Chapter 57: Internal Strife in the Leaf Village

At ten in the morning, the Hokage's office was occupied by four elderly people seated around a coffee table on three leather sofas. The attendees of this high-level meeting were the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, his advisor Danzo Shimura, and two consultants - Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

Koharu and Homura not only managed the vast administrative machinery of the Leaf Village but also facilitated communication between the village and the Daimyo's office. They were elders recognized by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire himself. These four influential figures were all disciples of Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage. After his death, they jointly managed the Leaf Village for nearly 40 years, weathering two Great Ninja Wars and various other crises. It could be said that their leadership was crucial to the current prosperity of the Leaf Village. This fact was clearly stated in the textbooks of the Ninja Academy.

At this moment, Koharu and Homura were each holding a piece of intelligence. After reading it, their expressions turned serious. "I didn't expect the Uchiha to quietly possess three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan. They've kept it well hidden," Koharu remarked, squinting her eyes. "It seems that the Uchiha have been patiently yielding all these years, just to make us lower our guard. Now they've finally shown their fangs," Homura added, adjusting his glasses.

As disciples of Tobirama Senju, they naturally understood what the Mangekyou Sharingan represented. Fortunately, from the information currently available, Fugaku, Shisui, and Dan, although each stronger than the last, were still far from the level of Uchiha Madara. Madara's Susanoo was over a hundred meters tall and could level a mountain or disrupt a river with a single blow. It was even more terrifying than the rampaging Nine-Tails.

If the Uchiha clan produced three Madaras, there would be no point in playing this game. Even if Hashirama Senju were to be resurrected, he would have to step aside.

"Cough, cough." The Third Hokage put down his pipe and cleared his throat, about to speak, but Danzo beat him to it. Danzo threw the intelligence file in his hand onto the coffee table and said in a deep voice, "I've already sent people to secretly spread the contents of this file. Before long, everyone in the village will know that the Uchiha have three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage immediately frowned, suppressing his anger as he questioned Danzo, "Why would you do that? Give me a reason." He had clearly ordered Danzo to stop all actions against the Uchiha, but the latter still did as he pleased, completely disregarding his authority as the Hokage.

In response to the Third Hokage's outburst, Danzo calmly replied, "Of course, it's to get everyone in the village on our side. After all, no one wants to see another Uchiha Madara emerge. The Uchiha's three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan will only make those who already suspect the Uchiha fear and reject them even more. By then, dozens of ninja clans in the village, as well as thousands of civilian ninjas, will spontaneously unite against the Uchiha without needing an order from you, the Hokage. If we can gather the power of the entire village, what do we have to fear from the Uchiha?"

Danzo believed he had done nothing wrong, so he was not afraid of the Third Hokage's questioning. However, the Third Hokage shook his head in disappointment and sternly reprimanded Danzo, "Danzo, your perspective is too narrow. You're only thinking about dealing with the Uchiha, but have you considered that the village can't afford internal strife right now? Don't forget that the other major ninja villages have always been eyeing the Leaf Village with hostility! If we exacerbate our conflict with the Uchiha now and cause internal chaos, will external chaos be far behind? Tell me!"

"Hmph." Danzo stood up, his gaze burning as he stared at the Third Hokage and retorted, "Hiruzen, you're too indecisive. That's why you've allowed the Uchiha to become a malignant tumor in the village. As the Hokage, you bear full responsibility for this!"

Koharu and Homura chose to remain silent at this point. They both supported Danzo on the Uchiha issue, favoring a more aggressive strategy rather than the current approach.

Seeing the situation turning against him, the Third Hokage feared he would be marginalized by the other three. He slammed his hand on the coffee table and stood up, shouting at Danzo, "Enough is enough!"

"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Koharu and Homura finally shook their heads in resignation, playing the peacemakers. This wasn't the first time the Leaf Village's top four had argued. Over the decades of working together, disagreements and even arguments over policy differences were common. However, they all shared one thing in common - everything they did was for the benefit of the Leaf Village, to protect it. At least, that's what they believed.

After calming down, Koharu, the only woman among the top brass, voiced her opinion, "As Hiruzen said, it's not appropriate to go to war with the Uchiha at the moment. The Uchiha's decision to let Kakashi return shows that they don't want to break with the village, because they know they can't win."

"However..." Homura took over from Koharu, expressing his concern, "The problem now is that the Uchiha have revealed their trump card of three pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan. If we don't respond strongly, they will undoubtedly become restless and try to regain control of the police force. How should we respond then?"

The Uchiha issue was essentially a problem with the police force, a headache for the Leaf Village's top brass for decades. "This is all the Second Hokage's fault," Danzo grumbled, showing no respect for his deceased teacher. "The Second Hokage's decision to establish the police force and let the Uchiha clan manage it was the second biggest mistake of his life."

Danzo had always held a grudge against the Second Hokage because the latter had chosen Hiruzen Sarutobi as his successor instead of him. Koharu and Homura also disagreed with the Second Hokage's decision to hand over the police force to the Uchiha. The police force was responsible for establishing the laws of the Leaf Village, maintaining public order and stability, and arresting those with criminal tendencies. They had legislative, executive, and judicial powers. From arresting people, to judging and sentencing them, to sending them to prison, it was a "one-stop service". The power of the police force was so great that only the Hokage's Anbu could check it.

In other words, apart from the Anbu, the nearly ten thousand ninjas and hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Leaf Village were all under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha. The Uchiha could arrest anyone they wanted on any pretext. Was this fair?

So, for the past thirty-plus years, the Leaf Village's top four had been racking their brains to correct the mistakes made during the Second Hokage's reign, drastically reducing the power of the police force to prevent the Uchiha from causing too much trouble.