I just returned to Konoha and found that all my clan members were gone.

"Did you get it?"

Under the cover of night, Ye Lan observed in the moonlight that a group of crows quickly gathered together and finally turned into the appearance of Shishui.

Shisui's face was solemn. After Danzo left, he and Ye Lan came to the Shimura clan's residence.

With Ye Lan's help, they quietly entered Danzo's room and obtained the most crucial evidence.

It records all of Danzo's previous actions, as well as the various crisis events that Konoha encountered after he became the leader of the Root.

"I didn't expect that such things would happen in the village, even the death of White Fang..."

Time was running out, and Shisui only casually observed some records, which made him see the darkness of Konoha's high-level officials. How naive he was to believe in such a group of people.

Ye Lan didn't expect that Bai Ya was involved, and took Danzo's records with some surprise.

Every single thing recorded above refreshed Ye Lan's understanding of Danzo, and his expression changed from disgust at the beginning to numbness at the end.

Roots sound nice, hiding under the big trees to protect the village, but in reality they steal nutrients and control their growth.

Ye Lan put away the records and made plans for what to do next.

Looking at Ye Lan's leaving back, Shishui felt a little sad. He was very happy to see his brother again, but after knowing these things, Shishui understood.

Konoha and Uchiha have reached the point of breaking up, and the two sides will never shake hands and make peace again. I will support Ye Lan's next choice.

What worries him is what path Ye Lan will take in the future at his age. He is now a dead man and the help he can provide is very limited.

next day

"Sakura, Ino."

Kakashi was about to head to the Hokage Building when he met two girls on the street and greeted them directly.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Yesterday's dinner made Sakura feel much more cheerful, and Kakashi also told her not to worry about Ye Lan.

"What are you two doing here? Isn't the Hokage going to hold a summary meeting? Why don't you go and attend?"

Kakashi said as he looked at the two leisurely people.

"us?"

Ino pointed at herself and felt a little confused. How come it wasn't their turn to attend this kind of meeting?

"Have you forgotten that you have become a Chunin? Even if you don't have any opinions, it's good to listen. This is also a test for you to become a Jonin in the future."

Yes, they became Chunin starting from yesterday. I didn’t care about this meeting before, but I didn’t expect that I would be able to participate in it.

This meeting was a summary of the Chunin Exam and Tsunade's work in her first year in office. All Konoha ninjas above the Chunin level had the right to participate, not to mention Chunin like them who were the "core" of the village.

Some Chunins want to participate but have no way to do so. They don't even know that this is a privilege that belongs to them.

"Forget it, it's just on the way, you guys just stay with me during this meeting."

Kakashi asked Sakura and Ino to follow him, just to broaden their horizons.

Arriving at the largest conference room in the Hokage Building, there were still a few empty seats in the room, but a group of ninjas were standing around with no intention of sitting down.

Kakashi casually came to a place where Asuma and others were sitting. There were several empty seats and no one was occupying them.

"You are here too."

Shikamaru greeted Sakura and the others listlessly. Such a meeting had been held last time during the Chinese New Year. As a Chunin who had already become a Chunin, he was already familiar with the procedure.

In the past, he always participated alone and was drowsy because of such boring things. This time, at least he had classmates to suffer with him.

"Shikamaru, don't be so lazy. Sasuke and the others have become jonin. I'm counting on you."

Asuma looked at Shikamaru and said that he did care about teaching students. Shikamaru's promotion to Chunin made him very proud.

Now that Kakashi's class and Might Guy's class both have Jonin, his own class can't fall too far behind.

"Yes, yes, the point is that I am only at this level. I am really sorry that I cannot become a jonin~"

Shikamaru yawned. He was very clear about his own strength. Even though he had the family secret technique, it was no match for the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

"Well, stop talking, the Hokage-sama is here."

Kakashi looked around and found an Anbu wearing a hawk-faced mask. Judging from his figure, it should be Sasuke.

But the other party didn't care about his direction, which made Kakashi look at him a few more times. After not seeing him for a long time, Sasuke also became mature.

Next, several advisors and Tsunade came to the hall and sat at the desk in the middle of the hall.

Tsunade was in a bad mood. Ye Lan's disappearance made her unhappy. The lack of news about Gray Wolf and Antelope made her even more uneasy. She had wanted the two of them to look after Sasuke.

Today, she only saw Sasuke and didn't find the two subordinates she promoted personally, which made her even more confused.

