"What?! Why did this happen? What exactly is going on?!"
"Why the Uchiha Clan? Hiruzen, what is the meaning of this?"
Among everyone present, the ones who reacted most strongly to Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane .
They were the elders responsible for Konoha's civil administration, and also served respectively as the minister and deputy minister of Konoha's Finance Department.
The financial subsidies from the Fire Daimyō were one of the Finance Department's primary sources of income, as well as a major pillar of their authority.
If those funds were now handled by someone else—or another department—then whether their Finance Department could still truly claim that title was very much in doubt.
At the side, Shimura Danzō also frowned deeply.
However, the matter troubling him was somewhat different from Homura and Koharu.
Danzō clearly remembered that in the agreement he had reached with Uchiha Ren, one of the terms had been the division of the funds Konoha requested from the Fire Daimyō.
At the time, he and Ren had even argued about how the money should be split.
Yet now, in the blink of an eye, the Uchiha Clan had quietly taken the entire sum for themselves.
What, then, had their agreement meant?
Naturally, this made Danzō suspicious.
Hiruzen shook his head and sighed.
"For the moment, I do not know the full details either."
"After leaving the Daimyō's court, I was immediately attacked. When I returned to the village, war had already broken out."
"I have had no opportunity to properly investigate this matter."
Homura let out a cold snort, killing intent flashing faintly in his eyes.
After a pause, Hiruzen seemed to recall something and added:
"Oh, that's right. In addition to receiving the funds directly from the Daimyō from now on…"
"The Uchiha Clan has also sent elite shinobi to join the Fire Daimyō's Guardian Shinobi Twelve."
"As for why the Uchiha Clan approached the Daimyō…"
"It was naturally to increase their bargaining power against you."
"You will not take the initiative to break the current balance—so naturally the Daimyō will not either."
"They may not say these things openly," Danzō suddenly said in a low voice, "but that doesn't mean the Daimyō is unaware."
"Our dear Daimyō likely saw the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village leadership and deliberately chose them."
Cutting off someone's financial lifeline was akin to killing their parents.
With the Uchiha Clan severing one of the Finance Department's largest sources of income, Homura's killing intent toward the clan had already begun to surface.
Now that the money was gone—and future funds might be lost as well—how could he not harbor murderous thoughts toward the Uchiha?
Hiruzen gave a bitter smile.
"Argue for it? How exactly should I argue?"
"Should I tell the Daimyō that the Uchiha Clan is dangerous?"
"That they are not loyal to the village?"
"Or that they are arrogant, prideful, and look down on everyone else?"
After a brief pause, Danzō sneered.
"Our Daimyō has never trusted us since you became Hokage."
"He has always been wary of the village."
"This time he is clearly supporting the Uchiha Clan to counterbalance us."
"But the Land of Fire's fertile lands and the title of the strongest nation in the shinobi world still rely on us to protect them."
Koharu and Homura both wore grim expressions.
They understood the reasoning perfectly well.
The problem was that they had no effective way to counter it.
Hiruzen slowly took another puff from his pipe.
"In my opinion, the key to this matter does not lie with the Daimyō…"
"But with the Uchiha Clan."
Danzō looked toward him.
"Hiruzen, even if you didn't argue with the Daimyō, he should at least have given you a reason for choosing the Uchiha Clan."
"The Daimyō may not trust us, but within the 'one country, one village' system, he still cannot do without us."
"This time, it was most likely the Uchiha Clan that approached the Daimyō first."
"And for the Daimyō, all he had to do was give the money he already planned to allocate to someone else."
"He didn't have to sacrifice anything additional."
"So naturally, the two sides reached a cooperation agreement."
Hiruzen nodded slightly.
"The Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan were bitter enemies before the founding of the village."
"Although their relationship eased somewhat after Konoha was established, they have always remained at odds with each other."
"And during the tenure of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju , the suppression of the Uchiha Clan was obvious."
"At one point, it even provoked an armed rebellion attempt by the Uchiha."
It had to be said that Hiruzen truly possessed considerable insight.
Even with limited information, he had already pieced together most of the situation.
Danzō let out a cold laugh.
"What a joke."
"Is the Uchiha Clan the same as the Senju Clan?"
"Since Konoha was founded, two out of the three Hokage have been from the Senju Clan."
"And even you, the Third Hokage, are the direct disciple of the Second Hokage."
"What about the Uchiha Clan?"
Hiruzen nodded.
"The Daimyō said that Konoha was founded jointly by the Senju and Uchiha clans."
"The Uchiha Clan are unquestionably founding elders of the village."
"Therefore, allocating funds to them is completely reasonable."
Homura and Koharu both froze for a moment.
Those words were indeed not something Hiruzen could say himself.
Even if he were no longer Hokage, saying such things would fundamentally change the nature of the matter.
Hiruzen continued:
"Furthermore, the Uchiha shinobi known as Shisui of the Body Flicker—Uchiha Shisui—is currently serving at the Daimyō's side."
"For nearly twenty years, the relationship between the Daimyō and the village has been a delicate balance."
"In the past, the Daimyō's court would send funds directly to the Senju Clan."
"Now that the Senju Clan is gone, sending the funds to the Uchiha Clan instead is also logical."
Homura snorted coldly.
"The Uchiha Clan's intentions are truly sinister."
After a moment, he frowned again.
"Hiruzen… you didn't even try to fight for the funds?"
Hiruzen exhaled another stream of smoke.
His tone was calm but helpless.
"What exactly do you expect me to do?"
"We can't exactly go and kill the Daimyō, can we?"
If they truly did such a thing—
Konoha would instantly become the enemy of the entire shinobi world.
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