Evil Uchiha Itsuki

The explosion caused by Konoha was earth-shattering.

Everyone was completely stunned.

Many people stared in the direction of Konoha, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.

Has the strength of your clan declined so much that you don't even realize it?

The Land of Iron and the Land of Demons no longer take you seriously, and you might even be kicked out of the Big Six tomorrow. Yet here you are, engaging in an internal conflict?

Impressive!

So impressive!

This battle made the surrounding ninja villages stroke their chins and silently ponder.

At this moment, is it wrong not to take some kind of action against Konoha?

It feels like Konoha is wholeheartedly inviting us to act.

It would be awkward to just pretend nothing is happening.

Maybe...

We should make a move?

Fire off an attack?

It's not that they want war, but the enthusiasm of Konoha's villagers is simply overwhelming.

...

BAM!

With a fierce Dragon Cannon, Hiruzen Sarutobi struck, the massive dragon head opening its sharp jaws and cutting Danzo Shimura's body in half.

WHIRR!

As space twisted, Danzo reappeared, completely unharmed.

Nine Sharingan eyes on his arm had already closed.

Both old men were now breathing heavily, near exhaustion.

Their age was catching up with them, and they were running out of stamina.

"Danzo, you're insane!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth, saying, "You actually dared to conduct this kind of forbidden research…"

Danzo had nothing left to lose. At this point, everything was over.

Whether he won or lost, he had already lost in the end.

There was no escaping the consequences of his forbidden experiments.

After today, Konoha would never let him go.

If he could kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and escape with his remaining people, he might still have a slim chance…

He sneered, "Hiruzen, who are you pretending for? Which of my experiments did you not know about? Or should I say, which of them did you not take part in? And now you're acting all innocent?"

Hell, if you didn't know, how could you have targeted me so precisely?

You've already figured out everything about my research.

Could you have done that in just a day or two?

"Heh heh!"

Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a cold laugh. "I knew all along. So what? Danzo, do you really think people in the village will believe you? They won't!"

"Even if many people know I was involved in your forbidden experiments, what of it?"

"The public won't believe it!"

"Die, Danzo!"

"Die at my hands!"

"When you're dead, I'll be the glorious Third Hokage, the one who cleansed the village of its cancer!"

"My prestige will rise again. Even if I don't return to my peak, the past will be erased, and the Sarutobi clan will continue to thrive!"

Danzo's face darkened, and he stayed silent for a long time.

Finally, he said slowly, "The recent rumors weren't spread by me, Hiruzen. You should know there's another person targeting you. How do you plan to deal with him? He's no simple opponent."

"That's none of your concern!"

The Third Hokage's face was grim as he replied coldly, "Once I kill you and expose your crimes, do you think anyone will care about those rumors? Even if the person in the shadows wants to act, the Sarutobi clan has sacrificed so much. Will he still have a chance?"

His gaze swept the surroundings, his eyes filled with sorrow.

The Sarutobi clan was locked in a fierce battle with Danzo and his Root division.

The casualties were already staggering.

By now, the Sarutobi clan had sacrificed at least a thousand people.

Once Danzo was dealt with, the Third Hokage planned to have the clan parade these bodies through the village.

He would ensure that the sacrifice was well-publicized.

By then...

Would rumors even be an issue?

In the face of such massive sacrifice, mere words wouldn't matter.

The Sarutobi clan fought the Shimura clan to the death for Konoha, sacrificing over a thousand lives!

That's the real story!

At this point, there was no turning back!

Danzo wanted to kill the Third Hokage, escape Konoha with his people, and wait for an opportunity to rise again!

The Third Hokage wanted to kill Danzo, using his and part of the Sarutobi clan's sacrifice to prove himself, allowing the Sarutobi clan to thrive in Konoha legitimately.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Both old men roared as they charged at each other.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Sweat dripped from their foreheads, their eyes filled with murderous intent, and the air around them was thick with killing intent.

They were nearly driven mad.

The better their relationship had been, the deeper their hatred was now.

Kill him!

He must be killed!

If he doesn't die, I will!

ROAR!!

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, unleashing a wave of flames that entangled Danzo.

