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More than twenty members of the Uchiha Police Force had quietly formed a ring around Danzō. The radicals among the Uchiha glared at him in fury; even the moderates wore decidedly dark expressions.
By now Fugaku understood that, as Clan Head, it would be improper if he did not step forward.
He walked ahead slowly, and when he brushed past Uchiha Chizumi he paused, his lips moving slightly.
In a voice only Chizumi could hear he said, "Chizumi, leave this to me. I know what you intend to do, but I'm the head of the Uchiha clan—I have a more suitable way to handle it. Besides, the Hokage has arrived; he doesn't want to see the village tearing itself apart."
Fugaku feared that, in pursuit of "Absolute Justice," Chizumi might cause an even greater commotion.
He knew such words might irritate Chizumi, yet he also knew that in this hair‑trigger atmosphere, if Chizumi clashed with the Hokage he would be unable to rein in the clan's radicals.
Those radicals would unquestionably join Chizumi in fighting the Hokage—tearing Konoha and the Uchiha apart for good.
The tragedy "destined for the future" could play out ahead of schedule, and the Uchiha clan could not survive that kind of turmoil.
Fugaku wanted to change the future in his own way.
Thoughts racing, Fugaku stepped in front of Danzō and locked eyes with him, meeting the elder's sinister gaze.
"Danzō-sama," Fugaku said in a low voice, "give the Uchiha clan a reasonable explanation. We have served Konoha faithfully for years; we are not lambs to be slaughtered. Where did the Sharingan on your body come from?"
No sooner had he asked than another possibility occurred to him: would it not be easier simply to ask Chizumi?
That power that could see the evils of past and future left nowhere to hide a secret.
Even so, glancing at the devastation all around, Fugaku decided it was best not to drag Chizumi in any further.
"An explanation…?"
Danzō's cold gaze swept the circle. Surrounded though he was, he showed no fear; instead he let out a grim laugh. "I'm the one who deserves an explanation! What is this—are you trying to kill me and rebel against Konoha? Fugaku! Why are you pressing me like this?"
"Danzō!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice cut across the standoff. "You do owe the Uchiha an explanation—where did you get those Sharingan? And you owe me an explanation—why did you provoke an internal clash that caused such destruction in the village?"
Danzō froze, glaring at Hiruzen in disbelief. He could not imagine the Hokage siding with the Uchiha.
His fists clenched; his teeth all but cracked. Any "explanation" would be surrender to the "inherently evil" Uchiha—an intolerable humiliation that made him itch to kill someone.
"…Picked them up during the Third Great Ninja War," Danzō ground out word by word.
He was not entirely lying: apart from Shisui's Mangekyō, every eye had been stolen by Root agents he'd sent to dig them from fallen Uchiha on the battlefield.
Hiruzen glanced at the Uchiha shinobi whose anger was visibly spiking. He stepped up beside Fugaku, hands clasped behind his back, the older man's face black with rage.
"Danzō! Those who died on the battlefield—civilian shinobi or clan shinobi alike—are heroes of Konoha!"
"Are you desecrating the bodies of heroes?!" Hiruzen thundered. "They gave their lives for Konoha, and you use their corpses for your own gain!"
"I will not allow someone who committed such a crime to keep leading the Root. As of today, you are no longer Root's commander!"
His voice rang out loud and furious; everyone present heard it clearly.
Fugaku shot the Third Hokage with a surprised look. A senior Konoha elder was dismissed in three sentences, and in front of so many… Was this the Hokage's decisiveness?
Many Uchiha shinobi frowned; something still felt off, but none could articulate it.
"Monkey, what are you saying?!"—the most agitated person now was Danzō himself. His fury toward the Uchiha turned on Hiruzen in an instant.
"You would abolish my post?" His pupils quivered with a sense of betrayal; in front of everyone he called Hiruzen "Monkey."
"Monkey! You have no right! I've rendered great service to Konoha—I've shed blood for the village!"
Hiruzen's anger flared higher. "I am the Hokage! I have the authority to strip anyone of office."
He enunciated each word: "I am the Hokage!"
"Is the Hokage sparing a thought for us Kekkei Genkai clans?" a Hyūga jōnin muttered up front.
"The Hokage is killing three birds with one stone," Hyūga Hiashi answered, face unreadable.
"The Uchiha are furious—dismissing Danzō calms them. Second, since Danzō was stealing other villagers' kekkei genkai in secret, his removal reassures the rest of us bloodline clans."
"And finally…" Hiashi looked at a young Uchiha—the other main actor tonight. "The Hokage is trying to protect Danzō. If he doesn't, Uchiha Chizumi will fight Danzō to the death. Last time the Hokage intervened; this time they clashed again. He can't be sure he'll arrive on time next time. By dismissing Danzō and keeping him forever out of Chizumi's sight, he cuts the feud off at the root."
Hiashi's words left the Hyūga behind him thoughtful. Did this mean that, in the Hokage's eyes, Chizumi mattered more than Danzō?
"Hiashi‑sama, does that mean tonight's farce is… over?" one Hyūga asked.
"Mm." Hiashi nodded slightly, still expressionless. "By rights, it should be over."
—But… is Uchiha Chizumi someone who plays by the rules?
That last sentence went unsaid—until the answer arrived.
"Third Hokage, haven't we had enough?" Uchiha Chizumi's cold voice cut through Hiruzen and Danzō's quarrel.
Hiashi's face grew complicated; he sighed. "Truly unfathomable. He refuses to follow the Hokage's script. It seems we won't be going home so easily tonight."
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