Uchiha Akainu's voice wasn't loud, but everyone gathered could hear him clearly.
"Besides Uchiha Shisui... was Hatake Sakumo also indirectly killed by Danzo?"
An older Leaf Jonin, who had worked with Sakumo Hatake, paused. He only knew that Sakumo had suffered a lot of verbal abuse years ago due to certain events. He had no idea that someone had actually been manipulating the negative public opinion against Hatake Sakumo behind the scenes!
Wait! Could the wave of negative public opinion also be related to Danzo?
At this moment, some Anbu ninja couldn't help but look towards Kakashi Hatake—because Kakashi, an Anbu squad leader, was Sakumo Hatake's son!
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze darkened. After giving Danzo a cold, hard glare, he turned his head to look at Kakashi, who was to his right and slightly behind him. Hiruzen noticed that Kakashi, usually so listless, had clenched his fists tightly at some point.
"Kakashi!" Hiruzen suddenly warned. The situation was already chaotic enough; if Kakashi couldn't control his anger and did something rash, it would only make things worse.
"...Hokage-sama, I'm perfectly calm," Kakashi replied after half a second of silence. No one could see the expression beneath his Anbu mask.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly. Even he could hear the emotional tremor in Kakashi's voice. How could he possibly be calm?
Uchiha Akainu publicly exposing Danzo's past deeds was something Hiruzen hadn't anticipated either. Couldn't Akainu consider the village's balance? Putting Danzo on the hot seat like this... it was going to be impossible to control!
"Years ago, to research the First Hokage's Wood Release cells, you and Orochimaru conducted extreme experiments, leading to the deaths of numerous volunteers. After the research was called off, you still colluded with Orochimaru to secretly abduct infants for experimentation, directly or indirectly causing the deaths of sixty-seven innocent babies."
Uchiha Akainu spoke slowly, as if reading from an invisible script, seeing through all the evil deeds. "How do you explain this?"
"And also..."
"Enough!!!" Danzo glared, cutting him off angrily. "This is just one-sided nonsense from you, you evil brat! Uchiha Akainu! What evidence do you have that you can truly see past and future evil? What proof do you have that what you're saying is true?"
His interruption was abrupt, and it showed a hint of panic. Danzo could feel eyes filled with hostility, anger, or suspicion all focusing on him. That chilling sensation of being on the verge of facing the entire world made his hairs stand on end.
He then challenged everyone around him: "Are you going to believe this brat's one-sided story? Don't you doubt for a second whether what he's saying is true or false? I've dedicated most of my life to the Hidden Leaf, and you won't believe me, but you'll believe him?"
"Akainu-senpai never lies!!!" A sudden voice made Danzo's eyelid twitch. He realized it was another Uchiha brat speaking!
Izumi, who couldn't listen anymore, bit her silver teeth and bravely stepped forward. She confronted Danzo Shimura, a high-ranking Leaf official: "Akainu-senpai has never misjudged anyone's evil deeds. You can't just casually slander Senpai with a few words!"
Danzo's rage intensified. He could grit his teeth and barely endure disrespectful words from Hiruzen Sarutobi or Uchiha Akainu. But what right did this Uchiha brat, who looked like she hadn't even fully matured, have to confront him?
"Fugaku, control your clan members!" Danzo felt that even bothering to respond to Izumi was a lowering of his own status. Uchiha brats were truly disrespectful!
"Danzo, what you need to control... is yourself!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's cold tone greatly infuriated Danzo.
"Monkey, you..."
Before Danzo could finish his sentence, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a stern face, turned to Uchiha Akainu and asked, "Akainu, can you confirm what you're saying is true? Are Shisui and Sakumo's deaths both related to Danzo?"
"Third Hokage, are you deliberately interrupting me?" Uchiha Akainu didn't answer directly, but countered, "You're interrupting me before I can reveal more of Danzo Shimura's past evil deeds, so you can do your best as the Hokage to keep protecting him, right?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi flinched, his eye twitching involuntarily.
"You misunderstand me," Hiruzen thought. He just wanted this conflict to end as smoothly as possible. Not to continue down this path of completely severing ties. But who would have thought Akainu wouldn't cooperate with him at all? Most importantly... while Danzo certainly kept many things from him, there were some things Hiruzen Sarutobi was aware of and had silently condoned Danzo doing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage who stood in the sunlight, while Danzo Shimura was the Root of the Leaf, standing in the shadows. They complemented each other, which was why the Hidden Leaf was so powerful today. If some of Danzo's actions implicated him... a barely perceptible shadow flickered in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
Uchiha Akainu glanced at him, clearly seeing the faint dissatisfaction on the Third Hokage's face, but he didn't care. His voice remained icy as he continued, "Three years ago..."
One by one, more of Danzo's evil deeds were detailed from Uchiha Akainu's mouth. It sent chills down the spines of the Konoha ninja listening. It made Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grow increasingly helpless. And it made Danzo feel like his mind was about to explode—no matter how stubbornly he insisted Uchiha Akainu was lying, in his heart, he had to admit that what this evil Uchiha brat was saying was all true! Some past events Danzo himself had almost forgotten, but Uchiha Akainu could articulate them clearly, bringing back long-buried memories.
Danzo felt that many Konoha ninja were looking at him as if he were nothing more than human "scum" from a sewer! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! How could this be!!!
"So, Third Hokage..." Uchiha Akainu suddenly stopped recounting Danzo's past transgressions. He faced Hiruzen Sarutobi, his expression unmoving, his voice hollow as he asked, "As the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, how will you deal with Danzo Shimura?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face was grim, and he remained silent.
"Third Hokage, if Danzo doesn't die, justice won't prevail. Will you, 'Hokage-sama,' protect this villain who deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces?"
"Or are you saying that 'justice,' in your eyes, is merely a tool to maintain politics? Something you pick up when it's convenient and discard when it's not?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's breathing involuntarily quickened. He understood. Uchiha Akainu was superficially putting Danzo on the hot seat, but he was actually targeting him, the Third Hokage! He was putting Hiruzen Sarutobi on the hot seat!
Hiruzen Sarutobi could already feel many eyes, previously focused on Danzo, now concentrating on him. He, as the Hokage, had to give an answer!
"...Monkey!" Danzo's furious gaze also fell upon Hiruzen Sarutobi.