Hiashi Hyūga 's words struck the heart of the matter, and Shikaku Nara and the others all frowned.
Although they still didn't know the full story, they had clearly heard Shimura Danzō's shout earlier. From that alone, they could roughly guess what was happening above.
Shimura Danzō vs. Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"No matter what the situation is, Elder Shimura has no right to carry out private punishment," Shikaku said calmly.
"Furthermore, Elder Koharu and Elder Homura are both Konoha elders and Hokage advisors, just like him. Elder Shimura certainly has no authority to deal with them privately."
"So the best course of action is to separate them first, and discuss everything afterward."
By now, Shikaku had already realized that this was likely a coup initiated by Danzō.
However, this was an extremely sensitive situation. Words had to be chosen carefully—he couldn't openly label it a coup or assign blame prematurely.
For now, the priority was simply stopping the conflict.
"But how do we stop them?" Inoichi Yamanaka said gravely.
"If I'm not mistaken, that barrier is the Four Violet Flames Formation. Anyone who touches it will be burned instantly. Breaking it from the outside is extremely difficult."
"If Minato were still here, his Flying Thunder God Technique might work," Chōza Akimichi added with concern.
"But right now Minato is…"
His gaze turned toward the direction of the earlier explosion.
Anything capable of making Namikaze Minato react so urgently could only be related to Kushina Uzumaki.
And if something had happened to Kushina—
That would be a disaster.
Kushina was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. At the moment, a large portion of Konoha's villagers were gathered together.
If a Nine-Tails rampage occurred now, even a single attack could cause unimaginable damage to the village.
Shikaku clearly had the same thought.
He turned to Uchiha Ren.
"Uchiha Clan Head, we can discuss what's happening above later. But can the Konoha Military Police Force guide the villagers to the nearest shelters?"
"Of course," Ren nodded.
"That falls within the duties of the Military Police Force."
"In fact, my people should already be doing it."
Ren had prepared for this long ago.
Naturally, he wouldn't miss such a perfect opportunity for the Uchiha clan to earn goodwill. Arrangements had been made in advance.
At this moment, the villagers of Konoha were already being evacuated.
Hearing this, Shikaku nodded slightly before turning to Hiashi.
"Clan Head Hyūga, when it comes to reconnaissance, no one in Konoha surpasses the Hyūga clan."
"Could you have Hizashi Hyūga lead a scouting team to monitor the area outside the village? And also try to locate Jiraiya… and Orochimaru."
Logically speaking, such a massive disturbance within the village should have alerted both of them long ago.
Yet neither had appeared.
That meant something was delaying them.
Three days earlier, during the jōnin meeting, Orochimaru and Hiruzen had openly fallen out.
In Shikaku's view, the person likely delaying Jiraiya was Orochimaru.
Of course, this suspicion couldn't be stated openly.
So Shikaku simply ordered people to find them first.
Hiashi did not refuse.
"That is only natural. I'll arrange it immediately."
He walked to the side, summoned a Hyūga ninja, and quietly issued instructions.
After finishing this, Shikaku turned to Inoichi and Chōza.
"Inoichi, Chōza—you two go stabilize the ninja forces and organize them. Then lead some units outside the village to establish defensive positions."
"At a time like this, we absolutely cannot gather everyone in one place."
Both men nodded and immediately left to carry out the orders without hesitation.
Only then did Shikaku finally feel a slight sense of relief.
Although he didn't know what other preparations Danzō might have made, the situation—for now—seemed unlikely to spiral completely out of control.
However…
Shikaku glanced at Uchiha Ren.
Ren looked completely indifferent, as if the situation had nothing to do with him. Yet Shikaku couldn't shake the feeling that Ren had anticipated all of this.
He might even have been involved.
But now was not the time to investigate.
Danzō alone could already cause significant damage to Konoha.
If the Uchiha clan were added into the mix…
The consequences would be far worse.
And then there was the Hyūga clan, whose stance was still unclear.
So if Ren wanted to pretend ignorance—
Then Shikaku would simply let him keep pretending.
At that moment, Ren suddenly turned his head and looked at him with a faint smile.
"What's the matter? Clan Head Nara—do you have a question for me?"
Shikaku reacted instantly.
"Nothing," he replied smoothly.
"I was simply thinking… you are known as the 'Crimson Sun', a shinobi said to rival Minato, and you're extremely proficient in Fire Release."
"So I wondered whether you might be able to break the Four Violet Flames Formation."
Ren shook his head.
"The Four Violet Flames Formation is a barrier secret technique. I'm not familiar with barrier ninjutsu."
"The only way to break it would be with overwhelming destructive force."
"Perhaps I could attempt that somewhere else…"
"But this is the Hokage Tower—the very center of the village, its most populated area."
"If I unleash a large-scale ninjutsu here, the resulting destruction could be catastrophic."
"That kind of consequence is something neither of us could afford."
Shikaku nodded silently.
Ren's explanation was perfectly reasonable. There was little he could argue with.
Ren smiled faintly and continued,
"You don't need to worry too much, Clan Head Nara."
"After all… Hiruzen Sarutobi is known as the Professor, the strongest Hokage."
"A mere Shimura Danzō might not pose much of a threat to him."
Shikaku narrowed his eyes slightly.
There was something unusual in Ren's tone.
It seemed that Ren and Danzō might not actually be allies after all.
"Let's hope so," Shikaku said after taking a deep breath.
"We should move somewhere else. From here we can't see what's happening above."
With that, he leapt onto the rooftop of a nearby tall building.
Standing directly below the Hokage Tower made it impossible to see the rooftop clearly—they could only hear the fierce sounds of battle.
Ren naturally had no objection and followed him.
The other clan heads quickly did the same.
By now, the battle within the Four Violet Flames Formation had escalated beyond the rooftop and entered a frenzied stage.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane coordinated perfectly—one using Fire Release, the other Wind Release.
In an instant, a raging sea of flames erupted, incinerating several charging Root shinobi into ashes.
At the same time, intense sounds of battle echoed from inside the Hokage Tower.
It seemed that Homura Mitokado, who was not on the rooftop, was also engaged in fierce combat within the building.
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