"Hokage… the Third Hokage, am I right?"
The voice cut cleanly through the hall.
Toyoma smiled as he spoke.
For a brief moment, the chamber fell silent.
Shock rippled through the gathered crowd—
clan heads, elders, even the Uchiha themselves.
No one had expected the boy to address the Hokage directly… and certainly not with that tone.
The Grand Elder's heart sank.
Bringing him here was a mistake, Setsuna thought grimly. Open hostility toward the Hokage—especially now—is suicide.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly lifted his gaze.
This was the first time since the meeting began that he was being addressed directly.
And by a boy—one who had not even been part of the original debate.
The chatter between village elders and Uchiha representatives faded into nothing. All eyes were now on the Hokage.
Hiruzen's expression remained calm.
But something dark flickered behind his eyes.
"What do you mean by that, boy?" he asked.
He did not call him by name.
That alone sent a chill through the room.
Those who knew the Third Hokage understood the weight of that omission.
Hiruzen always addressed others by name—especially the young—projecting warmth, patience, and grandfatherly kindness.
Not now.
Danzo noticed it immediately.
A faint thrill ran through him.
Good, he thought. One wrong word, and I can have this brat detained—right here, in front of the Uchiha.
Across the hall, Koharu and Homura exchanged uneasy glances.
This was dangerous.
Too dangerous.
If the Uchiha pushed too far—if this turned into open defiance during an ongoing war—Konoha itself would pay the price.
Toyoma met Hiruzen's gaze without hesitation.
He could see the restrained anger clearly.
And still, he smiled.
"Am I wrong, Third Hokage?" Toyoma asked calmly."You say Konoha is full of geniuses. Yet it is the village elders who claim there are none."
His eyes swept briefly across the hall.
"Isn't that a failure of vision… rather than a failure of talent?"
A collective breath was released.
The tension that had been climbing sharply eased—just slightly.
Even the Uchiha elders relaxed, if only a fraction. Setsuna silently thanked every ancestor he could think of.
He redirected it…Good.
Clan heads studied Toyoma with complicated expressions. The boy had just sent their hearts racing—and then pulled them back at the last second.
Hiruzen stared at him.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then, slowly, the Hokage exhaled.
"Yes," Hiruzen said at last, his voice steady once more."It was a mistake for the elders to say such a thing."
"Konoha has no shortage of genius," he continued."Our village is filled with talented shinobi."
Koharu nodded stiffly."So is Homura."
Danzo clicked his tongue in irritation.
Tch. Too fast.
His gaze snapped toward Toyoma, sharp and cold.
"You clever little brat," Danzo said."Changing the subject so neatly—do you think we won't notice?"
He leaned forward.
"The rise in supply prices—wasn't that the Uchiha's doing? Or are you saying this isn't part of you uchiha plan?"
Toyoma turned his gaze toward Danzo Shimura.
"Elder Shimura," he said evenly, "what do you think business exists for?"
"For profit," he answered himself calmly."Yet in the last two wars, the Uchiha conducted business at a loss."
A murmur rippled through the hall.
"Not because we were forced," Toyoma continued, "but because we chose the village over ourselves."
His eyes swept across the gathered jōnin.
"If I am wrong," he said clearly, "then stand up and say so.The Uchiha clan is ready to listen—unlike some people who only know how to argue from positions of power."
Silence.
No jōnin stood.
Toyoma then looked toward the elders' table. Their expressions had darkened. Danzo's finger twitched as he pointed angrily—
But Toyoma didn't allow him to speak.
"And now, during this Third War," Toyoma continued, his voice sharpening,"we supplied even more. But when both the Cat Clan and the Uchiha realized that survival required a price increase, the village rejected it."
He smiled faintly.
"Instead, you shamelessly demanded sacrifice."
His gaze hardened.
"Why should the Uchiha sacrifice all its wealth for the village, when even the village elders refuse to sacrifice anything themselves?"
The hall erupted into quiet tension.
Some nodded internally.Others clenched their jaws.
Danzo leaned forward, seizing the opening.
"So you admit it," Danzo said coldly."The Uchiha refuse to bear pressure for the village. You only wish to strengthen your clan while Konoha suffers."
He turned toward the Hokage and the jōnin.
"Look carefully," Danzo declared."This is the Uchiha—profiting from war, growing stronger, preparing for rebellion."
A wave of unease spread.
Fugaku Uchiha finally spoke, his voice controlled but strained.
"Elder Shimura," he said, "that is not our intent. We are also under immense pressure—"
Toyoma heard enough.
He glanced at the Grand Elder. Setsuna's expression mirrored his own restrained fury.
Then Toyoma turned back to Danzo.
"Very well," Toyoma said quietly."If you wish to place everything on the Uchiha's shoulders—then let us speak in your tone."
The room stilled.
"You accuse us of refusing sacrifice,"
Toyoma continued."Then answer me this."
