Chapter 29: Dawn (Part II)

However, at this moment, someone was already unable to sit still.

Fury filled Danzo's chest; in his view, he had already fully grasped the initiative and only needed to exert a little force to easily push the Uchiha Clan into an abyss of no return.

But at this extremely critical moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly jumped ship and rebelled, almost ruining all of his arrangements. This not only made Danzo feel that he had lost face, but also reminded him of the humiliating history of when he was intercepted by Minato Namikaze for the position of Fourth Hokage; both instances were due to the Third Hokage backstabbing him, causing him to lose his opportunity.

"Absolutely not! This old man will never approve of such a ridiculous thing!"

Just as the Uchiha side was about to heave a sigh of relief, Danzo suddenly slammed the table in a rage and roared: "Releasing a prisoner when the evidence is conclusive is simply absurd! Sarutobi, this old man will never agree with your approach! This is simply pushing Konoha into the fiery pit of war; you are betraying the entire village, Sarutobi!!"

Tsk... Danzo, this guy is truly persistent.

Nanshu noticed Fugaku making a "stay calm" gesture toward him; since the Third Hokage had already intervened in this matter, it meant the situation had already changed.

The Uchiha only needed to quietly watch the development of the situation.

Fugaku thought coldly that with the Third Hokage having already stated his position, Danzo was still so insistent, not putting the Hokage's dignity in his eyes at all. It seemed the Konoha high-level officials were not of one mind; by comparison, the clan needed to remain even more united, and if they persisted for a long time, there might yet be a day for them to turn things around....

"Danzo, this is my decision!"

The Third Hokage looked at the ferocious-looking Danzo, a trace of displeasure flashing in the depths of his heart.

At this moment, the furious Danzo ignored the warning in the Third Hokage's eyes, or rather, he was deliberately trying to demonstrate and retaliate against the Third Hokage.

"Regardless of what motive the Uchiha had, it is a fact that the Cloud Ninja envoy died on Konoha's territory because of that Uchiha brat. As long as he is handed over, this dispute can be quelled and the threat of war can be completely avoided; why are you always hesitating at such critical moments!"

"I have always supported you from behind because I firmly believed you would at least protect Konoha well, but now I will never allow you to risk the entire Konoha for the sake of one Uchiha, not even if you are the Third Hokage!"

Danzo's unyielding momentum surprised the Third Hokage, but how could he possibly back down at a time like this? The Third Hokage said nothing, merely staring coldly at Danzo with an expressionless face for a while.

Subsequently, the Third Hokage, unhurriedly and in front of everyone, spoke in a slightly cold tone: "Danzo, this is not a negotiation, but an order. Do not forget, I am the Third Hokage of Konoha. What the village needs most right now is internal stability and unity; as Hokage, I will never allow anyone to threaten that."

The Third Hokage's gaze, sharp as a knife, swept across Danzo's face. The latter's face flushed red with anger and frustration, but Danzo also knew in his heart that continuing to make such a scene would be of no avail.

"I will say it again: I am fully responsible for this incident, Danzo!"

This was already akin to a final warning; under the Third Hokage's heavy pressure, even Danzo had to bow his head.

The surrounding Anbu had already cast vigilant gazes toward Danzo. Although it was unlikely that the two sides would fight, the surrounding Anbu crushed the Root's execution squad in both quantity and quality. If a conflict were to occur, failure would be secondary; the key was that Danzo could absolutely not tolerate showing a side of failure in front of the Uchiha, especially in front of that Uchiha Fugaku!

"Sarutobi, you bastard..."

Danzo secretly gritted his teeth. He knew that once the Third Hokage decided on something, no matter how capable he was, he could not escape the other's grasp. After all, he was only an elder, while Sarutobi was the true Hokage. Thinking of this, Danzo's hatred for Sarutobi deepened by a few degrees.

The next second, Danzo said that famous line to the Third Hokage.

