"My god!"
"Is this… real?!"
"Third Hokage and Danzo… really did all of this?"
The village of Konoha was in chaos.
Civilians poured into the streets, staring in disbelief at the massive chakra screen hovering above, where Kaizen Arashi's calm voice narrated decades of buried crimes. Murmurs turned to gasps. Doubt turned to horror.
The entire village had fallen into an uproar.
Though the general population was stunned, many of the major clans weren't entirely surprised.
The Nara Clan, renowned for their wisdom and insight, had long suspected that something darker lingered beneath the village's peace. Yet, guided by their infamous motto "troublesome things are best avoided," they had always chosen neutrality.
Other clans hadn't been so reserved.
At this moment, within the Hyuga and Uchiha compounds, a sense of grim satisfaction settled over their elders.
The Hyuga clan, always proud and composed, watched in silence. Their eyes narrowed, but they said nothing. They had long endured being marginalized, despite their strength.
The Uchiha, however, weren't so reserved.
"Hmph. Third Hokage thought he could win us over?" muttered Uchiha Fugaku, arms folded. "Fool. He never understood what real leadership meant."
The entire Uchiha clan was practically beaming. For too long, they'd lived under the shadow of suspicion and surveillance.
Now? The system that had persecuted them was crumbling.
—
At a dimly lit tavern in Konoha, a golden-haired woman sat alone at the window.
Her slender fingers poured a fresh cup of sake, eyes lazily focused on the chakra screen hovering in the sky.
"Hehe… It's finally starting," she whispered.
Tsunade, once a drifting wanderer and now the retired Fifth Hokage, took a long sip and leaned back.
She glanced toward the Sarutobi compound in the distance, the smallest of smiles on her lips.
"You should've known this day would come… teacher."
Just as she refilled her glass, a chill crept into the room. A shadow emerged from the doorway—tall, serpentine, and unmistakable.
"Drinking alone, Tsunade?"
The cold, smooth voice belonged to Orochimaru, her former teammate and fellow Sannin.
"Didn't think you'd invite me back to the village," he added, stepping inside with a predatory grace.
Tsunade didn't even flinch. She poured him a drink and slid it across the table.
"Sit. Watch the show."
Orochimaru chuckled and took the glass. His pale fingers curled around the cup, golden eyes watching the light curtain.
He remembered clearly.
Just a few weeks ago, when Kaizen had begun to rise, Orochimaru had expected his own name to be next on the chopping block. After all, his experiments—many of which had been facilitated by Danzo—were no secret to the inner circle.
But then something unexpected happened.
Kaizen came to him. Alone.
Instead of punishment, Kaizen offered him something even better: funding, resources, and freedom to continue his research—under one condition.
No more human experimentation on Konoha civilians.
Orochimaru had laughed at first, but Kaizen's sincerity had stunned him. It was like staring into the eyes of someone who understood monsters… and chose to use them.
Now, sipping quietly beside Tsunade, Orochimaru wore a rare expression:
Contentment.
Let the village burn in truth, he thought. And let the boy rule it in fire.
—
Back in the sky above the village, Kaizen's exposé reached its peak.
The chakra screen displayed black-and-white reports, footage, and maps compiled by Namikaze Minato and Kaizen's loyal ANBU teams. Every record was authenticated and cross-referenced.
And every image told a tale of treachery.
The Senju clan, once the founders of Konoha, were intentionally whittled down.
High-risk missions were disproportionately assigned to Senju members—from jōnin to genin.
Senju civilians were abducted under the guise of "relocation" and sent to Danzo's secret labs.
Nawaki, Tsunade's younger brother, was betrayed during a "routine" mission, and his corpse was mutilated in an attempt to extract Hashirama's cells.
The crowd watching was stunned into silence.
"W-What…?"
"Senju Nawaki… was murdered?!"
"The Senju… were targeted?!"
"By the Hokage himself?!"
And then the worst part came.
Images of Root facilities. Test chambers. Bloodied operating tables.
Danzo's voice in recorded logs: "If we can replicate Wood Style… we can control everything."
Even the clan heads, once cautious and composed, were pale.
Their suspicions had always been vague. Whispers. Rumors.
But this—this was unarguable truth.
"Monster…"
"Third Hokage… was a devil in disguise…"
The Hyuga clan, stoic as ever, said little, but rage simmered in their silence.
The Uchiha, once furious at their marginalization, now realized they were lucky to survive it.
And then the other clans erupted.
"The geniuses who disappeared…!"
"So many from the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi… They were taken!"
"It wasn't coincidence—it was planned!"
"The Root abducted them!"
Nara Shikaku, seated quietly in his home, sighed deeply and muttered, "So much for staying out of trouble…"
The evidence continued.
The financial theft. The civilian tax schemes. Funds from the daimyo that never made it to the village's public projects. Every coin rerouted into the expansion of the Sarutobi and Shimura families.
Images showed lavish estates, overflowing armories, private guards, and indulgent feasts.
Fat relatives of Sarutobi and Shimura clans reclined in comfort while children in the outer districts starved during war.
The crowd, once silent, was now furious.
"You scum!"
"Traitors! Parasites!"
"I worked three jobs while you pigs built palaces?!"
"The Third is no Hokage! He's a tyrant!!"
A chorus of rage swept through the village like wildfire.
In the center of it all, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood frozen, his Hokage robes heavy on his shoulders.
Danzo was trembling beside him, lips twitching in disbelief.
They heard the screams.
They felt the fury.
But worst of all, they knew—this wasn't over.
---