He broke off, knees buckling. Tears mingled with blood as he sank to one elbow, voice cracking: "All I ever wanted was to protect Konoha and its peace, Hokage-sama…" His words trailed into sobs of betrayal.
The shinobi assembled here were by no means ordinary. Each was an elite, their chakra coiled and ready. The tension in the air throbbed with unspoken challenge. Even the wind dared not stir the fallen leaves as they awaited the next word.
If Shishui's clansmen hadn't arrived in time, he would have been silenced for good. In the shinobi world, seizing a clan's kekkei genkai ignites a blood feud of life and death. Entire clans vanish and families evaporate at the mere whiff of such treachery. Danzo's act here was the consummation of that forbidden ambition: a successful snatch of the Uchiha's Sharingan.
At that moment, Kai's voice rang out, slicing through the hush. "Danzo-Assistant, what is your defense against Shishui's accusation?" The assembled shinobi leaned forward, anticipation crackling in the air. Every gaze now fixed on Shimura Danzo, waiting for his rebuttal.
Danzo's eyes flickered, the swagger with which he had entered this confrontation draining away. A shadow passed over his features as the hope of plundering more Sharingan slipped from his grasp. The clearing fell into stony silence, broken only by his slow, measured breaths. His darkened eyes betrayed a man suddenly stripped of both high spirits and hidden designs.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's breath caught in his throat. In that moment, he felt the weight of every betrayal crashing down on him—Shisui's anguished confession, Danzo's ruthless betrayal, and his own rash decree to surround the Uchiha.
Just this morning, Shisui had stood before him, offering to bind Fugaku's formidable strength, after all, Fugaku had the strength to be a Hokage Candidate with just his 3-tomoe at the end of the Third Great Ninja World War to the will of the Hokage - promising that the Uchiha, under Konoha's guidance, would serve the village's greater good. And now, by evening, everything had unraveled. The man he'd trusted to protect Konoha had turned hunter. The father he'd hoped to save had become a tool of fear.
In Hiruzen's mind, with the Uchiha might diminished, arrest of the Uchiha leaders, and dispersing of the other Uchiha into the wider tapestry of Konoha's civilians and shinobi clans. No banners raised in defiance. No blades drawn in betrayal. The legacy of one of the village's founding clans would have folded itself into everyday life—teachers, blacksmiths, merchants—woven back into the village they'd helped build.
How had a vision of unity devolved into this maelstrom of mistrust and blood? Hiruzen stared at the assembled faces - clan patriarchs torn between worry and outrage, shinobi poised for war, and Danzo's shadowed gaze - and felt the painful truth settle in his heart: he had failed them all.
Danzo felt the weight of every Konoha shinobi's gaze, silently demanding his defense. With no other option, he bit down on his kunai, squared his shoulders, and spoke clearly: "I serve as the Assistant to the Hokage. I recognized that relations between Konoha and the Uchiha had grown strained, and I never wished to spark open conflict. But now that events have come to this head, you deserve the unvarnished truth. This afternoon, I summoned Shishui for a private meeting. In the midst of our exchange, he drew his blade on me—he attempted to assassinate me—and I was forced to defend myself. Just as I was about to..." but his words were interrupted.
Uchiha Kai's chakra flared like a crimson storm. In an instant, his eyes shifted—the familiar 3-tomoe reshaping into the inky, kaleidoscopic pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan. A pulse of raw power rippled through the courtyard, distorting shadows on the village stone and sending an electric hush through every onlooker.
With a low exhale, Kai drew the world into his gaze. The air at the center of the square shimmered, as if caught in the eye of a cyclone. Every breath he took sent ripples of chakra across the assembled crowd, cracking the silent tension with its sheer force. For a moment, time felt suspended—leaves hung motionless, and even the distant laughter of children in Konoha's alleys fell mute.
Eyes wide, Hiruzen Sarutobi's tobacco pipe trembled in his hand. A flicker of dread crossed his face as he realized the full magnitude of Kai's power. He easily identified the dreaded Mangekyo Sharingan. Beneath his calm exterior, an urgent calculation raced: How to protect the village without provoking a massacre?
Danzo's usual composure cracked as he shifted weight, measuring whether to strike first or retreat. A bead of sweat traced down his cheek—this was a confrontation he had neither foreseen nor prepared for.
From the samurai-like grace of the Akimichi chief to the stoic glare of the Nara elder, every patriarch snapped to attention. Suspicion and awe warred in their eyes—this was proof the Uchiha could wield godlike might, but also a dire warning of what might come if that power turned inward. A heavy silence fell, broken only by the distant clatter of armor as they adjusted their stances for what could be the dawn of a new era in Konoha.
Uchiha Kai held the Mangekyō's intensity for a heartbeat longer, then let his vision soften. The courtyard exhaled with him, returning to the gentle sounds of village life—but nothing would ever feel the same.
Uchiha Kai fixed his gaze on Danzo, the Third Hokage, and the faction advisors. "Do you take us for fools? 'Shishui tried to assassinate you'? Fine - but if that were true, why wasn't he simply killed? Why are his injuries such that are received when you are trying to capture him alive and why gouge out his eyes instead?!"
Danzo quickly steadied himself and responded, his voice firm and deliberate: "No matter what is said today, the facts remain unchanged. Shishui attempted to assassinate me—this is the truth. And every member of Root can testify to it." His tone was confident, but beneath it, a tremor of desperation lingered—an edge that did not go unnoticed by the watching crowd.
Kai's gaze swept across the fallen Root squads—four teams reduced to silence and blood. Then, lifting his head with a mocking smirk, he addressed the gathering crowd: "Well, what a noble day for Danzo Shimura," he said, voice laced with scorn. "Apparently, today was the perfect moment to assassinate the Hokage and the Daimyō. Eliminate a few rivals and claim the throne of the Land of Fire for himself—brilliant strategy, really."
Kai's voice cut through the tension like steel. "All Uchiha witnesses can attest to this. Danzo approached Uchiha Fugaku himself—invited him to join the conspiracy. But we, the last surviving Founding Clan of Konohagakure, do not stoop to assassination and treachery to claim power."
His eyes locked on the elders, daring them to blink. "We remember the price already paid in blood. We bear the burden of legacy—not just the name. You traded honor for ambition, Danzo. But the Uchiha will not trade justice for silence." The room fell deathly quiet.
Kai paused, letting the absurdity of the accusation echo. "If you're going to write history with corpses, at least make the story believable."
Sandaime Hokage's expression barely shifted—but those who knew him well caught the subtle twitch at the corner of his mouth. It wasn't amusement. It was caution.
Kai's words had landed like kunai in council stone. "We'll need closer eyes on him," Hiruzen thought grimly, his gaze lingering on the young Uchiha. The storm hadn't passed—it had simply changed direction.
Around him, everyone stood in uneasy silence. Everyone understood the gravity: Danzo had initiated an assassination attempt on the Hokage himself. To speak more was to invite deeper fractures in the village's already worn foundation. But Kai had forced a reckoning. And surveillance would be the leaf's shield now.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rang out, firm yet weathered by the weight of what had transpired: "Enough," the Sandaime declared. "Now that the misunderstanding has been clarified and Uchiha Shisui has been found—" But before he could finish, a sudden interruption shattered the moment. The next words that he was about to speak died in his throat.
Uchiha Kai seized the moment to intervene, his voice echoing across the members present: "Sandaime Hokage, surely you don't mean to let this matter rest so easily, do you?"