Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, wearing the Hokage hat and the ceremonial Hokage robe, was listening to a report from his direct Anbu squad...
"That Danzō really knows how to cause trouble for me!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a displeased expression.
At this point, Hiruzen had not yet realized the severity of the situation, or he had underestimated it.
"Go tell Danzō to return Shisui's Sharingan and to apologize to Shisui personally," Hiruzen said in a cold, hard tone.
This was actually a very light punishment. Just imagine if an ordinary ninja were to launch a sneak attack on a fellow villager.
At the very least, they would be imprisoned; at worst, executed.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." The Anbu ninja, kneeling on one knee, vanished.
Ten minutes later, the Anbu ninja returned to the Hokage's office to report.
"Reporting to Lord Hokage, Lord Danzō says that it was Shisui who attacked him first, and that his counterattack was legitimate and in accordance with the rules. How can he apologize?"
Hiruzen said angrily, "Bastard! That excuse might fool others, but do I not know what kind of person Danzō is?"
"And what kind of person is Shisui?"
"Tell him, if he doesn't do as I say, don't blame me for being impolite."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Just as this Anbu ninja was about to leave, another Anbu ninja appeared in a flash, kneeling on one knee, his voice preceding his arrival.
"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha clan is making a move."
"Don't go yet. What kind of move?" Hiruzen asked with a grave expression.
"The head of the Uchiha clan and the three elders are leading a hundred Uchiha ninja towards the Hokage Tower. Along the way..."
"Along the way, what?" Hiruzen felt a sense of foreboding and quickly pressed for more details.
"Along the way, they are publicizing that Lord Danzō stole Shisui's Sharingan, which led to Shisui's suicide, and that they are seeking justice."
The pipe in Hiruzen's mouth fell onto the desk, scattering ashes. He felt a wave of dizziness, and his head throbbed as if it were about to split open...
That bastard Danzō has gotten me into a huge mess!
And why did that good boy Shisui suddenly commit suicide?
I was going to stand up for him. If he wasn't satisfied with my approach, we could have discussed it. Why be so impulsive?
Now things have gotten out of hand.
Wait a minute, if Shisui hadn't committed suicide, given the Uchiha clan's current reaction, it seems things would have been even more out of hand...
To use his own death to de-escalate the situation... what a good boy. A pity, a real pity.
For the Uchiha clan to make such a big scene, airing their dirty laundry in public, this won't end well, it won't end well at all.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and ordered in a deep voice, "First, tell Danzō to get his ass over here immediately!"
"Second, summon the two elders and all the department heads to a meeting at the Hokage Tower."
"Third, dispatch the Anbu, Jonin, and Special Jonin in the village to maintain order, but under no circumstances should the conflict be escalated or a civil war be triggered."
"Let Shinnosuke be in charge of maintaining order. Kogetsu will take Shinnosuke's place at the meeting."
Shinnosuke was more mature and steady, and he knew his father better. With him there, a fight wouldn't break out.
Kogetsu had a good relationship with the Uchiha clan, making him suitable for easing tensions and mediating conflicts at the meeting.
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The two of them bowed their heads in acknowledgment, then vanished, dispatching all the members of their squad to deliver the notices.
To notify so many people, a single squad was certainly not enough, but they could use ninja hawks to summon the Jonin and Special Jonin.
The signal was slightly different from a regular Jonin summons. Qualified ninja who saw the hawk and heard the rhythm of its cry would naturally gather at the Hokage Tower as quickly as possible.
...
Before long, the Konoha leadership, all the department heads, Anbu ninja, Jonin, and Special Jonin had arrived at the Hokage Tower.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke led his subordinates to maintain order, while the others, led by Sarutobi Hiruzen, stood at the entrance of the Hokage Tower, waiting.
Because they were walking and publicizing along the way, the Uchiha clan's procession was moving rather slowly.
About ten minutes later, the Uchiha procession finally came into view...
Seeing the procession before them, though their attire varied slightly, all uniformly bearing the Uchiha clan crest, the crowd reacted differently.
Most people had grave and serious expressions, their attitude very solemn.
Others, however, felt a sense of disgust, with Danzō being the most extreme, almost unable to hide it.
The Uchiha clan's actions were tantamount to stomping on Danzō's face, and repeatedly at that.
His already not-so-good reputation had plummeted into an abyss, creating a huge obstacle to his dream of becoming Hokage.
Danzō would not reflect on this; he would only blame the Uchiha clan.
I did it for Konoha, where did I go wrong?
The Uchiha clan should have obediently offered up the Sharingan I was interested in and swallowed their anger.
How dare they resist, and in such a way that embarrasses me, so violently, so disregardful of the bigger picture? They truly don't know what's good for them!
Kageyama Kogetsu's expression was relatively relaxed, and he didn't have as many internal dramas.
He just felt it was a pity that Shisui had made such a choice. There were clearly other paths he could have taken, yet he still chose the path of no return.
He was also a little surprised by the Uchiha clan's response. They were finally showing some backbone.
"Kogetsu."
As the procession got closer, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke and gave him a look.
Kageyama Kogetsu nodded slightly and walked towards the Uchiha clan's procession, stopping three steps away from them.
"Senior Fugaku, the three elders, Lord Hokage is willing to listen to your grievances and demands. Please follow me to the main conference room," Kageyama Kogetsu said with a slight smile.
Uchiha Fugaku and the others were not here for a coup, but to seek justice.
They had already made a scene along the way and had vented a lot of their negative emotions, so they were in a relatively calm state.
To make another scene at the Hokage Tower in front of so many high-ranking officials and powerful figures would be going too far.
Not only would it not achieve anything, but it would also only arouse resentment.
Therefore, the four of them nodded in agreement, telling the others to wait where they were and not to cause trouble. They then followed Kageyama Kogetsu.
Facing the scrutiny of the crowd, especially Danzō's fierce gaze, everyone except the Great Elder felt more or less unnatural.
But at this point, they could only brace themselves and go through with it.
The group moved to the main conference room of the Hokage Tower and took their seats according to their status.
Kageyama Kogetsu represented the Anbu Commander at the meeting, his status second only to the Konoha F4. He sat in the first seat on the left, opposite the Jonin Commander, Nara Shikaku.
The Konoha F4 sat at the head of the table, with a separate row of solid wood tables and chairs. Sarutobi Hiruzen was seated between Kageyama Kogetsu and Nara Shikaku.
The three elders were not previously qualified to attend meetings, so Uchiha Fugaku's seat was adjusted to let the four of them sit together.
However, this seemingly thoughtful arrangement by the administration was actually malicious.
Uchiha Fugaku's seating order was lowered, and the four of them were seated together, which could also be said to be surrounded by the others.
Clearly, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were dissatisfied with the Uchiha clan's method of seeking justice.
After this incident, Konoha, and even those outside the village, would be laughing at them.
Danzō would bear the brunt of it, followed by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and then the two elders.
"Ahem."
With two coughs, everyone's attention fell on Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I have a preliminary understanding of the matter, but I'm not clear on the details."
"Many people here probably still don't know what happened. You two sides, please explain the whole story from your perspectives."
Danzō was about to speak immediately, to get his version of the story in first, but he was directly interrupted by Hiruzen.
"Danzō, don't be in a hurry. Let the Uchiha speak first."
This gesture made Uchiha Fugaku and the others feel a little better...
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