Chapter 45: The Masses Take to the Streets—Konoha

Nara Kabyu spoke in a low voice.

The two men who heard this fell silent; Shikamaru’s father, Shikaku, couldn’t help but ask: “Does it really need to go this far? The situation isn’t that dire yet, is it?”

Akimichi Daisuke was also stunned, his gaze at Nara Kabyu filled with disbelief.

“It’s necessary. Extremely necessary!”

“Don’t underestimate Uchiha Jin. What makes him most terrifying is that he thinks.”

“The things our clans did in the past can’t possibly fool that man—I fear most that Uchiha Jin will come for our reckoning later.”

“After all, no matter how clever he is, his nature is still Uchiha!”

“He’s an Uchiha who’s awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan—that proves he’s fundamentally extreme.”

“We can’t take this risk!”

Nara Kabyu’s tone was grave.

The two men who heard this broke into cold sweat, for they had completely overlooked Uchiha Jin’s true nature because of his actions.

Everyone in the ninja world knows: the more insane an Uchiha becomes, the stronger they grow!

Who knows what dark color lies buried beneath Uchiha Jin, who has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?

Though it seems controllable now, once he truly seizes power in Konoha, many problems will become far harder to predict.

“Fine, I agree!”

“I’ll arrange it as soon as we return!”

After a moment of silence, both men nodded silently.

And as for this—

Nara Kabyu merely nodded, then turned to gaze at the night outside, finally unable to suppress a sigh.

The road ahead is difficult.

At the very least—

Konoha’s high council’s troubles are about to descend again.

…

In fact, it was exactly so.

Three days later.

The bottom-tier civilians, unable to bear it any longer, blocked the entrance to the Hokage Tower, screaming wildly for Hiruzen Sarutobi to solve the problem—or step down immediately if he couldn’t!

There was nothing to be done!

Because the Police Force had done nothing, they could only hope Konoha’s high council would step in.

But they hadn’t expected—

How long has it been?

Why hasn’t the Hokage Tower moved a single inch?

For the past few days, everyone had held back, waiting to see the spectacle.

But now?

They couldn’t hold back any longer!

After all, everyone needs to eat—gossip doesn’t fill your belly!

So—

The enraged civilians spontaneously gathered before the Hokage Tower.

“Hiruzen Sarutobi, step down!”

“Can the Police Force solve this problem? If not, replace the Hokage with someone who can!”

“We need to eat! We need to live!”

“...”

Before the Hokage Tower, the crowd roared in fury.

Every face was twisted with rage; years of resentment had driven them mad, and they held not a shred of respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

And as for this—

The Anbu guards stationed before the Hokage Tower felt their scalps tighten.

Though they were powerful, facing these civilians, they dared not act.

In the end—

They could only barely maintain their formation to prevent the crowd from storming the Hokage Tower, then turned their heads backward, hoping their Hokage would quickly find a solution.

But unfortunately—

In the Hokage’s office—

Konoha’s high council was gathered, yet every head ached terribly.

Including—Tsunade’s rival, Danzō!

Clearly, during this time, he had been enjoying his war of public opinion against the Uchiha and had completely forgotten this matter.

“What do we do?”

“This has blown up completely—we must find a solution quickly!”

“Sarutobi, what should we do?”

“Should we order the Uchiha to resolve this matter by today?”

Tsume and Mizukami were frantic, like ants on a hot pan.

Finally—

With no other ideas, they could only hope the Uchiha would resolve it themselves, since it was the Uchiha who had started this mess.

And as for this—

Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled his eyes, set down his pipe, and spoke softly: “The Police Force is reforming under the guise of benefiting the village—what reason do Itachi have to make them abandon it?”

“If Konoha orders the Police Force to abandon reform, then in future wrongful cases, they’ll just blame us, saying it was all our high council’s command.”

“Then what will Itachi do?”

“More importantly, if we issue this order, the Uchiha will have someone to blame—and the villagers will come to hate us!”

Almost instantly—

With Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words, everyone in the room fell into dead silence.

They were all stunned!

There was no way.

Uchiha Jin was playing an open strategy—no matter what they chose, it was wrong.

“Damn it!”

“Is Uchiha Jin really that hard to deal with?”

“Is he even really an Uchiha?”

Mizukami’s face was bitter.

And as for this—

No one could give him an answer!

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke: “Danzō, do Itachi have a solution?”

“No.” Danzō shook his head.

At this moment, he could still remain calm, since this blow targeted Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Of course—

Considering they were allies, he thought briefly, then spoke plainly: “No conventional method comes to mind. The only solution I can think of is to eliminate him entirely.”

“Can’t we solve the problem by eliminating the one who raised it?”

His expression was ruthless.

For the leader of the Root, this was the best solution.

Tsume spoke: “Just do it.”

“Uchiha Jin really should die,” Mizukami nodded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression turned equally ruthless: “Danzō, move quickly. As for the Police Force issue, send for Nara Kabyu and ask him.”

Immediately—

He summoned an Anbu and ordered him to find Nara Kabyu.

Ten minutes later—

Nara Kabyu arrived in the Hokage’s office. After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi’s request, he paused briefly, then spoke directly: “To truly resolve this matter is complicated—I currently have no solution.”

“As for temporarily calming things, I suggest the Anbu step in.”

“Let the Anbu temporarily take over the Police Force’s duties—at least for now, they can suppress public discontent.”

Nara Kabyu spoke slowly.

Since he had foreseen this moment long ago, he had naturally already devised a solution.

Yes!

If asked to confront Uchiha Jin head-on, Nara Kabyu would certainly refuse.

After all—

This is a struggle between Konoha’s high council and the Uchiha—none of it concerns the Pig-Deer-Butterfly alliance.

But—

All he needed to do was find a way to stabilize Konoha’s chaos—and that posed no problem at all.

This is precisely what a consultant like him should do!

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into thought for a moment.

Finally, he sighed and said outright: “Then let’s do as Shikamaru says!”

Clearly.

At this point, he truly had no other options, and ultimately accepted Shikamaru Nara’s suggestion.

Though he was reluctant to assign the Anbu Black Ops to the dirty work of the Police Department, given the entire department had collectively collapsed into negligence, he had no choice but to nod in agreement for the sake of Konoha’s stability.