Chapter 27: Not Your Wish (Part II)

"Enough, how could you possibly discuss the future of Konoha as you please!"

Danzo interrupted directly with a cold expression.

Danzo, from his high seat, struck the ground heavily with the cane in his hand. The single eye he had opened revealed a venomous gaze as he spoke: "Fugaku!! Just because your immature clansmen have already brought huge trouble to the village, do you still want to drag the entire village into war because of you Uchiha? Shameless! It seems the high-level assessment of you in the past needs to be re-evaluated, Fugaku."

"An assessment of me? I never knew the high-level officials had ever cared about me, the Uchiha Clan Head."

"It is quite unlike your usual style, Lord Danzo, to blindly and weakly pander to the Cloud Ninja envoys. It is hard to believe that this is something the master of the fearsome Konoha Root could actually say."

"I am considering the interests of the village as a whole; sacrifice for the collective interests of the village is the destiny of a ninja."

Danzo remained unmoved, speaking in a tone that took it for granted.

"That depends on whether this sacrifice has any meaning at all. A weak village that needs to constantly sacrifice the interests of its own villagers to trade for peace has no fundamental need to continue existing. The Konoha that we various great clans joined hands to create and establish was for a better future! Not for our own clansmen to become sacrificial lambs to be sold off at will."

"Selling out one's own compatriots to curry favor with people from other villages—what is the difference between doing this and being a traitor!"

"Selfish! Shameful! You have disgraced the face of Konoha."

"If you are allowed to continue acting recklessly, Konoha will be completely destroyed sooner or later. Fugaku, it was a waste for me to have endured and conceded to you so many times, yet you are stubborn and would actually abandon the interests of the entire Konoha for the sake of your clan's selfishness. Thinking about it now, it is truly ridiculous. Your Konoha Police Force bears the responsibility of guarding Konoha's security, yet now it has become the organization that brings the greatest harm to Konoha."

"I will never allow anyone, clan, or organization to threaten the safety of Konoha. Everyone who dares to threaten Konoha is my enemy."

At that moment, Danzo widened his eyes, his gaze extremely fierce.

Danzo slammed his cane heavily onto the ground. With a "Boom!", the ground cracked with a spiderweb pattern. This seemed to be a signal; the next second, rustling sounds came continuously from the shadows of the conference room. Root ninja, holding blades and wearing masks, walked out of the darkness one after another, their long swords reflecting cold, icy glints.

The Execution Squad, an elite assassination unit specifically organized by Root against Konoha traitors, it was unknown when they had infiltrated the conference room.

The Hyuga and the Cloud Shinobi had long since retreated to a safe area. In particular, the Cloud Shinobi had only agreed to help Danzo scheme against the Uchiha, but they had no intention of acting as his thugs. Therefore, when the conflict between the two sides became clearly irreconcilable and was about to escalate into an armed clash, these bastards immediately abandoned their stance and turned into bystanders waiting to watch a good show.

"Is this your answer?"

Uchiha Fugaku glanced over, his face showing no expression of surprise.

It was just that the three tomoe in his eyes rotated faster and faster, gradually linking into a black line as if about to change into some new pattern.

The Uchiha Clan were not abandoned pawns that these people could discard whenever they pleased. They were not the Senju Clan who voluntarily dissolved and integrated into the village, nor were they the Hyuga Clan who followed behind these people's tails for decades; they were the Uchiha!

If concession and silence could not guarantee the clan's most basic survival needs, then they could only display their own power to make these people recall the fear once ruled and dominated by the Uchiha Clan. ………………

"Enough, let it end here."

Just at the moment when the conflict between the two sides was about to erupt, the Third Hokage slowly rose and stood up from his chair. That figure, not particularly tall, firmly captured everyone's attention.

With the moment the Third stood up completely, the atmosphere of the entire conference room suddenly changed. Everyone could keenly feel that this true power-holder of Konoha was about to take action, only it was unknown whether he would choose to appease the Uchiha to balance the internal situation, or choose to sacrifice the Uchiha to trade for peace on the periphery.

"This is an order I am issuing in my capacity as Hokage."

The Third looked at the restless Fugaku and the ferocious-looking Danzo, who was on the verge of making a move, respectively.

With a wave of his hand—over a dozen Anbu members suddenly jumped out inside the conference room. Like the Root, they had been lurking in the surroundings from the start, and it was unknown who they were originally hiding here to deal with.

——Swish!

After the Anbu landed, they immediately drew their swords and revealed their presence, firmly controlling the situation with their aura.

"……Third…"

Fugaku muttered in a low voice, his steadily rising aura coming to an abrupt halt, and those scarlet pupils also turned back to pitch black. However, although Fugaku had temporarily held back, the atmosphere in the room remained very tense. Most importantly, the Root ninja had no intention of obeying the Third's order; they kept their eyes focused on the grim-faced Danzo.

Danzo had a gloomy expression on his face, his cold, sharp gaze fixed on the Third.

"Third…… you……"

After the Third's gaze swept across everyone's faces, it lingered on Uchiha Fugaku for a moment before slowly shifting to look at Nanshu. Young, bold, but with a somewhat impetuous personality and a lack of consideration for consequences. From the time he appeared until now, he had broken the Third's conventional perception of the Uchiha several times. Since he became Hokage, this was the first person in the entire Uchiha Clan who dared to openly clash with Danzo.

Such a restless and arrogant personality did indeed have a bit of the shadow of Madara Uchiha, but…… if the strength was insufficient, it was just a sign of an early death.

The Third withdrew his gaze.

"Cloud Shinobi, regarding the death of your envoy, Konoha expresses its deepest regrets. But due to the severity of this incident and the fact that it is full of suspicious points, please forgive me for not being able to agree to all of your demands. As for how to specifically handle the follow-up, I will personally contact the Raikage to discuss it with him."

"Of course, if the Raikage truly insists on declaring war on Konoha, then we will never back down!"

The atmosphere in the venue suddenly froze. As the Third's voice fell, everyone revealed an expression of disbelief, and the Cloud Shinobi were even stunned on the spot. Everything they had previously negotiated with Danzo would cease to exist because of this decision by the Third. At that time, not only would they have botched the mission, but they would have also lost an ambassador for it. If they returned to the village empty-handed, what awaited them would undoubtedly be the Raikage's fury!

Thinking of this, the Cloud Shinobi immediately became anxious. They turned their gazes toward Danzo on the side.

"This, what exactly is going on? This is not what we agreed upon before, Lord Danzo!"

"Wasn't it agreed beforehand that everything was just a formality, and that as long as we cooperated with your actions, this problem could be 100% solved?!"

"You must give us an explanation!"

Now, let alone the Cloud Shinobi's mentality collapsing, they even suspected whether they had been played by Konoha together. One by one, they were so angry that their faces were red and their necks were thick as they glared at Danzo.

Unfortunately, their glares received no response, because even Danzo himself had red eyes, staring fixedly at the Third.