Chapter 245 Lure the snake out of its hole

"What's wrong with you? It's difficult for you to investigate the case. Can you do it? If not, go home and hug your grandchildren!" Uchiha Fugaku pointed at Uchiha Keiji's nose and cursed.

The latter was startled, blinked his eyes and understood what the clan leader meant, pretending to be wronged and said: "It's really that the Anbu has too many backlogs, and the Hokage has also transferred many ninjas to help the farmers. I can't handle it all at once."

"Bullshit!" Uchiha Fugaku had a smile on his face, but he still uttered foul language: "It's obvious that you, the director in charge, have a problem with your work attitude. You are still perfunctory at this point. I will remove you from your position!"

"There's really no way. Even if you fire me, it won't solve the problem!"

"Get out! Get out of this office!"

"Oh!"

There was a loud sound of a door closing. The ninja on the first floor who was pretending to be busy with his head down glanced sideways and saw Uchiha Keiji walking down the stairs with a grim face. Many of them were gloating.

Since Hayama came to power, Uchiha Keiji is the first powerful figure to be openly accused. Nara Shikaku was only secretly criticized a few days ago.

A pretty female ninja stepped forward and said with concern: "Are you okay, sir? What happened up there? I have never seen the two Hokage so angry."

Uchiha Keiji was about to say something, but finally sighed in front of everyone and said, "It's all because of the missing ninja case. The perpetrators are too despicable, and the Anbu can't find any useful clues at all."

"You all should be careful. The Hokage is very angry right now. Don't run into him."

Let’s talk. Uchiha Keiji left with a sad face. Everyone in the public office area on the first floor had different expressions and continued to concentrate on the things in their hands.

Before long, the news that Uchiha Keiji, a big shot in charge of the Anbu, was scolded spread throughout the entire Konoha Village and became a topic of conversation for people after dinner.

That night, Yeshan came quietly to Uchiha Fugaku's house. The two of them smoked one cigarette after another. Uchiha Itachi knelt beside them obediently and poured some tea for them from time to time.

Uchiha Keiji came walking on the moon, smelling strongly of alcohol and looking like he had just finished a social event. When he saw Ye Shan, he first bowed and greeted him, then sat down and lit a cigarette without saying a word.

Uchiha Itachi was sleepy. He covered his mouth with his hands and yawned quietly. He didn't understand why these three people were sitting here so late at night instead of sleeping.

"I didn't send anyone to keep an eye on Yoshida, but I did give a heads-up to the ninjas entering and leaving the village to be careful to prevent him from doing anything stupid." Uchiha Keiji said calmly.

"You did the right thing. Everyone is very sensitive right now. Sending someone to keep an eye on Yoshida is likely to expose our intentions." Ye Shan affirmed the other party's actions.

"This is Yoshida's detailed information, you can all take a look." Uchiha Keiji took out a file from his arms. A half-length photo of Yoshida was pasted on the surface of the file made of kraft paper. He looked very sunny in the photo with a smile on his face. The background was the fiery red Hokage office building.

Ye Shan picked up the file, glanced at it, and threw it on the table again, sighing: "Three generations of grandparents and grandchildren have fought for Konoha, who would have thought that it would be so dirty and sinister behind the scenes!"

"Yes, I have met the Jonin Yoshida several times. He is a young man with good strength and a very good wind-style jutsu. He also achieved a lot during the Third Ninja World War. He has a good reputation within the Jonin community." Uchiha Fugaku said while smoking.

"It is difficult to draw a dragon or a tiger's heart. You can know a person's face but not his heart. There are many hypocrites in the world. We must take this as a warning in our future work and never be careless."

Ye Shan put out his cigarette, picked up his tea and asked, "Itachi, what do you think of Orochimaru, one of the three ninjas?"

Uchiha Itachi straightened up, thought seriously for a moment and then said, "I have heard of Lord Orochimaru a long time ago. He is a disciple of the Third Hokage. His strength is feared by the ninja world. His personality seems a bit dark, but he also has many followers."

"Many people say that if it weren't for you, Master, who stood out, he would have been the next Hokage of Konoha."

Ye Shan stroked Itachi's hair and said with a smile: "You are really too mature. It's hard to imagine that this is the answer a child of a few years old should give. Fugaku, you have a good son!"

