Late at night, the Hokage Building was brightly lit.
The door to the Hokage's office opened, and Night Light followed behind Yellow Dog and Black Gorilla, seeing the scene inside.
The Third Hokage was smoking behind his desk.
On one side of the sofa sat Danzo and Homura Mitokado, and on the other side sat Clan Head Senju Rinmu.
Behind Senju Rinmu stood Kato Dan.
Kato Dan had long silver-white hair and a stern face.
Three Anbu entered the office and stood behind Danzo.
Night Light glanced around; both sides looked terrible, as if they had just finished an argument.
Danzo turned his head and said, "Yellow Dog, report on tonight's situation."
"Yes, Lord Danzo!" Yellow Dog said, "Tonight, all of Hidden Cloud Village's spies moved. Some created chaos elsewhere to attract Anbu's attention, while others directly attacked the Whirlpool Princess.
The Anbu took action immediately. The Whirlpool Princess's escort squad was intercepted by the Cloud Ninja, but the Black Gorilla Squad appeared in time and followed the Whirlpool Princess."
Night Light thought, 'That's not right.' The Black Gorilla Squad's original intention was to chase the Cloud Ninja Spy Night Light had discovered. Captain Huang Quan's description made it sound as if Anbu had been prepared in advance.
Reporting it this way greatly reduced Anbu's responsibility.
Yellow Dog continued, "The Cloud Ninja escaped through a hidden wall hole in Konoha's wall and were caught by the Black Gorilla Squad about one kilometer from Konoha.
All the Cloud Ninja spies were annihilated, and the Black Gorilla Squad rescued the Whirlpool Princess."
The Third Hokage nodded repeatedly. Anbu's performance this time was excellent, stopping the damage in time.
Yellow Dog said, "The Whirlpool Princess was abducted for the following two reasons.
First, the Whirlpool Princess was lingering outside the Senju Clan Grounds at 11 PM, and no one came out to bring her back to the Senju Clan Grounds.
Second, the Cloud Ninja spies were deeply embedded; at least five spies had shown no trace of their presence before."
Captain Huang Quan was not only powerful but also excellent at shifting blame.
He didn't say Anbu had no responsibility; he only said Anbu hadn't discovered the five Cloud Ninja spies.
This was not a major offense. Konoha had many task clients and tourists entering and leaving the Village every day, so it was impossible to exclude all spies.
Anbu had a minor problem, nothing serious, and it didn't even require accountability.
His first reason, however, was subtly suggestive.
The Whirlpool Princess was abducted because she didn't go home late at night, increasing the risk factor.
As for why the Whirlpool Princess didn't go home, Anbu didn't know.
The Third Hokage looked at Senju Rinmu.
Senju Rinmu explained, "Kushina hasn't adapted to Konoha yet. I told the clan to let her do whatever she wants and not to force her.
Her mood hasn't recovered from the clan's destruction; she has nightmares and insomnia every day, so she doesn't want to go back to her room to sleep.
I'm doing this to help her adapt as quickly as possible and complete the Nine-Tailed sealing as soon as possible."
Everyone in this room knew about the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki change, so there was no need to hide it.
The higher-ups aside, the fact that three Anbu were present here proved they were trustworthy and executors of the Village's secrets.
Kato Dan was a core member of the Senju Clan, and with his forbidden Ninjutsu, he could unleash Kage-level combat power in special circumstances.
The Spiritual Transformation Technique was a forbidden Ninjutsu for ultra-long-range sniping, with astonishing deterrent power.
Danzo then said, "Clan Head Rinmu! If you can't manage the Whirlpool Princess, you can completely hand her over to the Village!
The Village has a better way to manage the Whirlpool Princess!
Letting the Whirlpool Princess do as she pleases? How did you come up with such a terrible idea?
Lady Mito has been diligent for decades; has she ever made the Village worry about the Nine-Tailed?
After the older generation of Senju passed away, they have increasingly disappointed the Village.
The Senju Clan's handling of the Jinchuriki replacement is too poor.
If Anbu hadn't reacted quickly tonight, the Whirlpool Princess would have been abducted to Hidden Cloud Village!
Intelligence from the border states that the Cloud Ninja infiltration unit has already reached 60 kilometers from Konoha Village.
If it had been half an hour later, Konoha would have lost the Whirlpool Princess forever, losing the next Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki!
I suggest revoking the Senju Clan's guardianship of the Whirlpool Princess and having her directly supervised by the Village.
I think Biwako Sarutobi is a very good candidate; she is a powerful Medical Ninja and has raised several children, so she is fully capable of taking care of the Whirlpool Princess!"
Senju Rinmu glanced at Danzo, then at Homura Mitokado, and finally stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand, holding his pipe, stopped in mid-air, unsure why Senju Rinmu was looking at him like that.
Senju Rinmu slowly said, "Brother Hiruzen, I still remember the scene when I picked you up at the clan grounds entrance when we were children and took you to meet my father.
Back then, you were the older brother who patiently guided me in Ninjutsu.
I admired you so much that even when my father and Uncle Tobirama treated you better than they treated us cousins, I never had any complaints.
When did our conflicts start growing larger and larger? Becoming more and more unbearable?
When you became Hokage, my Senju Clan fully supported you.
But why have you increasingly targeted my Senju Clan?
Brother Hiruzen, how long has it been since you visited the Senju Clan Grounds, since you saw your teacher's wife, my mother?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.
Yes, how long had it been since he had seen Lady Mito?
His wife, Biwako, went often; Biwako was Uzumaki Mito's personal physician, constantly monitoring Uzumaki Mito's physical condition.
It seemed everyone was waiting for Uzumaki Mito to die.
When one gets old, the greatest tragedy is seeing the expectation of one's death in the eyes of others.
It seemed that if only she died, many problems would disappear.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought carefully; only Uzumaki Mito had such an open mind. How could an ordinary elder endure such a situation?
When the news of the Uzumaki Clan's destruction came, Uzumaki Mito must have been heartbroken, restless every day like Vortex Kushina.
The replacement of the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki was imminent.
Homura Mitokado then spoke, "Clan Head Rinmu, the Village has absolutely not targeted the Senju Clan, nor has it targeted any Ninja clan.
The current problem is that the Whirlpool Princess, as a Jinchuriki, should always prioritize the Village.
I'll be direct: we are very concerned now.
The Whirlpool Princess is being raised by the Senju Clan and being instilled with incorrect ideas, making her consider everything for the Senju Clan.
The Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki is too important. If her development deviates, serious problems will arise.
The Jinchuriki of Iwagakure and Hidden Cloud Village, due to their grudges with their respective Villages, had their minds controlled by the Tailed Beast and caused riots within their Villages.
Jinchuriki are too prone to breeding hatred.
There can be no half-mistake in the training of a Jinchuriki!"
Night Light watched from the back with great interest; the arguments between the higher-ups were too entertaining.
Each spoke of righteousness, and no one could convince the other.
Senju Rinmu's face was grim; Homura Mitokado had exposed the most irreconcilable point between the two sides.
Was the Nine-Tailed the Nine-Tailed of Konoha Village, or the Nine-Tailed of the Senju Clan?