Chapter 12: The Third Hokage Appears, Full of Dignity

Yamanaka Inoichi stared at Yamanaka Chujiu with bloodshot eyes and said, "Chujiu, give me your word that you won't let the Yamanaka Clan be destroyed!"

Yamanaka Chujiu held his head high and replied, "Big Brother, I promise!"

"The Yamanaka Clan, the Akimichi Clan, and the Nara Clan will all be better off; I want to make Konohagakure great again!"

Yamanaka Inoichi thought of the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and the Fourth Hokage, finally casting aside his obsession with the Third Hokage, and sighed, "I will support you, but I will not publicly take a side."

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled: "Big Brother, I'm not a fool; I know how powerful the Third Hokage is."

"I don't even plan on publicly opposing the Third Hokage myself, so how could I let the Yamanaka Clan publicly take a side?"

Yamanaka Inoichi was surprised, then smiled, and finally burst into laughter: "Haha, you're still the same clever little devil."

"Honestly, you caught me off guard by having me contact Uchiha Mikoto and then wanting to oppose the Third Hokage; you scared the soul right out of me."

Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head and said, "There's no helping it; you're the clan head, so you have to endure such shocks."

Yamanaka Inoichi calmed his emotions and asked curiously, "If you don't plan on stepping out yourself, then who is the enemy you've prepared for the Third Hokage?"

Chujiu said, "Naturally, it's the person you are meeting tomorrow."

Inoichi's pupils constricted slightly: "The Uchiha Clan!"

"Mm, a very suitable target."

"When I meet with Mikoto tomorrow, I will definitely be noticed by the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzo, but they will also quickly be able to verify that I am merely treating Itachi Uchiha's illness."

"This will preemptively rule out any suspicion of colluding with the Uchiha, and instead, it will better serve as cover for you."

"You really are wicked..."

Yamanaka Chujiu chuckled: "Thanks for the compliment."

Yamanaka Inoichi gently tapped his younger brother on the head and asked softly, "Are there any other troubles with your plan, and is there anything you need your big brother's help with?"

Yamanaka Chujiu frowned and gave a bitter smile: "I have only one problem I can't solve: how to persuade Orochimaru."

"I need to make sure Orochimaru doesn't lose heart when he sees the Third Hokage's restoration, and instead incite him to actively compete for the Fifth Hokage position."

"Ah—I have absolutely no clue!"

Yamanaka Inoichi followed with a bitter smile: "I can't help with that; you'll have to work hard on it yourself."

The Yamanaka brothers were both at a loss, so they simply gave up, pushed open the study door to return to the living room, and saw a table full of food, as well as Yamanaka Rino holding Ino.

Ino seemed to have just finished eating, letting out three loud milk burps in a row, followed by a long yawn; she insisted on smiling at her father and uncle before falling asleep in her mother's arms.

Little dumpling Ino was just too sweet, causing the three adults to smile involuntarily, and all their immense worries were temporarily cast aside.

Yamanaka Inoichi coughed twice: "Hurry up and wash your hands, let's eat!"

The Yamanaka dinner was takeout, but the atmosphere was warm and relaxed, putting the three Yamanaka ninja in a pleasant mood.

At this time, Uchiha Fugaku had summoned the Uchiha Elders, and based on the content shared by Yamanaka Chujiu, they discussed it with high enthusiasm throughout the night.

With the limited brains of the Uchiha, they could only feel that the phrase "Sarutobi Hiruzen is different from the Sarutobi Clan" held immense hope, yet they were unable to derive a concrete way to apply it.

But this was already enough for the Uchiha to see hope; after an excited discussion, they finally thought of a method.

Uchiha Fugaku proudly raised his head: "That sentence reminded us that the Third Hokage definitely doesn't know about the Sarutobi Clan seizing the villagers' properties."

"As long as we tell the Third Hokage about this matter and expose the cruelty and darkness of the Shanty Town, how could he have the nerve to make us relocate when his own ninja clan has committed such a grave crime?"

The four Uchiha Elders listened with extreme excitement, their faces flushed with agitation, all feeling that threatening the Third Hokage with the scandal of property seizure and the Shanty Town would surely force the Hokage to concede.

By then, let alone talking about making the Uchiha move, they wouldn't even dare to mention the Sharingan in the eyes of the Nine-Tails.

The five Uchiha felt victory was within their grasp, unable to stop themselves from laughing heartily, even cracking jokes with one another.

What they did not expect was that among the Uchiha ninja responsible for security outside the meeting room, two ninja were quietly passing on intelligence.

The ninja receiving the intelligence was a Root ninja who had been lurking outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Soon, the intelligence reached the hands of Shimura Danzo.

Not long after, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen also received the intelligence and summoned Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzo to hold a meeting in the Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was fifty-seven years old at this time; although he was no longer at his peak, his strength remained formidable, and his presence remained heavy and dignified.

He sat behind the desk, his eyes sweeping lightly over his three classmates, which made them keep quiet, fully displaying the dignity of the Hokage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked first at Shimura Danzo: "Speak, what exactly is going on?"

Shimura Danzo said: "Just a moment ago, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly convened a clan meeting."

"Our spies were outside the door and couldn't overhear the entire content of the meeting, but from the fragments, we can confirm it relates to the villagers the Uchiha dealt with yesterday."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slightly; Danzo's report matched the Anbu intelligence, indicating that he was not acting behind his back like he did on the Nine-Tails Night.

He softened his tone and asked: "The Uchiha want to make an issue out of the villagers dealt with yesterday, which means there is a problem with those villagers."

"Danzo, what is the specific situation?"

Danzo curled his lip: "Yesterday, a group of villagers caused a disturbance on the street, claiming their houses had been seized."

"The owner of the house called the Uchiha from the Military Police Force, who sent all these troublesome villagers into the Shanty Town built by Root."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "If it were only that, Uchiha Fugaku wouldn't need to hold a meeting in the middle of the night."

Under the gaze of his three old classmates, Danzo hesitated slightly before revealing the fatal detail: "Those villagers' houses were indeed seized..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen glared in anger, his powerful aura erupting like a volcano, forcing the three classmates to lower their heads involuntarily.

The Third Hokage raged: "Who seized the villagers' houses?"

Shimura Danzo curled his lip: "It was your Sarutobi clansmen, Hiruzen, as well as the clansmen of the Utatane and Mitokado families; those good-for-nothing things from my own family participated as well."

Bang!

The Third Hokage slammed the table in anger: "How could they dare to do such a thing?"

"Are the privileges I've given them not enough?"

"Why must they use such desperate, life-crushing methods to forcibly seize the villagers' livelihoods?"

"Damn it, the Uchiha must have seized some evidence to be so excited about holding a meeting in the middle of the night."

"If Uchiha Fugaku finds me tomorrow and throws the evidence in my face, what can I say?"

"How are we supposed to force the Uchiha Clan to relocate to the edge of the village now?"

The Third Hokage's stern and severe questioning could not hide a trace of embarrassment and guilt.