A smile appeared on Uchiha Fugaku's stern face, and Ye Shan said again: "The Uchiha clan has successors, and Konoha Village also has a promising future. Aren't we working so hard every day just for the next generation to have a better life?"

"Itachi, you should smile more often. Don't always keep a straight face like your father. Communicate more with your peers. It's not good to be mature too early."

"Behind Yoshida stands Orochimaru, who has a high prestige in the village, so should we continue investigating now? You two share your ideas." Ye Shan said softly, taking a sip of tea.

"Investigate!" Uchiha Keiji said firmly, "Dozens of ninjas have disappeared in the village for no reason. We in the Anbu are under great pressure. We must investigate and give an explanation to the families of the missing!"

Ye Shan nodded without comment and looked at Uchiha Fugaku, who pondered for a moment and said, "The Third Shinobi World War has just ended, and the reform of the New Rain Country has just begun. The village is facing great risks now. What I mean is to take it slow first. Don't take it for granted. Everything should be based on the overall situation."

The young Uchiha Itachi sat upright, like a little adult. Ye Shan approached and asked softly, "You comment on their answers."

"what?"

"If you were the Hokage now, and your subordinates gave you two completely different options, how would you respond? Feel free to speak boldly, there are no outsiders present."

Uchiha Itachi clenched his fists and placed them on his thighs, thinking quickly. After a long time, he raised his head and said, "There is no right or wrong answer given by father and uncle. It's just because of their different positions."

Ye Shan raised his eyebrows, a great surprise jumped in his heart, and he signaled Uchiha Itachi to continue with an encouraging look.

"First of all, it's my uncle. He is in charge of the daily affairs of the Root Department, the Anbu Department, the Welfare Institute and other functional departments. It is his job to arrest criminals. In addition, with the pressure from the family members who don't know the truth, he naturally wants to get to the bottom of it."

"The second is father." Uchiha Itachi glanced at his father and organized his words in his mind: "Father, as the deputy hokage, you are keeping an eye on the overall deployment and thinking about the future development of the village. When something involves damaging the interests of the village, no matter how abominable it is, you must endure it to avoid a situation where one careless move will lead to a complete loss."

"Finally, if I were the Hokage, I would prioritize a compromise. I would first give the offender a warning and tell him to behave himself. Then I would focus all my energy on doing the most important things. When the time is right, it would not be too late to conduct a full investigation."

"That's a good idea." Ye Shan laughed and clapped his hands. Then he asked, "What about the dead companions? How should their families be comforted?"

Uchiha Itachi wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with embarrassment: "Everything has two sides. It is impossible to satisfy everyone. All I can think of is to appease them with kind words and give them some material compensation. As for the clear truth, it will take time to wait."

"The village belongs to everyone, and the Hokage's duty is to protect the big family, but sometimes for the sake of a better village, one has to choose to turn a deaf ear and dumb. As a ninja, you must be prepared to give everything for the village, that's what I think."

After saying these words, Uchiha Itachi collapsed on the tatami, as if he had exhausted all his energy. Ye Shan brought a cup of tea and fed him a few sips, saying, "Great kid, maybe you are the best Hokage of Konoha."

Uchiha Fugaku suppressed his excitement. The Uchiha clan dreamed of having a Hokage. Now that he heard such words from Ye Shan, how could he not be excited?

"It's just the kid's nonsense, don't take it seriously, Ye Shan."

"This is not nonsense. What Itachi said makes sense, and it's exactly what I was struggling with this afternoon." Ye Shan waved his hand.

"Punishing evil and promoting good is justice, and seeking good and avoiding danger is instinct. As the Hokage, I am sitting on the edge of a volcano and am in a dilemma."

"The New Rain Country is on the rise, and the village is recovering. Logically, we should choose to be tolerant, because they are just a few insignificant lives. It seems reasonable to abandon them for a bright future, but is this really the case?"

Ye Shan stood up and walked to the spacious courtyard. He looked up and saw a full moon hanging in the sky, watching over everything in the world. Coupled with the plum blossoms blooming and emitting fragrance in winter, it was truly a beautiful scenery. He wanted to recite a poem, but due to his limited culture and identity restrictions, he couldn't just say "wow".

"In the past, I hated Sarutobi Hiruzen very much. I thought he was incompetent as the Hokage, which made it extremely difficult for civilian ninjas to be promoted, and made my life very difficult. Now it's my turn to be the master, and it really fits the fashionable saying: Question Sarutobi Hiruzen, understand Sarutobi Hiruzen, and become Sarutobi Hiruzen."

