Naruto: Uchiha Rejects Konoha

Fugaku and the others also heard the commotion and stepped outside to watch. Observing the battle's location, everyone wore puzzled expressions.

"It's very close to the Hokage Building over there, right? Why did the battle break out in that place?" Takeshi pondered, finding it incredible. Although the Hokage Building isn't precisely at the centre of Konoha Village, it's undoubtedly the core of Konoha in terms of administration and military presence.

The Hokage Building houses the Hokage's offices and is surrounded by the Anbu base. Even Danzo's former Root base is connected to the area surrounding the Hokage Building.

Generally, this area would be the last place anyone could infiltrate, yet there was no movement detected around the village, and the battle erupted directly in this highly secure location.

What does this imply?

It suggests that the battle preparations and security arrangements Konoha recently put in place were completely ineffective! The attackers had gone straight to the heart.

"Ahem... How about we go check it out together?" Yagami suppressed a laugh, coughing twice as he suggested it.

This is too amusing. It would be a shame not to watch something this entertaining.

Who could be capable of such a bold move?

Then again, if other villages wanted to attack Konoha, wouldn't they aim to destroy the Wood Style research results or demand Konoha share them?

Instead, they went directly into Konoha's core. Could it be they're trying to steal the research on Wood Style? But they'd need to know where that information is stored first.

By the time Yagami and the others arrived at the scene, the battle was nearing its end.

Although the intruder had penetrated Konoha's layers of security, the core area remained formidable.

He may have humiliated Konoha, but he suffered a brutal counterattack.

And from the look of his dark skin, Yagami's mouth twitched—it was the reckless group from Kumogakure. No wonder this snatching behaviour felt so familiar.

The Third Hokage's face was dark with fury. He had made countless preparations and mobilized numerous forces, yet someone breached the defences right at the start. The humiliation was profound.

What made it worse was that none of the shinobi close to the Hokage Building—not the police force, not Anbu, nor even the clan ninjas or sensory units—had reacted. Even the guardian barrier hadn't been triggered. If word got out, it would be humiliating beyond belief.

The largest ninja village in the world, oblivious to an enemy invasion. Isn't that laughable?

And this wasn't just a typical invasion—Konoha was supposed to be on high alert!

"What's the situation? How did this happen!"

The Third Hokage questioned Anbu with a stern expression. After all, the village was on high alert. Although they hadn't detected the intruders in time, people had gathered quickly after the incident, and there were already shinobi standing around.

"The intruders were numerous and very powerful. Once discovered, they dispersed and engaged in separate fights. While our casualties were low, the damage to the village was severe. As for how they managed to enter, further investigation is needed."

Anbu spoke with a frustrated expression. As those closest to the Hokage Building, they had essentially been attacked in their own territory.

Moreover, it was Anbu's responsibility to guard the village. The enemy had managed to invade undetected, making it clear they'd failed in their duties.

"Then why are you still standing here? Go investigate! I want to know how they entered so quietly! You were supposed to defend the village. Is this your idea of defence? The enemy practically had a blade to my neck, and none of you noticed! Are you all just in this for the paycheck?"

The Third Hokage couldn't ignore the presence of Yagami and the others nearby, and their very presence only soured his mood further.

When Uchiha was in charge of the police force, intruders would be detected just by approaching, let alone actually entering the village.

Now, despite the expanded police department with increased resources, the results fell short of what the targeted Uchiha police force had achieved.

It wasn't just the police department under scrutiny.

Currently, the village is guarded by the police department, Anbu, and ninja forces, all working together under the Hokage's authority. Yet, they still failed.

How could he hold his head high in front of Uchiha?

"Hokage-sama, our first priority should be to identify and fix the loopholes in our defences immediately. This may have been one attack, but this time it was Kumogakure. Next time, it could be multiple villages acting together."

Shikaku spoke up, noting that this incident didn't only embarrass the Hokage but also humiliated Konoha's shinobi.

Beyond his concern for appearances, Shikaku was genuinely troubled by Konoha's defensive capabilities and felt an urgent need to address them.

"Old man, what's the point of taking your anger out on them? You know whether the village's shinobi are staying alert. You also know the capabilities of Anbu and the clans, but have you considered why the protective barrier didn't trigger? The enemy invaded near the Hokage Building itself. Could something within the village be amiss?"

Tsunade stood up, pointing out that, based on the shinobi's quick reaction, dereliction of duty wasn't the issue. Konoha's shinobi were indeed on alert.

But if the enemy still infiltrated so stealthily, it could only mean they were well-informed about the village's defences, possibly aided by someone inside.

"I can vouch for that. Anbu's skills are strong, after all. Even back when they kept tabs on us, Uchiha, they were thorough. There's no reason they couldn't detect intruders here—unless someone was covering for them."

Yagami took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire. Noticing the spike in tension from the Third Hokage's reaction, he decided to stir things up further.

Hearing this, several clan leaders couldn't help but twitch at Yagami's remark. Although he seemed to acknowledge Anbu's abilities, the context made it sound quite different.

Was he implying that Konoha's Anbu excelled only at monitoring Uchiha but fell short when defending against actual threats?

It felt as if the Hokage's own forces were harsh with their own people yet utterly helpless with outsiders.

"Investigate! Send the bodies to the Intelligence Department. I want a full report on how they infiltrated Konoha!"

The Third Hokage's face darkened even more, and internally, he began to worry that Tsunade was right. If there was indeed a mole at this time, it would spell serious trouble for Konoha.

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