"…The Nine-Tails attack damaged many buildings in the village."
"While we rebuild, we should take this chance to change the village layout a bit."
Standing at the long table, Danzo spoke calmly and confidently.
Anyone could see that this so-called plan to reorganize the village had already been agreed upon with the Third Hokage and the two advisors. This meeting wasn't really for discussion—it was just an announcement.
Danzo pointed at a square area near the forest around Konoha and said slowly,
"The Aburame clan will move to this area. They've long requested a forest for their Ninjutsu training."
Next to Fugaku, the Aburame clan head, Aburame Shibi, gave a slight nod in agreement.
"The Nara clan's homes were not damaged, so they stay where they are. Same for the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans."
"…The destroyed Police Force headquarters will be rebuilt here."
When Fugaku saw the spot Danzo pointed to on the map, his face darkened.
That place was far out, almost right next to Konoha's outer wall.
Danzo continued, "Also, to make things work better, the Uchiha clan should move near the police force headquarters…"
This was clearly trying to drive the Uchiha out of the village center.
Fugaku flared up, stood up sharply, and argued, "Danzo-sama, the Uchiha are the police force that protects the safety of the village. That area is far too remote. If something urgent happens, the police can't possibly respond in time."
His words were reasonable, and several other clan heads nodded slightly.
Facing the challenge, Danzo lifted his head and stared at Fugaku, replying flatly, "If there's an emergency, the Anbu will act."
Fugaku's expression changed a little, catching the hidden meaning.
Danzo was hinting that during the Nine-Tails attack, the Uchiha had done nothing.
But the Uchiha were following orders at that time—orders given by the leadership.
Fugaku turned his head toward the main seat.
The Third Hokage sat with his eyes half-closed, not responding, while the two advisors spoke up one after another:
"The police force often goes to the training grounds, right? That area happens to be next to land suitable for practice."
"That's right, you can make it your clan's private training ground."
Their reasons were nonsense. The logic was about the same as saying, "You Uchiha need to take a dump anyway, so why not live by the toilet."
But from this, Fugaku saw a clear signal—the higher-ups of the village were dead set on pushing the Uchiha out of Konoha's core area.
How could this be? How could this even be allowed?
Could it be… Fugaku instinctively glanced at Orochimaru on the other side of the table, suspicion and questioning in his eyes.
It wasn't strange for Fugaku to react like this. After all, nothing free can be trusted. Expecting one of the Legendary Sannin to keep secrets for nothing in return was simply unbelievable.
Orochimaru noticed Fugaku's searching gaze. He shook his head slightly and gave back a chilling, sinister smile.
The meaning was clear—"Little brother, it wasn't me."
Fugaku believed him.
Not because he thought Orochimaru was honest or incapable of lying, but because if the higher-ups really believed the Uchiha were behind the Nine-Tails attack, then just moving them to the edge of the village was far too light a punishment.
And if the suspicion was only because of the Nine-Tails incident, then this measure was too heavy.
Fugaku's eyes darkened. He thought of a possibility.
Back in the Second Hokage's time, the Uchiha clan had been ordered to form the police force, responsible for village security. It looked like power, but in reality, their position was no better than city guards.
And if they wanted to join outside wars to raise their standing, they had to be under the Hokage's direct control.
Those close to the Hokage got promoted into Anbu, like Shisui's side; the rest were shoved back into the police.
Now, the same pattern was playing out again.
Fugaku clenched his fists, his eyes growing darker.
It was normal for the Hokage's line to suppress clans for the sake of the village—he had no complaint about that.
But why was it only the Uchiha being singled out?
In the Second's time, they had already been forced into a corner of the village, with power limited to the police. And now, even that was going to be stripped away?
But… what should he do now?
Fugaku glanced around the room with the corner of his eyes. The other clan heads all acted like it had nothing to do with them.
He knew why they acted this way.
The Nine-Tails incident had only given the Uchiha suspicion. They hadn't lost anything, their strength was intact, and now they stood out too much in the village.
"Forget it…"
Fugaku sighed inwardly. The Uchiha were isolated and alone this time. To keep arguing would only annoy everyone and make things worse.
He sat back down. Danzo glanced at him, then looked away, smugness and cunning in his eyes, ready to go on about the relocation and spell out the details.
Just then, laughter suddenly rang out.
Danzo turned his head and his face sank.
It was Orochimaru. What was he up to now?
Orochimaru was laughing happily—truly enjoying himself.
At this Konoha meeting, he had gained a lot. Even if it meant learning a forbidden jutsu, he had seen things that were once hidden from him, and now everything was in plain sight.
Fugaku and the Uchiha were stuck in a difficult position. Danzo pushed hard to suppress the Uchiha, the other clan heads only sat and watched with hesitation, and the Third Hokage looked as if he didn't care, but in truth, he was in full control.
"Orochimaru, do you know where you are? Watch your attitude." Danzo scolded.
Pulled back by Jiraiya, Orochimaru stopped laughing, but the smile on his face didn't fade.
Fugaku couldn't understand where the village leaders' hostility came from, why they targeted the Uchiha. He simply blamed it on the ongoing conflict between the clan and the village.
Orochimaru had thought so too, but Genie had once given a rather interesting view: the Uchiha and the Hokage had completely different ideas about the meaning of the village's founding.
In the eyes of the Uchiha, Konohagakure was the village founded when the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan ended the Warring States era by shaking hands and joining forces.
That was true, but it was only part of the truth—just the part the Uchiha found most beautiful.
The Hokage's side believed that the real foundation of Konohagakure was the Senju clan defeating the Uchiha. That it was Hashirama Senju defeating Madara Uchiha.
After the Uchiha's defeat, the First Hokage didn't wipe them out. Instead, he chose tolerance, letting go of the hatred between the two clans and founding Konohagakure.
This was completely different from the usual cycle of slaughter and annexation between clans during the Warring States. Konohagakure was a place where old blood feuds could be left behind and different clans could live together.
After all, if even the Senju and the Uchiha—who had the deepest grudge—could coexist in Konohagakure, then no other clan's feud with the Senju could be deeper than that.
And so, clans like Ino-Shika-Cho, the Aburame, and other famous Warring States clans came to join, making the village grow strong.
In all this, the First Hokage clearly showed the bearing of a true leader, while the Uchiha clan was nothing more than the "horse bones" used to attract others.
Even the most useful "horse bones" were still just bones.
The Senju were different from the Uchiha. After founding Konohagakure, the Senju clan could even disband itself. Hashirama's own granddaughter could throw away her family name. Could the Uchiha do the same?
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, his smile growing more unrestrained.
The Second Hokage created the Police Force, supposedly to protect Konohagakure, but in reality, he treated the Uchiha as a "blade."
Now, this blade had grown more dangerous, harder to control. The old men were ready to cast it aside—or even destroy it if things got critical.
But to Orochimaru, this wasn't much of a concern.
He thought that if Genie were here, this kind of scene should be handled by him.
Genie was smooth and cunning—he could surely play these people like toys in his hands.
Still, Orochimaru had his own way.
Thinking of the intelligence he had received earlier, he sneered coldly. "Danzo-sama, pushing the Uchiha to the edge of the village—could it be that you've already decided they were behind the Nine-Tails attack?"
The moment he said this, the faces of the clan heads and the village leaders all changed.