Uchiha Shisui returned, but he betrayed and left the Anbu, which angered the Third Hokage greatly.
However, what made him even more furious happened in the following days.
Originally, he had forced the Hyuga clan to make an explanation to the Hidden Cloud Village, which ultimately led to Hyuga Hizashi's suicide. This news spread throughout the village.
"Clearly, the Hyuga clan was in the right, yet the Hokage forced them to answer to the Hidden Cloud Village. I never expected the Hokage to do such a thing."
Upon hearing the news, some people sighed deeply.
In their hearts, the towering and noble image of the Third Hokage, which had been painstakingly built over the years, began to crumble.
"This news must be false—someone is deliberately slandering the Hokage."
Some refused to believe the news.
The Third Hokage's image in their minds was too perfect; they couldn't believe such a perfect man would do such a thing.
"Give me a break, still defending the Third Hokage at this point?"
"If this news were false, the Hyuga clan members spreading it would have already been arrested by the Third Hokage. They haven't been, which proves it's true."
Someone sneered.
This person had only shallowly been brainwashed by the Third Hokage, so although surprised by his actions, they weren't too shaken.
"I'm not surprised, considering what he did not long ago."
A middle-aged man heard the news and remained calm.
"What did he do?"
Someone nearby asked in confusion.
"Of course, it's the false accusation against Uchiha Fugaku."
The middle-aged man replied.
"False accusation against Fugaku? You must be mistaken. The one who did that was a spy infiltrated in the Anbu, not the Third Hokage."
The person nearby questioned.
"Foolish. How could there be spies from other villages in the Anbu? Those people were clearly acting under the Third Hokage's orders."
The middle-aged man laughed lightly.
...
The incident involving the Hyuga clan quickly spread throughout the village, and the shock it caused was even greater than that caused by the false accusation against Uchiha Fugaku.
After all, the accusation against Fugaku caused no real harm and was soon clarified.
But the event involving the Hyuga clan led to the death of the Hyuga branch family head, Hyuga Hizashi.
This caused serious consequences, so the shock to the villagers was far greater.
Naturally, the damage to the Third Hokage's reputation was also more severe.
"Damn it, the Hyuga clan—what exactly do they want?"
Upon hearing the news, the Third Hokage flew into a rage.
If others were spreading the rumor, he could order the Anbu to arrest them immediately.
But since it was members of the Hyuga clan spreading the truth, he had no grounds to arrest them.
Any forced arrests would surely draw criticism from the village's ninja clans.
He never imagined the Hyuga clan would dare spread the truth so openly, directly opposing him.
After the Uchiha clan, he didn't expect the Hyuga clan to also oppose him.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
In fury, he smashed things around in his office again.
Outside the door, Anbu ninjas were startled, nearly thinking the Third Hokage was under attack.
When they opened the door and saw he was unharmed, they quickly withdrew, shaking their heads.
The Third Hokage's temper was growing worse.
In these few days, many objects in the office had already been smashed and replaced several times.
"Go fetch Hyuga Hizashi!" he ordered the Anbu ninja outside.
The ninja hurried off to the Hyuga clan, but it took a while before Hizashi arrived at the Hokage's office.
"Hyuga Hizashi, what exactly is your clan trying to do?"
The Third Hokage roared angrily at him.
"What do you mean, Hokage-sama? I don't understand your meaning."
Hizashi replied calmly and innocently despite the Hokage's fury.
"Don't play dumb with me. I'm asking why your clan is spreading the old matter around?"
The Third Hokage asked coldly.
"Oh, that incident."
Hizashi suddenly understood why the Hokage was angry and explained.
"Some younger members of the clan learned about what happened back then and were furious, so they spread the word."
"Stop this immediately. I want you to order them to stop at once."
The Third Hokage's tone was firm.
"Hokage-sama, please allow me to refuse."
Hizashi shook his head decisively.
"Although I am the head of the Hyuga clan, I cannot be so tyrannical as to deny my clan their freedom of speech."
"Hyuga Hizashi, does your clan truly intend to oppose me?"
The Third Hokage slammed the desk, shouting angrily.
"Hokage-sama, you misunderstand. The Hyuga clan has no intention of deliberately opposing you."
Hizashi smiled and shook his head.
"Then what is your intention?"
The Third Hokage's gaze sharpened, locking onto Hizashi.
"We just want justice for what happened back then."
Hizashi's smile faded as he met the Third Hokage's gaze.
His younger brother was driven to suicide, and the anger and frustration he felt were beyond words.
Back then, knowing opposing the Third Hokage was like striking a rock with an egg, he endured it.
Now, allied with the Uchiha clan—a powerful ally—he refused to remain oppressed and wanted to seek justice.
"Fine. Very well."
The Third Hokage's face twitched, his eyes burning with rage.
The Uchiha clan openly opposed him, and now the Hyuga clan too.
"Hokage-sama, I have other family matters to attend to. I will take my leave."
Hizashi turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.
Behind him, the Third Hokage slammed his fist on the desk, denting it.
His fury felt like a volcano about to erupt.
The Uchiha and Hyuga clans had openly defied him, and he would make both pay a heavy price.
...
In a secret underground chamber, Uchiha Fugaku held a sealed scroll sent back by the Hyuga clan and unsealed it.
Poof—
With a cloud of smoke, the corpse of Tsuchikage Tsuchida appeared.
"Corpse Melting—"
Using corpse melting, Tsuchida's body dissolved and vanished.
A substance similar to cells emerged from his left eye and flowed through his body, reacting with his cells to remodel his body.
After a short while, the transformation was complete.
The scroll brought back by the No.1 spore clone contained a Melting Release (Yoton) jutsu scroll, which he had been studying in recent days. After acquiring the Kekkei Genkai, he could now use it immediately.
"Melting Release: Protective Sphere—"
He activated the Melting Release jutsu, forming a ball of elastic material.
"This elastic material generated by this jutsu has strong defense. I wonder how strong this defense really is?"
Uchiha Fugaku muttered to himself.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade—"
He drew a kunai, infused it with wind chakra, turning the kunai into a sharp blue long sword.
Wind chakra is known for its sharpness, and after nature transformation, the wind chakra became extremely sharp, enough to cut through iron pillars.
Slash—
Fugaku slashed at the sphere, aiming to cut it in half with one strike.
But to his surprise, despite the slash capable of cutting iron pillars, it only left a scratch on the sphere and caused no major damage.
"I underestimated the defense of this jutsu!"
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