"Hiruzen, something terrible has happened!"
The door to the Hokage's Office was kicked open as Danzo Shimura barged in, his face filled with panic.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened with anger. "Danzo, have I been too lenient with you, that you would dare kick open my door and storm in uninvited?!"
Ignoring Hiruzen's accusation, Danzo gravely declared, "Mirai Uchiha has attacked our lab complex!"
"What?!" Hiruzen abruptly stood up, his voice filled with disbelief. "Why would he suddenly attack our lab complex?"
Shaking his head, Danzo replied, "I don't know, but that wicked brat must have his own motives."
"Hiruzen, there were extremely important things inside that lab complex—we absolutely cannot let them be leaked!"
Hiruzen slammed his palm on the desk angrily. "I've already told you countless times not to meddle with such messy business! And even if you insisted, why couldn't you hide it more carefully?"
Danzo pouted slightly out of frustration. "That lab complex was already well-hidden. I honestly don't know how Mirai Uchiha managed to track it down."
"Hiruzen, now isn't the time to place blame. You should focus on figuring out how to handle this situation."
Upon hearing those words, Hiruzen gradually calmed down.
He smoked his pipe slowly for a moment, then took a deep breath and fixed his eyes ahead with steely determination.
"We can't just sit here waiting for disaster to strike. We must eliminate Mirai Uchiha."
"Danzo, keep yourself hidden for now. This matter will be handled by me personally."
After giving a few more instructions, Hiruzen put on his armor. "Go inform Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado first, along with clan leaders such as Shikamaru Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka. Tell them to come with their forces at once."
"Also... mobilize all available Anbu ninja as quickly as possible."
"And make sure to inform Minato Namikaze right away."
"At once!"
---
"Third Generation, why gather so many ninja at once? What exactly has happened?"
"Mirai Uchiha has attacked Root. I intend to eliminate him before things spiral out of control."
"What?!" Minato Namikaze exclaimed in shock. He hurriedly walked beside Hiruzen. "Mirai Uchiha isn't the kind of person to do something like that—there must be a misunderstanding."
Hiruzen stopped in his tracks, locking eyes with Minato fiercely. "Are you questioning my judgment?"
Minato lowered his head slightly. "No, of course not."
Seeing Minato's reaction, Hiruzen softened his tone somewhat. "Truthfully, I myself find this hard to believe—but the facts speak for themselves."
"It's no surprise when a ninja from the Uchiha Clan turns radical..."
As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the location of the lab complex.
Looking at the corpses on the ground and the blood-stained land, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others wore extremely grim expressions.
Namikaze Minato also frowned.
Could all of this really have been done by Mirai Uchiha?
If that's true, then what should he do now?
On one side was the village, on the other was a trusted mentor and friend...
Minato Namikaze had never felt so conflicted in his heart before.
———
At the entrance of Root's Lab Complex.
Seeing the furious approach of Sarutobi Hiruzen and his group, Uchiha Mirai snorted lightly: "Took you long enough."
Behind him stood clan leaders like Murakumo Kurama and Hiashi Hyūga silently.
Seeing this scene, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression stiffened.
Why were these clan leaders here?
"Hiruzen, Shibi, Murakumo..." His eyes swept across the people standing behind Uchiha Mirai, his voice cold: "Have you all—Hiashi, Murakumo, Shibi Aburame—participated in today's events?"
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado sneered, "Hiruzen, what's the point of wasting words with them? Just capture them all and interrogate properly!"
Upon hearing their words, Hiashi Hyūga lifted his head, his eyes filled with hatred.
The self-righteous Hokage who always hides behind morals while sacrificing others from his high moral pedestal.
Preaching the Will of Fire while secretly carrying out such despicable deeds...
"Third Hokage, what exactly is this laboratory?"
"Do you think you owe us an explanation?"
Shibi Aburame and Murakumo Kurama also chimed in: "That's right! Why are there so many missing ninjas' corpses and organs here?"
"In your hearts, are we Konoha's ninja clans nothing more than your experimental materials?"
After hearing their words, Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, Akimichi Choza, and others immediately stepped forward to carefully examine the organs, quickly discovering names of their own clan members marked on them.
Already notified beforehand, the group exchanged glances and immediately, just as they had promised, stood firmly behind Uchiha Mirai without hesitation.
Seeing this, other clan leaders who had come with Sarutobi Hiruzen silently walked behind Uchiha Mirai as well.
Uchiha Mirai had anticipated this situation long ago.
Secret Art Clans, Bloodline Limit Clans... their abilities far exceeded those of ordinary ninja, making them both powerful and coveted.
During the Warring Clans era, there were even specialized ninja hunters targeting members of these clans.
Under such circumstances, these ninja clans had no choice but to make their position unmistakably clear.
That was, anyone who sought to steal their powers would be hunted relentlessly until the end of their days.
After all, compared to ordinary ninjas, those possessing Secret Arts or a Bloodline Limit were only a small minority.
Once others noticed their weakness, they would become prey—how many clans had vanished for precisely this reason?
This tradition had persisted until today without change; it was engraved deep within the bones of the Secret Art Clans and Bloodline Limit Clans, directly tied to their survival.
Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi's research into these matters had already crossed their innermost red lines.
As long as evidence emerged proving the two had conducted human experiments using the secrets of their clan members' abilities, there was no way those clans could possibly remain loyal to the Hokage's faction any longer.
Namikaze Minato had roughly grasped what had happened. He glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him, surprised, his eyes full of unfamiliarity.
The Hokage he had once admired—could he really do something like this?
The fellow villagers should be family worth dying to protect—how could they become test subjects in human experiments?!
Feeling everyone's gazes upon him, Hiruzen Sarutobi silently cursed Danzo Shimura through eighteen generations but could only grit his teeth and speak up: "I know nothing about this matter. As for these test materials...organs, I will personally investigate who placed them here in my lab complex."
"So you admit this is your lab complex?!"
At Mirai Uchiha's sharp question, cold sweat ran down Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead as he quickly changed the subject: "We can discuss the experiments later. Right now, we must hold you accountable for breaking into restricted grounds and killing fellow villagers!"
Hearing this, Mirai Uchiha shrugged slightly and replied calmly, "I killed them merely to gather evidence."
"They were conducting such inhumane experiments—getting killed was only natural."
"As Captain of the Police Squad, I have that authority."
"Rather, you're quick to punish me while bringing so many Anbu rushing over here armed and ready..."
Looking back at the gathered clan leaders from Konoha standing behind him, Mirai Uchiha spread his arms wide, refocusing on Hiruzen Sarutobi with a slight smile: "Lord Hokage, are you trying to stage a rebellion?"
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