Chapter 117: Watching the Fire from the Other Shore

What does this have to do with the Uchiha?

Upon hearing this, the two Anbu members, Eagle and Tiger, understood Fugaku's meaning.

It was simply that the Uchiha had already relinquished their power over the Police Department, so the events of tonight were not their responsibility.

However.

"Aren't the Uchiha also part of Konoha? Isn't it your duty to protect the village?" Tiger retorted coldly.

"I'm sorry, but as the head of the Uchiha clan, my first duty is to protect my own people. If I can't even protect my own clan, how can I protect the village?" Fugaku retorted.

Members of the Uchiha clan, such as Hachidai, Tetsuhi, and Inohi, also chimed in: "That's right, the Uchiha clan also has a large number of ordinary members. Don't they need protection? Are their lives not important?"

"Moreover, the Police Department and the Anbu have already been dispatched. Are these two major departments with hundreds of elite ninjas unable to maintain order in the village and need the Uchiha to lend a hand? What use are they then?"

"..."

Faced with the questioning of the Uchiha, Eagle and Tiger's faces changed, and they involuntarily took a few steps back.

They were at a loss for words.

Indeed.

At this time, other major ninja clans in Konoha, such as the Sarutobi, Inuzuka, and Aburame, had also made the same choice as the Uchiha.

They prioritized protecting their own clan and people.

The Uchiha had every reason not to take action.

In order to fulfill the Third Hokage's task, the two had to soften their tone and lower their stance:

"Clan Head Fugaku, the Third Hokage personally asks for the Uchiha's help. You should at least make some effort, right? You should know that the Hokage is currently fighting the enemy and his life is in danger at any moment."

Unexpectedly.

Upon hearing this, Fugaku remained indifferent and even questioned the two for the third time:

"The Uchiha have already killed Orochimaru and driven away Sasori of the Red Sand. Haven't we done enough for the village? Our clan has made an enemy of Akatsuki this time and will inevitably face their vicious retaliation. We must be on guard."

After saying this.

He ordered Tetsuhi and others to immediately notify the more than seven hundred members of the clan to take refuge in the Medical Department.

Fugaku hadn't forgotten Dan's words, which were that no matter what happened in the village, the Uchiha should not get involved.

Because.

This could very well be Akatsuki's strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Once the Uchiha's elite left the clan area, Obito might immediately launch an attack, not only killing all the Uchiha civilians but also reclaiming the Hashirama cells and the Gunbai fan.

To avenge the grudge of the Mountain Graveyard.

By then, the Uchiha would regret it too late.

Therefore.

Fugaku would absolutely not take action.

To follow the Third Hokage's order would be to joke about the safety and lives of his clan.

The two Anbu members were finally angered and warned sternly:

"Uchiha Fugaku, you are openly defying the Hokage's orders. After tonight, you will definitely be held accountable. You will bear the consequences!"

Before their words fell.

Boom!

An astonishing killing

intent suddenly erupted from the Uchiha.

Except for Shisui, all the Uchiha activated their Sharingan, their crimson eyes staring intently at Eagle and Tiger.

"You..."

The two of them were horrified, retreating another dozen steps, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Just as they didn't know how to proceed.

"Attack!"

Outside the Uchiha clan area, a fierce battle suddenly broke out.

It was a dozen members of the Police Department, chasing several White Zetsu, spreading the battle to the doorstep of the Uchiha.

The two Anbu members looked at each other and immediately rushed towards the White Zetsu, joining the Police Department's battle.

As for this.

The Uchiha just watched coldly.

So, a strange scene appeared:

Under the pressure of dozens of pairs of Sharingan eyes, whether it was the members of the Police Department and Anbu or the White Zetsu, no matter how fierce the battle, they dared not step half a step into the Uchiha's gate.

In a room on the third floor of the Medical Department.

Clang.

Tsunade, wearing a semi-transparent silk nightgown, pushed open the window, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"What's going on? It's so noisy."

She muttered to herself, looking at Konoha in a daze.

Due to two consecutive surgeries in the past two days, she was a bit tired and went to bed early. She was dreaming of winning billions at the gambling table.

Her beautiful dream was suddenly interrupted, which made her very upset.

But in just a few seconds, Tsunade woke up, stunned by the sight of Konoha.

She looked down towards the sound and saw the White Zetsu fighting with the Konoha ninjas, and Fugaku and others watching the fire from the other shore.

Akatsuki, this time they're directly attacking Konoha?

Tsunade's expression gradually became serious.

"Lady Tsunade!"

At this moment, Shizune rushed into the room, asking anxiously, "What should we do?"

What to do?

Tsunade looked at Konoha engulfed in war, thinking of the many villagers being injured and even dying, her eyes flashed with sympathy, and her kind nature made it hard for her to stand by.

But then, she suddenly thought of the Third Hokage's old face.

As the Hokage, he knew the village was in danger, but he was so careless that it led to this situation.

This was clearly negligence.

Teacher, even if you're the Hokage, not every time you make a mistake, there are people to "clean up your mess".

Thinking of this.

