"Good."
Seeing everyone agree to his return, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe, exhaled a long stream of smoke, and spoke solemnly:
"This time, Konoha has suffered heavy losses. Since I am resuming office as Hokage, I will do everything in my power to lead the village out of this crisis and into a new beginning."
Even though it wasn't his first time wearing the hat, Hiruzen couldn't hide the flicker of excitement in his eyes.
It felt good.
No—it felt amazing.
At this point, the process no longer mattered.
What mattered was that he'd climbed back onto the throne.
Relocation
Shimura Danzō stayed cold-faced, but the jealousy in his chest didn't fade.
He buried it—and immediately turned his blade toward the Uchiha.
"Third Hokage. Most of the village needs to be rebuilt. Since the Uchiha are the primary suspects, I propose relocating the Konoha Military Police Force and the Uchiha district to the western side of the village."
He produced a map and tapped a spot near the far edge.
The meaning was obvious.
Uchiha Fugaku's blood nearly boiled.
That location wasn't "west Konoha."
It was basically the village boundary.
If the Police Force and the entire clan were moved there, it would mean:
The Uchiha would be removed from the village's coreTheir influence would be cut offAnd they'd be quietly isolated, piece by piece
For the proud Uchiha, it was humiliation.
Unacceptable.
Fugaku stood and argued fiercely.
But this time, it wasn't just Danzō.
Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Hyūga Hiashi, and several clan heads all lined up against him.
They spoke with righteous faces—like they were doing the Uchiha a favor.
"It's for the village's overall development."
"The Uchiha should sacrifice private interests for Konoha's interests."
"Moving to the outskirts will help the Uchiha in the long run."
Everyone in that room understood the truth.
This wasn't planning.
This was suppression.
Whether the Uchiha had anything to do with the Nine-Tails incident didn't matter anymore.
They were going to carry the blame.
And some clans took the chance to stomp harder—because the Military Police had stepped on too many toes for too many years.
In the end, Fugaku was one man facing a whole table.
No matter how hard he fought, he couldn't win.
Finally—
he clenched his jaw and nodded.
"…Fine."
Compensation
Hiruzen finally smiled.
"Fugaku Uchiha, rest assured. I will compensate the Uchiha clan properly."
But behind that gentle tone was a cold, simple reality:
The founders of Konoha had been the Senju and the Uchiha.
The Senju were already weakened and scattered.
Now, with the Nine-Tails incident as the perfect excuse…
it was time to cut down the other pillar too.
Fugaku gave a tired, bitter laugh.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
He looked once at the room—at the faces that had just pushed him into a corner—and walked out without turning back.
Inside him, a question he'd never allowed himself before finally surfaced:
Konoha is in ruins… and they still have the energy to crush the Uchiha?
Would Konoha really become stronger by isolating one of its strongest clans?
For the first time in his life—
Fugaku began to doubt the "Hiruzen faction" and everything they claimed to stand for.
Dividing the Spoils
The moment Fugaku left, the air in the meeting room became lighter.
Hiruzen took another slow puff from his pipe and said calmly:
"Let's continue."
"After the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha's economy must recover quickly. The benefits and allocations that were formerly tied to the Uchiha… can now be redistributed."
"Next, we'll discuss the new boundaries of the village's core districts."
No one objected.
Public Announcements
That afternoon, Konoha announced two decisions.
They hit the village like twin nails driven straight into place.
First:
The disciple of the First and Second Hokage, the man who trained the legendary Three Sannin, the so-called "Professor of Ninjutsu"—
Hiruzen Sarutobi would "reluctantly" return to office for the village's sake.
Second:
"For Konoha's long-term planning and development," the Uchiha clan had "voluntarily proposed" moving out of the village's core area—
sacrificing private interests to protect Konoha's interests, and cooperating with the village's new development plan.
The reaction was immediate.
For civilians still trapped in grief, Hiruzen's return became a symbol of stability.
Hope rekindled.
For the clans, it was even simpler.
The Uchiha being pushed away from the center meant:
more room, more influence, more opportunity.
And with the Military Police moved to the outskirts?
Even better.
After that, Hiruzen also sent people to recall Tsunade and Jiraiya from their travels—just in case anything unexpected happened.
And so, little by little—
Konoha's chaos began to settle.
The village started crawling back onto its "normal" track.
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