Kawasaki stared at Orochimaru without backing down. "That's right."
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly grew oppressive.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and he began to emanate a faint killing intent. Only then did everyone remember that Orochimaru was not someone to be trifled with. He had once been a commander on the front lines, and his reputation had been forged in real battles.
Cold sweat beaded on the brows of some elders, most of whom were no longer young. If Orochimaru and Kawasaki were to fight here, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jiraiya was extremely tense. Konoha was clearly in the wrong in this matter. A battle breaking out here would undoubtedly be a disaster.
In this tense moment, Kawasaki grabbed a scroll from the table and tossed it to Orochimaru. "Lord Orochimaru, please reconsider."
Orochimaru caught the scroll and opened it. His expression faltered. He then opened the other scrolls. After reading them, his killing intent dissipated somewhat. He passed the scrolls to the Third Hokage and Jiraiya beside him.
The Third Hokage read them and passed them down the table.
Jiraiya let out a long sigh of relief after reading the scrolls. He hadn't expected Kawasaki to be so thoroughly prepared.
Kawasaki wasn't in a hurry, calmly waiting for everyone to finish reading.
Everyone was stunned. These were alliance treaties with other hidden villages.
Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage; Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage; and A, the Fourth Raikage—the leaders of these three great villages had all signed alliance agreements with Uchiha Kawasaki. Except for the Land of Water, none of the other major nations had been left out.
These agreements were officially binding, a matter of honor for the Five Great Shinobi Villages. No one knew how Kawasaki had managed to secure these treaties, but his meaning was clear: *Touch us if you dare.*
Since he dared to publicly declare the Uchiha's secession from Konoha, he must have made foolproof preparations. The three alliance treaties meant that if Konoha attacked the Uchiha clan, three other great nations would have just cause to attack Konoha simultaneously. The treaties provided a legitimate pretext. *You attacked my ally, so my retaliation is justified.*
On top of that, the Uchiha's own combat strength was formidable. For Konoha to defeat the Uchiha, the price would be immense. And Uchiha Shisui, who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, was still in Konoha. Uchiha Kawasaki was also a powerful Mangekyo Sharingan user. Everyone knew Naruto frequently visited the Uchiha. Tsunade's situation at the Uchiha compound was also common knowledge.
Given the circumstances, the implications behind Uchiha Kawasaki's unyielding stance were too daunting to contemplate.
Orochimaru's expression was grim, and the Third Hokage's was ashen. The Uchiha's departure was now a foregone conclusion. Driving out the Uchiha clan, a founding family of the village, was a responsibility that could only fall on the Third's shoulders.
Kawasaki's attitude was perfectly clear: he was here today merely to inform them. Whether they agreed or not was irrelevant to the Uchiha.
Orochimaru slowly regained his composure, reluctantly accepting this reality. He said, "Since this is such a major affair, let's put it to a vote."
The words seemed intended to save Konoha some face.
"All those in favor of the Uchiha clan's secession from Konoha, please raise your hands." After speaking, Orochimaru raised his own hand first.
The elders below thought this was a rather clever move. By holding a vote, it would at least appear as if the village had consented rather than being forced. The actual truth of the matter was no longer important.
Thus, everyone began to raise their hands. On one hand, it was because of the Uchiha's formidable strength. On the other, the Uchiha had also given them a substantial amount of money earlier. Therefore, everyone supported the Uchiha clan leaving Konoha.
Only two people did not raise their hands: one was Kawasaki, the other was the Third Hokage.
Kawasaki's expression was somewhat playful, as if he found Orochimaru's gesture uninteresting.
The Third Hokage, of course, would not raise his hand. Kawasaki had already made it abundantly clear that he was the one who had forced the Uchiha clan out.
Orochimaru and the other elders lowered their hands.
"Alright, Kawasaki. Everyone in Konoha agrees to the Uchiha clan's departure." Orochimaru's expression relaxed slightly. After all, this was the reality of the situation. The other elders also considered the Fifth Hokage's decision to be wise.
"The Uchiha have several children who have just graduated. What are your plans for them?" Orochimaru asked. "And what about your businesses? How will they be handled?"
Kawasaki already had his answer prepared. "The Uchiha will withdraw in two phases. The children can remain here for the time being. We will take them with us during the second phase of the withdrawal."
Orochimaru didn't pay much mind to these details, simply replying with a flat, "Very well."
Kawasaki nodded and continued, "Our food street will continue to operate here under the status of foreign proprietors."
Orochimaru said coldly, "Foreign merchants doing business in Konoha must pay a twenty percent tax..."
Kawasaki spread his hands. "Ah, my apologies, Lord Orochimaru. We are conducting business on our own land. We haven't used any of Konoha's territory."
What? Orochimaru frowned.
The Third Hokage shot Orochimaru a look. The Third said in a low voice, "The Uchiha do indeed have the right to their own land. But to open shops on the edge of Konoha and not pay taxes to the village... that doesn't seem right, does it?"
The Uchiha's right to autonomous land stemmed from their status as one of Konoha's founding clans. In the early days of Konoha's founding, the Uchiha and the Senju made immense contributions. Therefore, they had the right to their own land. Matters within the Uchiha clan grounds were decided by the Uchiha alone and had nothing to do with Konoha. This naturally included taxation.
However, the Uchiha's previous lands had all been allocated by Konoha, and they had never exercised this right. Besides, no one had ever done business on Uchiha land before. They didn't allow outsiders in, and others didn't dare to enter. The Uchiha only had a few shops on Konoha's Eighth Street, a result of their relocation to the outskirts of the village as compensation after the Nine-Tails' rampage. Even if you wanted to collect taxes, you could only do so from the shops on Eighth Street.
Unfortunately, business on Eighth Street had always been poor, and Kawasaki had handed those shops over to Hizashi to manage. Hizashi, in turn, had rented all the shops out. They had essentially nothing to do with the Uchiha anymore.
Showing the Third Hokage no courtesy whatsoever, Kawasaki rolled his eyes. "We're doing business on our own grounds. Your people come over to eat of their own free will. If you don't want them here, then stop your villagers from coming. It makes no difference to us."
"You...!" The Third Hokage's face turned green with rage.
The blame he had to shoulder was already great enough. He had hoped to regain a shred of dignity at the end, but Kawasaki wasn't having it. He knew just how popular the Uchiha food street was. Even if he forbade the villagers from going, it wouldn't stop others. The people who came to post missions or conduct business were also a major source of customers.
At this moment, Orochimaru spoke up. "Although the Uchiha food street is not within Konoha's jurisdiction... many of its raw ingredients still come from Konoha's suppliers."
Hearing this, Kawasaki seemed slightly swayed. He shrugged. "Fine. In that case, I'll pay a ten percent tax. Any higher is out of the question."
Orochimaru gave Kawasaki a deep look, a hint of a smile hidden in his eyes.