With the return of Uchiha Fugaku and the others, a village meeting was soon convened in Konoha.

"Damn Iwagakure, how dare they target the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!"

"Hokage, this matter cannot be allowed to slide!"

"Yes, it must not be let go!"

...

The clan heads were furious.

A Jinchūriki is the cornerstone and trump card of a shinobi village—vital to its strength.

Iwagakure attempting to kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had enraged them all.

"This cannot be taken lightly. I will issue a formal and severe protest to Iwagakure over this matter!"

The Third Hokage was equally enraged.

He had always considered the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to be under his control. Now that Iwagakure had attempted to take that from him, how could he not be furious?

It could be said that Iwagakure's actions had crossed a major line.

"Also, I suggest that all the Genin from Iwagakure participating in the Chūnin Exams be executed immediately."

Uchiha Fugaku's tone was ice-cold, laced with killing intent.

"Patriarch Fugaku is right. All Iwagakure Genin participating in the Chūnin Exams should be executed."

Hatake Nobuhiro, the head of the Hatake clan, voiced his support.

"I also agree with Patriarch Fugaku."

Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga clan, joined in.

After witnessing Uchiha Fugaku's power, he had decided to align with the Uchiha clan.

So when Fugaku suggested executing all the Iwagakure Genin, he decisively gave his support.

"I agree too."

"Yes, they should all be executed. That'll show Iwagakure the price of provoking Konoha."

Following the Hyuga and Hatake clans, more clan heads voiced their agreement.

These were clans that had either recently moved closer to the Uchiha or were impressed by Uchiha Fugaku's overwhelming strength and were eager to build ties.

Hearing the proposal being supported by so many, the Third Hokage became wary.

Unnoticed, the Uchiha clan had already amassed significant influence across Konoha's major clans.

He stepped forward in opposition.

"According to our investigation, those Genin were unaware of Iwagakure's true plan. Executing all of them would be excessive."

It wasn't out of kindness. In his eyes, their lives were expendable.

But because Fugaku wanted them dead, he had to oppose him.

This had become more than a matter of punishment—it was now a test of power and influence between them.

"Hokage-sama, I disagree. As shinobi of Iwagakure, they are inseparable from their village's actions and must share in the consequences."

Uchiha Fugaku knew the Hokage wasn't trying to protect the Genin—he was only trying to counter him.

Naturally, Fugaku wouldn't yield.

"They are innocent. Konoha should show tolerance and not attack innocents."

The Third Hokage glanced at Fugaku meaningfully, a subtle jab at Fugaku's harshness.

"As I said, they are Iwagakure shinobi. That alone makes them complicit. They are far from innocent."

Uchiha Fugaku stared straight back as he retorted.

"Hokage-sama is merciful. Even with enemy ninja, he wouldn't go so far as execution!"

"Hokage-sama is right. Innocent people should not be harmed."

"They're not innocent. Just by being from Iwagakure, they are involved. I support what Patriarch Fugaku said."

"Yes, I agree with Patriarch Fugaku too."

...

Inside the council chamber, debate raged over whether the Iwagakure Genin should be executed.

In the end, the Third Hokage, who had more supporters present, rejected Fugaku's proposal to execute the Genin.

The meeting adjourned, and the attendees began to leave.

Although the proposal hadn't passed, Uchiha Fugaku wasn't discouraged.

To him, those Iwagakure Genin were just bugs. Whether they lived or died was irrelevant.

More importantly, the meeting had shown him how much his influence had grown.

As expected, capturing Orochimaru and rescuing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had significantly boosted his standing in the village.

...

One day later, Iwagakure received news of the failed attempt to kidnap the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, along with Konoha's official protest letter.

"Failed!"

On the central seat, the short-statured Third Tsuchikage frowned deeply.

They had paid a steep price for this operation, yet it had still failed.

Not only were the twenty-plus Iwagakure Genin detained, but all five elite jōnin who carried out the mission were also dead.

"What went wrong?"

Kurotsuchi's father, Akatsuchi, asked with a puzzled tone.

Iwagakure had made thorough preparations for the operation.

Five elite jōnin had been sent, and a costly mission was issued to the Akatsuki to create chaos in Konoha.

And yet, the plan still failed. He was at a loss.

"Was it the Akatsuki's fault? Hmph, an organization that works for money can never be trusted."

An old, balding elder with white hair said coldly.

He had opposed involving Akatsuki from the start.

But the Tsuchikage had ignored him and insisted on the plan, believing it would reduce Iwagakure's own casualties.

"There were flaws in Akatsuki's part, but we cannot blame them entirely."

The Third Tsuchikage shook his head.

"The real issue wasn't Akatsuki—it was Uchiha Fugaku."

"Uchiha Fugaku?"

Everyone turned their attention to the Tsuchikage.

"Yes. The failure this time was because Uchiha Fugaku was far too powerful."

His voice was heavy.

"After accepting our commission, Akatsuki dispatched two members: Biwa Jūzō, a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Orochimaru, an S-rank rogue ninja."

"During the Chūnin Exam, these two created havoc in the Forest of Death, successfully diverting Konoha's attention, which allowed our five-man team to abduct the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."

The Tsuchikage's tone grew even more grave.

"But Uchiha Fugaku was too strong. In just over ten minutes, Biwa Jūzō was killed, and Orochimaru was captured alive."

"Because of this, Konoha quickly realized Naruto had gone missing, which led to the failure of the mission. The five jōnin on the extraction team were all killed by Fugaku."

"It only took ten minutes to kill Biwa Jūzō and capture Orochimaru?"

The Iwagakure leadership all wore dark expressions.

Biwa Jūzō had once been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Orochimaru had been considered Kage-level for years.

Yet both were taken down in under ten minutes by Uchiha Fugaku.

To be precise, it was even less, as that timeframe also included his travel time.

"Is Konoha about to give rise to another Uchiha Madara?"

A chill ran down their spines. Was Konoha about to give birth to a figure like Madara Uchiha?

(End of this chapter)

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