Chapter 91: The Gathering of Clans
"Danzo secretly conducted human experiments. Beneath this ruined lab are the buried bodies of Konoha shinobi."
Sasuke hadn't expected things to escalate like this. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Just remove the rocks—there will definitely be remains."
There were ANBU on site who specialized in Earth Release.
All it would take was a single jutsu to lift the buried lab and reveal the truth.
But without a direct order from Hiruzen Sarutobi, none of the ANBU moved a muscle.
Danzo, hearing Sasuke's naive plea, showed a trace of mockery in his eyes.
As expected, after a brief pause, Hiruzen said, "I arrived in a hurry. There are no Earth Release specialists among the ANBU. I'll send someone to investigate later."
Aren't you the one known as the master of all five chakra natures?
Kakashi thought silently, holding back the furious Sasuke, saying nothing.
He had sensed the subtle shift in atmosphere.
The Hokage seemed… conflicted.
Danzo remained expressionless. "Since there's no evidence, it means Sasuke Uchiha killed Root operatives and slandered a Hokage advisor. How should this be punished?"
Killing a fellow villager was a grave crime—grounds for being labeled a rogue ninja.
Danzo clearly wanted to get rid of Sasuke for good.
"The identities of the five corpses are unconfirmed. That's also no evidence,"
Hiruzen frowned.
He refused to be manipulated by Danzo.
Out of respect for Itachi Uchiha's sacrifices, he didn't want to kill Sasuke.
His fingers, hidden beneath his ceremonial robe, made a slight movement.
An ANBU understood immediately and stepped forward. "We've discovered new traces. One of the corpses, though partially burned, had a broken shuriken embedded in it. Its design doesn't match Konoha's—it's likely foreign."
"A foreign-made shuriken?"
Hiruzen's expression shifted as he reasoned aloud, "With the Chunin Exams underway, foreign ninja are everywhere. Some may have attempted to spy on Konoha. Tell the guards to increase security and ensure this doesn't happen again."
A feeble explanation.
For one thing, all the foreign ninja were housed in the designated guest facilities, under constant ANBU surveillance.
That broken blade wasn't even a shuriken—it was clearly a ninja sword fragment. And yet they called it a foreign shuriken?
As the top graduate of the Academy and an elite jonin, Kakashi said nothing.
Because this was the Hokage's stance—
He wanted to bury the incident.
Just then,
The ANBU sensed a sudden spike in chakra approaching from beyond the Forest of Death.
Hiruzen furrowed his brow. The signatures were familiar. "It's fine. They're Konoha shinobi. Probably heard the commotion and came to investigate."
Within half a minute,
Groups of ninja arrived in succession—the burly Akimichi clan, the Hyuga led by Hiashi, and nearly every notable clan in Konoha.
So many arrived that they filled the surrounding clearing.
"What's going on here?"
Hiruzen found it strange. Even if they had noticed activity in the forest, this many people showing up was unusual.
He could smell the scent of conspiracy.
Dressed in a loose outfit suited for Gentle Fist, Hiashi bowed respectfully. "Lord Hokage, our clan received word of a possible attack from Iwagakure, so we rushed over."
But his Byakugan flared, and after scanning the scene, his expression became strange.
From the looks of it, this wasn't an Iwa attack—
More like the Hokage's advisor had been in a brutal fight.
Danzo turned slightly, casting a cold glance his way.
A silent warning.
Hiashi quickly lowered his head and deactivated his Byakugan.
But in that brief moment, he had sensed something familiar yet strange coming from Danzo's right eye.
The Sharingan.
The Uchiha had been wiped out. Their bloodline limit was thought lost, with only the rogue Itachi and the lone survivor Sasuke remaining.
Even before the massacre, no one had heard of the Shimura clan possessing Uchiha blood.
Cold sweat ran down Hiashi's temple.
The battle must have loosened the seals on Danzo's arm, allowing a trace of chakra to leak—something the Byakugan detected.
Hiashi felt a chill down his spine.
The Uchiha massacre had always been suspicious. The clans whispered, but there had never been hard evidence.
But now…
A Hokage advisor possessing a Sharingan?
This pointed to the most dangerous possibility.
Nearby, Choza Akimichi glanced at the sweating Hiashi. "You alright?"
Hiashi shook his head, glancing at Danzo, who had already looked away. He exhaled in relief. "I'm fine. The Byakugan drains a lot of chakra."
Choza frowned.
Your Byakugan isn't a Mangekyo. And you just activated it moments ago. How can it be that draining?
At the edge of the crowd,
Neji quietly opened his inventory.
The ANBU disguise he had used earlier rested inside.
He smirked slightly.
Truthfully, with the Byakugan, few things in the village could be hidden from him.
After killing a Hyuga elder, he began planning his escape. The Forest of Death had always been one of his routes.
But during his surveillance, he discovered Root guards—then stumbled across a secret human experimentation lab.
When he saw Sasuke heading into the forest and black flames erupting shortly after, he correctly guessed a confrontation between Sasuke and Root.
Neji then devised this operation—
He disguised himself as ANBU and spread false reports of an enemy ninja attack, luring all the major clans to the Forest of Death.
Only by muddying the waters could he move safely.
And perhaps… extract some revenge on the way out.
"Who did this?"
Hiruzen's face was grim.
The enemy ninja attack had clearly been a ruse. And yet, it had given him and Danzo a convenient excuse.
How did these clans get wind of it so quickly?
"Lord Hokage! Danzo Shimura conducted human experimentation on Konoha shinobi! I discovered his secret and he tried to silence me! Please, save me!"
Sasuke suddenly stood and shouted boldly.
Playing along.
He didn't know why the clans had suddenly appeared—but he knew this was his golden opportunity.
He hated Konoha now, after learning the truth. But he also knew yelling about revenge for the Uchiha would brand him a rogue and land him in a cell.
Better to take Danzo down first.
"Silence!"
Danzo's composure finally cracked. He barked, "Nonsense! As Hokage advisor, I would never harm Konoha shinobi!"
But his eyes darted nervously across the crowd.
All the prominent clan leaders and elite ninja were present. If the secret of his human experiments was exposed—
The consequences would be severe.
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