Fugaku's face had never looked so grim. As a clan leader, being threatened with a ninja blade by his own clansman, who even mentioned decapitating him, was unprecedented.
His dark pupils swiftly turned blood-red, and the three tomoe of his Sharingan slowly rotated. Uchiha Fugaku said with a somber tone, "I am the head of the clan, and I will enter now to take those people away!"
"Heh."
Yoichi snickered upon hearing this, his expression cold. He tilted his head, indicating the police force's gate to Uchiha Fugaku, "Try it, clan leader."
The Raiden blade remained raised, its blood-red tomoe locked in a stare with Fugaku's three tomoe. Yoichi's expression seemed to state a fact: 'If you dare enter, I dare to chop off your head.'
In Yoichi's view, Fugaku, who had been propped up by Danzo's words, didn't deserve to be the clan leader. By this time, the militaristic faction aligned with the Second Elder had already made their choice, and it would be best for Fugaku, the clan leader, not to betray the will of his clansmen.
Otherwise, the same way he was elevated to his position, he could be dragged down!
Truth be told, Fugaku did not possess the Mangekyo Sharingan nor the strength to convince all clan members; even if he did, making an unsatisfactory decision would still not garner their support.
Take Uchiha Madara, for example, whose decision to join Konoha was his own, and yet he wanted to leave again just a few years later, causing turmoil—moving the clan to the village only to declare moving back.
Should Fugaku indeed take a step forward, Yoichi would genuinely dare to strike him down. It wasn't as if he had no cards to play; Yoichi could still summon King Ghidorah one more time. If Konoha wanted to turn hostile, then no one would get off easily.
He could summon King Ghidorah directly within Konoha, destroying this damn village; initiating the Third Great Ninja War two years early and making Konoha history!
Fugaku found himself in a difficult position, pressured by Danzo from behind and watched by Hiruzen.
What infuriated Fugaku the most was being threatened by Yoichi, a younger member of his clan.
Fugaku felt that if he truly didn't enter now, the clan leader's dignity would be completely lost.
Thus, a few seconds after Yoichi finished speaking, Fugaku lifted his foot towards the police force's gate, seemingly determined to go in and bring those people out.
'What a pathetic clan leader!'
Yoichi thought bitterly, ready to go down together, who was afraid of whom!
The Raiden blade crackled intensely with lightning, and with a swift motion, it aimed straight for Fugaku's neck.
Yoichi held nothing back with this strike, believing that if he didn't establish his authority now, he might face a fate worse than death later on.
If Fugaku dared to step forward under the guise of the clan leader, then death was what he sought!
Clang! A clear, ear-piercing clang of metal collision sounded as a chakra blade, shimmering with white light, intercepted the Raiden blade.
The invisible wind-style chakra on the white short blade easily shredded the lightning encasing the Raiden blade.
Wind-style's cutting power countered the piercing force of lightning-style, something Yoichi had experienced during spars with Kakashi; though Kakashi's wind-style wasn't as strong back then, making the counter not as apparent.
However, on the White Fang of Konoha, the elemental counter was strikingly clear.
"Yoichi-kun, please calm down. The most important thing now is to clarify the spy issue; everyone is too impulsive."
Sakumo spoke with a gentle tone, having used almost instantaneous movement to appear from behind Hiruzen to Fugaku's side, blocking Yoichi's strike.
The sparks generated by the collision of the two ninja blades nearly splattered onto Fugaku's neck, leaving him with a mix of anger and astonishment.
Fugaku hadn't expected Yoichi to truly attempt to kill him; had it not been for Sakumo's intervention, his neck might have been severed by now.
"Uchiha Yoichi!"
Fugaku shouted angrily, about to use his Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on Yoichi.
However, before he could act, a hand rested on his shoulder, interrupting Fugaku's move with a gentle but firm grip.
"Clan Leader Fugaku, let's all calm down. The misunderstanding will deepen if we continue like this. We just need to clarify if Yoichi-kun's detainees are indeed spies from the Stone Village. All misunderstandings will be resolved, and Yoichi-kun's actions were for the village's sake. Moreover, Yoichi-kun didn't actually harm anyone; even without me, Clan Leader Fugaku wouldn't have been in danger. I was just being meddlesome."
Sakumo's voice was gentle, yet his words commanded respect from everyone present.
Being the White Fang of Konoha, with a reputation and prowess that could intimidate enemy village Jonin and even earn respect from the Sannin, many in the village speculated that in terms of sheer strength, perhaps only Hiruzen was stronger than the White Fang.
And his words also surprised Yoichi, seemingly helping him smooth over the situation. However, after a moment of thought, Yoichi understood it was probably because Kakashi had discussed the matter with his father.
Fugaku took a deep breath, managing to suppress his rage. Sakumo had just saved him, and being significantly stronger, Fugaku decided to see how Sakumo would handle the situation.
"Third Hokage, the root of the dispute lies in whether those individuals are spies. If so, let's investigate now to dispel all misunderstandings," Sakumo addressed Hiruzen, prompting action.
Hiruzen, no longer able to feign ignorance, responded, "Very well, Sakumo-kun. I entrust this matter to you."
Relieved, Hiruzen sighed internally. Sakumo seldom approached him, but his visit to the Hokage's office today, discussing Kakashi's mission and the leaked intelligence, hinted at a near disaster for Sakumo's only son. Betraying village ninjas and leaking intelligence violated Sakumo's principles.
Knowing Sakumo wouldn't deceive him, Hiruzen took the matter seriously. Given the news of Kakashi teaming up with Yoichi and a bit of deduction, it wasn't hard to guess who had the audacity to undertake such actions.
Danzo!
With Hiruzen's permission, Sakumo turned to Yoichi, "Yoichi-kun, please let me accompany you inside. If they are indeed spies communicating with the Stone Village, they shouldn't be overlooked."
"Please, follow me, Sakumo-san."
After a moment, Yoichi addressed Sakumo, then proceeded towards the police force.
Entering, Yoichi noticed the complex glances from his clansmen—mixtures of awe and shock, possibly because they saw Yoichi dare to confront the clan leader and intimidate Root operatives, significantly boosting the police force's reputation.
In truth, the police force had often been bullied by Root. Previously, when the police force rigorously purged spies from the village, Root operatives would demand their release under various pretexts.
Moreover, their demeanor was disdainful, as if the police force was obligated to serve Root.
Therefore, after today, the police force's respect for Yoichi was partly due to his boldness and partly due to the satisfaction of seeing Root operatives being intimidated.
(End of Chapter)