Konoha — Site of the Explosion
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared blankly at the site of the explosion. Beside him, an ANBU ninja knelt on one knee, reporting the situation to him.
Jonin from various clans arrived one by one, each stopping to stare at the ruins in stunned silence.
"Hokage-sama, when the explosion happened, I was going to the bathroom. Hearing the sound, I rushed to the window to see who dared to attack Konoha.
But when I looked outside, multiple ninja-sama wearing masks had already surrounded the house. Just when I thought it was over, the entire house was suddenly engulfed by a black sphere.
When it disappeared, nothing was left—as if everything inside had been burned into nothingness."
Hearing the civilian's statement, everyone was shocked. Some even doubted his words. How could there be such a powerful ninjutsu that annihilated everything within it?
Not even the strongest lightning-style or fire-style attack techniques could achieve such destruction.
However, a few knowledgeable ninjas recalled certain jutsu capable of this. The most famous among them was Dust Release from the Hidden Stone Village. But the Third Tsuchikage would not suddenly go mad and attack Konoha alone.
Just then, the guards from Danzo's mansion rushed in.
"Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama has gone missing. We have been freed from the tongue-binding seal."
Hearing this, Hiruzen nearly fainted. He turned toward the ninja, his face flushed with anger.
"When did this happen?"
"A few seconds after the explosion."
After hearing this, Hiruzen closed his eyes in pain.
'Koharu… I killed you.
I should have known that with Danzo's obsession with power, he could never handle it properly.
I noticed signs of Danzo's unstable state over the past few days. At the time, I thought that perhaps after a year or two, once he came to his senses, I could trust him again.
But… but… he took the wrong step before I could act.
Did he take revenge on you because you took half of his Root?
Danzo, why… why did you kill Koharu?
If you wanted to vent your anger, you could have attacked me.
Now how am I supposed to rule Konoha without you?'
A few minutes passed, and the Uchiha finally arrived at the other side of the street. Everyone looked at the Uchiha group with restrained anger.
It had been four minutes since the ninja hawks signaled the emergency, yet only now were they arriving—walking with a posture of complete relaxation, as if they were heading out for a picnic.
On the opposite side of the street, Fugaku led the group. Half a step behind him walked Itachi and Shisui, and behind them followed half of the Uchiha clan's jonin.
There were faint traces of smiles on their faces. On the way here, they had already learned what had happened.
Over the past few months, the Uchiha clan had been in an unusually good mood. First, the son of the Third Hokage died. Then, the acting patriarch of the Sarutobi clan passed away.
After that, Danzo—their enemy—was removed from his position. And now this had happened.
If the leading members of the Uchiha clan had not known about the utopia Itachi proposed, and if they had not already given up hope for Konoha, they would have launched a coup at this very moment.
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Hiruzen finally turned around and looked at the approaching Uchiha. In his eyes, the slight smiles on their faces were magnified countless times, and their relaxed posture twisted into one of mockery.
Hiruzen was reminded of the sweet old days, when he conspired with Danzo, Homura, and Koharu regarding the Uchiha clan. Danzo had always opposed the Uchiha. Homura had supported Danzo, while Koharu and Hiruzen advocated for a peaceful settlement.
Now, seeing how the Uchiha clan did not even take the deaths of two members of the Hokage Council seriously, Hiruzen felt as if he could hear Danzo's voice echoing in his mind.
"Hiruzen, those evil Uchiha should be exterminated to prevent Konoha from becoming unstable.
You must make a decision now to prevent another Nine-Tails tragedy."
"Danzo… I will fulfill your last wish. Just watch me from heaven."
A few seconds later, the Uchiha clan finally arrived at the site of the tragedy.
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"Guarding the village and preventing anything dangerous from happening is the responsibility of the Konoha Military Police Department.
The Uchiha clan has repeatedly failed in its duties. Over the past few months, the Uchiha have allowed enemies of Konoha to commit heinous crimes freely within the village.
Despite receiving a huge amount of funding from the village, the criminal is still roaming freely inside Konoha."
As soon as Hiruzen said this, all the civilian ninjas and a few less bright-headed clan ninjas looked at the Uchiha present with anger and disgust.
Nara Shikaku, witnessing the scene, let out a quiet sigh. He knew this was not the time for blame games.
