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?"
He didn't wait for a reply and continued: "The eyes of Uchiha Shisui remain in the hands of your assistant, Shimura Danzo. Are we simply expected to forget? The Hokage's office openly seized an Uchiha's Sharingan—and you expect us to swallow it? Do you think the Uchiha clan is so easily cowed?"
Silence fell like snowfall—piercing and slow. Then Uchiha Setsuna, the Great Elder, stepped forward, his presence steeped in ancestral authority: "The eye given to Kakashi was honored. It was Obito's dying wish—to see the world through his best friend. That is why no further questions were raised." His tone sharpened. "But this is different. These eyes were stolen. Danzo took them. We must demand their return." He glanced at Kai and offered a subtle nod, one laced with approval and readiness.
Fugaku's chakra surged, laced with the fury of generations. His eyes, bearing the fully awakened three-tomoe Sharingan, glowed with warning—not bluster, but intent. He stepped forward, the stone beneath him cracking faintly with the pressure. "Hiruzen Sarutobi," he said, voice low and thunderous, "return Uchiha Shisui's eyes—or face the consequences."
The words struck like a lightning bolt. Hiruzen's tobacco pipe cracked. No longer the calm mediator—he was a man cornered by truth. He did not speak immediately, but his silence confirmed the gravity of the moment.
Danzo: His face twitched, and chakra subtly gathered at his prosthetic arm. But the flicker of unease in his lone eye betrayed him.
Setsuna: At Fugaku's side now, chin raised. He didn't smile—but his nod was like a seal of declaration. The Uchiha no longer whispered. They demanded.
Kai: His Mangekyō still active, he stood without a word—an iron pillar behind Fugaku's fury.
Shikaku Nara: Eyes narrowed, calculation racing. A single word from the Nara strategist could tip the balance—but he remained silent, watching how far Fugaku would go.
Clan Patriarchs & Advisors: Some stepped back. Some subtly shifted into defensive stances. Others froze, caught between fear and awe.
The tension had transcended politics. The Uchiha were no longer defending. They were drawing a line. And even the Hokage stood on its edge.
Danzo… curse you and the madness that runs in your bloodline. This—this is catastrophic. We cannot afford a war with the Uchiha, not now. Kumogakure's delegation arrives next month—any instability will fracture our position. What is that fool playing at? Is he truly so blinded by paranoia that he'd risk plunging Konoha into civil war?
Faced with the resolute stance of the Uchiha Clan, Hiruzen's decision came swiftly. He would not risk plunging Konoha into conflict—not with tensions simmering and Kumogakure's delegation for the impending peace treaty to put an end to third war due within the month. The cost of escalation was too great.
Turning toward Danzo, his voice held no ambiguity: "This ends now. Danzo, return Shisui's eyes. That power does not belong to Root. It belongs to the legacy of the Uchiha."
It wasn't just compromise—it was recognition. Of Kai's strength. Of Fugaku's righteous fury. Of the fragile balance upon which the village now stood.
Danzo's already shadowed visage seemed to darken further, as if the weight of defiance pressed harder against his aging frame. "How did it come to this?" he thought, teeth clenched behind impassive lips.
His voice, when it emerged, was gravel. "It's true I had… disagreements with Shisui. That much is not false." His gaze swept - lingering on Hiruzen, then Kai, then Fugaku. "But I did not take his Sharingan. Whatever accusations you hurl—my hands are not stained with that theft."
Uchiha Kai's eyes narrowed—his voice emerged low, deliberate, yet thunderous with fury: "Danzo! Do you truly believe the Uchiha Clan lacks the means to sense our own blood? Do you think that pitiful bandage conceals the truth—that Shisui's eyes now reside in your sockets?"
He took a step forward, the silence cracking beneath the weight of his words. "Even now, in the face of Konoha Law for Protection of Bloodlines and rightful demand, you dare to play games with the Uchiha Clan? Is this how the high council of Konoha treats us—the last surviving Founding Clan of this village?"
