"You..."
"Enough, stop with the nonsense!"
The Third Hokage shouted, putting an end to their argument.
He turned to Itsuki, speaking in a serious tone, "I won't hold it against you for sending a shadow clone, but..."
"I'm still not going to the Hidden Cloud Village!" Itsuki shook his head, smiling. "However, as a member of Konoha, I do want to contribute. How about this—I'll go to the Hidden Sand Village instead."
"The Hidden Sand Village..."
The Third Hokage's expression remained grim.
It wasn't just because the Hidden Sand was the weakest among the Five Great Ninja Villages, but also because Itsuki was openly defying his orders.
He was the Hokage!
Even though Danzo frequently disobeyed his orders and engaged in secretive activities, he would never outright defy him publicly.
But!
Given the current situation...
"Uchiha Itsuki!"
Koharu Utatane scolded him in disapproval, "Are you even a Konoha ninja? How dare you defy the Hokage's orders? Has the Uchiha clan fallen so low? Hmph, just as I thought..."
Her words were filled with dissatisfaction.
When she spoke about the Uchiha, her tone carried clear disdain.
Itsuki's eyes flickered, and then he suddenly smiled, saying, "The Advisor's words make sense. How can we disobey the Hokage's orders? Fine, I'll go to the Hidden Cloud Village. But since there's a possibility of using force to intercept them, Hokage-sama, you'll need to send a few more people with me."
"That won't be a problem!"
The Third Hokage immediately responded, "I'll assign an entire ANBU squad to assist you in completing this mission."
"Understood!"
Itsuki agreed with a smile. He clasped his hands together, released the jutsu, and the shadow clone dispersed.
The Hokage's office fell into silence.
Homura Mitokado spoke slowly, "He didn't want to go at first; why did he agree in the end?"
"Indeed!"
Choza Akimichi sneered, "Even a fool could see your ill intentions. Why would he agree? Interesting."
"Choza!"
The Third Hokage's expression was displeased as he said, "What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean by 'ill intentions'?"
Choza wasn't backing down.
He was there as a representative of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
This time.
The leak of the military defense map wasn't suitable for a full Jonin council meeting, but it still required the mobilization of many personnel.
So.
The ninjas assigned to these tasks were summoned to the Hokage's office one by one.
Uchiha Itsuki wasn't the first.
As the Third Hokage mentioned, the Hidden Mist Village had already been assigned to Kakashi, who had already set out with his team.
"Am I spouting nonsense?"
Choza sneered, "So that's why you suddenly called me here, worried that Uchiha Itsuki might cause trouble and you wouldn't be able to handle it quickly?"
"Too bad, he only sent a shadow clone. Must have disappointed you."
Choza Akimichi was a student of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
He was a peer of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo, though two years younger.
But his strength was not lacking. His battle against the Hidden Cloud Village in the past had earned him fame throughout the ninja world.
The Akimichi clan specialized in taijutsu and secret techniques, so despite being in his sixties, his strength had not significantly declined.
Danzo coldly remarked, "Do you think we care that much about Uchiha Itsuki?"
Choza glanced at him and sneered, "Why don't you go show off your balls somewhere else?"
"You..."
Danzo was nearly spitting blood in anger.
Again with the eggs!
Can we please stop talking about eggs?!
Now, whenever someone mentions eggs, everyone thinks of me.
It's like I've become "Eggzo"!
Ugh!
"Choza Akimichi!!!"
Danzo's eyes were bloodshot.
"Hmph!" The old fat man snorted, slowly getting up, "Don't provoke me. Just because I've retired doesn't mean I'm dead."
"If anyone wants to test my strength, they're welcome to try!"
With that, Choza Akimichi strode out of the office, casting a threatening glance at everyone present as he left.
"Hmph!"
*Thud!*
Danzo angrily stomped his cane, "That Choza Akimichi..."
"Enough, he's always had this temper. It's been years; you all should know that by now!"
The Third Hokage looked a bit weary and said, "Koharu, intensify the investigation on the leaked defense map."
"Understood!"
"Homura, about the troop adjustments on the frontlines..."
"I understand! We'll be done with the adjustments in two days at most!"
Finally, the Third Hokage just glanced at Danzo.
Danzo didn't say anything.
A single look was all it took for them to understand each other.
Everything was understood without words!
Koharu and Homura exchanged glances, remaining silent.
They knew they couldn't compete...
Choza Akimichi strode back home.
The current heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were already waiting for him.
"You're back."
Shikaku Nara stepped forward, his expression respectful.---
The person standing in front of us is the top expert among the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and the pillar of their three clans.
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio holds a significant status in Konoha, but without strength to back it up, they're nothing.
"Hmph!"
Choza Akimichi snorted heavily and sat down with a thud, saying coldly, "Damn that Danzo!"
... Those words sound so familiar.
Is it just my imagination? Recently, I keep hearing people say this.
Shikaku Nara cautiously asked, "Did Danzo provoke you?"
"It's not just Danzo, it's also the Third Hokage. Hypocrite. Tell me, how could someone as great as Lady Biwako end up with someone like that? If it had been me back then…"
"Huh?"
"Huh!!!"
The three of them were a bit dumbfounded.
It seemed like they had just discovered something incredible.
"Ahem!"
Choza Akimichi cleared his throat twice and said angrily, "What are you all thinking? I was just feeling a bit emotional…"
"Oh, right!"
The three quickly straightened up.
Shikaku Nara said seriously, "It seems like the Hokage is preparing to move against the Uchiha clan."
Choza Akimichi sneered and said, "The only clans strong enough to threaten them are the Uchiha and the Hyuga. The Hyuga have already had their backbone broken, and the Uchiha are known for being unstable. Is it really that strange for them to be targeted?"
Choji Akimichi hesitated and said, "The Hyuga aren't that weak, right?"
Choza Akimichi gave him a sideways glance and said, "Do you really think Hizashi Hyuga's death was that simple? Hah, the Will of Fire!"
His words were filled with heavy sarcasm.
The Will of Fire of Hiruzen Sarutobi was, to put it bluntly, directed against all the ninja within Konoha except for the Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado clans.
If necessary, even Utatane, Mitokado, and possibly even Shimura could be sacrificed, but never the Sarutobi.
"Give the Uchiha a heads-up."
"What?" Shikaku Nara looked at Choza Akimichi in shock.
Warn the Uchiha?
Does Choza Akimichi mean to ally with the Uchiha?
Choza Akimichi sighed and said calmly, "You guys don't understand Hiruzen Sarutobi. I know him. I've known him for many years. I can tell you very clearly that after the Uchiha, he will likely turn his attention to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio."
"He wouldn't go as far as to harm us, but he might take action to split us up!"
"This…"
"We need the Uchiha to be the shield in front of us!"
Choza Akimichi said coldly, "Go, tell the Uchiha that the military deployment plans will be a point the Third Hokage and the others will use to strike at them."
Shikaku Nara was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Actually, there's no need to be pessimistic."
"Oh?"
"Uchiha Itsuki!" Shikaku Nara said with a strange expression, "I believe that this person, who never takes a loss, will definitely give us a surprise."
(End of chapter)