"What will become of the Uchiha's future?"
...
Near Nightfall.
Hidden Sand Village.
Rasa looked at the system panel in front of him, his eyes lighting up.
"Finally passed 1000 points."
"I can draw again!"