At this moment, in the early hours of the morning.
The Konoha Hokage building was brightly lit and busy.
There are too many things that need to be dealt with in the aftermath of this fierce battle of Uchiha defection.
The treatment of personnel, house repairs, damage statistics, information blockade, public comfort, etc... all made the ninjas in Konoha extremely busy.
At the same time, in the Hokage's office.
Several senior Konoha officials were also discussing, and the atmosphere was solemn.
The Third Hokage: Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Senior advisors: Mito Kadeni and Koharu.
In addition, Danzo, the 'auxiliary Hokage', was still lying on the hospital bed and was not present.
These people are considered the highest decision-making level of Konoha Hidden Village.
"Hiruzen, how is Danzo's injury?"
Mito Monohan asked.
"He is being treated by the medical team and there is no fear of his life. However, I am afraid that his legs may not be saved..."
The Sandaime Sarutobi sighed.
I couldn't bear what Danzo was going through.
"Hmph! The Uchiha clan has indeed rebelled. I would say that they should be regarded as traitors and executed immediately!"
Xiaochun, who was sleeping next to him, snorted coldly and said angrily.
"Koharu! Isn't it precisely because of our discrimination that the Uchiha clan has reached this point?"
"This is obviously the Uchiha clan's choice! They are traitors!"
Mito Menyan quickly tried to persuade him:
"Hiruzen, Koharu, stop fighting."
"Now is not the time to discuss this. Let's discuss how to handle this matter first!"
"With so many Uchiha people defecting, if it cannot be properly handled, it will definitely affect the reputation of the village and [Fire Country]!"
After turning to bed, Xiaochun quickly said firmly:
"good!"
"I propose that a large number of pursuit troops should be sent out immediately to capture all the defecting Uchiha clan members, or to kill them on the spot!"
"And control all the remaining Uchihas in the village, and preferably execute them all!"
“In this way, the prestige of the village can be truly consolidated!”
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi immediately retorted:
"No!"
"The Uchiha clan is already good at fighting, plus Uchiha Natsume, who is gifted as a monster. If you want to kill or capture them all, you will have to send out at least half of the ninjas in the village, and there is even a risk of the group being wiped out!"
"If we fail, the entire defense force of Konoha will be severely damaged, and it will even arouse the covetousness of several other major ninja villages!"
Sarutobi had experienced the divine power of Susanoo at close range.
In the face of such great power.
Ordinary ANBU ninjas have no ability to resist.
Look at Danzo, that old bastard, he almost died suddenly due to his strength.
It was enough to see how terrifying that Uchiha boy was.
If you rashly send troops to pursue you, you may never come back!
Konoha has already lost a lot of combat power tonight and can't take any more risks!
"Are you going to watch them successfully defect and ignore the prestige of the village?"
"I am the Hokage, and I need to prioritize the safety of the village!"
"And a large-scale pursuit will definitely consume a lot of resources, including ninja tools to stop the attack, ninja supplies, etc... it's not a small number!"
"The village is now prosperous. Is it a good thing to drag the village into war again?"
"In addition, I do not agree with resorting to force against the remaining Uchiha people in the village. They are also the victims of this defection..."
Sarutobi retorted fiercely.
As Hokage, he now cares more about the village than hunting down those defectors.
Soon the discussion descended into contention.
But it's obvious that due to tonight's changes.
The two senior advisers, Koharu and Mito Kaden, are more inclined to severely punish the Uchiha clan.
Sarutobi was the only one who wanted a gentler approach.
If Danzo was there, he would probably still choose a radical strategy and agree to deal with the Uchiha clan!
So much so that, in the later stages of the dispute, Sarutobi had to give in a bit.
But, right now.
Outside the office, an unexpected figure suddenly asked to see him.
…
The one who was begging to see him was actually Uchiha Itachi, a member of the Uchiha clan.
After turning to bed, Xiaochun immediately shouted angrily:
"Uchiha Itachi? As a member of the rebellious clan, how dare you come here?"
"Koharu! Watch your words! Itachi is an ANBU ninja and has nothing to do with his family!"
"Besides, it was the family's objection that Itachi reported in the first place."
"snort……"
After going to bed, Xiaochun snorted coldly and said no more words.
"Itachi, why are you here?"
Sarutobi looked at Itachi and asked gently.
He still values this talented ninja who has outstanding talents, cares about the village, and has a clear sense of justice.