His eyes locked onto Danzo.
"When the Second Hokage was hunted by the Gold and Silver Brothers—why did you flee?"
A shockwave rippled through the chamber.
"Why did you survive," Toyoma pressed on, "while others died?"
"Why were you never suspected of collaboration with Kumogakure?"
"And how did the man who ran become an elder… while the dead were praised as heroes?"
The room froze.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi stiffened.
"This is going too far," Hiruzen said urgently."We were ordered to retreat by my teacher. To abandon one branch so new leaves could grow—that is the Will of Fire."
Toyoma looked at him.
Slowly.
"Oh please," Toyoma replied coldly."Don't wear that face here."
The words landed like a blade.
"After you became Hokage," he continued,"the Senju clan became a name only."
His gaze sharpened.
"So tell me—who was left to question you?"
Every clan head stared.
Fugaku felt the weight of it more than anyone. Clan head in name… but powerless in truth.
Before Hiruzen could answer, another voice broke the silence.
Minato Namikaze stepped forward.
"Toyoma," Minato said calmly, "Elder Mito confirmed the truth of that mission. The Third Hokage spoke honestly."
Koharu nodded stiffly.
"Yes. Elder Mito verified everything. We proved our innocence."
Toyoma tilted his head slightly.
"Then answer me one last thing."
His gaze swept the jōnin ranks.
"When you failed missions—were you condemned?"
Silence.
"When you made mistakes—did the village strip you of honor?"
His voice dropped.
"Then why was the White Fang?"
A chill ran through the room.
"Sakumo Hatake completed every mission in his life," Toyoma said."One failure—caused by protecting his teammates—and he was destroyed."
He looked directly at the jōnin.
"Your silence killed him."
The words struck deep.
"And that same silence," Toyoma continued, his voice steady,"will one day destroy your descendants."
His eyes burned.
"You don't feel it yet."
"But remember my words."
"One day… You will."
Every jōnin and clan head stared at Toyoma.
No one spoke.
His words had already taken root—each sentence planting a quiet seed of doubt. Not rage. Not rebellion.
Doubt.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado watched the room carefully.
They could feel it.
The simmering anger.The unease spreading like heat beneath skin.
Hiruzen felt something close to fear.
The name White Fang had detonated like an explosive tag in the center of the hall. One wrong move now—and it wouldn't just swallow the elders.
It would swallow the Hokage himself.
The most frightened man in the room, however, was Danzo Shimura.
He could feel the stares.
Clan heads were no longer looking at the Uchiha.
They were looking at him.
Behind Toyoma, the Uchiha elders exchanged glances. Neither intervened. Not the elders. Not the Grand Elder.
Let it happen, their silence said.
Let the village feel the weight it forced onto others.
Toyoma turned toward Minato Namikaze.
"You said Elder Mito confirmed their innocence," Toyoma said calmly."So tell me—was it truly her judgment?"
The hall tightened.
"Or was it pressure?" Toyoma continued."After the Senju lost influence… after Uzumaki allies were wiped out… after she stood alone—was that decision freely made?"
A murmur stirred.
"I know there were Senju alive then,"
Toyoma pressed on."Enough to question it. Enough to object."
His gaze shifted—cold and sharp—to Danzo.
"And yet they didn't."
Toyoma's lips curved slightly.
"Tell me, Elder Shimura… when the dust settled, who ended up with the Uzumaki jutsu collection?"
The room went still.
"Or should I ask differently?" Toyoma added softly."Are you also grave robbers?"
That was it.
Hiruzen snapped.
"Enough!" he shouted, his voice cracking through the hall."What are you trying to do, boy?! Tear the village apart?!"
His face was red now—rage no longer hidden.
"Do you Uchiha want war with Konoha?" he demanded.
Silence answered him.
"I can overlook this child's insolence," Hiruzen continued harshly, "but the Uchiha must still —"
He never finished.
Toyoma exploded.
"Sacrifice?" Toyoma roared."Tell me, Hokage—what have you sacrificed?!"
Gasps rang out.
"In your entire life," Toyoma continued, his voice shaking with fury,"what did you give up before demanding sacrifice from the Uchiha?"
He took a step forward.
"One thing," he said sharply."Name one thing the four of you sacrificed that everyone here knows."
No one answered.
"Then don't speak of sacrifice," Toyoma spat."My Hawk faction will not give you even a kunai's worth of blood."
His voice dropped, poisonous.
" Not for this village's ungrateful people."
Hands grabbed him.
Uchiha elders restrained Toyoma as his anger still burned. Elder Kohaku clamped a hand over his mouth.
The hall stood frozen.
Hiruzen.Danzo.Koharu.Homura.
None of them moved.
Minato stared at Toyoma—eyes troubled, conflicted.
The meeting was over.
Not by decree.
But by collapse.