Chapter 57: Ye Shan's Problem

After Hatake Sakumo finished speaking without any emotion, people in the meeting room had different reactions.

Uchiha Shinichi raised his eyebrows and looked relaxed; Orochimaru laughed sinisterly a few times; Tsunade was concentrating on playing with her hair; Jiraiya sat upright, nodding from time to time, which would have been more convincing if there were not a few strands of saliva hanging from the corners of his mouth; Hayama had a frosty face and was furious.

Shimura Danzo saw everyone's expressions but didn't say anything. Instead, he waved his hand and an Anbu appeared in the meeting room, half-knelt on the ground and said, "This morning, a small-scale demonstration broke out in the capital, demanding that the daimyo severely punish the ninja who abandoned the mission. The daimyo has sent an envoy to Konoha to hold them accountable, led by the daimyo's confidant Terasaki Tadamichi."

The voice of the Anbu was not loud, but it was loud enough for the entire conference room to hear. The quiet conference room became noisy, and everyone was very dissatisfied with the Daimyo's reaction.

Sarutobi Hiruzen patted the table to signal everyone to be quiet, and said calmly: "This matter is nothing more than a failed mission, and it shouldn't be brought to the surface for discussion, but the anger of the daimyo and the anger of the people need to be explained. What do you think we should do?"

Orochimaru, who was sitting in the first row, sneered and said, "Teacher Sarutobi, Master Sakumo is one of the strongest men in the village. Isn't it too much to discuss his mistakes in public?"

Many people in the conference room nodded in agreement with Orochimaru's point of view, obviously feeling that doing so would undermine the dignity of a strong man.

"We are discussing how to deal with the aftermath now. Orochimaru, please don't change the subject."

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could speak, Danzo Shimura was the first to scold.

"My opinion is that you can just find an excuse to fool the Daimyo. There is no need to mobilize a large number of troops to hold a meeting." Orochimaru said with his hands spread out.

Uchiha Shinichi chuckled and said, "Orochimaru is right. If the village does not have the funds to compensate, the Uchiha clan will be happy to do it for you."

"The Morino clan is willing to do it for you."

"The Moonlight Clan is willing to do it for you."

"..."

Seeing that their main family had made its position clear, dozens of patriarchs of small families affiliated with the Uchiha clan jumped out to cheer for the Uchiha, causing Danzo Shimura to narrow his eyes and scan the few people with a gaze like a knife.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind was changing unpredictably, and he called out and asked, "Sakumo, what do you think?"

The person involved, Hatake Sakumo, stood up and said calmly: "The failure of the mission was caused by my decision alone. I obeyed the village's arrangement." After a pause, he asked: "Hokage, I don't know whether the ninjas in the village are considered ninjas from the Land of Fire or ninjas from Konoha Village. I have always been confused and hope you can explain it to me."

'Buzz buzz buzz'

Hatake Sakumo's words completely ignited the silence in the meeting room. Everyone could no longer suppress their dissatisfaction and began to whisper to each other.

At first glance, Hatake Sakumo's question was pure nonsense. The ninjas in the village were both ninjas from Konoha and the Land of Fire. Even the children in the ninja school knew that. But everyone present was a veteran jonin who had grown up in battle and naturally knew that things were not as simple as they seemed.

In name, if the ninjas in the village belong to the Fire Country, then their leader would only be the daimyo instead of the Hokage, and Hatake Sakumo's abandonment of the mission would undoubtedly be an act of treason; and if the ninjas in the village belong to Konoha Village, then they have only one leader - the Hokage, and they only need to be responsible to the Hokage and safeguard the interests of the village. From this point of view, although Hatake Sakumo's actions damaged the interests of the Fire Country, they safeguarded the interests of the village. Not only should he not be punished, but he should be rewarded.

This is also the reason why Orochimaru, the disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, firmly supports Hatake Sakumo. Behind this simple matter lies the issue of power ownership.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took out his pipe, took a deep breath, and scanned the conference room with sharp eyes. After everyone quieted down, he said, "Don't make a big fuss and accuse others of anything. Let's discuss the matter based on the facts instead of talking nonsense here!"

His words were flawless. He neither gave a clear answer to Hatake Sakumo's question, but instead turned the tables and scolded him for his inappropriate words. Sarutobi Hiruzen solved the difficult problem easily like an old fox.

Ye Shan sneered, stood up, suppressed his anger and said: "Then is it too much for the Hokage to initiate this meeting?"

"Asshole, who are you to dare to question the actions of the Hokage? Where is the Anbu? Get him out!" A ninja from the Nara clan stood up suddenly and scolded unceremoniously.