"People who have been caught in the rain know to hold an umbrella. As the Hokage, I should protect everyone's lives and safety, instead of putting the cart before the horse and carrying out some weird reforms."

"But all straightforward ninjas have a bad ending. Hatake Sakumo was a straightforward person. He always said what he thought, without any hesitation from the people in power. In the end, he committed suicide."

"So what should I do? What kind of ending would be worthy of all the hardships I've experienced? I often look up at the moon and think, but when I look down I see its reflection all over the ground."

"Where there is light, there is shadow. I am in charge of Konoha's light, but who should bear the responsibility of the shadow that symbolizes filth? At the beginning, Sarutobi Hiruzen chose Shimura Danzo and let him do all the dirty work, while he hid in the office to be a good Hokage. I handed the Root over to brother Keiji, does that mean I can remove it? I thought about it and felt that there is no such good thing in the world. The tens of thousands of ninjas in Konoha Village need to eat and develop, and I am the first person in charge, not brother Keiji. So if there are really any unbearable consequences, I should face them. What's the point of hiding behind subordinates?"

Ye Shan paced back and forth in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, like a poet concerned about his country and its people. The bright moonlight illuminated his haggard eyes and cast a dark shadow on the ground.

"As the saying goes, if you are in a position, you should do your job. If you are an official and don't serve the people, you might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes." Ye Shan said something the three had never heard of, but the meaning was very simple and easy to understand: "Konoha's top priority is to grasp the pace of reform, and all unimportant matters should be put aside. If Orochimaru had embezzled tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of public funds, I would definitely not say a word and would just tolerate it. It's just a few personal possessions, and I would consider it as a reward for his hard work for more than ten years. But if it involves the lives of more than a dozen fellow villagers, I can't tolerate it!"

"If you tolerate Orochimaru's perverse behavior for the sake of reform today, you will tolerate anything for yourself tomorrow! A politician must be firm and flexible, but when it comes to issues of principle, you must never tolerate it!"

"Fugaku is right. The village is now standing on the edge of a cliff. If we are not careful, it will be smashed to pieces. But I want to take the gamble! Orochimaru relies on his high status to do whatever he wants. If I continue to be a coward, what kind of Hokage am I!?"

Ye Shan turned his back to the moon, his face hidden in the darkness, and his voice came through clearly: "Fortunately, the incident has not spread, and everything can be resolved calmly. Otherwise, the consequences of a sudden attack would be disastrous."

"Since the Anbu has evidence of Jonin Yoshida's illegal activities, then follow this clue. Keiji, you should issue a subpoena to arrest Yoshida tomorrow morning. You don't need to hide from anyone, just arrest him openly."

Uchiha Keiji stood up and said, slightly drunk, "Where is he being held after being arrested?"

"Anbu torture room, but no torture, just good food and drink."

"So you want to lure the snake out of its hole?" asked Uchiha Keiji.

"Yes, arresting Yoshida is just an introduction. My real purpose is to lure out the snake hiding in the cave." Ye Shan said in a deep voice.

"As long as he still has a conscience, he will find an excuse to come see me. We are all smart people, and it is not difficult to guess the meaning of his every move."

"If he refuses to see me, it means he has already fallen into a state of madness. At that time, I don't mind going through a snake hole!"

Uchiha Fugaku was startled and said hurriedly: "You are the Hokage of Konoha, you must not put yourself in danger. If things really come to that, I will come forward to solve it. If something goes wrong, what will happen to the village?"

Ye Shan looked up at the moon again, the Hokage haori he was wearing fluttering with red genes. He said with a bleak expression, "Such a shocking thing happened in the village, and I, as the person in charge, cannot escape the blame. Orochimaru is very skilled, and no one can suppress him except me. It is safest for me to go out in person."

"Of course, even if I come forward, we still have to talk first. There is no reason to kill with one blow."

"Orochimaru has been operating for many years and is deeply rooted. His influence is only higher than that of me, the Hokage. It would be best if it can be resolved peacefully. I will not resort to war unless it is absolutely necessary."

"The deformed ninja system gave birth to deformed ninjas. I have long been aware of the fact that you will reap what you sow."

Under the moonlight, Ye Shan's figure looked very tired and desolate, except for his eyes which were frighteningly bright.