Upon entering the Hokage's office, Uchiha Yato appeared somewhat alarmed by the gathered crowd.
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked cautiously, "Yato, have you caught the peeping tom?"
The Third Hokage didn't dare act rashly—after all, the man before him was Uchiha Yato.
He was capable of anything and would actually do it, making him impossible to judge by normal standards.
Uchiha Yato nervously scanned the room, his gaze tightening slightly when it landed on Shimura Danzo.
This reaction was noted by many, with different interpretations:
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought: Trouble—this is aimed at Danzo. What a mess.
Tsunade thought: Great, now Danzo's going head-to-head with Yato. These two just won't behave.
Uchiha Kei thought: Damn, we're about to see Yato versus Danzo. Should've brought popcorn.
Then Uchiha Yato addressed Sarutobi Hiruzen:
"As the inheritor of the Will of Fire, Lord Hokage, I dare not deceive you."
Hearing this, Shimura Danzo nearly jumped for joy.
Just when he thought he couldn't pin this on the Uchiha, Yato was volunteering himself—walking right into the crosshairs!
At this moment, Shimura Danzo was nodding approvingly to himself, agreeing with Uchiha Yato's statement.Then Uchiha Yato suddenly changed his tone and said, "Lord Hokage Advisor, I cannot keep your peeping habits a secret for you."
"This is truly damaging to the Hidden Leaf's reputation!"
Shimura Danzo, who had been nodding along, froze instantly.
After carefully digesting Uchiha Yato's words, his face turned pale.
The surrounding people, seeing this expression, began harboring different thoughts.
Chiyo: So it's this man who's been opposing the Sand Ninja. We must have him killed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen: As expected, Uchiha Yato wants Danzo dead. I need to find a way to intervene.
Uchiha Kei: Typical Uchiha Yato behavior. I need to get the first-hand gossip.
After taking a moment to compose himself, Shimura Danzo coldly said, "Uchiha Yato, there's no need for you to stir up trouble here."
"You claim I'm a peeper?"
"Show me the evidence! When did I peep? Where are the witnesses and proof?"
Uchiha Yato then replied, "I don't have evidence, but I have witnesses."
This statement left everyone present stunned. If there were witnesses, why were they even arguing about this?
Uchiha Yato continued, "Aburame Ryoma was sent by the Hokage Advisor to that hot spring, though I'm not sure what he did there."
"I used my Sharingan to interrogate him slightly..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "What did you find out?"
Uchiha Yato immediately switched to a classic "green tea" act.
"Elder Danzo."
"He"
"Wants"
"To"
"Harm"
"Me!"
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen was momentarily speechless.
By now, Hiruzen had pieced together the logic of this incident.
It was likely that Jiraiya, driven by temptation, had gone to peep at the women's bathhouse. Shimura Danzo then tried to use this incident to frame Uchiha Yato.
Coincidentally, Uchiha Yato discovered the person trying to frame him and was now counterattacking.
Hiruzen could only follow standard procedure and check if Uchiha Yato still had any suspicion. He asked about Yato's whereabouts.
Uchiha Yato calmly replied, "Initially, I was with Lady Tsunade at Leaf Hospital. Many people can vouch for that."
"Later, fearing it might be a spy rebellion, I went to protect the First Hokage's wife."
Hiruzen, who had been relatively calm, felt his heart start pounding again upon hearing that Uzumaki Mito was now involved.
This was a much bigger problem. Originally, they could have just found a scapegoat to resolve the issue.
But disturbing Uzumaki Mito was different—she was practically the Hidden Leaf's matriarch.
Previously, the Uchiha Clan's establishment of the Leaf Court was rumored by Danzo to be connected to Lady Mito.
This was also one reason the Leaf's F4 had tolerated the Leaf Court, despite it undermining their authority.
Chiyo, noticing the shifting dynamics among the Hidden Leaf's factions, took the opportunity to excuse herself.
She told Hiruzen that the Sand Ninja had missions to attend to and left the stage for the Hidden Leaf's power players to clash.
