However, Uchiha Shisui found himself at a loss.
It was true—he had intended to forcibly take Qianyu away.
But that was on the condition that it would not lead to a direct clash with the entire Uchiha clan.
Now that Fugaku himself had stepped forward, any further action would completely betray Shisui's original intent.
What was more—
The Hokage's mission to him had been to suppress the Uchiha clan's ever-growing battle intent.
If he truly made a move here, it would only inflame things further.
So—
Shisui finally spoke in a low voice.
"Clan Head… this matter is too serious."
"Even though Clan Head Hiyū was stripped of his position by the Hokage, he was still a long-standing leader of the Sarutobi clan."
"I hope Clan Head Fugaku can consider the bigger picture, and hand Qianyu over to the Hokage for judgment."
Fugaku replied calmly,
"That was my intention from the beginning."
Shisui could only sigh.
"…Very well. Then today's matter ends here."
"Let the Hokage handle everything personally."
With Shisui stepping back, Sarutobi Shinnosuke could no longer act rashly either.
Still—
Seeing Sarutobi Hiyū lying dead, the Sarutobi clansmen could not accept it.
"Are we just going to let the clan head die for nothing?!"
"Today we must avenge him!"
At this moment, Shinnosuke instead stepped forward to stop them.
"Everyone—Hiyū was my uncle. Watching him die like this pains me no less than you."
"But please trust the Hokage. He will give everyone justice."
"Do not act on impulse and bring about consequences none of us can bear."
A Sarutobi ninja shouted angrily,
"So ANBU is standing with the Uchiha now?!"
"On the way here, it was ANBU who blocked us!"
"Now that the clan head is dead, you're still stopping us from taking revenge?!"
Hearing this, Shinnosuke nearly lost control himself.
His subordinates had been killed by these hot-blooded Sarutobi clansmen.
He hadn't even held them accountable yet—
And now they were turning around and accusing him?
Did they really think ANBU were easy to bully?!
He coldly snorted.
"ANBU was acting under the Hokage's orders."
"You killed my men while defying those orders—this matter will be investigated thoroughly."
"If you still insist on causing trouble today—"
"ANBU can accompany you all the way."
Dark, chilling chakra erupted from Shinnosuke's body, instantly forcing the Sarutobi clansmen to calm down.
With Hiyū dead, even if they fought, they had no chance of winning.
After weighing it again and again, they could only swallow their rage.
They gathered Hiyū's body, glared hatefully at Qianyu, then cast a long, meaningful look at Shinnosuke—
And finally turned and left.
Shinnosuke let out a breath.
"Since that's settled, I'll wait for Clan Head Fugaku to handle things impartially."
"Let's go."
ANBU withdrew as well.
...
Only the Uchiha remained at the scene.
Fugaku finally let out a deep sigh.
What almost happened today was nothing less than open war with the Sarutobi clan—or even the village's upper echelon.
If that had truly occurred, the Uchiha clan's fate would have been unimaginable.
He cast a deep, thoughtful glance at Shisui.
Shisui's stance just now planted an unavoidable seed of doubt in his heart.
Fugaku knew very well how close Shisui was to Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
But how close, exactly—
Even Fugaku couldn't be certain.
He then looked toward Qianyu.
At the same time, Shisui was also staring at Qianyu.
Qianyu calmly sheathed his katana.
Uchiha Aoki, Uchiha Yamabuki, and the police force members who admired and followed him all gathered around him instinctively.
Seeing this, Shisui's worry only deepened.
He walked up to Fugaku.
"Clan Head, for the sake of stabilizing things, it's best to take Qianyu to see the Hokage as soon as possible."
Fugaku asked casually,
"Shisui—if fighting had really broken out just now, what would you have done?"
Shisui hesitated briefly, then shook his head.
"I wouldn't have let the Uchiha fight the village."
Fugaku raised an eyebrow—but said nothing.
He did not pursue the question further.
"Qianyu. Come with me to see the Hokage."
Qianyu nodded without refusal.
...
Inside the Hokage's office—
After hearing Sarutobi Shinnosuke's report, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened to the extreme.
He slammed his hand onto the desk, his body shaking with rage.
"Hiyū—that idiot!"
"Utterly useless trash! I stripped him of his position and he still dared do something like this!"
"He even killed three ANBU!"
"He deserved to die!"
Shinnosuke spoke heavily,
"Father—Hokage-sama… even so, we can't let both father and son die at Uchiha hands for nothing."
Hiruzen closed his eyes, then opened them again.
"Of course."
Just then, an ANBU announced from outside:
"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Qianyu have arrived."
"Let them in."
Fugaku entered first.
"Hokage-sama. I've brought Qianyu."
Qianyu followed behind him, his expression as calm as ever.
Hiruzen stared at him intently, his gaze heavy.
"Clan Head Fugaku—earlier, you said you would strictly discipline Qianyu."
"Yet now he has consecutively killed Sarutobi Jirō and Sarutobi Hiyū."
"Even if their crimes were severe—does that give him the right to execute people openly in the village without trial?"
"At this point, don't you owe me an explanation?"
Fugaku was about to speak—
But Hiruzen waved his hand.
"I don't want to hear empty words."
Qianyu spoke calmly.
"Hokage-sama—where was I wrong?"
"You—!"
Qianyu cut him off.
"If today the Uchiha had openly led a large force into Sarutobi territory, declared war, and struck first—"
"Would the Sarutobi clan have sat back and let themselves be slaughtered?"
Hiruzen replied in a low voice,
"I do not wish for any clan, or any shinobi, to kill one another within the village. That is my duty as Hokage."
"Exactly," Qianyu said flatly.
"That is why I killed Sarutobi Hiyū."
"To prevent mutual slaughter between the Uchiha and the Sarutobi."
Hiruzen fell silent.
"That's sophistry."
"Not at all."
"If I hadn't killed him, a fully unhinged Hiyū would have caused an even greater tragedy."
"Once two major clans went to war, regardless of the outcome, the one who would lose in the end would be Konoha."
He glanced at Shinnosuke.
"Sarutobi Hiyū killed three ANBU. Is that correct?"
Shinnosuke said nothing.
"Should the Uchiha have simply let him slaughter our clansmen first before responding?"
"Hokage-sama—there is no such logic in this world."
"Sarutobi Hiyū was already a criminal of Konoha."
"He had lost all reason."
"Killing ANBU—anywhere, in any village—would be treated as rebellion."
"In any village, he would have been executed."
"What I killed was not the Sarutobi clan head."
"It was a madman."
"A traitor."
"And killing a traitor—"
"I will never admit that I was wrong."
Hiruzen and Shinnosuke both frowned.
His words were aggressive.
But disturbingly—
They were not without logic.
Hiyū's clan head position had been personally revoked by Hiruzen.
The three ANBU had been killed by Hiyū himself.
His armed invasion of Uchiha territory had been witnessed by nearly every major clan.
There was no way to conceal it.
Hiruzen clenched his teeth.
"That damned idiot…"
He cursed again under his breath.
Yet no matter how furious he was—
He could not deny that if Hiyū had been allowed to continue, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
Silence filled the office.
Finally, Hiruzen exhaled slowly.
"This matter… is far from over."
"But for now—"
"Leave."
"Qianyu, you are not permitted to act on your own again."
"If there is another time—"
"I will not protect you."
Qianyu nodded calmly.
"Understood."
Whether he truly meant it—
No one could say.
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