Once inside the meeting room, Uchiha Yato still didn't let up. He continued crying, "Aburame Ryoma tried to kill me~"
"You have to stand up for me!"
Even the Aburame clan head, known for his patience, was close to snapping.
He thought, "You're a Jonin. A Uchiha Jonin."
"If a seven- or eight-year-old could assassinate you that easily,"
"then the fact you've survived this long is nothing short of a miracle."
Despite his inner turmoil, he maintained his cold demeanor and said, "Name your terms."
"We admit the child made a mistake."
"But let me make one thing clear."
"Since being taken in by Elder Danzo, this child has never returned to the clan."
The Aburame clan head's words were unmistakable."We admit that you, Uchiha Yato, were indeed framed by Aburame Ryoma."
"But the mastermind behind this is Shimura Danzo, so you should go after him. At most, I'm only fulfilling my duty as a clan head by admitting guilt, nothing more."
Uchiha Yato stopped crying and seized the moment to say, "You're right. We were also worried there might be some misunderstanding, so we came to inform you in advance."
"We've also notified Elder Danzo, but he's been too busy to come so far."
"Let me clarify one more thing—to make things difficult for me this time, Aburame Ryoma dragged Sarutobi Tsuru and Hyuga Hakuya into this mess."
"I suggest the Aburame clan head deal with this matter upon your return."
Hearing Uchiha Yato's words, the Aburame clan head remained silent, merely nodding slowly to acknowledge the point.
The tense atmosphere from earlier vanished instantly, replaced by a scene of harmonious coexistence, leaving Uchiha Kei somewhat bewildered.
At that moment, Uchiha Yato spoke up, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and make some tea for the Aburame clan head. It's not easy for him to come all this way. As the clan head, you really lack awareness."
Hearing this, Uchiha Kei abruptly left to fetch the tea.
After preparing tea for the three of them, he suddenly realized something and turned to Uchiha Yato.
"Wait a minute, damn it, I'm the clan head here. Since when do you get to order me around?"
"Shouldn't you have the awareness to go make tea for the two clan heads?"
Uchiha Yato took a slow sip of tea and remarked, "I have to admit, Clan Head, you do have a talent for this."
"Your tea-making skills are truly impressive. But then again, it's thanks to me for not letting that talent go to waste."
Uchiha Kei's eye twitched at the words, but he couldn't openly snap at Yato—not with the Aburame clan head sitting right there. Family matters should stay within the family.
As members of a prestigious clan, maintaining composure was second nature to anyone of status, and both had long since cultivated such habits.
After finishing their tea, Shimura Danzo still hadn't arrived.
Uchiha Yato then said, "Seems like there's no point waiting. Let's just go straight to the Hokage."
Uchiha Kei frowned. "Didn't you say we should handle this officially? Shouldn't we wait for Elder Danzo to come?"
Yato replied, "We already tried. No one showed up, so the next step is to go to his superior."
"That's standard procedure. For example, if someone wanted to find me but couldn't, they'd naturally come to you, the clan head."
The analogy was apt, but it made Uchiha Kei's face darken.
Back then, Danzo had come looking for trouble with Uchiha Yato, but when he couldn't find him, Kei had been the one forced to deal with the fallout. (The incident that tarnished Danzo's reputation, as mentioned in Chapter 1.)
Following Uchiha Yato's suggestion, the three of them headed for the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was busy handling the countless affairs of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Since becoming the Third Hokage, this had been his daily routine.
Just then, the Anbu captain reported, "The clan heads of the Uchiha and Aburame clans, along with Uchiha Yato, are outside requesting to see you. It seems urgent."
Hearing that the two clan heads—and that troublemaker—had come to see him, Hiruzen set aside his work, ready to hear what this was about.
He asked, "Has anything happened in the village recently?""White Fang, do you know why they came to me?"
At this time, the Anbu captain was none other than the White Fang of the Leaf—Hatake Sakumo, father of Kakashi Hatake.
"Not entirely clear."
Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't too surprised by Hatake Sakumo's answer. After all, an Anbu captain couldn't be expected to gather intelligence about village affairs every single day.
So Sarutobi Hiruzen had Hatake Sakumo invite the three of them in, and the discussion began.
Right off the bat, Uchiha Yato employed his signature tactic—tears combined with shamelessness.
He nearly succeeded in breaking Sarutobi Hiruzen's composure.
Hatake Sakumo, who was hiding in the shadows to protect Sarutobi Hiruzen, also felt a headache coming on.
He recalled how, back when Kakashi was just learning chakra extraction, they had specifically invited Uchiha Yato to tutor him.
Logically speaking, the proud Uchiha Clan wouldn't normally engage in such activities, but Uchiha Yato was an exception—a naturally sociable person who proactively brought up the idea with Hatake Sakumo, who then agreed.
After a day of teaching Kakashi chakra extraction, the results were excellent—Kakashi could basically sense chakra already.
At the time, Hatake Sakumo had praised Uchiha Yato for his attentiveness, and Kakashi was also grateful to this teacher who was willing to instruct him.
But then things took a strange turn. Suddenly, Uchiha Yato declared that if he wanted to teach Kakashi water-style ninjutsu, he first needed to let Kakashi "experience water."
When asked what method he planned to use for this "water experience," Uchiha Yato assured them it wouldn't be troublesome.
The next thing they knew, he took Kakashi to soak in hot springs for an entire day. The results were again impressive—after returning, Kakashi's natural aptitude combined with the day's "experience" allowed him to perform basic water-style ninjutsu.
Then, for three consecutive mornings, the first thing Hatake Sakumo had to do was check Kakashi's bed.
Yes—at three years old, Kakashi was at that age where bedwetting was hard to avoid.
After all those water-style ninjutsu sessions with Uchiha Yato, the inevitable happened: Kakashi started wetting the bed.
This scene was witnessed not only by Hatake Sakumo but also by Uchiha Yato himself.
Worse yet, Uchiha Yato pulled out his ever-ready video camera and camera to "commemorate" the moment.
The result? Kakashi seemed to develop a psychological block, continuing to wet the bed for a full week—during which Uchiha Yato successfully compiled a "Kakashi Bedwetting Collection."
As the saying goes, the cure for a heart ailment lies in the heart itself, and the one who tied the bell must untie it. Though Uchiha Yato was undeniably responsible for this situation, having outsiders witness it became an indelible psychological scar for Kakashi.
Somehow, Uchiha Yato managed to make Kakashi stop bedwetting afterward.
Thus, Hatake Sakumo's feelings toward Uchiha Yato were a mix of gratitude, resentment, and respect.
Just then, Uchiha Yato dropped another bombshell: "Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzo has instigated underage children to commit assassination attempts against helpless young members of the Uchiha Clan!"