Chapter 99: The Meeting of the Clans
"Danzo secretly conducted human experiments. Beneath this destroyed lab are the bodies of Konoha shinobi."
Sasuke hadn't expected such an escalation. Gritting his teeth, he said, "All it takes is to lift the rocks, and there will definitely be remnants of evidence."
There were ANBU present who specialized in Earth Release,
all it would take was a jutsu to uncover the buried lab, and the truth would be exposed.
But without Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders, none of the ANBU moved.
Danzo, hearing Sasuke's naive statement, couldn't help but show a trace of mockery in his eyes.
As expected, after a brief hesitation, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "I arrived in haste, and none of the ANBU are skilled in Earth Release. I will send someone later to investigate this."
Aren't you the master of all five chakra natures?
Kakashi thought quietly, holding back a furious Sasuke without speaking.
He had already sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere.
It seemed the Hokage had something he couldn't openly say.
Danzo remained expressionless and spoke, "Since there is no evidence, it means that Sasuke Uchiha killed Root shinobi and slandered the Hokage's advisor. How should we punish him?"
Killing a fellow shinobi was a grave crime, one that would directly label him a rogue ninja.
This was Danzo's way of wanting to eliminate Sasuke once and for all.
"The five bodies remain unidentifiable, and there is no evidence either."
Hiruzen frowned deeply.
He didn't want to be manipulated by Danzo. Out of respect for Uchiha Itachi's sacrifices, he didn't want to kill Sasuke.
His fingers twitched slightly beneath his ceremonial robes.
An ANBU agent stepped forward and spoke, "We've discovered new traces. On one of the bodies that wasn't completely destroyed, we found a broken shuriken. It's not a design from Konoha, it must be from a foreign ninja."
"A foreign shuriken?"
Hiruzen's expression shifted to one of realization as he deduced, "During the Chunin Exams, there are many foreign ninja. It's possible some might try to spy on Konoha. We'll increase security and prevent this from happening again."
Such a weak explanation.
Not to mention, the foreign ninja were housed in the guest quarters of Konoha and constantly monitored by the ANBU.
The blade was clearly a broken ninja sword, yet they were calling it a foreign shuriken?
As an elite jonin, Kakashi, the top graduate from the Konoha Ninja Academy, stayed silent.
Because this revealed the Hokage's stance:
He wanted to suppress this matter.
Just then,
the ANBU suddenly sensed a large chakra presence approaching at high speed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi furrowed his brows, sensing the familiar chakra. "It's fine. It's just Konoha's ninja. They must have heard the disturbance from the Forest of Death and come to investigate."
Half a minute later,
several groups of shinobi arrived, including the towering Akimichi clan and the Hyuga clan led by Hiashi.
Nearly all of Konoha's notable clans had arrived.
The numbers were so large that the surrounding area was nearly filled.
"What's going on?"
Hiruzen felt something was off. Even if they'd noticed the situation in the Forest of Death, there shouldn't be this many people showing up.
He could smell the scent of conspiracy.
Wearing loose robes suitable for the Gentle Fist style, Hiashi bowed respectfully. "Lord Hokage, our clan received news of a possible attack from Iwagakure, so we hurried over."
His Byakugan flared, and after scanning the scene, his expression became peculiar.
Looking at the state of things, it didn't seem like an Iwa attack—
It looked more like Danzo, the Hokage's advisor, had been in a fierce battle.
Danzo slightly turned his head, his cold gaze landing on Hiashi.
A silent warning.
Hiashi quickly lowered his head, deactivating his Byakugan.
But just for a moment, he had sensed a strange yet familiar chakra emanating from Danzo's right eye.
The Sharingan.
The Uchiha clan had been wiped out. Their bloodline limit had been thought lost, with only the rogue Itachi and the lone survivor Sasuke remaining.
Even if the Uchiha had not been exterminated, there was no known record of the Shimura clan having Uchiha blood.
Cold sweat dripped down Hiashi's temple.
The battle had likely loosened the seals, allowing the chakra of the Sharingan to leak, just enough for his Byakugan to catch a trace.
Hiashi's back chilled.
The Uchiha massacre had always seemed suspicious. The clans whispered, but no one had concrete proof.
The Hokage's advisor with a Sharingan—
This shifted everything toward the most dangerous conclusion.
Nearby, Choza Akimichi noticed Hiashi's sweating face and asked, "Hiashi, are you feeling unwell?"
Hiashi shook his head, glancing at Danzo, who had turned his attention elsewhere. He sighed in relief and quietly said, "I'm fine. The Byakugan just takes a lot of chakra."
Choza looked even more confused.
Your Byakugan isn't a Mangekyo, and didn't you just activate it before entering the Forest of Death? How could it drain you so much?
At the edge of the crowd,
Neji quietly opened his inventory.
The ANBU disguise he had used earlier was still safely stored.
He smirked slightly.
With the Byakugan's advantage, it was difficult for any secrets in Konoha to remain hidden.
After he had killed a Hyuga elder, he began planning his escape. The Forest of Death had been one of his routes.
But during his surveillance, he discovered Root guards and, further, stumbled upon a secret human experimentation lab.
When he saw Sasuke heading into the forest and the black flames erupting shortly after, he knew a confrontation had happened between Sasuke and Root.
Neji planned this operation—
He disguised himself as ANBU and spread false reports of an enemy attack, drawing all the major clans to the scene.
Only by muddying the waters could he move safely.
Perhaps he could even take some revenge on the way out.
"Who did this?"
Hiruzen's face darkened.
The claim of an enemy attack had clearly been a ruse to give him and Danzo an excuse. But how did the clans get this information so quickly?
"Lord Hokage, Danzo Shimura conducted human experiments on Konoha shinobi! I accidentally discovered his secret and he tried to kill me! Please, save me!"
Sasuke suddenly stood and shouted loudly.
Playing along.
He wasn't sure why the clans had suddenly shown up, but he wasn't going to waste this opportunity.
He knew the truth now. He hated the village, but directly announcing he was out for revenge for the Uchiha would make him a rogue and imprison him.
Better to bring down Danzo first.
"Silence!"
Danzo's composure finally cracked. He barked, "Nonsense! I am a Hokage advisor—how could I possibly harm Konoha shinobi?!"
His eyes swept the crowd.
Every prominent clan leader and elite shinobi was present.
If the secret of the experiments was exposed—
The consequences would be dire.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Frank10