"What?"
"Uchiha... not a rebellion, but... has already gone to the battlefield?"
Some of the clan leaders couldn't believe what they'd just heard.
They had all instinctively assumed that the Uchiha clan was preparing for a coup amidst the chaos—an armed insurrection taking advantage of the turmoil.
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the specter of an Uchiha uprising had loomed over the village.
The trauma was still fresh.
The night the Nine-Tails attacked, everything changed. Homes destroyed. Lives lost. A village scarred.And now—there was no Fourth Hokage to lay down his life and save them again.
So when word arrived that the Uchiha had mobilized a large number of shinobi, many had instinctively braced for rebellion.
But...
"How could Uchiha consider internal strife when the village is under threat from outside forces?"Hyuga Naraku's voice was calm—almost too calm.
His words sliced through the noise.
The patriarchs fell silent.
Right. Even if Uchiha had some hidden ambition, now was the worst possible time to act on it.
This was not the moment for political power plays—it was war. If they turned their backs on Konoha now, they'd be branded as traitors by every clan. Their name would never recover.
If Uchiha truly intended a coup, the other clans might have stayed neutral—or even secretly supported it—given their grievances with the current leadership.
But during an invasion?No. No clan would tolerate betrayal when the village stood on the edge of ruin.
They realized they'd let their fear cloud their judgment—fear of a clan that once held the power to control tailed beasts.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, too, felt something tighten in his chest.
But then his expression darkened.
"The Uchiha clan already deployed?! Who gave them the right?!"He slammed his fist down on the table. "Did they get my authorization?!"
His voice roared through the chamber, sharp with panic and indignation.
"What are you plotting, Hyuga Naraku?! What are you doing with the Uchiha?! Are you attempting to start a civil war?!"
Naraku raised his teacup and took a slow, deliberate sip.
"Uchiha is Konoha's Uchiha," he said plainly. "When foreign enemies come knocking, they take up arms to defend the village. Isn't that what shinobi are supposed to do?"
The simplicity of the answer stunned the room.
Because it was right.
It was what they all should be saying.
And yet, it came from him—Naraku, the one they feared, the one they tried to eliminate time and again.
Naraku's eyes flicked toward the Hokage.
"But let's not pretend this is about procedure. This is about you. About what you've failed to do, Hiruzen."
He stood.
"I'll ask plainly—what have you been doing these past five days?"
"Why was Cloud Village able to breach the Land of Fire so easily?"
"Why were our front-line forces unprepared?"
"The war notice from Kumogakure came five days ago. Five.And yet the village has made no preparations for war."
"So again, Sarutobi Hiruzen—what have you been doing?"
The air thickened. The words hit like hammers.
Hiruzen's lips pressed into a thin line. He wanted to lash out, to reassert control.
But the room had changed.
Everyone's eyes were on him now.Not Naraku.
He was the Hokage, and they were waiting for answers.
"The front-line forces might have been ambushed," Hiruzen muttered. "We're still investigating…"
A weak answer.
He knew it.So did the clan heads.
"Forget it," Naraku said, waving his hand. "There's no need for you to explain. You've made your stance clear."
"You never intended to prepare for war. You were planning to hand me over—sacrifice a shinobi—to preserve your so-called peace."
"That's why you didn't mobilize. You weren't protecting Konoha. You were protecting your legacy."
Hiruzen's hands curled into fists.
Silence reigned.
Then, Mitokado Homura, one of the advisor elders, stood abruptly. "Enough! Hyuga Naraku, you're spouting baseless accusations!"
But Naraku didn't flinch.
"Baseless?" he repeated, voice low, amused. "Shall I list them?"
"On the second day after the Cloud's envoy incident, Root operatives came for me. That was your first attempt."
"After that failed, you sent Sarutobi Shinnosuke with hundreds of men to kill me."
"Yesterday? You sent Danzo to surround and crush me."
"You even plotted to replace Hyuga Hiashi with a more obedient puppet so you could kill me using the Caged Bird seal."
He paused, letting the silence fill with truth.
"And yet—each time—you failed."
He smiled.
"A shame, really."
"You're lying!" Hiruzen finally snapped, voice rising. "You're trying to sow division in the middle of a war!"
But Naraku just laughed—a cold, derisive sound.
"Sow division?" he echoed.
"No, old man. You sowed that long ago."
"You talk about unity—but you've spent years turning the village against itself. Suppressing dissent. Sacrificing your own. Silencing truth."
"But there's one thing you said that I do agree with."
His tone shifted.
"We don't need internal conflict during a war."
Naraku took a step forward.
"That's why I want this resolved now."
He raised his voice.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen—you are unfit to be Hokage!"
He turned, sweeping his gaze across the room.
"And that's why I'm here today—to impeach you."
"You're done, Hiruzen. Step down."