This morning, Hongdou came to her again and asked about Ye Lan's whereabouts, which made her even more confused. After learning that nothing happened in the village, she was obviously relieved.

This made Tsunade think too much. Even though she was the Hokage, it seemed like she had no idea what was happening in the village.

It was obvious that Hongdou was trying to hide something from her, but Tsunade was in a hurry to attend a meeting, so she could only suppress her thoughts and ask later.

In the end, Hongdou said that she was not feeling well, asked for two days off, and said goodbye to Tsunade directly.

...

Throwing away the random thoughts in her mind, Tsunade regained her spirit. This meeting was, after all, a recognition and affirmation of herself, and she would discuss everything after the meeting.

Ibiki walked to the front of the stage, coughed twice, and announced the start of the meeting.

Then, several family heads who were sitting in the front row with Kakashi and the others began to speak in turn.

Most of them said that Konoha had cleared away the previous haze under the leadership of Tsunade, and the village was developing positively, and finally put forward some proposals that were beneficial to the family.

After each clan leader finishes his speech, the advisor and Tsunade will discuss it. As long as the demands are not too excessive, Tsunade will basically agree.

For example, the Inuzuka clan needs a new set of testing equipment, the Aburame clan needs to expand the scope of the insect farm, the Akimichi clan needs to open a few more barbecue branches, etc. All of these demands were agreed to by Tsunade.

Even the civilian ninjas had representatives speak, and they talked about improving the treatment of ninjas, but this request was sternly rejected by several consultants.

It clearly states that the village’s current financial situation is not good and it is still very difficult. I hope everyone will continue to work hard for a while for the sake of Konoha.

Tsunade thought about it and also rejected such a request. What the consultants said was indeed true. They did not have the spare energy to help these civilian ninjas.

The civilian ninja slowly retreated amid the questioning and persuasion of the advisors and no longer made such a request.

Next, Nara Shikaku made his final speech. He did not gain more benefits for the family, but instead explained the current relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure and Kirigakure.

Shikaku's suggestion was to maintain friendly development with the two countries. After uniting with the other two villages, neither Kumogakure nor Iwagakure would act rashly.

Moreover, there is a feud between Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and it is highly likely that these two villages will not unite together. Konoha can seize the time to develop.

Although the ninja world has been at peace for more than a decade, there have been three ninja wars in the past forty years. If you calculate the time, there probably won't be many more days of peace, even if there are any.

As Konoha's number one military strategist, Shikaku has outstanding vision and ability. He is also the leader of the Jonin class. His suggestions are taken seriously by Tsunade and several advisors.

Tsunade, Mitokado En, and Utane Koharu were discussing Shikaku's opinion. At this time, Danzo coughed twice to attract their attention.

"Those things are important but we can discuss them later. Everyone, I have something important to tell you."

As an advisor, Danzo naturally has the right to speak, so Tsunade and the others could only stop the discussion and see what opinions Danzo could express.

"Before that, I must get a witness to make this matter more convincing. Uchiha Sasuke, come forward!"

Danzo's words made everyone present unable to believe it, and the Anbu wearing an eagle-face mask walked out directly from the corner and slowly walked towards Danzo.

What on earth happened! Kakashi couldn't believe it. Sasuke really walked over like that. And from Danzo's tone, he said he was going to be a witness. With Sasuke's personality, how could he listen to Danzo?

He even suspected that this Anbu was impersonated by someone sent by Danzo, but when Sasuke walked to the center, he directly took off the mask, revealing the iconic Sharingan.

The last glimmer of hope in Kakashi's heart was shattered.

Kakashi, who has always been known for his calmness, finally started to panic. Thinking that Ye Lan was still missing, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Uchiha Sasuke, tell us, did Uchiha Yelan steal the village secrets last night, betray the village, and then brutally kill his fellow villagers after being discovered?"

Danzo said loudly so that every ninja present could hear it.

After listening to Danzo's speech, everyone present stared at Sasuke. As a fellow Uchiha, Sasuke's words were crucial. If Sasuke gave an affirmative answer, then Ye Lan's betrayal and murder of his companions would be confirmed.

"Yes, that's exactly what happened last night."

Sasuke's words were emotionless and as cold as a machine. Just these words directly chilled the hearts of Kakashi and other ninjas who were on good terms with Ye Lan.

"You must be kidding, how could Brother Ye Lan do such a thing? What happened to Sasuke?"

Ino covered her mouth in disbelief. Yesterday she was still celebrating her becoming a Chunin, but today this happened. She felt like it was a nightmare.