In the blink of an eye, Danzo was trapped.

"You're finished!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was overjoyed.

After all this time, he finally had him.

He quickly formed hand seals, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.

Danzo only had one Sharingan left.

As long as he took care of this one…

Spit!

At that moment, Danzo suddenly spat a thick glob of phlegm.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned.

If Danzo had spit out a needle or used Wind Style, he wouldn't have been surprised.

But this?

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about enduring it but ultimately stepped back after seeing Danzo's ugly old face.

This wasn't a ninjutsu attack. This was a chemical attack!

BAM!

Heh heh!

Seeing Hiruzen retreat, Danzo let out a cold laugh and shattered the last Sharingan.

WHIRR!

As the space around him twisted again, Danzo reappeared, and the original Danzo disappeared.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

Danzo glared at the Third Hokage and coldly said, "Just wait. I'll be back."

That spit wasn't an attack. Danzo had already planned to sacrifice the last Sharingan.

The spit was just because he couldn't stand Hiruzen Sarutobi and wanted to humiliate him.

And it worked—Hiruzen backed off!

Seriously?

WOO WOO!

A strange signal suddenly echoed around them.

Hearing this sound, some ninja suddenly went berserk, attacking their enemies mindlessly.

It was as if they had become puppets.

They had forgotten about their own lives, focusing only on attacking, attacking, and attacking!

Under their madness, the Sarutobi clan's casualties soared.

Of course, their numbers were also rapidly dwindling.

"Danzo!"

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was both shocked and heartbroken.

The Sarutobi clan had already sacrificed a thousand people. If this continued, even with a reputation reversal, the clan's survival in Konoha would become nearly impossible.

"Hiruzen, you're inferior to me. You always will be!"

Danzo left these cold words behind as he turned to leave.

You wouldn't even take a hit of my spit? What a joke.

"Stop!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted, preparing to chase after him, but a ninja suddenly appeared and wrapped him up tightly.

This was a Jonin.

A skilled Jonin who didn't care about his own life.

His purpose was clear: to trade his life for Danzo's escape.

"Damn it!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious.

A horde of mindless attackers was covering for the others, and now this Jonin was sacrificing himself to ensure Danzo's escape.

Danzo's control over his subordinates was terrifyingly strong!

Was it the Curse of the Tongue Seal?!

That cursed jutsu should never have existed.

The Third Hokage was filled with resentment.

The worst part was that the jutsu could only be used by someone like Danzo. How could someone as noble as the Third Hokage use such a despicable technique?

This was the opportunity Danzo had taken advantage of!

If only he had studied that technique earlier.

But now, it was too late.

All he could do was watch Danzo escape.

Danzo's parting glance was full of disdain.

"Damn it!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cursed furiously, putting all his strength into killing the ninja in front of him.

It wasn't that he didn't want to capture him alive.

Capturing him wouldn't have made a difference—Danzo would have left almost no trace on his subordinates.

Besides...

With his current strength, and the exhaustion of his stamina, he had no energy left to take this one alive.

"Bang!"

Finally, a few kunai pierced through the heart of the ninja.

The ninja fell to the ground, eyes filled with unwillingness.

"Hmph!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly, turning his head to see that the surrounding battles were nearly over.

The result didn't please him.

"Lord Hokage!"

A ninja came to Sarutobi's side.

"Danzo Shimura escaped, and he still has a Yamanaka and an Aburame ninja with him."

"Hmm!" Sarutobi's face was grim as he nodded, coldly saying, "Release it!"

"Yes!"

The ninja was overjoyed.

He was Sarutobi Shinnosuke!

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's son, he knew all too well the recent situation of the Sarutobi clan in Konoha.

Now, the situation was about to turn around.

Even if the Sarutobi clan couldn't become one of the hero clans, at least they could be a normal clan, growing and prospering in Konoha.

As for the consequences of this great battle...

Konoha wouldn't collapse.

Otherwise, would Konoha still be Konoha?

"Hiruzen Sarutobi!!"

A roar echoed.

Immediately after, a large figure charged forward, followed by several more figures.

