Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed his fingers against his temples, his head aching badly.
A figure rushed in.
"Hiruzen."
Danzo was filled with rage.
"I told you from the start to leave the matter of the Uchiha to me, but you refused. You absolutely refused. And now look at what's happened."
"The Uchiha have rebelled!"
"My Shimura clan has suffered losses in the hundreds."
"Your Sarutobi clan hasn't escaped lightly either."
"And many ordinary shinobi as well."
"And that's only the damage so far. Think carefully—what will Iwagakure do? What will Kumogakure do? At this rate, even Kirigakure and Sunagakure may make their move against Konoha."
"Teacher Tobirama did not pass the position of Hokage to you so you could govern the village like this."
Seizing the opportunity, Danzo unleashed a fierce reprimand on Hiruzen.
Partly because he truly was furious.
The losses suffered by the Shimura clan were simply too great.
And partly because such an opportunity did not come often.
"As for the hunt for the Uchiha from here on, leave it to me. I'll kill every last one of them."
Hiruzen remained silent.
Then two more figures entered.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
"Hiruzen, has the village's situation been sorted out yet?"
"Hiruzen, what do we do next?"
They asked one after the other.
At that moment, an ANBU shinobi entered.
"Hokage-sama."
Only then did Hiruzen lift his head.
"What is it?"
"Hokage-sama, the casualty list has been compiled. The property damage report will take a little longer."
Hiruzen took it. The moment he saw the numbers on it, his already grim expression turned even uglier.
This internal conflict had inflicted enormous losses on Konoha.
And just as Danzo had said, this was only the beginning. The losses yet to come would be even worse.
What would happen in the war against Iwagakure now?
Would Kumogakure attack Konoha again?
Would Kirigakure take advantage of the chaos and strike?
The very thought of these questions made Hiruzen's head pound.
The ANBU shinobi produced another report.
"Hokage-sama, the sequence of events behind the Uchiha rebellion has also been investigated."
At once, all four pairs of eyes turned toward him.
The ANBU shinobi said, "According to our investigation, after the suicide note from Kumogakure appeared, the Uchiha clan did indeed develop intense dissatisfaction toward the village."
"But Uchiha Yamakaku kept it under control."
"Most of the Uchiha were willing to believe that Yamakaku would investigate the truth. Only a very small number remained deeply resentful. Uchiha Dou was one of them."
Hiruzen frowned.
"If that's the case, then why did the Uchiha rebel?"
"Uchiha Dou came to the Hokage Building and behaved like that, and even then I did not punish him. I only had Uchiha Yamakaku take him back to the Uchiha compound."
The ANBU shinobi glanced at Danzo.
"Hokage-sama, the issue lies precisely with Uchiha Dou."
"After he was taken back to the Uchiha compound, he was murdered that very night. The entire house was set on fire, and the flames nearly reduced him to ashes."
"The nearby Uchiha heard the commotion. After extinguishing the fire, they discovered Uchiha Dou's corpse."
"And beneath his body were four words, written in blood."
'Save the Uchiha.'
"And the technique used to kill Uchiha Dou was Wind Release: Vacuum Wave. It was definitely used by a shinobi with extremely high mastery over Wind Release."
The moment the ANBU shinobi finished speaking, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura all turned to stare at Danzo.
Hiruzen fixed him with a hard look.
At last, Hiruzen understood.
He understood why, despite his own handling of the matter and Yamakaku's cooperation, things had still taken a turn.
He also understood why the Uchiha had been shouting Danzo's name alongside his own.
Why they had attacked the Shimura clan.
Bang!
Hiruzen rose to his feet and slammed his hand down on the desk.
"Danzo! So this was your handiwork all along!"
Danzo panicked.
"It wasn't me!"
"If not you, then who?"
Hiruzen barked the question.
"If not you, then who else can use Wind Release: Vacuum Wave with that degree of mastery? If not you, then who else could slip into the Uchiha compound without a sound, kill Uchiha Dou, and leave unseen?"
"If not you, then who else would do such a thing?"
"Who else would even dare?"
"There is only you!"
"Danzo, I am deeply disappointed in you."
Danzo was so furious his whole body trembled.
"I said it wasn't me."
But he knew his denial was weak.
No one here would believe him.
Not even the ANBU shinobi.
Danzo knew he had been framed.
The problem was that every clue, every piece of evidence, pointed at him. Other than him, there was not a single other suspect.
This blame had been forced onto his head.
No matter how he explained himself, it would be useless.
Because this really was his style of doing things. It really did look like something he might do.
But he would never have done it this crudely. Never left behind so much evidence.
Danzo racked his brain, trying to figure out who could have framed him.
At last, one possibility occurred to him.
"Hiruzen, this is the Uchiha's own bitter flesh trick. They wanted to rebel all along, and used Uchiha Dou's death as an excuse to convince the rest of the clan."
Hiruzen shook his head.
"And even now, Danzo, you still try to evade responsibility."
"Do you know how many people the Uchiha clan lost this time? How many were wounded and killed? Do you know what kind of situation they'll face after this rebellion?"
"Do you think they're all fools?"
Hiruzen's expression turned cold.
"Danzo, in your current state, I no longer believe you are fit to continue leading Root. Starting today, Root will be taken from your control and folded into ANBU."
"As for village affairs, stay out of them for now."
"Your Shimura clan needs you more."
Danzo's face darkened.
"Hiruzen, you can't do this to me."
"Danzo, I've made my decision."
Hiruzen said, "The things you've done have caused the village to suffer enormous losses. I haven't even formally held you accountable yet, so don't force my hand. This time, I'm serious."
Koharu spoke up from the side, trying to smooth things over.
"Danzo, the Shimura clan really does need you right now."
Homura added as well, "Danzo, listen to Hiruzen. Rest for a while first."
Danzo lowered his head and said nothing more.
"Hokage-sama, understood. I will hand Root over."
Only then did Hiruzen nod.
Just then, a voice came from the doorway.
"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Fugaku requests an audience."
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