Chapter 22: And Then?

Uchiha Mikoto was in a very pleasant mood when she brought her son home.

But the moment they stepped inside, the mother and son keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the house was very oppressive.

Uchiha Fugaku and the four Elders were sitting in the living room, their faces as gloomy as water, and the thick, unshakable exhaustion between their brows proved they had just had a heated argument.

Seeing Uchiha Mikoto and her son return, the four Elders squeezed polite smiles onto their faces.

Elder Sifang asked, "Mikoto is back. How is Itachi's illness?"

Mikoto bowed gently and replied, "Thanks to your concern, Itachi has fully recovered."

Itachi Uchiha smiled, bowed, and greeted them: "Hello, Grandpa Sifang, Grandpa Setsuna, Grandpa Yumi, and Grandpa Yuichiro."

Uchiha Setsuna had a fiery temper, but he valued the clan's interests and the younger generation most of all.

Seeing Itachi Uchiha act like a normal child instead of a little adult, contrary to his past coldness, he felt happy from the bottom of his heart.

"Haha, he really is cured."

"This is what a child should look like; that previous demeanor looked fake no matter how you saw it."

Elder Yumi said, "It wasn't fake, it was that his spirit was stretched too tight, just like a longbow pulled to its limit by a samurai."

"He looks right now; at a glance, he is a good child with infinite potential."

Uchiha Fugaku also felt happy at this moment, relieved that the mistake he had made was salvaged, so he wouldn't have to regret it for the rest of his life.

The good news diluted the gloomy atmosphere in the living room, and the five grown men each caught their breath and began to discuss again.

Itachi Uchiha sat obediently to one side, quietly listening to his father and the Elders discuss.

It turned out that today, Fugaku had gone to the Hokage Building to talk with the Third Hokage about the seizure of property and the Uchiha's relocation of their clan grounds.

As a result, he was besieged by the Konoha F4 once again.

Shimura Danzo was responsible for being unreasonable, using his power to pressure others without any logic, and denying the evidence Fugaku brought while looking him straight in the eye.

When Fugaku was both angry and anxious, feeling dizzy and confused, Mitokado Homura acted as the "good cop" to smooth things over, further scrambling Fugaku's train of thought and softening his stance.

Utatane Koharu was responsible for playing the straight man, letting the rhythm relax at the right time to prevent Fugaku from flipping the table in a fit of shame and anger, which would have caused the situation to spiral completely out of control.

When the three of them had played out their "tearing down the roof" routine enough, the final act was Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had remained silent the whole time, "opening the window" to once again propose that the Uchiha relocate to their ancestral lands.

Only this time, the reason Sarutobi Hiruzen used was no longer the suspicion the Uchiha couldn't shake off since the Nine-Tails Night, but rather helping the Uchiha avoid the storm of public opinion.

He promised with utmost sincerity: "When time allows public opinion to calm down, I will help the Uchiha."

And then, and then Uchiha Fugaku agreed in a daze, and returned feeling dizzy and confused.

But no matter how Uchiha Fugaku relayed Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, the result that the Uchiha Clan had to relocate naturally could not satisfy the Elders.

Thus, they couldn't even wait to go to the meeting room and started arguing right in the living room of Fugaku's house, until Uchiha Mikoto returned with Itachi Uchiha.

After the atmosphere eased, the five men finally calmed down enough to continue the discussion, re-examining the matter completely, and finally figuring out the whole process.

To be honest, Uchiha Fugaku was furious, but he sighed helplessly: "Regardless, I used the name of the Uchiha Clan Head to agree to the Third Hokage's request; I can't, I can't just go back on my word, right?"

Uchiha Setsuna slammed the table: "Nonsense! You would have the whole clan abandon their homes and property just for your own face? Do you still count as the head of the Uchiha Clan?"

Unfortunately, the other three Elders didn't see it that way; they all felt that since the Clan Head had agreed, everyone else should accept it too.

Four to one!

The situation was set!

Uchiha Setsuna could no longer turn the situation around, and even though he was so angry his hair stood on end, he could only sit back down while breathing heavily.

Just then, Itachi Uchiha, who had been quiet the whole time, asked: "And then?"

Uchiha Fugaku was stunned: "And then? What 'and then'?"

Itachi looked at his father with his pitch-black eyes: "Our Uchiha Clan moves, and then when will Sarutobi Hiruzen fulfill the promise he made to Father?"

After being stunned for a long while, Fugaku frowned and said: "You shouldn't address the Third Hokage by his name."

Itachi Uchiha retorted: "Why? Is Sarutobi Hiruzen's name something that can't be seen in public?"

Fugaku was dumbfounded: "No, it's just not polite enough, not respectful enough..."

Itachi shook his head: "Father, don't worry about such details as how to address him."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen said he would help the Uchiha when public opinion calms down. What exactly counts as public opinion calming down? Until no one in Konohagakure remembers us Uchiha anymore?"

"Is there a deadline for this so-called calming down? A month? Half a year? A year? Or ten years, or is there never an end to it..."

Before Uchiha Fugaku could answer, Itachi asked again: "Also, how is Sarutobi Hiruzen going to help us Uchiha?"

"Is he going to help us move back to our current home? Or announce in the name of the Hokage that we are innocent and our suspicions have been cleared?"

"Or perhaps say sorry to you alone in the Hokage Office?"

"Or even... not planning to do anything at all?"

Uchiha Fugaku was dumbstruck; he had never thought about these questions at all, and of course, he had no idea how to answer.

But Itachi Uchiha wasn't finished yet; he asked in an innocent tone: "Father, I remember that the land prices in Konohagakure have risen many times over. Our Uchiha clan grounds are in the center of the village; the price of the land and houses should be very high, right?"

"If our whole clan moves away, what happens to our clan grounds and houses?"

"Are we renting them out for others to live in, or selling them to others?"

"Or does the Third Hokage mean that the village will take them for free?"

*Smack! *

Uchiha Setsuna was extremely agitated; he smashed the coffee table to pieces with one slap and shouted excitedly: "Itachi Uchiha is right!"

"I said it! Sarutobi Hiruzen is just lying to us. None of the promises he made have specific conditions for implementation, let alone a time limit; they are all vague and unclear."

"In the future, as long as he shamelessly denies it, we won't have any basis to pursue it!"

Uchiha Fugaku furrowed his brows and said hesitantly: "But this is the Third Hokage's promise; he shouldn't..."

Itachi Uchiha spoke again: "When the Fourth Hokage was here, wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen still commanding the Anbu?"

This time it was Uchiha Sifang who slammed the table—well, slammed his leg—and stood up: "Itachi is right! If the Third could sideline the Fourth and make Minato Namikaze a puppet, what wouldn't he do?"

"We were truly blinded by the situation, fooled by the little tricks Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo played in coordination!"

"It is fortunate that this child, Itachi, can use the purest eyes to see directly through the hypocrisy of Sarutobi Hiruzen!"