Akimichi Torifu, Kakashi, and the others had finally arrived.

"This timing…"

Sarutobi was taken aback.

Such coincidence?

He had just finished handling the situation here, and Kakashi's group showed up.

It was so coincidental that it made him feel uneasy.

But!

Things had come to this point—he had no time to dwell on it.

"Lord Hokage!"

As soon as Kakashi's group arrived, Sarutobi took the initiative and said, "I would like to show you all something!"

With that, he handed a scroll to Kakashi.

Kakashi took it with a dark expression and coldly said, "Arrest Hiruzen Sarutobi!"

This time, he didn't hold back, directly issuing the order.

"Yes!"

The ANBU stepped forward and restrained Sarutobi.

Throughout the entire process, Sarutobi remained calm, showing neither surprise nor resistance.

The Sarutobi clan members around him were also calm.

This surprised the ANBU somewhat.

They had expected a fierce battle.

But this?

Kakashi gave Sarutobi a deep look. He knew that Sarutobi had confidence in the scroll he handed over.

But what was in it?

Kakashi lowered his head, quickly scanning a few lines, and his entire body began to tremble, his expression filled with shock.

"How is this possible?"

"This can't be real…"

"Incredible, isn't it?" Sarutobi said calmly. "I was also shocked when I first saw it, which is why I acted so decisively."

"What's going on?"

Nara Shikaku asked anxiously from the side.

He was feeling conflicted.

Sarutobi fighting Danzo Shimura!

It was something out of a dream.

The two of them, once invincible in Konoha when they were united.

Now, Danzo had escaped.

The Third Hokage would likely be imprisoned, at the very least under house arrest.

So, would Konoha belong to Kakashi in the future?

Not necessarily!

With a little effort, Konoha might still belong to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio!

At the very least, at this stage, the most powerful force in Konoha was Akimichi Torifu.

And the Ino-Shika-Cho trio held the greatest influence and power.

The more Shikaku thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

It felt like a golden opportunity was falling into his lap.

How could he not reach out and grab it?

"Take a look," Kakashi said, handing the scroll to Shikaku.

The contents of the scroll shattered Shikaku's fantasies.

"How is this possible?"

The more Shikaku read, the more shocked he became.

The scroll was full of evidence of Danzo's crimes.

From human experimentation, to the assassination of Konoha's top talent, even members of the nobility from various countries.

Along the way, Danzo had collaborated with rogue ninjas from various regions.

His ties with Orochimaru had never been severed.

This even included Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake!

At the end, Danzo had planned to lead a large group of ninjas to split from Konoha.

The ninjas under Danzo were mainly from the Shimura clan and the Root organization, with a few small ninja clans supporting them.

Danzo had even prepared a lot of Konoha's intel, ready to sell it to other villages in exchange for their support.

If his plan succeeded, Konoha would suffer a devastating blow, possibly leading to its collapse.

"Is this real?"

Shikaku raised the scroll, his face full of disbelief.

"Of course!"

Sarutobi said calmly. "You can investigate it yourselves. I'll admit my mistake—there were many things I had already suspected, but for the sake of Konoha's stability, I didn't dig deeper. Especially in your case, Kakashi!"

His eyes held an apology. "I didn't thoroughly investigate your father's death. I was heartbroken because Sakumo Hatake was my choice for the Fourth Hokage. Who would have thought…"

"I was deeply affected at the time, too, and didn't have the energy to deal with other things."

Kakashi's face grew solemn, but he remained silent.

Everyone else looked at him.

As Konoha's Hokage, he had the ultimate authority to decide everything!

"Let him go."

Kakashi's deep voice rang out. "Let's first investigate the matters in the scroll. In the meantime, the Third Hokage will remain at home and is not to leave."

"Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison.

Sarutobi Hiruzen quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew he had passed the test.

Investigate?

How?

Most of the evidence had already been cleaned up.

Whatever they found would be what Sarutobi wanted them to find.

Some of it was even fabricated, impossible to trace.

Mixing truth with falsehood, exaggerating the severity of the situation, and yet leaving just enough to investigate...

Danzo, this time, I don't believe you'll escape.