章 213: Chapter 211: The Means of the Third Hokage

Half a month later, Jiraiya led Konoha ninjas back to the village.

As the heroes who ended the war, Jiraiya and the other ninjas were warmly welcomed by the villagers lining the streets.

The villagers were indifferent to whether Konoha and the Land of Fire had lost anything in this war, nor did they care if the title of the first ninja village had been shaken.

After experiencing the Third Shinobi World War, the Nine-Tails Night, and Kumogakure War, both the villagers and ninjas of Konoha were weary of war. They just wanted to enjoy the hard-earned peace and did not want their friends and family to step onto the battlefield again.

After the welcome ceremony, Jiraiya and the others were invited to the conference room of the Hokage Tower.

In stark contrast to the flowers and applause outside the Hokage Tower, the atmosphere in the conference room was unusually heavy, making it hard to breathe.

Sensing the oppressive silence in the meeting room, Jiraiya quietly lowered his head.

Shikaku, Fugaku, and others also felt the weight of the atmosphere, their faces darkening. This did not feel like a commendation meeting but rather like a deliberate scolding.

In fact, Konoha had not lost in this war, but the difference was minimal.

After glancing around, Danzo spoke calmly, "Jiraiya, I heard that during the signing of the peace agreement with Kumogakure, you abandoned the alliance with Yugakure and agreed to withdraw our troops from the Land of Hot Water?"

Jiraiya nodded, unable to deny it. He had indeed withdrawn ninjas from the Land of Hot Water.

After a pause, Danzo continued, "Jiraiya, do you know how much loss withdrawing from the Land of Hot Water will bring to the village? Other allies will also doubt the alliance after knowing about this."

"This is the most favorable condition I could negotiate. The village has not sent any follow-up troops to support… If you were at the front lines, Danzo, the situation would probably be even worse," Jiraiya said, glaring at Danzo. He was not afraid of the leader of Root.

Danzo was left speechless. He hadn't made any significant contributions in this war. The newly recruited members of Root had not yet become combat-ready, and Tenzo was still in training.

However, Jiraiya's public refusal to give him face would be remembered as an offense.

Seeing that Jiraiya and Danzo were about to argue, Koharu Utatane quickly stood up and said, "Danzo, Jiraiya's contribution this time is indeed very significant. If it weren't for him, this battlefield might have lasted for several more years."

Homura Mitokado also nodded, "Tsunade is right. Jiraiya's achievements are substantial. It would have been even better if we could maintain the treaty with Yugakure."

"Who would have thought that Amegakure's ambitions were so great? They actually took advantage of our conflict with Kumogakure to pull in Yugakure and sign an alliance. However, as long as Kumogakure doesn't take the Land of Hot Water, they won't be able to pose a fatal threat to us."

Jiraiya glanced at Danzo, who had been challenging him, and then at the two advisors who were trying to mediate.

He somewhat understood the intentions of these old-timers. They were suppressing him on the surface, but in reality, they wanted to use this to undermine the significant contributions made by the Hyuga and Uchiha clans on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage remained unresponsive, as if tacitly approving of Danzo and the others' actions.

Why was this happening? Couldn't the village even manage clear rewards and punishments?

Or was there really a faction of Hokage and other factions within the village? Couldn't there be a bit more leniency towards the Uchiha?

With these thoughts, Jiraiya let out a soft sigh and suddenly felt that staying in the village was meaningless.

For the rest of the time, Jiraiya attended the meeting in a distracted state, only nodding or shaking his head in response to others' questions.

As the meeting progressed, Fugaku's mood worsened.

If they were suppressing even Jiraiya, they certainly wouldn't mention the contributions of the Uchiha clan, which made him restless and unable to hold back his anger.

At this moment, Danzo seemed to remember something and turned to Uchiha Fugaku, saying, "Fugaku, I heard that Shisui Uchiha has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Is this true?"

Upon mentioning the Mangekyō, Fugaku proudly replied, "Shisui has indeed awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he even defeated the Two-Tails jinchūriki. He held his own against the Eight-Tails jinchūriki as well."

"I see…"

Danzo nodded and then said, "Since Shisui defeated the Two-Tails jinchūriki, where is the Two-Tails jinchūriki now? Why don't you use the jinchūriki to exchange for concessions from Kumogakure?"

"Well…" Fugaku frowned, as he also did not know the whereabouts of the Two-Tails jinchūriki.

Seeing that Fugaku was reluctant to answer this question, Danzo spoke up, "Fugaku, you wouldn't say that the Two-Tails jinchūriki is already dead, would you? The Two-Tails jinchūriki shouldn't die so easily."

Faced with Danzo's sudden attack, Jiraiya couldn't help but interject, "Danzo, the Two-Tails jinchūriki is indeed dead. Byakuya can testify to that."

"Byakuya?" Danzo retorted without holding back, "Can we trust an outsider? I suspect you Uchiha have secretly hidden the Two-Tails."

Hearing this, Fugaku angrily said, "Danzo, don't slander us! Shisui would never hide the Two-Tails, and while the Uchiha were fighting to the death on the front lines, what were you and your Root doing?"

Danzo spoke expressionlessly, "Who knows if you Uchiha are just pretending? Shisui could have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan earlier or later, but he chose to do so now. Who knows what else he has used the Mangekyō for?"

As these words were spoken, the other ninjas perked up and looked at Fugaku.

They all caught the implications in Danzo's words; not only did he question whether the Uchiha had secretly hidden the Two-Tails, but he also directed the blame for the Nine-Tails Night toward Shisui.

Moreover, if Shisui could defeat the Two-Tails jinchūriki, he might have the potential to control the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.

With so many eyes on him, Fugaku's expression grew increasingly grim. He genuinely wished the Uchiha had the strength to provoke the Nine-Tails Incident; then, they wouldn't have had to shrink back within their clan's territory.

However, the Mangekyō Sharingan indeed had the ability to control tailed beasts, making Shisui's suspicion quite high.

This was something he hadn't anticipated; he thought the emergence of the Mangekyō would increase the clan's influence, but instead, it had drawn Danzo's scrutiny and suspicion.

If no one stood up to speak for the Uchiha at this moment, they would surely become the target of everyone's criticism.

At this point, the Third Hokage, who had been sitting in the main seat in silence, slowly spoke up,

"Danzo, you need to stop. Shisui grew up under my watch, and I believe he is a good kid. He would never do anything to harm the village. If he really had any ulterior motives, he wouldn't use the Mangekyō Sharingan to protect his comrades."