Everyone in the conference room looked at Ye Shan's young face with amusement, and couldn't help but admire his courage. Since the Senju clan retired, no one dared to question Sarutobi Hiruzen in public. This young man was too brave.

Ye Shan was pointed at and scolded but he was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "May I ask, Lord Hokage, you are trying your best to protect the interests of the daimyo and are willing to publicly try Lord Sakumo. Aren't you afraid that the heroes in the village will be disheartened?"

The Nara clan ninja who stood up opened his mouth, but dared not say a word. The issue of ninja affiliation discussed before could be easily resolved with a few words, after all, it did not conflict with the interests of the ninjas. However, the question raised by Ye Shan directly touched upon the core interests of the ninjas. If he dared to say a word, he would offend the powerful ninjas with many military exploits. The Nara clan was a medium-sized family and could not bear the anger of the crowd.

The ninjas sitting in the conference room put away their complicated thoughts, carefully savored the chill in Yeyama's words, and couldn't help but feel grief for Hatake Sakumo.

Yes, even with Hatake Sakumo's outstanding achievements, he could not avoid being publicly tried for the failure of the mission. In the future, who can pat their chest and guarantee that they will not make mistakes?

What did everyone sacrifice their lives for? Wasn't it so that the village could provide them with protection? Now, the village is blaming Hatake Sakumo for the so-called interests of the daimyo. Is this kind of village worth protecting?

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Ye Shan's face, wishing he could kill Ye Shan who jumped out to incite everyone with his eyes, and said helplessly: "The purpose of the village's existence is to protect everyone, there is no doubt about that."

"Anyone who wants to invade the village is the common enemy of Konoha Village. As the Hokage, this is my unshirkable responsibility."

After barely calming everyone down with a few words, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "I had already discussed the solution with others before the meeting. Holding this meeting is just for show and to show off."

"My opinion is to send out ninjas again to complete the migration of civilians. As for this mission, the mission office did not take into account external resistance and it has nothing to do with Hatake Sakumo."

Having said that, Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up the bamboo hat on the table and stood up. Seeing this, everyone below also stood up, waiting for the Hokage to put an end to the meeting.

"In view of the dereliction of duty of the Mission Office, I hereby announce the removal of Sarutobi Karakata as the head of the Mission Office, and his replacement will be Shimura Danzo. I call on all ninjas in the village to volunteer to participate in the mission. Tomorrow morning, Hatake Sakumo will lead the team to recapture the lost civilians."

"That's all for the meeting, adjourned!"

Ye Shan chuckled, narrowed his eyes and glanced at the Konoha's top leaders, formed a seal with his right hand, and with a "bang" the whole person burst into a puff of smoke and disappeared in the conference room.

Danzo Shimura, who had been watching Hayama's every move, was furious and secretly decided to punish Hayama for causing trouble when he had the chance.

What Hayama didn't know was that due to his disruption, Hatake Sakumo, who was humiliated at the meeting and would commit suicide soon after in the original work, had another chance to save himself. Hayama didn't know even more that he disrupted an important step that Shimura Danzo wanted to take to clear the obstacles for himself to become Hokage.

An unusually grand meeting ended hastily. The top leaders gained nothing except the impression that they were being abandoned after the rabbit was dead. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation was greatly damaged. The top leaders of Konoha, who were used to bullying others, did not expect that Baiyun Yeshan, who was suppressed and had to surrender to Uchiha, would blatantly incite everyone to oppose the will of the top leaders.

Baiyun Yeshan's name has once again become a topic of conversation, but this time, his image is better. He has been gloriously promoted from a dog of the Uchiha clan to a brainless young man. Many people have concluded that Yeshan will not live past the age of 20...

Ye Shan certainly knew that he had completely offended the higher-ups this time, but so what? He didn't rely on the higher-ups' favors to make a living.

It's not that Ye Shan is unstable, but the seal painted on his body and the Uchiha clan standing behind him give him the confidence to confront the high-ranking officials. Ye Shan firmly believes that he has found a way to break the shackles of civilian ninjas, and it won't be long before he will really use his strength to slap the faces of those high-ranking officials who look down on him.

After the meeting, Ye Shan went straight to the training ground and continued to refine the chakra. The difference was that he refined the chakra produced by the heart and then sealed it in the sealing ritual drawn on his chest.

Time is running out. Tomorrow morning, Ye Shan will participate in a mission as a Konoha ninja. He wants to store more chakra to prepare for the upcoming mission.

Judging from the original work, the butterfly effect brought by the time traveler seems to have changed Hatake Sakumo's fate, but who can say for sure?