Tsunade snorted coldly, slammed the window shut, and ordered Shizune:

"Go back to sleep!"

More than ten minutes later.

Over seven hundred Uchiha clan members, each carrying clothes, blankets, food, and water, arrived at the Medical Department one after another.

Samui also came to help, guiding everyone to gather inside the building, setting up bedding and settling down.

Meanwhile.

The spoils of war that the Uchiha had seized from the Mountain Graveyard last time, including various secret scrolls, Hashirama cells, and experimental equipment, were all moved to the Medical Department and stored in the basement.

Under Fugaku's command.

The elite of the entire clan guarded the Medical Department building inside and out, turning it into an impenetrable fortress.

Always on guard against enemy attacks.

And the center of this fortress was the Medical Department's meditation room.

At this moment, the strongest member of the Uchiha was in seclusion inside.

Outside the door.

Samui stared at the door of the meditation room, his eyes flickering.

Although Uchiha Dan was in seclusion, he must not be ignorant of what was happening in Konoha, yet he remained silent.

This means.

No matter how big the problem in Konoha, it is not the "emergency situation" in the director's mouth.

Samui was happy to see this situation.

Konoha was attacked tonight and would inevitably suffer heavy losses, leading to a decline in strength.

Moreover.

From the negotiation between Fugaku and others with the Anbu just now, after this incident, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village, which had originally eased, will again—

Intensify.

In the near future, Konoha may really decline, or even disintegrate.

Thinking of this, as a spy from Kumogakure, Samui couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Unfortunately.

The Medical Department building is now heavily guarded by the Uchiha, not even a fly can get out, let alone a messenger hawk for transmitting information.

Samui could only slowly look for opportunities to send the news of Konoha's chaos back to Kumogakure.

In fact.

There are far more spies from various major ninja villages lurking in Konoha than just Samui.

When Konoha was in chaos, these people couldn't help but become active.

Some people infiltrated the Hokage building to steal secret information;

Some broke into the Science Department building to kidnap researchers;

And some even tried to sneak into Konoha's Forbidden Scroll Library to steal various high-level ninjutsu and forbidden techniques.

This was a carnival, plunging Konoha into greater chaos.

Under such circumstances.

At this moment in Konoha, apart from the Uchiha, there was another powerful force that also chose to stand by, and that was—

Danzo's Root.

Root, underground base.

Dozens of fully armed Root ninjas were kneeling on one knee, waiting silently for their leader's orders.

Danzo leaned on his cane, his back to his subordinates, not saying a word.

No one knew what he was thinking.

In this atmosphere that was so quiet it was suffocating, the base door was pushed open with a creak, and Inuzuka Tsume hurried in.

He reported the situation in the village to Danzo and brought a White Zetsu corpse.

Huh?

Danzo turned around to examine the White Zetsu's corpse and found traces of Wood Release cells in its body.

"An army cultivated from the First Hokage's cells, huh? Interesting. It seems Akatsuki is more difficult to deal with than I thought. I should have eradicated them when I had the chance. What a pity."

D

anzo muttered to himself, shaking his head.

During the Third Great Ninja War.

Akatsuki rose to prominence in Amegakure in a short period of time, quickly growing and gaining a power that all five major ninja villages had to take seriously.

At that time, Danzo noticed Akatsuki right away.

He knew that Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, was a person who valued talent greatly. Given his character, he was likely to support the young Akatsuki and form a partnership.

One side was the seasoned demi-god of the ninja world, and the other was the vibrant Akatsuki organization.

If the two joined forces, the power of Amegakure would inevitably increase further, possibly even rising to become the sixth major ninja village.

From Konoha's perspective.

To prevent Hanzo and Akatsuki from joining forces and to weaken the power of neighboring countries.

Danzo immediately sent trusted people to Amegakure, using a strategy of sowing discord, successfully deceiving Hanzo into believing that Akatsuki was ambitious and would pose a threat to his position.

Later.

Danzo and Hanzo even set a trap together, luring Akatsuki members into negotiations and launching a surprise attack.

That battle ended with the death of Akatsuki's leader, Yahiko, and Hanzo's escape.

Both sides suffered heavy losses.

Danzo's plan to kill two birds with one stone was successful.

Afterwards, even the Third Hokage had to admit that Danzo had made a great contribution, eliminating a huge threat for Konoha and maintaining peace on the border.

However.

What Danzo didn't expect was.

Akatsuki's vitality was so tenacious that not only did they kill Hanzo and take over Amegakure a few years later.

They also continued to recruit troops, and even his former subordinate, Orochimaru, joined Akatsuki.

He also knew.

The current leader of Akatsuki must know that he was involved in Yahiko's death back then, and the other party must hate him to the bone.

Now that Akatsuki is invading Konoha.

Without knowing exactly how many people the other side has deployed.

Danzo believes that he must not show up, otherwise he will become the primary target of the enemy.

At this time, another Root member brought news:

"Danzo-sama, Sasori of the Red Sand is attacking the Hokage building and is fighting with the Third Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Danzo's eyes lit up.

This is really great news.