Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to give the Uchiha clan the opportunity to speak first.
This was both to appease the Uchiha clan and to express his dissatisfaction with Danzō's actions.
"It's like this..."
Uchiha Fugaku began to recount the information he had obtained from Yashiro, Tekka, and Inabi.
Of course, there was some speculation involved, as Fugaku and the others were not aware of the situation before Shisui encountered the three-man Uchiha squad.
However, although it was speculation, the inferences were largely accurate, and they essentially reconstructed the facts.
"That's how it is. Elder Danzō discriminates against the Uchiha, covets the Sharingan, and harms his fellow villagers. His crimes are heinous. We ask Lord Hokage to punish him severely!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Fugaku and the other three rose from their seats and bowed.
After the story was told, many of those present looked at Danzō with strange expressions.
If the facts were true, then he must be severely punished!
If he dared to act so unscrupulously against the Uchiha clan, they couldn't even imagine what he would dare to do to their much weaker ninja clans and individual ninja!
"You four, please calm down and take your seats."
"If the facts are indeed as you say, I will severely punish Danzō, strip him of all his duties, and imprison him in the Interrogation Unit," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a serious expression.
The four of them sat down, their eyes fixed on Danzō.
"Danzō, what do you have to say?" Hiruzen turned his head, his tone somewhat aggressive.
What do I have to say?
I'm already overjoyed!
Uchiha Shisui actually committed suicide. Heaven is truly on my side!
Although he was overjoyed, Danzō's face showed no sign of it. Instead, he looked righteously indignant and slammed his palm on the table.
Bang!
"A pack of lies! Twisting black and white, confusing right and wrong!"
"It was clearly Uchiha Shisui who, out of dissatisfaction with me, took the opportunity of our meeting to assassinate me."
"After the assassination failed, he fled in a panic. I sent my subordinates to pursue him, but the Uchiha squad that arrived, out of clan loyalty, believed his one-sided story and obstructed the pursuit."
"If not for their obstruction, I would have already captured Uchiha Shisui, and the truth would have been revealed. Poor me, now I have to suffer this injustice..."
Wow, as expected of Danzō. He really has a knack for confusing right and wrong and twisting the truth.
Except for his teammates who knew him particularly well, and Kageyama Kogetsu, whose mind was as clear as a mirror, the others were somewhat confused.
Of these two sides, who was lying?
Uchiha Fugaku and the other three were furious and were about to attack him as a group.
"Ahem, this is a serious occasion. Don't turn it into an entertainment street. Speak one at a time," Mitokado Homura said in a deep voice.
The four of them temporarily suppressed their anger and sat back down.
As the head of the Uchiha clan representing them in public, Uchiha Fugaku naturally spoke first, his face slightly flushed, his tone angry.
"We know what kind of person Shisui is. Lord Hokage, the two elders, and Kogetsu-kun also know."
"It is impossible for him to do something like attacking a fellow villager, let alone a high-ranking official of the village."
"To de-escalate the situation, Shisui even chose to commit suicide. And now someone is twisting the truth and slandering him. Do you have any conscience left?"
The third elder said hatefully, "Hand over the Root ninja who fought with Shisui and the others. A single investigation will make everything clear."
The second elder said with a grim expression, "I remember Elder Danzō didn't used to cover his right eye. I wonder when he started."
"Our Uchiha clan lost some ninja during the Third Great Ninja War, including some with the three-tomoe Sharingan."
"Could it be that Elder Danzō's right eye is a Sharingan?"
The Great Elder was the most ruthless. He sneered, "Why go through so much trouble?"
"Just let the Interrogation Unit ninja or a member of the Yamanaka clan probe Elder Danzō's memories. Everything will be revealed then."
Danzō's expression changed, and he roared, "Insolence! Arrogance!"
"Do you know how many of Konoha's top secrets are in my memories?"
"You dare to suggest probing my memories?"
"Nonsense! I am not a criminal!"
Utatane Koharu spoke up, "Probing the memories of a Hokage's Advisor is indeed improper."
Mitokado Homura and most of the Konoha department heads also nodded clearly in support.
How could they casually probe the memories of a high-ranking Konoha official without a conviction?
Let alone a high-ranking official, even an ordinary ninja couldn't be subjected to that without having committed a crime.
With this support, Danzō became more confident and began to retort.
"My right eye has a disease and cannot be exposed to the wind, otherwise it will tear up uncontrollably."
"Hmph, I don't care for the Sharingan at all. The four of you combined are no match for me!"
As he spoke, Danzō untied the bandage covering his right eye, revealing an eye identical to his left one.
"Hmph, who knows if you didn't switch it out before the meeting?" the second elder sneered.
"My conscience is clear. If you don't believe me, I'll give the Police Force permission to search the Root headquarters," Danzō said righteously.
"Tch, putting on a show. With so much time, who knows where you've moved the incriminating evidence," the second elder said dismissively.
"Can you do anything but make baseless accusations and slander?" Danzō said even more dismissively.
The second elder was at a loss for words. He indeed had no concrete evidence.
"Elder Danzō, hand over those four Root ninja."
"Don't you dare tell me, don't you dare tell everyone, that those four Root ninja are dead," the third elder said with a half-smile.
Hearing this, everyone's gaze turned to Danzō.
Danzō forced himself to remain calm and sneered, "Four? Are you bad at math?"
"One of them has already been killed by your Uchiha ninja. This is the grave crime of killing a fellow villager!"
"Don't try to confuse the issue and change the subject. What about the other three?" the third elder glared.
"The three of them were not dead at the time, but they had been severely injured by the Uchiha ninja. Two of them died on the way, and the last one couldn't be saved."
"I have four subordinates who died at the hands of Uchiha ninja. The Uchiha clan must take responsibility!" Danzō said with a furious expression.
The third elder laughed loudly, "Hahaha... did you all hear that?"
"There's no proof!"
"According to Tekka and Inabi, after they killed one Root ninja, the rest were all injured."
"Although Tekka and Inabi are three-tomoe Sharingan Jonin, it's unlikely that in a two-on-four situation, they could kill one and leave the other three in a critically injured, dying state."
"The battle wasn't even that long. If that were the case, the Root ninja that Elder Danzō so carefully trained would be too useless."
"If the elites who serve as his bodyguards are like this, how useless must the other Root ninja be?"
"Elder Danzō is treating us all like fools."
Hearing this, everyone's eyes filled with suspicion. What Danzō said was a bit of a stretch.
In a two-on-two fight, with the sharpness of the Sharingan, it might be possible. But against a well-coordinated four-man Root squad, it was indeed unrealistic.
Danzō was furious, but at this moment, he couldn't be bothered. He forced himself to calm down and explain, his expression confident.
"Hmph, the four of them had just returned from a secret mission and hadn't fully recovered from their internal injuries."
"If you don't believe me, you can have a professional corpse disposal unit perform an autopsy."
"If it doesn't match what I've said, I am willing to take responsibility."
The third elder sneered, "Heh, no need."
"Elder Danzō has probably already dealt with the bodies. What could an autopsy reveal now?"
"If everything is normal, it would conversely prove Elder Danzō's innocence. How clever. As expected of the Darkness of Konoha, you are indeed skilled at handling dirty business."
"But the Darkness of Konoha can never become the Light of Konoha. Your body and mind are too filthy, they can never be cleansed!"
Haha... I've bluffed them.
If they really performed an autopsy, the lies I've fabricated would be exposed.
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