Behind him, the rest of the Uchiha filed in, each one bearing injuries.
Everyone in the meeting room turned their gaze toward the last Uchiha to enter—he was dragging in a disheveled figure.
When that person looked up, the entire room gasped.
It was none other than Shimura Danzo, who hadn't shown up for the meeting.
Now, the once-dignified Danzo had completely lost his composure.
His clothes were torn to shreds, and one of his arms had been severed at the root.
Even though the wound had been roughly treated, blood continued to seep out.
His eyes were lifeless—one glance was enough to know he was under a genjutsu.
Uchiha Ang stepped up beside Mito Uzumaki and declared loudly:
"Lady Mito, the mission is complete. The children are safe, and the culprit has been captured."
Mito let out a breath of relief upon hearing the children were unharmed.
But when she saw how injured the Uchiha were, she asked worriedly:
"Did you suffer any losses?"
Uchiha Ang and the others fell silent for a moment, before Ang finally spoke:
"Our clan leader was gravely injured while fighting Danzo to protect the children."
"Although his wounds aren't fatal, he'll likely never be a shinobi again."
"We also faced fierce resistance from Root, and a few of our clan members fell in battle."
"But thankfully, the children were only frightened. They're otherwise fine."
Mito's expression grew heavy.
Whether they were from Root or the Uchiha, in her eyes, no one should have had to die in such internal conflict.
But grief quickly turned into rage.
Rage that Danzo, a senior figure of the village, would dare lay a hand on innocent children.
Rage that even after undeniable evidence, he'd still resisted and tried to drag others down with him.
Rage that Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, had sheltered a criminal.
And finally, rage at herself—for failing to see Hiruzen's true nature, and enabling this disaster by supporting him as Hokage.
As the current Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails and the strongest person in the village, Mito's aura surged.
Though she wasn't as overwhelming as Hashirama Senju, she was still terrifying in her own right.
Chakra burst forth with her unstable emotions, wrapping around her like a tangible force.
Everyone present felt like disaster was about to strike. Their bodies tensed instinctively under the pressure.
Uchiha Hikaru, however, remained unaffected. His chakra wasn't as vast as Mito's—but it wasn't far off.
He walked up to her side and tugged at her sleeve.
With that small gesture, Mito snapped back to herself. Her torrent of chakra slowly receded.
If not for the hairline cracks beneath her feet, it would've seemed like nothing had happened at all.
The others in the room stared at Mito with lingering fear.
Being able to contain the Nine-Tails meant Mito already had a massive chakra reserve.
And a shinobi with that much chakra... was never weak.
They had always known she was powerful—but they never imagined this powerful.
Just her anger had left them breathless.
Mito had now composed herself.
She was going to settle this matter once and for all.
Just like Hashirama, she would show no mercy to those who threatened the village—no matter who they were.
She stepped up to Danzo, staring into his vacant eyes with a thoughtful expression.
"He's under genjutsu, isn't he?" she asked.
Uchiha Ang, still stunned by her display of power, quickly replied:
"Yes. But Danzo's not weak. Our genjutsu only managed to stop him from resisting."
"Getting him to confess everything... we're not capable of that."
Mito nodded in acknowledgment.
Then, without even forming hand seals, a flurry of seals erupted around Danzo's body.
The next moment, they vanished.
Having completed this, Mito turned to the stunned Uchiha Ang.
"I've sealed his chakra. Can you do it now?"
Ang blinked, dazed, then gave a stiff nod. A second later, realization hit him.
Sealing a high-level shinobi's chakra in the blink of an eye?
It wasn't just terrifying—it made him instinctively draw breath.
'Whatever happens, I'm never pissing this woman off.'
With that thought, he activated his Sharingan and locked eyes with Danzo.
After confirming the hypnosis had taken full effect, he gave Mito a signal: it was time.
Mito looked at Tobirama's former disciple and, after a moment of silence, asked:
"Did you lay hands on the children of the village? And why?"
Though Danzo was under genjutsu, he still possessed a powerful will.
When faced with a question that could decide life or death, his expression twisted with resistance.
Mito didn't rush.
A shinobi whose chakra was sealed couldn't withstand the power of the Sharingan for long.
As expected, it wasn't long before Danzo's face relaxed into eerie calm.
Then he spoke.
"Yes. Those orphans could be used. Serving Konoha was their honor."
His words dropped like a thunderclap in the room.
"You bastard! Even a thousand deaths wouldn't be enough!"
"We joined Konoha so our families and kids wouldn't live like they did in the Warring States—what the hell are you doing?!"
"Execute him!"
"Yes! Execute him!!"
The once-chaotic uproar unified in a single cry for execution.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had already collapsed into his chair when Danzo was brought in.
He knew... he was done for.
And now, hearing the chants fill the room, he couldn't help but imagine his own fate.
In the midst of the cheers—Danzo's head fell.
But Mito, instead of being swayed by the voices, remained coldly calm.
She slammed her hand on the table with a thunderous thud.
"Silence. We're not done yet!"
The crowd fell silent at once.
Seeing that order was restored, Mito continued questioning Danzo.
"How did you avoid being discovered? And how did you know your plan had failed?"
Perhaps realizing he was doomed either way, Danzo didn't resist this time.
"I only targeted orphans with no families, or clans without the qualifications to join the Jōnin Council."
"Hiruzen gave me the Hokage's authorization scroll. These people didn't dare disobey."
"In the end, it was Hiruzen who warned me—the plan had failed."
This time, unlike the earlier outburst, the room fell deathly quiet.
They had suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi might be involved...
But they didn't expect this level of collusion.
For a moment, the Jōnin in the room were left frozen in doubt.