Unlike the others, he could not blame the Uchiha. This area is not even under their jurisdiction. It is one of the most elite areas of Konoha, where many high-ranking officials of both Konoha and the Land of Fire reside.
Only ANBU and personal bodyguards were permitted to patrol this area. The Uchiha, already under constant suspicion, were naturally not allowed to act here.
Shikaku, being sharp-minded, understood that the previous incidents were part of the internal struggle within the Hokage faction—between Danzo and Hiruzen.
Danzo had gone too far and was removed from his position, but it now seemed that he could not bear it and chose to commit suicide along with Koharu.
Of course, the Uchiha clan could not interfere in such internal conflicts of the Hokage faction; this was not the first time such things had occurred.
But now, instead of calming the civilians and the ninjas, Hiruzen was openly inciting them against the Uchiha clan.
However, the Uchiha clan's reaction shocked Shikaku, and a sense of foreboding rose within him.
"Uchiha clan, even after your negligence caused such major losses to Konoha, you show no repentance and arrive here as if on a picnic?
Do you think that just because the Second Hokage entrusted the Konoha Military Police Department to your clan, you can misuse your power and blindly drain Konoha's hard-earned funds?"
After saying this, Hiruzen stared at the Uchiha with fury. He was genuinely angry. If the Uchiha had performed their duties properly, Danzo would not have been able to kill his son and his cousin, nor would Danzo have remained undiscovered until he killed Homura and committed suicide.
Yet, after hearing Hiruzen's accusations, the Uchiha clan showed no reaction at all, as if they had not heard a single word.
"Hokage-sama, regarding the previous cases you mentioned, former Konoha Advisory Elder Shimura Danzo is the primary suspect.
However, when Itachi attempted to continue the investigation, you personally stopped him.
As for today's tragedy, the entire A-Block, Sectors 1 to 3, are not under the jurisdiction of the Konoha Military Police Department.
Therefore, you cannot blame the Uchiha for this incident.
As for our delayed arrival, it is precisely because it is the Uchiha clan's responsibility to remain vigilant in times like this. We had to arrange for other Uchiha members to be stationed across different areas of Konoha to prevent such a disaster from happening again."
Hearing this, many ninjas appeared convinced. However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not.
His friend had just killed another friend and then taken his own life. As Hiruzen thought about fulfilling his friend's final and most obsessive wish, the Uchiha clan—rather than admitting fault—was blaming Danzo, who was already dead, and openly contradicting him, the Hokage of Konoha.
They were even turning public opinion against him.
"EXCUSES
Everything you've said is nothing but excuses.
What proof do you have that Danzo was the prime suspect? An Elder of Konoha and a friend of mine would kill his own niece and my son?
I suspected the Uchiha had ulterior motives in investigating Danzo, which is why I stopped it. Do you think I would allow the Uchiha to harm Konoha's hero so easily?
The Uchiha have repeatedly neglected their duties. For the next three years, all village funding to the Uchiha clan will be frozen.
I have heard reports of your misuse of power for years, but I tolerated it, believing you would repent and improve. I trusted the judgment of my respected teacher—but now it seems my teacher was wrong.
Do you accept this punishment?"
Hearing this, the expressions of many clan heads changed. Unlike their naïve clan members and the civilian ninjas, they were not so easily manipulated.
By now, just like the head of the Nara clan, they had pieced together the entire story after hearing Fugaku's statement about Danzo being the prime suspect.
They could also sense that Sarutobi Hiruzen was becoming unreasonable, targeting the Uchiha clan merely to vent his anger. However, none of them stepped forward to support the Uchiha.
Firstly, they feared possible retaliation from Hiruzen in the future. Secondly, they shared no close ties with the Uchiha clan.
If the Uchiha suffered and weakened, the other clans could seize the opportunity to surpass them—and perhaps, in the future, even divide the Uchiha clan's property, just as had happened after the Nine-Tails tragedy.
"We accept the punishment, Hokage-sama."
Seeing the Uchiha clan finally "come to their senses" and submit to his authority as before, Hiruzen nodded with slight satisfaction.
The other clans were shocked, but ultimately indifferent. Only Nara Shikaku was sweating faintly.
As if sensing something, Itachi looked at Shikaku and smiled.
Shikaku, seeing Itachi's smile, had his suspicions confirmed. He said nothing, merely returning a bitter smile before looking up at the stars, as if asking the sky for guidance.
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