After listening to the Anbu's account of the events, Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously reached for his pipe.
Unfortunately, he had not brought it with him.
Danzō Shimura had secretly concealed Sharingan.
Uchiha Sora had defeated Danzō.
Uchiha Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The situation here was far more complicated than the one involving the Nine-Tails.
At least against the Nine-Tails, it was simple—you only had to think about life and death.
But if this side was not stabilized tonight, and the entire Uchiha clan truly rebelled—
Hiruzen could already envision Konoha gravely wounded, other villages seizing the opportunity to invade.
The Third Shinobi World War had never truly ended. Kumogakure was restless along the borders of the Land of Fire. Another war could ignite at any moment.
Suppressing his anger with difficulty, Hiruzen spoke in a low voice.
"Fire Hokage Advisor Danzō Shimura has falsified the Hokage's orders. He is hereby stripped of his position and placed under arrest."
"As for the Sharingan on his body… I will give you an explanation."
"All Military Police members, return to your posts. I promise leniency for those who took action."
"Right now, the priority is supporting Minato. Fugaku, come with me."
Though the Uchiha's actions already constituted open rebellion, Hiruzen could not afford to clash with them here as Danzō would have.
Endure. I must endure.
These accounts could be settled after the Nine-Tails was sealed.
As for Danzō—
…Forget it.
—
Taking Fugaku with him would leave the Uchiha leaderless, preventing extreme retaliation.
Like Danzō, Hiruzen did not consider Uchiha Sora the primary threat. In his eyes, Fugaku—who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan—was far more dangerous.
—
But after Hiruzen spoke, Fugaku did not move.
Instead, he looked toward Uchiha Sora.
"Third Hokage-sama…"
Sora spoke calmly.
"It seems you haven't grasped the situation."
"Our position is one of negotiation—not obedience."
"Impudent!!"
Homura Mitokado shouted angrily.
"You think your clan alone can oppose the village?! You—"
"Enough, Homura!"
Hiruzen truly felt exhausted.
Until now, he had deliberately avoided saying "the Uchiha clan," instead referring to them as the Military Police, precisely to avoid framing this as clan versus village.
Privately was one thing—but at a moment like this?
Koharu and Homura…
Did they truly not understand the stakes?
As long as this could be described as internal factional strife, reconciliation remained possible.
But if the Uchiha were denied status as part of the village—
Then it would become outright division.
—
"Uchiha Sora… is it?"
"I know of you. The villagers say you're a trustworthy child."
Seeing that Fugaku awaited Sora's stance, Hiruzen inwardly despised the clan head for deferring to a mere boy.
"You uncovered Danzō's wrongdoing, did you not? Truly worthy of the new generation's talent."
His tone hardened.
"But your methods were too extreme."
He pointed toward the village still burning in the distance.
"Konoha is facing catastrophe. Whatever your grievances, this was not the time to resort to violence."
"Others may be excused—but not you."
Hiruzen did not conceal his anger.
"Why did you kill your fellow villagers? That alone is unforgivable!"
Sora smiled faintly—and shattered Hiruzen's momentum with a single sentence.
"At least I kill in battle. They rushed at me to die."
"Orochimaru, on the other hand, slaughtered ordinary civilians."
"Third Hokage-sama, answer me."
"How did Orochimaru escape the village while both you and the Fourth Hokage were present?"
—
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
He opened his mouth—
But found no words.
"Hiruzen, don't hesitate! Minato is still waiting!"
A single eye appeared upon Enma's staff as the Monkey King spoke.
"Kid, if you want to follow that snake's path, then run."
"You chose your timing well. At least for now, we won't have time to hunt you."
Sora shook his head.
"Not enough."
"I'll be direct."
"I demand that the entire Uchiha clan leave the village."
"Impossible!"
Before Hiruzen could answer, a masked Anbu stepped forward.
Judging by his attire, he was a captain.
"Uchiha Sora, your arrogance knows no bounds!"
"What gives you the right to decide for the entire clan? No one wants to live as a rogue ninja with you. They live here. They are part of the village!"
Even Shisui—who knew of the massacre to come—hesitated upon hearing Sora's demand.
Let alone the rest of the clan.
In their minds, fighting the village might mean death—but their families would not be implicated.
Minato was compassionate. He would not punish their kin.
But leaving as a clan?
Even without political insight, anyone understood the village would never permit such a thing.
That would be true annihilation.
Even the proud Uchiha did not believe they could withstand Konoha alone.
"Judging by your voice…"
"Are you Sarutobi Shinnosuke?"
Sora lowered his gaze slightly.
"If reality were truly as you claim…"
"You would not be standing before me saying those words."
Click.
The man removed his mask.
His features bore resemblance to Hiruzen's.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
"What do you mean by that? You know me?"
After a brief pause, Sora raised his charred hand and extended two fingers.
"When I was two years old, my mother died."
"War ravaged the shinobi world. Many in the village lost loved ones. Nothing unusual."
He pointed at Shinnosuke.
"I remember that day clearly."
"The medical ninja assigned to treat my mother… never came."
"When I went looking for them, they were treating you."
"Injured on mission, both of you."
"My mother arrived first."
"Her injuries were more severe."
"A 'part of the village'?"
"Perhaps that's what you believe."
"But others do not."
Sora continued calmly.
"This wasn't an isolated case."
"For years, our clan has always been the last to receive aid."
"Shisui earned his name on the battlefield against Kirigakure."
"But you overlooked something."
"Sending ordinary Uchiha—specialists in Fire Release—to fight Water Release experts from Kirigakure."
"How unreasonable was that deployment?"
—
"I understand."
"Strong shinobi receive greater resources. The shinobi world is not a place for equality."
"But why are we the ones who must endure unfairness?"
"We are not weak."
He smiled faintly.
"Councilor Koharu didn't finish her sentence earlier."
"But that's the real reason."
"Because we are a clan born evil."
"Isn't that what you all think?"