The bamboo blinds of the hot spring inn on the commercial street were blown by a strong wind, and in the rising steam, two elders of the Shimura clan were leisurely enjoying a massage.
Yakumi's kunai silently pressed against the masseur's neck, and a single glance made the person collapse to the ground.
"Shimura Musashi, Shimura Takeki, you two have committed a crime. The Military Police Force invites you both for a cup of tea."
The older one, Musashi was about to form a hand sign, but found his fingers unresponsive. Unbeknownst to him, his Chakra pathways had been sealed.
The younger one, Takeki tried to leap up, but was entangled by a suddenly appearing chain around his ankle, falling heavily onto the stone, splashing a large amount of water.
"Uchiha! Are you trying to rebel?" Musashi roared, but was knocked unconscious by a hand chop from Yakumi.
As the two Shimura clan elders, wrapped only in bathrobes, were dragged out of the hot spring inn, Shun was leaning against a cherry blossom tree outside the door.
He reached out and plucked a cherry blossom, saying softly, "Don't worry, you'll see Danzo very soon."
It was 7 PM, and Konoha villagers had just finished dinner and were idle. They saw many people running towards the plaza and began to join them. Soon, thousands of people gathered in the plaza.
In the middle of the plaza, the two Shimura elders, tied to wooden stakes, were sweating profusely.
Suddenly, more than a dozen Root ninjas continuously flickered out from various places.
In the crowd, an opening was made, and Danzo slowly appeared, his cane heavily striking the ground.
"Uchiha! Release them immediately!"
Shun stood on the high platform, a slight smile on his lips. "Danzo, you old dog came personally, did you? A pleasant surprise."
Hearing the unexpected rudeness, Danzo angrily raised his left hand and shouted, "Act!"
Instantly, more than a dozen Root members rushed towards the two Shimura elders.
Shun made a gesture, and Shisui's Three-Tomoe Sharingan began to spin. Danzo's single eye instantly lost focus for a few seconds, he had fallen under Shisui's Genjutsu.
Shun used the Body Flicker Technique, and a cold light flashed. Danzo's right arm was severed at the shoulder, blood splattering onto the plaza.
Immediately after, his fingers plunged into Danzo's right eye beneath the bandages, forcefully digging out the still-spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Ah!!!"
Danzo's scream sent birds around a hundred-meter radius flying.
Hiruzen, who had just arrived, witnessed this scene, and his pipe clattered to the ground.
His voice, like a muffled thunderclap, boomed. "Shun! Release Advisor Danzo immediately!"
Twelve Anbu simultaneously drew their weapons, the cold gleam of their kunai forming a continuous line.
The villagers at the edge of the plaza began to stir, and a few timid ones were already shrinking their necks and backing away.
Shun unhurriedly placed his long sword against Danzo's neck, the blade already drawing a line of blood.
Seeing this, Yūsuke led the Police Force members to distribute flyers. The flyers detailed Danzo's crimes, the Root's training process, and a list of children who had joined Root over the years.
Crime 1: The department Danzo was responsible for was the "Anbu Training Subdivision," abbreviated as the Root. Most of its members were war orphans, forced to join the Root at 5-6 years old, and had to master basic assassination techniques before the age of 10, with a mortality rate as high as 90%.
According to the Military Police Force's investigations, a total of 1,432 war orphans were forced to join Root, resulting in over 1,300 children dying during training.
Root Training Process:
1. To make members emotionless, they must personally kill their comrades or relatives upon graduation.
2. Those who survive are implanted with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, preventing them from revealing any information about Root. Disobeying orders results in death by the curse mark's backlash.
3. 20 hours of high-intensity training daily, including:
a. Endless assassination drills: Before graduation, trainees must ambush each other, with severe injuries being common.
b. Poison resistance tests: Trainees are forced to ingest potent poisons and must concoct their own antidotes, failure means death.
c. Starvation survival: Continuously going without food for a week, surviving only by stealing or eating the corpses of comrades.
4. If a trainee is eliminated, they become a test subject for Root's human experiments, with a mortality rate close to 100%.
Crime 2: To steal the Kekkei Genkais of Konoha's clans, capturing villagers for human experimentation. To steal the Uchiha's Sharingan and forbidden jutsu, assassinating several Jonin of the Uchiha clan.
Evidence: Danzo's right arm is transplanted with Hashirama cells and several Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Beneath the bandage on his right eye, there's another Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Crime 3: Inciting war. During the Second Great Ninja War, the arrogant Danzo went to Amegakure and provoked Hanzo, resulting in his right arm being cut and his right eye being blinded. Hanzo, seeing how weak Konoha's elder was, launched a war against Konoha, causing the deaths of thousands of Konoha ninjas.
Thousands of villagers, witnessing Danzo's crimes, shouted in unison, "Danzo deserves to die! Kill him, kill him!"
Seeing that the villagers' emotions had been stirred, Shun suddenly raised his voice, his words echoing throughout the entire plaza.
"Do you know why Danzo committed so many evil deeds, yet no one dared to expose him? Because the one who protected him is none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen!"
After speaking, the tip of his long sword pointed directly at Hiruzen.
The plaza instantly erupted in an uproar, and Hiruzen felt cold sweat break out on his back.
Several clan heads in the crowd exchanged meaningful glances.
Hiruzen feigned composure and shouted, "Nonsense! When have I ever protected Danzo? I was unaware of his actions."
Shun sneered, "Root's official name is the Anbu Training Subdivision, and Anbu is a direct subordinate department of the Hokage. Root's funding was also signed off by you, the Hokage. Now, you tell us you know nothing about Root?
He grabbed Danzo's bloody severed arm, displaying the section embedded with Sharingan to everyone.
"Where did these eyes come from? And this arm, transplanted with Hashirama cells, how did it come to be?!"
A white-haired old woman suddenly rushed out of the crowd, her trembling finger almost poking Hiruzen's face.
"The day my grandson was taken, I clearly saw it was Anbu members who took him."
An old farmer wearing a straw hat tremblingly took a flyer, his cloudy tears dripping onto the paper.
"My grandson said he was going to participate in the Anbu selection but he never came back. So he's gone, huh..."
In the crowd, a heart-wrenching cry suddenly erupted, "This is my little Ryota. His name is on the list."
When the part about "eating comrades' corpses to survive" was read, a burly man suddenly threw the cleaver in his hand towards the high platform, deeply embedding it in Danzo's thigh.
Hiruzen's lips trembled as he looked around, seeing only angry and betrayed eyes. Even the most loyal Anbu had now laid down their weapons.
Hiruzen's voice suddenly aged considerably. "I... these... I don't know..."
Enduring the pain, Danzo suddenly grinned widely. "Evil Uchiha, everything has nothing to do with Hiruzen. Everything I did was for Konoha."
Upon hearing this, Shun erupted with intense killing intent. He forcefully swung his long sword, making a sound that cut through the air.
Danzo's head was seen flying high, blood gushing from his neck. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
He was actually going to die?