The moment Uchiha Ren finished speaking, everyone in the conference room looked at Uchiha Fugaku with strange expressions.
After all, Ren 's words were essentially slapping Fugaku in the face in public.
However, when they noticed Fugaku's calm expression, many of them quickly realized something.
Ren 's accusation was probably nothing more than a convenient excuse.
Fugaku's abdication this time likely wasn't forced—it seemed far more likely that he and Ren had reached some kind of agreement beforehand.
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and lightly coughed.
"Chief Fugaku has worked diligently in the Konoha Military Police Force for many years. Even if he has no outstanding achievements, he has certainly contributed his share of effort. Calling it negligence would be unfair."
"We've all seen his work with our own eyes. If the Uchiha clan removes such a capable chief on such grounds, the village will not accept it."
Although Hiruzen didn't know what had happened during last night's Uchiha Clan Assembly, one thing was certain—
Uchiha Fugaku was far easier to control than Uchiha Ren .
So Hiruzen intended to maintain the status quo if possible and keep Fugaku in the position of Chief of the Military Police Force.
Fugaku's eyes flickered slightly at these words.
He had spent years enduring pressure from Hiruzen, yet he never realized the Hokage apparently valued him so highly.
Fugaku snorted softly and shook his head.
"Thank you for your kindness, Third Hokage. But right is right and wrong is wrong."
"Over the years, I have indeed failed in many respects—both toward my clan and toward the village. I am truly unworthy of the position of Chief of the Military Police Force."
Hiruzen frowned slightly.
A trace of displeasure appeared in his gaze as he looked at Fugaku.
The people in the conference room remained silent. They had come merely to go through the motions—now all they had to do was quietly watch the drama unfold.
Seeing that Fugaku refused to cooperate, Hiruzen quickly realized who was truly in charge of the Uchiha now.
His gaze shifted toward Uchiha Ren .
"Uchiha Ren ," he said slowly, "Fugaku is the head of a major department. If you intend to remove him with nothing more than the word 'negligence,' the village will not recognize such a decision."
"Nor will the Uchiha clan be convinced."
Ren smiled faintly.
"Third Hokage, the Uchiha clan is not some unreasonable group of barbarians."
"Of course we have evidence."
Hiruzen immediately replied,
"Then please present this evidence. Since everyone is here, we can judge for ourselves whether Fugaku is truly guilty or innocent."
Hiruzen wasn't worried about whatever evidence Ren might produce.
If Fugaku had chosen to cooperate with Ren , then the so-called evidence was unlikely to be anything truly fatal.
Once Ren spoke, Hiruzen could simply refute his claims.
Then, using the weight of public opinion in the room, he could pressure them.
At that point, whether Fugaku wanted to or not, he would have to remain Chief of the Military Police Force.
Although Fugaku was no longer as obedient as before, Hiruzen understood his personality well.
After the meeting, if he spoke privately with Fugaku a few times, Fugaku would most likely choose the greater good and fall back in line.
Ren cleared his throat.
Once everyone's attention in the conference room focused on him, he calmly began.
"Whether as Uchiha clan head or as Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Fugaku has been negligent in many ways."
"To avoid wasting everyone's valuable time, I will only mention a few representative examples."
"First—"
"The recent rumor crisis in the village."
"At the beginning, the rumors appeared because Uchiha Fugaku refused the village's proposal to suspend the pensions of fallen and disabled Uchiha shinobi, as well as the battle merit rewards owed to shinobi who had shed blood on the battlefield."
"Because of that, many rumors targeting the Uchiha clan began circulating throughout the village."
"Some said the Uchiha were narrow-minded and refused to understand the village's difficulties."
"Others claimed the Uchiha clan was arrogant and never considered Konoha their true home."
"Later, the rumors only grew worse."
"All kinds of accusations were thrown at the Uchiha."
"They called us paranoid, arrogant, cold-hearted—"
"An alien presence within the village."
"A source of disaster."
As Ren continued speaking, the people in the conference room were shocked.
Everyone actually knew the origin of these rumors.
They were a political tactic used by the village leadership to pressure the Uchiha clan.
And the ones who had given the order were precisely the four figures sitting on the platform.
However, something had clearly gone wrong this time—the rumors had spiraled out of control and grown far larger than intended.
Normally, everyone simply understood this silently.
But now—
Ren was openly bringing up the matter in front of the Konoha's Council of Elders and the entire room.
This was basically attacking them directly to their faces.
As a result, several people began looking at Hiruzen and the others with subtle, complicated expressions.
"Enough!"
Hiruzen's face turned dark as he interrupted Ren .
"Uchiha Ren , you were asked to explain Fugaku's negligence, not to drag in unrelated matters!"
"What do these rumors have to do with Fugaku's failures?"
Hiruzen was furious.
But under the gaze of so many people, he couldn't openly lash out, so he could only interrupt Ren under the pretense of maintaining order.
"Of course it's related."
Ren smiled faintly and continued unhurriedly.
"First, as the Uchiha clan head, when the clan faced a crisis and its reputation collapsed, Fugaku failed to step forward and resolve the situation."
"Instead, he allowed the rumors to escalate."
"Is that not negligence for the leader of a clan?"
"And second—"
"The Konoha Military Police Force is responsible for maintaining order and stability within the village."
"Yet these rumors eventually created an atmosphere of fear throughout Konoha."
"People became suspicious of one another. Trust collapsed. The village's order fell into chaos."
"As Chief of the Military Police Force, Fugaku failed to immediately arrest those who spread the rumors and fanned the flames behind the scenes."
"This allowed the situation to spiral completely out of control."
"It even reached the point where the rumors threatened the position of the Third Hokage himself."
"Is that not negligence?"
Ren 's words left the entire conference room stunned.
After all—
This whole incident had been instigated by the Konoha's Council of Elders themselves.
Yet Ren was now saying—right in front of them—that the culprits were criminals secretly spreading rumors.
It was the equivalent of stating the obvious in the most embarrassing way.
Worse still—
Ren had even mentioned the rumors about Hiruzen stepping down as Hokage.
It was a move designed to attack both reputation and authority at the same time.
Uchiha Ren …
was truly fearlessly bold.
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