"A Village Council? It seems I've been discovered!"
Uchiha Fugaku muttered to himself as he gazed at the circling messenger hawk above his head.
He wasn't surprised by the Village Council's convening.
Shimura Ryoma was an Elite Jonin; reaching this rank was rare, not just within the Shimura Clan, but also in Konoha.
The death of such an Elite Jonin would inevitably cause a major shock in the Village, leading to a Village Council.
Fortunately, they likely hadn't discovered that Shimura Ryoma's death was related to him; otherwise, Anbu Ninja directly under the Hokage would already be knocking on his door.
Whoosh—
With a flash, he vanished from his spot and headed towards the Hokage Building.
The Uchiha Clan was located on the outskirts of the Village, and he didn't rush at full speed. By the time he arrived at the Hokage Building's conference room, many people had already arrived.
Among them were clan heads like himself, as well as Elite Jonin from commoner Ninja.
Upon his arrival, these individuals merely glanced up before averting their gaze.
No one greeted him proactively, clearly indicating that their relationship with the Uchiha Clan was not good.
This was a lingering effect of the Uchiha Clan's many years of overseeing the Garrison Force.
The Garrison Force, directly under the Uchiha Clan, managed the Village's public order, and in the process, it was inevitable that those who violated public order would be punished.
This subtly created animosity with the families of these individuals, causing those families to distance themselves from the Uchiha Clan.
This was the purpose of the Second Hokage when he established the Garrison Force, and it must be said, the Second Hokage's goal was achieved.
"Captain Fugaku!"
Uchiha Fugaku found an empty seat and sat down.
Just then, someone a few seats away greeted him.
He was somewhat surprised; he had originally thought that today, like his predecessor, he would be ignored, but he hadn't expected someone to greet him proactively.
He turned his head to look and saw a man in a black kimono with silver-white hair, around thirty years old.
Information about this person quickly flashed through his mind.
Hatake Kakashi, the current head of the Hatake Family. Besides that, he had another identity: the younger brother of Konoha White Fang, renowned throughout the Ninja World.
"Clan Head Hiroshi!"
Since someone greeted him, he naturally wouldn't pretend to be aloof and ignore them. He responded courteously.
"My clan members have caused trouble for Captain Fugaku."
Hatake Kakashi said.
The reason he proactively spoke to Uchiha Fugaku was to express his gratitude to Uchiha Fugaku.
In the previous conflict between a Hatake Family member and a Sarutobi Family member, although the Hatake Family member was not at fault, the other party was a Sarutobi Family member, the clan of the Third Hokage.
Uchiha Fugaku was able to withstand the pressure and handle the matter impartially, without showing favoritism because the other party was a Sarutobi Family member, which made him quite grateful.
"It's no trouble."
Uchiha Fugaku said in a good mood.
Receiving the Hatake Clan Head's gratitude showed that his efforts were not in vain.
His strategy of using the authority of public order management to rectify the four un-winnable clans—Sarutobi, Shimura, Homura, and Torifu—and to show goodwill to other clans, was proving viable.
In the conference room, people continued to arrive.
Finally, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado, the three Advisors, entered the conference room one after another, taking their seats.
The arrival of the four attracted everyone's attention, as these four held the highest authority in the current Konoha Village.
"Today, I have gathered everyone here for a meeting because an extremely serious situation has occurred!"
The Third Hokage, wearing his Hokage robe, exuded a powerful aura that made his otherwise slender figure appear tall and imposing.
He surveyed the room, his gaze sweeping over each Ninja present, and continued.
"Two days ago, Elite Jonin Shimura Ryoma, Jonin Shimura Sosuke, and Jonin Shimura Ichiro lost contact after leaving the Village."
"Following their travel route, traces of combat were found in a forest, and it is highly likely that the three have been killed."
Upon hearing the Third Hokage's words, some of the Ninja present showed surprise, while others did not show much surprise.
Clearly, some of them were unaware of this news, while others had already known about it.
Given the Uchiha Clan's popularity in the Village, no one would naturally disclose this news to them. So, although Uchiha Fugaku knew, he still displayed a slightly surprised expression.
"Hokage-sama, have you found out which organization was responsible?"
A man in a gray stand-collar trench coat and black sunglasses inquired.
His name was Shibi Aburame, the current head of the Aburame Clan.
The Aburame Clan was quite close to the Shimura Clan; this was evident from the fact that Aburame Torune, one of Danzo Shimura's personal guards, was from the Aburame Clan.
Therefore, upon learning of the deaths of Shimura Ryoma and the other two, he was the first to inquire with concern.
"No, all traces have been erased, leaving no identifiable marks of the attackers."
The Third Hokage shook his head.
"May I ask what mission the three were on when they were killed?"
A man with a pineapple hairstyle and two scars on his right cheek inquired.
He was Nara Shikaku, the head of the Nara Clan, a man of extraordinary intelligence known as a strategist. His clan, along with Akimichi and Yamanaka, was collectively known as Ino–Shika–Chō.
"They were on a mission to Shirakawa Town. The specific mission cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality."
The one who answered him was Shimura Daisuke, the head of the Shimura Clan.
Knowing Nara Shikaku's exceptional intelligence, he very much hoped to use Nara Shikaku's high intelligence to find the murderers of the three.
However, the mission the three were carrying out was truly inconvenient to disclose.
On one hand, such matters were inherently unseemly, and on the other hand, Uchiha Fugaku, who was deeply involved, was present.
Thinking of the mission the three were on, he couldn't help but feel depressed.
Originally, according to the plan, this Village Council would have stripped the Uchiha Clan of its duty to manage the Village's entry and exit points, and would have further suppressed the Uchiha Clan.
However, Shimura Ryoma and the other two died on what should have been a very ordinary mission.
The content of this meeting also changed to announcing and investigating the deaths of Shimura Ryoma and the other two.
"Shirakawa Town?"
Upon hearing this name, a flicker of emotion passed through Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.
He was not unfamiliar with Shirakawa Town, after all, the largest merchant caravan in the Land of Fire, which was on good terms with the Uchiha Clan, had its base located in Shirakawa Town.
The fact that Shirakawa Town was the destination of Shimura Ryoma and the other two, he did not believe this was a coincidence.
The mission Shimura Ryoma and the other two were to carry out was very likely related to that merchant caravan.
It was highly probable that they intended to use that merchant caravan to plot something disadvantageous to the Uchiha Clan.
What exactly it was, too little information was currently available to deduce.
However, he did notice that when several clan heads heard the name Shirakawa Town, their gazes almost instinctively turned towards him.
This further confirmed his belief that Shimura Ryoma and the other two went to Shirakawa Town, likely with the purpose of dealing with the Uchiha Clan.
Fortunately, the ambush killed Shimura Ryoma and the other two, preventing the Shimura Clan from focusing on the Uchiha Clan for now; otherwise, something bad might have happened.
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