The air thickened as chakra flared subtly around him. "You've stolen the Sharingan for your one eye. Tell me, Danzo—will your next prize be the Byakugan? Is this your vision of peace? To pillage the sacred arts of every noble clan in pursuit of power?"
The room held its breath. Kai wasn't just accusing—he was unmasking the rot. Uchiha Kai, calm no longer, pulled off his forehead protector with a deliberate motion—his grip on the kunai absolute. It wasn't symbolic. It was historic.
Fugaku stepped beside him, eyes like a stormfront, removing his own protector and holding it to the sky—not as defiance, but declaration. Setsuna, Mei, Yoshiro, Kotaro… each one followed, their movements synchronized as if rehearsed by rebellion itself. Then came Shisui and Itachi — two prodigies, torn between legacy and loyalty - understood that now confrontation was inevitable. Their protectors landed softly on the ground… and their chakra flared like a silent scream.
Shock was on the faces of the Ninja Clan Partriarchs. Calculation. And a dawning realization: the Uchiha weren't posturing anymore. They were departing—from Konoha's contract.
One by one, every single Uchiha did the same. The air grew thick with killing intent—a funeral pyre for diplomacy.
Hiruzen ground his teeth, cursing the ancestors whose choices had led to this day. A cold knot of regret tightened in his chest—he knew the path he walked now would shape Konoha's fate for generations.
Uchiha Kai's declaration struck at the village's very heart. Konoha had long stood as a sanctuary where bloodline-limit clans and ordinary civilians coexisted safely. Now, every shinobi doubted the Hokage's honor, fearing that any new jutsu they developed would be seized without recompense.
Though the Uchiha kept their forehead symbols intact, the message was unmistakable. Without a clear explanation, rebellion was inevitable. Hiruzen recognized the irony: if the uprising seemed spontaneous, he could crush it and emerge stronger. But if it sprang from the theft of a clan's cherished dōjutsu, the village would splinter—and Konoha would become a cautionary tale whispered throughout the ninja world.
Recognizing the imminent crisis and determined to prevent the Uchiha Clan's defection, Shikaku Nara discreetly signaled to Hiashi Hyūga. Hiashi's eyes narrowed—if the Uchiha's Sharingan could be stolen, his clan's Byakugan was next. Activating his dōjutsu, he scanned Danzo's bandaged eye, horror dawning on his face at what he discovered.
He stepped forward, cutting through the tense standoff: "Sandaime-sama, Danzo's eyes are clearly not his own. No shinobi of Konoha can tolerate the theft of a bloodline limit by one of our own. We respectfully request that the Hokage provide an immediate explanation to both the Hyūga and Uchiha clans."
Recognizing that the Hyūga's demand would open the floodgates, the Third Hokage fixed Danzo with a steady gaze. "Enough," he said softly but firmly. "Do not make this any worse. Return the eyes immediately."
Danzo's jaw clenched. He'd never imagined the Uchiha's kekkei genkai could be traced back to a living host—but here, cornered by three noble clans, he saw no escape. He lifted a trembling hand to the bandage over his right eye, the room falling into a deathly hush.
With deliberate slowness, Danzo unwound the cloth. Underneath, the crimson iris of a three-tomoe Sharingan pulsed, as if aware of its own betrayal. Danzo pressed his other hand to the wound, drawing in a ragged breath, then—his fingers slick with blood—he plucked the transplanted eye free.
A collective gasp rippled through the gathered shinobi as Danzo held the orb aloft. Beads of blood trailed from the socket, and in that moment his usual air of imperious control dissolved into stark vulnerability. Shisui Uchiha snatched a small glass vial from Uchiha Mei, catching the eye and sealing it with trembling reverence.
Silence reigned. Hiashi Hyūga's pale gaze lingered on the returned dojutsu, while Fugaku Uchiha's fists tightened at his sides. The Third Hokage stepped forward, voice steady: "This matter will be fully addressed in a formal investigation. No clan speaks alone, and no one act outside the law of Konoha."
As murmurs grew, Danzo sank to one knee, the weight of exposure and disgrace crushing him. Around him, the Hyūga and Uchiha exchanged wary glances—each realizing that justice, however slow, had finally been set in motion.