Konoha.
The Senju Clan compound.
Uchiha Fugaku had completely lost his composure.
The leader of the Uchiha Clan, who had always preferred to preserve the peace, had transformed into a raging lion.
How many years had it been?
Ever since the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha’s leadership had pushed the Uchiha Clan to the outskirts of the village.
Overt and covert surveillance.
Endless suspicion.
He had endured it all.
He had always believed that if he continued making concessions and the Uchiha Clan demonstrated enough sincerity, Konoha’s leaders would eventually accept them.
But what was he looking at now?
Sharingan!
Four three-tomoe Sharingan embedded in Danzo’s arm!
What a humiliation.
It trampled the dignity of the entire Uchiha Clan underfoot!
The owners of those eyes might have fought to the death for Konoha while alive, yet their bodies had not even been left intact after death.
At the thought, blood-red rage completely filled Uchiha Fugaku’s eyes.
The three tomoe spun to their limit.
A violent surge of chakra erupted from within him.
It carried the cold, sinister aura unique to the Uchiha Clan.
“Danzo, you old dog!
Pay with your life!”
The next moment, Uchiha Fugaku let out a shrill roar.
Without hesitation, he drew the short blade from his back.
His entire body shot toward Danzo like an arrow released from a bow.
Kill him!
Danzo had to die!
Even if it cost Fugaku his life.
Even if it triggered an all-out conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village.
He could not allow this beast to remain alive!
“Fugaku!
Stop!”
Just as the short blade was about to strike Danzo, an elderly figure suddenly intervened.
The Adamantine Staff whistled through the air and precisely blocked Fugaku’s blade.
The harsh clang of metal rang across the compound.
Sparks flew in every direction.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in front of Danzo, his face ashen.
The Third Hokage’s hat had fallen off somewhere, though he had no idea where.
There was no other choice.
The situation had spiraled completely out of control.
He knew perfectly well about the shady dealings Danzo had conducted behind his back.
But he had never imagined that Danzo would dare implant such things into his own body.
Yet he had to protect Danzo.
Danzo was the leader of Root and the shadow behind the Hokage.
If he was executed in public, the Hokage’s authority would be utterly destroyed.
Even more terrifyingly, Danzo knew far too many secrets.
If he was driven into a corner and turned against Hiruzen, the Third Hokage’s glorious public image would crumble in an instant.
“Fugaku!”
“Calm down!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen gripped the Adamantine Staff, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
He tried to restrain the enraged man with words.
“No matter what Danzo has done, he is still an elder of Konoha!”
“For all these years, Danzo has remained in the shadows and silently made tremendous contributions to Konoha!”
“By openly attacking a high-ranking village official, are you trying to incite a civil war?”
What a grave accusation.
What a classic example of moral coercion.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had once again resorted to his favorite rhetoric.
As long as he invoked the village’s safety and the threat of civil war, someone with Uchiha Fugaku’s temperament would surely hesitate.
Sure enough, Fugaku’s sword hand trembled uncontrollably at the words “civil war.”
Just when Sarutobi Hiruzen thought he had brought the situation under control, a cold, piercing laugh rang across the clearing.
“Heh.”
Everyone instantly turned toward the sound.
Chiba casually brushed the dust from his sleeves.
He looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who stood protectively before Danzo, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
“Contributions?”
Chiba slowly repeated the word as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Third Hokage.”
“Why don’t you explain it carefully to everyone?”
“What exactly has this despicable beast contributed to Konoha?”
The entire area fell deathly silent.
Everyone held their breath, afraid even to breathe too loudly.
The leaders of Konoha’s clans, large and small, had all turned to stone.
Nara Shikaku’s brows drew tightly together as his brilliant mind worked at full speed.
The situation had become serious.
Chiba was about to tear away the last scrap of cover shielding Konoha’s leadership.
Did any of the major clans present truly not know what kind of man Danzo was?
Forcing orphanages to provide human test subjects.
Assassinating civilian-born prodigies who refused to obey him.
Even during the Third Shinobi World War, Root had deliberately preserved its own strength whenever possible.
Everyone knew about these dirty deeds, but no one dared drag them into the light.
Now Chiba had detonated that bomb directly!
Hyuga Hiashi touched the forehead protector covering his brow.
He looked at Danzo’s Sharingan-studded arm, profound wariness flashing in his eyes.
If Danzo dared gouge out Uchiha eyes today, would he dare gouge out the Hyuga Clan’s Byakugan tomorrow?
Such a rabid dog absolutely could not be allowed to live!
Akimichi Choza’s eyes widened, completely stunned by the tense atmosphere and drawn weapons around him.
Chiba continued his interrogation.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Has he made so many contributions that you can’t recall them all at once?”
“Or were his deeds so filthy and despicable that they can never be brought into the light?”
Chiba suddenly raised his voice, his words exploding in everyone’s ears like thunder.
“Was it abducting the village’s civilian-born ninja for human experiments?”
“Or constantly scheming to harm the village’s Kekkei Genkai clans?”
“Are those the so-called contributions you speak of?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen’s lips trembled.
He could not answer at all.
Every word Chiba spoke was like a sharp knife stabbing precisely into his lungs.
How was he supposed to explain it?
Should he claim that these were necessary shadows that had to exist to protect Konoha?
Such nonsense might deceive newly graduated Genin.
But could it fool the old foxes gathered here?
That was nothing more than wishful thinking!
“Speak!”
“Third Hokage!”
“He gouged out the eyes of our Uchiha ancestors and implanted them into his own body!”
“Was that another contribution he made to the village?”
Uchiha Fugaku reacted abruptly.
Chiba’s words reignited the rage in his heart.
His eyes bloodshot, the Uchiha Clan leader roared the question like a beast.
“Kill him!”
“Kill the beast who desecrated the dead!”
“Does the Third Hokage intend to shelter such a criminal?”
It was not only Fugaku.
The Uchiha clansmen around the perimeter were filled with righteous fury.
Angry shouts rose one after another.
The leaders of the major ninja clans maintained an eerie silence.
But that silence was itself a clear stance.
When a wall was about to collapse, everyone gave it a push.
Danzo regularly relied on Root’s power to make trouble for the major clans.
Now that he had been reduced to this state, who would stand up and defend him?
They wanted Danzo to die then and there.
Seeing the public outrage and the situation nearing complete collapse, Sarutobi Hiruzen burned with anxiety.
He knew that reasoning was no longer an option.
These people would no longer listen to any nonsense about the “greater good.”
That left only the most direct method!
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed the Adamantine Staff into the ground with a deafening thud.
A powerful burst of chakra briefly suppressed the surrounding uproar.
He straightened his slightly hunched back and struggled to assume the bearing of the Hokage.
“Enough!”