"Nonsense—! I saw you killing the moment I arrived."
"Two ANBU shadow-captains dead. And you dare suggest the Senju aren't stretched thin?!"
Uzumaki Mito's voice cracked like a whip. The loss of two elite ANBU captains had already crippled their covert strength. Now Uchiha Soren's bold, shameless distortions made her blood pressure spike.
Soren folded his arms lazily, face a mask of bored contempt.
"A joke, truly. You expect the Uchiha to allow murder but refuse to answer it? If the facts are muddled—fine."
He swept a hand across the chaos.
"Let's settle the matter here. Let the whole village judge whether these ANBU deserved death."
"Uchiha Soren!" several voices snapped.
"Enough!"
Nara Shuming stepped between them, his tone steady and commanding—a deliberate antidote to the boiling tension.
He wasn't the only one. Leaders from the major clans added cautious pleas: delay, pause, retreat. Not out of noble hearts—but because no one wanted to risk their clans in a meaningless bloodbath.
They needed time.
Time to evacuate the weak.
Time to judge whether the Uchiha or Senju would emerge dominant.
Time to survive.
A decision hung in the air like a sword.
"All present are heroes of the village," Shuming declared. "Let us first establish the cause of this disturbance. After that, we proceed to the Third Hokage election."
Mito exhaled sharply.
Her first thought was not the election—
but Tsunade.
With a flick of her chakra, she expanded her Shingan, paired with the Nine-Tails' malice-perception. Her awareness swept the village like a storm.
First, she inspected the Uchiha compound—most members unharmed. Relief flickered.
Second, she scanned the Senju estate—already evacuated into wartime positions. Tsunade was being escorted away by trusted jōnin.
Third, she checked the shadow-levels present: more than a dozen now leaned her way—not out of loyalty, but fear of Uchiha dominance.
Her resolve hardened.
If the Uchiha win today, they will eclipse us forever.
Soren yawned, dismissive.
"Lady Mito, stop prying with your Shingan. We Uchiha don't resort to conspiracies."
He waved a hand.
"Now—no need to trouble Nara-kun any further. Bring him."
Sarutobi Sasuke stepped forward under heavy guard.
Mito's brow furrowed.
She had overlooked one point—
The Sarutobi were alive.
Their leader was alive.
Their civilians were alive.
Even their wounded still breathed.
Why had she assumed the Uchiha intended to erase them? Who planted that urgency in her mind?
"Wait!" Mito snapped.
Pointing to the bleeding Sarutobi detainees, she commanded,
"For fairness—they must be released."
Clan heads nodded.
Pressure shifted toward Soren.
"Relax," Soren replied calmly.
"Whether they walk free or not changes nothing. Our objective succeeded."
He smirked.
"And Sasuke-sama here is surprisingly… talented."
The elders understood at once. Soren wasn't absurdly praising an enemy—he was planting a seed.
As Sarutobi Sasuke watched his people stagger toward Mito, wounded and traumatized, his heart buckled. Soren's earlier words—"I prefer to deal with capable men"—echoed through him.
Slowly, painfully, he knelt.
Everyone felt it.
A shift.
A surrender.
A warning.
If the Sarutobi bow… who comes next?
Clan heads exchanged looks.
The Uchiha had:
One Mangekyō
Four shadow-level elders
Nearly 100 jōnin, many with three-tomoe
A unified clan will
The Senju had…
Mito.
Hesitation spread like a virus.
Mito scanned Sasuke for genjutsu—none. Only sealing traces and trauma. She lifted the seal, jaw tight.
Uchiha Shana tensed, ready to strike. Soren raised a hand, stopping him with a mild smile.
He wanted this moment.
"Elder Sarutobi," Soren declared, "speak freely. The Forest Senju are the village's greatest bulwark."
Sasuke trembled. He saw his grandson crying in the distance. He saw his kneeling clansmen.
With a hoarse breath, he spoke the words that shattered the battlefield:
"All of this… is the fault of my Sarutobi clan!"
A full confession.
A complete surrender.
A gift of legitimacy to the Uchiha—gift-wrapped by the Sarutobi themselves.
Mito's nails dug into her palms, blood beading.
He is lying…
But she could not refute him.
Not without throwing the Sarutobi under the Uchiha's sword.
Not without triggering a massacre.
Soren clapped once—crisp, cold.
"The matter is clear."
"The Police Force acted under the authority granted by the Second Hokage."
All eyes turned to Mito.
"The ANBU acted without authorization and attacked our men first."
Soren's gaze cut across Tiger and Elephant.
"Lady Mito—do you still claim these ANBU deserve death?"
Her voice shot back instantly.
"The Police Force exceeded its mandate! The ANBU has authority to question such actions!"
"Then let their findings be delivered to the Hokage Tower!"
Her voice cracked but held.
She would not let the ANBU be devoured.
Soren's next words were poison-coated steel.
"Or… has the ANBU been corrupted? Are some among you collaborating with the Cloud?"
If believed, the accusation would kill every ANBU present.
Mito slammed her chakra like a wall.
"I personally guarantee: No ANBU of Konoha has betrayed the village!"
The gathered clans exhaled.
A thin peace returned.
Soren inclined his head.
"With Lady Mito's guarantee, the ANBU charge is postponed."
Then—
He stepped forward, voice ringing like a war drum.
"Now—let the lords begin the vote…"
He raised a hand.
"…for the Third Hokage."
Silence fell.
Thick.
Heavy.
Historic.
The fate of Konoha balanced on a blade.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL