**Chapter 44: Let's Enjoy Our Hospital Stay Together! **

Hold Uchiha Sōgen accountable? 

Don't be foolish.

Senju Hashirama dared to discipline Uchiha Madara, the rogue ninja, because he had the strength to pin down his old friend and beat him senseless.

Danzo's swift defeat filled the Third Hokage with dread. He silently questioned himself—he didn't think he could defeat Danzo so easily, even with Uchiha illusions. Normally, such a thing wouldn't put Danzo into a coma unless...

A worrisome thought crossed his mind.

He glanced at Sōgen, who was covered in blood but clearly not severely injured, and silently sighed. He then shifted his gaze to Uchiha Shisui, who had calmly held off Aburame Ryoma the entire time, and Uchiha Fugaku, who had merely stood by, uninvolved. Fugaku was another matter entirely.

Just those two were enough to give anyone a headache.

Not to mention that the Uchiha clan still had many powerful Jonin! 

It seemed that their plans against the Uchiha would need to be put on hold. Pushing them too hard could force a desperate confrontation, which would leave the Hidden Leaf Village gravely weakened, only to be taken advantage of by the other four villages... That was something the Third Hokage could not allow.

"Uchiha Sōgen, the Police Force is not anyone's toy. I hope you don't go down the wrong path."

The Third Hokage spoke each word clearly.

Then he turned and left.

The surrounding area of the meeting room was in shambles. Earth Release ninjas couldn't handle repairing the steel-reinforced concrete of the building—it would require a professional engineering team. Fortunately, the Hokage's office wasn't nearby, so it hadn't been affected by the earlier battle. At least the Hokage didn't have to move to a new office.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, the two elder advisors who had lived through countless battles, also left without saying a word.

"The future of the Uchiha clan is naturally the responsibility of me, its clan leader. There's no need for the Hokage to worry," Sōgen called out loudly as he watched the Third Hokage walk away.

And with that, the meeting ended in an anticlimactic fashion.

The Third Hokage and his party failed to achieve their goal, and instead, Danzo was taken out of the picture. Moreover, the Hokage's parting words effectively acknowledged Sōgen's position as the head of the Leaf Police Force. The Hokage clearly wanted to avoid escalating tensions to the point where a small misunderstanding, or someone's intentional provocation, could lead Sōgen to start a war with the village.

The risk of starting a fight before fully understanding how powerful Sōgen had become was far too high! 

In this world, where the strength of a single individual could alter the outcome of a war, numbers sometimes meant nothing. The Third Hokage knew this better than anyone, having witnessed the battles between the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara.

Uchiha Sōgen, 

Perhaps he, like Madara, possessed the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan!

As the Third Hokage walked toward his office, his mood grew heavy. The only consolation was that Sōgen didn't seem intent on waging war with the village—at least for now, there were no signs of that. This gave the Hokage some relief.

"Uchiha... sigh! Teacher, you were absolutely right. The Uchiha are a dangerous and sinister clan."

---

In the wrecked meeting room area,

The clan leaders present began to disperse, chatting quietly in small groups. Without exception, they all avoided Uchiha Sōgen. Not opposing the Uchiha didn't mean they wanted to befriend them—after all, not many people liked associating with a group that looked down on others.

The plump old man Chōza Akimichi hurried away. The moment the Hokage left, Torifu dragged Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka with him, fleeing as if his life depended on it. Even though Uchiha Kagami had helped him many times in the past, personal favors couldn't replace the importance of his clan!

However, 

Among the many clan leaders, one person had secretly stared at Sōgen for a long time. Only when he was urged by two other clan leaders to leave did he reluctantly depart with his friends.

"Sōgen, what are you looking at?" Shisui approached.

"Nothing. I just felt someone staring at me for a while. I'm a little curious who it was..." Sōgen shook his head. "Never mind that. Shisui, did you see it? This so-called peace was fought for!"

He pointed to the crumbling walls and cracked, hole-ridden floor.

Shisui responded with a helpless smile.

Though he felt deeply moved, when Danzo had fallen, Shisui had thought everything was ruined. He expected an inevitable bloodbath between the village and the Uchiha clan. But then, in a surprising turn of events, instead of bloodshed, Sōgen had been approved as the head of the Police Force.

"This is too absurd," Shisui muttered in frustration.

Though the outcome was good, he couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment. He struggled to accept that the village's leaders were so arbitrary, lacking consistency or backbone. Their ability to change faces so quickly left him speechless.

"It's not absurd at all. This is the law of the world we live in: the strong reign supreme, and the victors rule!"

With a ripping sound, Sōgen tore off a piece of his sleeve and used it as a bandage to wrap his leg wound. The bleeding had stopped, but without medical ninjas, the superficial wounds would take a day or two to fully heal.

"Hey, Shisui! Are you going to keep sulking? Can't you see I hurt my leg? At least come help me out!" Sōgen shouted, irritated, at the still-brooding Shisui.

And so, 

Shortly after Danzo's hospitalization, the new head of the Uchiha clan and the newly appointed chief of the Police Force were also admitted to the hospital. Though the doctors said his superficial wounds could heal at home, Sōgen insisted on staying in the hospital—not to prevent Danzo from making a comeback, but simply to enjoy a couple of quiet days.

These past two days had been exhausting! 

First, he had rushed to take over the position of clan leader, and then he had endured pressure from the village. For now, the obvious threats to the Uchiha had been temporarily resolved. As for the unseen undercurrents lurking beneath the surface, he'd deal with them after a couple of days of rest.

Besides, he needed time to ponder his eye techniques.

If he went home, as clan leader, he'd be overwhelmed with tasks. If he went to the Police Force, his duties as chief would keep him equally busy. After thinking it over, he decided to stay at the Leaf Hospital, pretending to be a wounded man and take the opportunity to rest.

(End of Chapter)