Regardless, the Hidden Leaf would have to give the Sand Ninja an explanation. No matter the outcome, Chiyo and her people wouldn't lose out, nor did they need to worry about any negative repercussions.If such an incident were to occur again in the Hidden Leaf, it would provide the other major nations with grounds for retaliation. The Hidden Leaf would never give them such an opportunity.
At this point, Tsunade chimed in, "Yes, Yato mentioned this to me earlier. I'm also worried about my grandmother, so I think this is perfectly reasonable."
"Now, is there any issue with Yato's itinerary?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen reluctantly nodded. He truly couldn't find any flaws in Uchiha Yato's schedule.
Yato had two crucial witnesses, both high-ranking within the Hokage's inner circle, making it impossible to level any accusations against him.
Seeing the timing was right, Uchiha Yato subtly signaled to Uchiha Kei with his eyes.
Then, Yato spoke up, "What follows is your private matter, Lord Hokage. As a junior, I won't interfere."
"Honestly, I don't believe Lord Danzo is a peeping tom either."
Turning to Uchiha Kei, he said, "Clan Head, let's hurry and continue searching for the real voyeur."
"We shouldn't let Lord Hokage and Lord Danzo's reputations be tarnished."
With that, Uchiha Yato promptly left the high-level Hokage meeting with Uchiha Kei in tow.
After everyone had departed, Sarutobi Hiruzen found an excuse to dismiss Tsunade.
The remaining members of the Hidden Leaf's F4 gathered in the Hokage's office for a private discussion.
Hiruzen immediately erupted in anger, "Look at the mess you've made!"
"How many times have I told you? Don't stir trouble, don't provoke conflicts."
"If you must provoke someone, don't target the Uchiha. And if you target the Uchiha, don't target Uchiha Yato!"
"Once again, you've given them the opportunity to humiliate us, and this time we can't just brush it aside."
Shimura Danzo, who had initially been fuming, quickly grasped the gravity of the situation upon hearing Hiruzen's words.
Indeed, the primary reason they couldn't sweep this under the rug was because Uzumaki Mito had learned of the incident.
Homura Mitokado attempted to deflect the blame, "There's no way Danzo did this."
"He doesn't even have a wife—why would he be interested in older women?"
Koharu Utatane added, "Exactly! A man without a wife wouldn't spy on someone bathing!"
Danzo inwardly cursed these two useless allies. If they wanted to defend him, they could at least avoid rubbing salt in his wounds.
Hiruzen's anger hadn't subsided. "You bungled this completely and handed Uchiha Yato another opportunity. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Now it's like mud stuck to your pants—even if it's not shit, everyone will think it is!"
The problem was, Uchiha Yato had already presented solid witnesses to prove his innocence—witnesses who could testify to Danzo's false accusations.
While Yato lacked concrete evidence to prove Danzo was the voyeur, he could certainly accuse Danzo of framing him.
As a result, all the leverage now rested firmly in Uchiha Yato's hands.
Danzo had no choice but to concede. "We'll find someone to take the fall for the voyeurism. I'll admit my part."
"I'll say I acted rashly and wrongly accused the Uchiha Clan."
"Then I'll make a formal apology, and this matter will be over."
This time, Danzo truly had no alternatives. If they dug deeper into his past actions, too many skeletons might tumble out.
His only option was to sacrifice a limb to save the body—to preserve his essential resources.
These words finally struck a chord with Sarutobi Hiruzen.Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and said, "Let's proceed as you suggested. Have the Shimura clan offer some concessions to the Uchiha Clan."
"At the same time, I'm demoting you by one rank as punishment."
"Let me warn you one last time—don't let such incidents happen again. It's extremely, extremely troublesome!"
One could say this round was a total loss, gaining no benefits whatsoever.
...
By the streets of Hidden Leaf.
Uchiha Yato said to Uchiha Kei, "Clan Leader, we can head straight back to the clan grounds. Our Hokage's advisor should behave for a while now."
Uchiha Kei added with satisfaction, "This feels great. Seeing them suffer a setback without being able to complain—it's just too satisfying."
Uchiha Yato then said, "I need to make a trip to the Senju Clan Grounds next. You should head back first."
Though Uchiha Kei didn't understand why Yato needed to visit the Senju Clan Grounds, he nodded in acknowledgment.
With that, the two went their separate ways.