Sasuke has a problem. Kakashi forced himself to calm down and continued thinking.

Sasuke's expression was totally wrong, without any fluctuation. He believed that even if Ye Lan really did such a thing, Sasuke would not say that he was with Ye Lan, but he would definitely not come forward to testify.

The ninjas in the conference room began to whisper, some were excited, some looked disdainful, and some sighed, completely revealing the true appearance of Konoha.

"Uchiha Sasuke, what you said is true!"

Tsunade couldn't believe it either. She would rather Sasuke was lying or being threatened by Danzo, otherwise how could he say such a thing.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I am sure of this matter. I saw everything with my own eyes."

Sasuke's expression was still as calm as ever, and his plain words made people hard to believe.

Tsunade looked at Sasuke's expression again and again. She also felt something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what had happened to Sasuke.

Could it be that he was caught in an illusion? But who would dare to use an illusion on the Uchiha clan? Sasuke is no longer a kid who just graduated. He is already a Konoha jonin who can skillfully control the three-magatama Sharingan. It must be a very powerful illusion to let him fall for it.

According to Tsunade's knowledge, she didn't know who else in Konoha could do it except Ye Lan. Even if it was Ye Lan, there was no need for Sasuke to throw dirty water on her.

"Uchiha Yelan, I finally found you!"

Hongdou looked at Ye Lan who was approaching him with a cold expression.

"I didn't expect you to wake up so soon. I thought you would sleep for a while longer. It seems that your strength has improved more than I thought."

Ye Lan frowned slightly as he looked at Hongdou who was standing in front of him. He didn't expect that Hongdou would stop him here.

"What are you going to do?"

This was on the streets of Konoha. Hongdou's roar just now had attracted the attention of the crowd. She walked up to Ye Lan and whispered in his ear.

"When making any moves, you should first see how the opponent makes the moves."

Ye Lan did not directly answer what Hongdou said. He just walked past her and headed towards the Hokage Building.

"I don't know what you're going to do, but if you betray the village, I will never let you go!"

Hongdou was dissatisfied with Ye Lan's answer, so she grabbed Ye Lan's arm and said harshly.

What she hated most in her life was betrayal, and in her opinion, Orochimaru had betrayed her. If Ye Lan did this, she would definitely do it.

"Betrayal? I've never betrayed anyone. Let go. I still have to attend the summary meeting."

Ye Lan said casually, as if everything that happened that night was an illusion.

Hongdou was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Ye Lan to answer like this, which inadvertently allowed Ye Lan to break free from his restraints. It was the first time she felt that Ye Lan was so unpredictable.

Ye Lan arrived at the door of the meeting room where the meeting was held. Standing on guard outside the door were Shen Yue Chu Yun and Gang Zitie.

I didn't expect to meet them at this time, and they are still doing this kind of thing. It can only be said that every profession has its specialties.

"Ye Lan, why did you come back just now?"

The two were also surprised to see Ye Lan. The news of Ye Lan's inexplicable disappearance had spread throughout the entire Konoha ninja circle, and it was said that some consultants had even criticized it.

The two people who were somewhat familiar with Ye Lan were worried about this. They didn't expect Ye Lan to come back at this time.

"Sorry, I was in a hurry because of something I encountered earlier, so I came back a little late."

Ye Lan said with a smile that these two were the first people he saw when he returned to Konoha.

Even through the thick door, the noisy sounds in the conference room could be heard, which made Gang Zitie feel a little strange, and he said.

"What happened? Why is it so noisy in there?"

"It must be something interesting." Ye Lan always had a smile on his face. Everyone he met today could see that Ye Lan was happy, which made people feel a little good about him.

"Oh, stop talking so much, Ye Lan, please go in quickly. I'm sure Lady Tsunade will be relieved after seeing you."

Shen Yue Chu Yun interrupted his friend's intention to chat and was about to open the door to let Ye Lan in.

At this time, another figure appeared beside Ye Lan. This person had slightly curly hair and a signature round nose on his face.

"Who is this?"

Shisui and Gang Zitie were unprepared for the sudden appearance and asked tentatively.

"Ah, this is also a ninja from Konoha, attending the meeting with me. Let us in together."

Ye Lan's smile remained unchanged, but the pupils in his eyes had turned into three magatama, and he directly launched an illusion towards the two of them.

"Well, okay, let's go in together."

Shen Yue Chu Yun and Gang Zi Tie began to guide Ye Lan and Zhi Shui into the house in a trance, as if everything was natural.