"Sarutobi, you will regret this sooner or later!"

"I am merely making the best choice for the village; I will bear all consequences myself."

Having said that, the Third Hokage ignored the furious Danzo behind him and turned to look at the two, Fugaku and Nanshu, saying: "Then, I shall announce it here."

"Uchiha Police Force member—Uchiha Nanshu accidentally killed the Cloud Ninja envoy, which should have been punishable by death, but because the Cloud Ninja envoy went out at night without permission, violating the curfew ordinance, and also trespassed into the Hyuga clan grounds, leading to a series of misunderstandings that ultimately resulted in a tragedy, both sides have undeniable responsibility."

"Uchiha Nanshu is hereby dismissed from the Police Force, stripped of his ninja status, and imprisoned!"

Imprisoning and guarding prisoners was originally the work of the Police Force, which was equivalent to handing Uchiha Nanshu over to the Uchiha to guard themselves.

"Fugaku, you should have no objections to this punishment, right?"

"Thank you for your fair handling, Third Hokage. The Uchiha has no objections."

Fugaku lowered his head slightly, his face full of sincere and grateful expressions.

"... Uchiha Nanshu has no objections... very... thank you, Third Hokage...!"

Under Fugaku's eye signal, Nanshu had no choice but to lower his head.

"Then this matter ends here. Uchiha Nanshu, return to your clan and wait for further punishment."

The Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling that a certain obstructive fellow could get lost.

"Fugaku, Danzo, Hyuga, and the members of the Cloud Shinobi, stay. Although many unpleasant things have happened, the matter of the alliance should not be scrapped because of this, unless—the Cloud Shinobi truly want to declare war on Konoha; then, pretend I never said that."

The Third Hokage began to apply pressure to the Cloud Shinobi. Although he was old, he had once been a hero among ninja; when he got serious, that sense of oppression still made the Cloud Shinobi feel immense pressure.

Declare war? The Cloud Shinobi looked at each other, all seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.

Even the furious Baton could only swallow his broken teeth along with the blood at this moment. The situation in the Cloud Ninja Village was even worse than Nanshu had said and could not sustain a second foreign war. Besides, if the Cloud Ninja declared war on Konoha, the Rock Ninja Village would laugh themselves to death; at that time, if both sides attacked the Cloud Ninja, who could guarantee that the other Mist Ninja and Sand Ninja would not kick them while they were down?

Slap!

Baton slapped himself hard, his mouth bleeding from the impact.

His left cheek was swollen, and he forced himself to show a smile...

"Hahahaha! A misunderstanding... it's all a misunderstanding... Third Hokage, you are joking. The Cloud Ninja and Konoha came for peace; how could we really declare war? What was just said was merely nonsense spoken in a moment of anger..."

"The Cloud Shinobi... are willing to continue talking!!"

When the last sentence was spoken, Baton almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. He stared at Danzo with eyes like those of a man looking at his father's killer, and then glared at Nanshu with the same look, as if he wished he could tear him into pieces!

"Hehehehe, as long as you are willing to continue talking, that is good. As long as we work together, we can always find a way to solve the problem."

The murderous aura on the Third Hokage's face vanished, replaced by a kind smile.

He was very satisfied with the Cloud Ninja's attitude.

But at this moment, Danzo's mood was extremely foul. A pair of eyes that made no attempt to hide his killing intent stared at Nanshu and Fugaku, especially the former, which gave him an urge to kill him as quickly as possible. Danzo was actually somewhat regretful in his heart; if he had known things would turn out this way, he should have directly sent elites to intercept and kill this Uchiha brat halfway.

Now, he could only watch the other party escape from his palm, full of resentment yet helpless.

Danzo silently watched Nanshu, who walked toward the door after talking to Fugaku for a few moments. It seemed Fugaku was also afraid that a long delay would lead to trouble, so he quickly ordered Nanshu to return to the clan first.......................