“It’s like Tobirama Sensei had said. The Uchiha never concidered themselves as part of Konoha!” Koharu said coldly.

“It’s too early to make conclusions, Koharu. Sak.u.mo just mentioned now that this was nothing but a frustrated response. There is no proof of an organized coup d’état plan!”

“Hiruzen, you’re always too naïve! If the idea wasn’t there in the minds of the Uchiha clan, why would a coup d’état be suggested in such a great meeting? And how would so many agree?” Homura insisted on the Uchiha being guilty.

“Homura is right! The Uchiha have always had ill intentions. I think that the Anbu must be sent immedi….”

“ENOUGH!” This quarrel annoyed Sak.u.mo, pus.h.i.+ng him to interrupt Koharu.

“Homaru dono, the Uchiha would never let an outsider enter their meeting. How did you get this information? Don’t think that just your a.n.a.lysis would get me on board with your idea. And Koharu san, don’t think that your comments will define what will happen next: I am the one in the post of Hokage right now, and none of you will ever be making my decisions for me!”

Sak.u.mo’s words stunned and angered the two councilors, and the mood immediately became suffocating.

The 3rd immediately tried to calm everyone down: “Sak.u.mo, please don’t get angry. Koharu is just concerned about Konoha. As for Homura, I’m sure that he’s more than willing to tell you about his source. Right?” said the 3rd as he turned to his old pal.

Sak.u.mo sighed: “Well, Homura dono, go ahead and tell me. Otherwise, none of what you’re saying holds any credibility.”

“My source is an Uchiha, both you and Hiruzen should know him: Uchiha Maan. If you still don’t believe me, check with him yourselves.”

“Maan? The one who was under Ryo’s command during the war, Protecting the Medical Force?” The 3rd asked.

“Yes, that’s him. Although he is an Uchiha, he’s most loyal to Konoha, and he knows how much blood would be spilt if the Uchiha launch a coup d’état, and how harmful that would be to the village. Therefore, he told me about everything.” Homura answered.

“Sak.u.mo, I know the kid, he…” The 3rd muttered.

“You don’t have to tell me, Sandaime. I know him as well, and he’s credible indeed. He’s also the one to tell me about all of this.”

“The Uchiha are the largest clan in Konoha, and they have been in charge of Konoha’s security for far too long. They know too many of Konoha’s secrets. They are numerous and very powerful. Sak.u.mo, you need to be careful. Any direct clash between them and the village would have consequences that we do not even want to imagine!”

“Do not worry, Sandaime. Now, I would like to thank the two councilors for the information they gave me. I have things to do now, and I’ll be dealing with this matter properly.” After finis.h.i.+ng his words, Sak.u.mo left Homura’s place.

In his office, he thought about what Homura had mentioned, and he couldn’t get rid of the thought that something was wrong.

After thinking matters through, he became determined to get to the truth of the matter, and immediately asked the Anbu on his side: “Go and find out about the tasks performed by Uchiha Maan recently.”

After a while, the Anbu returned with the information, among which there was the thing that Sak.u.mo had expected. Learning about this, his face turned gloomy, and then he asked the Anbu who delivered the information to find Kakas.h.i.+ for him.

Soon after, Kakas.h.i.+ was in the office: “You were looking for me?”

“Yes! Kakas.h.i.+, I have a task for you. I want you to go to this location and bring me Uchiha Maan. Also, I want to make sure no one notices either of you.”

“Yes, Hokage sama!”

Kakas.h.i.+ set out immediately, rus.h.i.+ng to the destination that his father had mentioned.

Meanwhile, in the Water Country, Ryo was surprised by how different everything was from the last time he was here.

Today, the port was full of s.h.i.+ps, and people were going in and out of the country with various goods, and the country seemed to be alive again.

This further affirmed Ryo’s earlier speculations: this must be the work of Mei!

Leaving the port, Ryo rushed straight towards the Mist Village.

On his way, he noticed that the Mist Ninjas around were much more scarce. Still, security overall remained tighter than that of the Fire Country.

As he approached the gate of the village, he masked his Chakra, and then went into disguise as a civilian, walking towards the village.

After a rigorous inspection, the guards found no anomalies with him. They recorded his name, the time of his entrance and details about his physical features on a scroll, and then handed that to the Anbu before allowing him in.

Ryo toured around the village, then found himself a restaurant and sat down.

Inside, there were many merchants and Ninjas, and Ryo could grasp many details from their conversations.

While most of what he caught was trivial, it still allowed him figure out what was happening in the village.

After filling up, Ryo left the restaurant. He planned to continue going around the village, when he felt two people following him closely!

‘Was I discovered?’ He frowned. Then, he began to speed up as he walked around, and the two followed.

“The level of Ninjas in this village is truly surprising!” Ryo muttered, before disappearing all of a sudden.

This changed the faces of the two following him. They looked around without being able to catch his trace, so they eventually realized that things might not be so simple. One stayed behind to monitor the area, while the other went straight to Mei to report the situation.

“Suddenly disappeared? And there was no trace of him after that? Are you sure?” She asked in surprise.

“I am sure. Mei sama, do you want us to send more people to investigate?”

Mei thought for a moment, then waved and said: “No need. You get back to your usual ch.o.r.es, and I will personally deal with this matter.”

After the Ninja left, Mei turned to Ao on the side: “Someone disappearing like that, they’re probably using a s.p.a.ce-time Ninjutsu.”

“Mei san, what do you mean?”

“Well, I’m guessing this Ryo Yamanaka. Yagura remembers things, back when he was controlled; he left control for an instant and found Ryo Yamanaka before him. It seems like he confronted the one who controlled him. Well, Ao, we need to meet him. I’m pretty sure he’s still in the village!”

“Mei san, are you sure? It’s Ryo Yamanaka!”

“Huh, don’t worry. If Ryo Yamanaka wanted to kill me, I’d be long dead by now…”