What's more, for the sake of the village and the greater good.
There are very few ninjas who bear the pain and decide to betray their family and bear the sin, which is extremely rare!
"I'm here to report my father's proposal to the village."
"Oh? What did Fugaku want to say?"
Sarutobi became curious.
After all, Fugaku was a real participant in tonight's battle.
Itachi lowered his head and began to narrate according to the instructions Natsume's cousin left for him.
"Father said: As the leader of the clan and the captain of the police force, he failed to detect the defection in the clan in advance and failed to prevent the defection of Uchiha Natsume and others. The responsibility lies with him. He has neglected his duty. ”
"Please punish Konoha!"
"In addition, in the name of the patriarch, he will claim to the outside world that this is a civil strife in the Uchiha clan! It is all a problem within the clan and has nothing to do with Konoha. On the contrary, Konoha helped suppress the civil strife and safeguarded the Uchiha clan."
"Finally, my father also promised that he will do his best to capture all the defecting tribesmen or kill them directly!"
"Ask the village for permission!"
Listen to this narrative.
Sarutobi and the other three couldn't help but their eyes lit up.
Itachi's report completely solved the two most troubling problems for them!
First, as long as the Uchiha clan is willing to claim that this is an internal conflict within the family, not a defection from the village, and take the initiative to take the blame.
It can completely safeguard Konoha's reputation and prestige! It can even add a bit of a fair reputation.
Secondly, letting the remaining Uchiha clansmen go capture those defectors will save Konoha a lot of manpower!
Even if they can't all be recaptured, even if there are some battle losses along the way. All that was consumed was the strength of the Uchiha clan. For Konoha, it is killing two birds with one stone, with both advantages and disadvantages!
This is much better than sending a large number of Konoha ninjas to chase him!
…
Sarutobi and the other three were silent.
He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of this proposal.
But no matter how you think about it, if you adopt this proposal, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages!
After a while, Sarutobi took the lead and asked:
"How is Fugaku's injury?"
"My father's injury is slightly serious. I'm afraid it will take several days to recover."
"Itachi, from Konoha's point of view, what do you think?"
"What father said should be true!"
"My father's previous attempts to rebel were mostly instigated by radicals within the clan. My father did not want to rebel."
"Now, most of those radicals have fled. My father can naturally let go."
"And, most importantly. Apart from my father, there are probably few people in the entire village who can compete with Natsume [Susanoh], right?"
Itachi narrated in an orderly manner.
Apparently, he had already prepared his words.
After all, if you can't convince the top management of Konoha here.
The remaining Uchiha clan members in the village are in danger!
Hearing this, Sarutobi nodded again.
It's still the same logic, the strength shown by that boy Natsume Uchiha is too powerful!
This made Sarutobi secretly afraid.
If he could, he really didn't want to risk the lives of the Konoha ninjas and pursue them to death!
"Xiaoharu, what do you think?"
"Although this proposal is good. But how can we guarantee that the Uchiha ninja sent to hunt down the traitors will not defect too?"
Itachi paused and continued to explain.
"As long as the families of the remaining Uchiha clan ninjas are controlled in the village, they will not dare to mess around and will only hunt down the traitors for the village!"
"Yeah! Itachi is right."
"This is indeed a good idea!"
Mito Menyan on the side also approved of this proposal.
Such a good strategy that would benefit the village and make dog eat dog within the Uchiha clan, they really had no reason to refuse.
Not a moment.
Sarutobi then made a decision.
"Very good. Itachi, we will consider this proposal seriously."
"You go back first."
"Remember, keep an eye on the remaining Uchiha people and don't let them cause chaos again."
"Also. Please put aside the instructions Danzo gave you."
"As you command!"
Itachi nodded in agreement.
But my heart suddenly felt happy.
He understood that this was almost equivalent to Konoha's top management adopting this proposal.
As a result, the remaining Uchiha clan members in the village were temporarily safe.
Father, mother, Sasuke and the others are all safe.
At the same time, Itachi was even more secretly horrified:
"Is this the backup plan left behind by cousin Natsume?"
"With just one suggestion, the crisis for the remaining tribesmen was resolved! It also allowed the village to take the initiative to reuse the remaining Uchiha tribesmen!"
"Is it possible that he has thought of this step a long time ago? Even the third generation of adults predicted their decision?"
"Cousin Natsume, how deep are you hiding!"
…
