Chapter 93: Beheaded in front of three generations!
Danzo was already incoherent.
"Hiruzen… Hiruzen will come to save me…"
"If you kill me, you won't escape either… The Third Hokage will never let you go…"
It was laughable; at this point, Danzo placed his sole hope in the old friend he had schemed against his entire life, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Akira did not act immediately. Akira looked towards the distant forest.
"That's right." Akira said softly.
"He's coming."
An aura belonging to the Third Hokage was rapidly approaching. At most, there was 1 minute left.
"Your last life needs a witness of sufficient weight."
"Otherwise, wouldn't it be too lonely? Your old friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi, has personally come to see you off."
"You should feel honored."
These words completely shattered Danzo's last shred of mental defense. Danzo finally understood that the other party not only wanted to kill him but also wanted to kill him in front of the Third Hokage.
"No—!"
Danzo used his last ounce of strength to try and distance himself from Akira. However, Akira's Mangekyō activated again.
A vast spiritual power instantly enveloped Danzo. Danzo's body immediately knelt on the ground, his limbs becoming immobile. His mouth could not make any sound either.
But Danzo's mind was still active; his eyes stared intently in the direction from which Hiruzen Sarutobi was rushing.
Time passed, second by second. Finally, moving figures appeared. An old yet powerful roar echoed through the night sky.
"Stop!"
Hiruzen's figure shot out from the forest like a cannonball. Following him were Anbu, many Konoha Jōnin, and the clan heads of various great families.
When they clearly saw the scene above the ruins, everyone's heart skipped a beat. Nearly a hundred Uchiha, with their Sharingan activated. The ground was covered with the tattered corpses of Root ninja.
What shocked everyone the most was seeing Danzo Shimura, the Darkness of the Ninja World, kneeling on the ground.
Hiruzen's heart sank to rock bottom.
"Uchiha Akira! I, the Hokage, command you to stop at once!"
He roared, attempting to use the Hokage's authority to prevent the imminent scene.
However, Akira ignored Hiruzen's roar.
In Danzo's eyes, Hiruzen's rapidly approaching figure was reflected. The spark of hope had just ignited.
Akira slowly raised his hand. At some point, a sword had appeared in his hand. This was the Uchiha Clan Head's personal sword.
"No—!"
Thud.
A slight sound, like a sharp blade cutting through flesh, clearly reached everyone's ears.
Hiruzen's steps abruptly halted. He stood there, stunned, looking at the unbelievable scene before him.
A head, with an expression of disbelief, flew into the air. It traced a parabolic arc in the sky. Finally, it rolled, gurgling, to Hiruzen's feet. Those eyes, still wide open in death, stared straight at him.
Hiruzen's body trembled violently. His mind was blank.
He was dead. Danzo, just like that, died in front of him. Decapitated with one stroke.
Danzo Shimura, who he had known for over half a century, had completely vanished from this world.
Raging fury, like a volcanic eruption, burst from Hiruzen's chest.
"Uchiha Akira!"
Those eyes, usually known for their wisdom, were now bloodshot.
"I! Told you to stop!"
"Didn't you hear me?!"
Hiruzen's voice vibrated the surrounding air.
Akira slowly sheathed his long sword. Then, he turned his head to look at the frenzied Third Hokage.
A slightly apologetic expression appeared on Akira's face.
"Ah." He said nonchalantly.
"My apologies, Hokage-sama."
"My hand slipped just now."
"Perhaps I dislike this fellow too much; I lost control of my strength for a moment. And just, cut him down."
Hand slipped? Lost control?
Everyone who heard these words, whether Uchiha clansmen or Konoha ninja, was stunned. They wondered if there was something wrong with their ears.
In front of the Third Hokage! He killed his lifelong best friend, Danzo Shimura. Then, he nonchalantly said, "My hand slipped?"
This was no longer just provocation. This was trampling the Hokage's dignity underfoot, repeatedly crushing it in front of the entire Konoha high command!
"You… you…"
Hiruzen was trembling with rage, pointing at Akira, stuttering for a long time, unable to utter a single coherent sentence. His old face turned a purplish-red.
Shikaku Nara, standing behind Hiruzen, frowned deeply. He glanced at Akira, who had an innocent expression, then looked at Danzo, who lay dead with wide-open eyes on the ground.
Trouble. This was immense trouble. The Uchiha had changed. Or rather, this new clan head named Uchiha Akira had completely changed the Uchiha.
"Rebellion!"
Finally, an Anbu squad leader wearing a monkey mask could no longer contain his shock and anger, and he shouted sharply.
"Uchiha Akira! You led a raid on Root, slaughtered fellow village ninja, and even murdered a Konoha Elder in front of Hokage-sama!"
"Are you Uchiha planning open rebellion?!"
The atmosphere instantly became tense. An internal conflict, capable of shaking Konoha's foundations, seemed imminent.
All the ninja clans present—Ino–Shika–Chō, Hyūga—held their breath, staring intently at the black-clad young man standing at the center of the storm, waiting for his answer.
Facing this accusation of rebellion, Akira merely scoffed.
"Rebellion?"
"Hokage-sama, and everyone else."
"I think, perhaps you've misunderstood something."
Akira looked around, his gaze cold.
"We didn't attack Root."
"Instead, Danzo attacked us Uchiha first."
"We were merely forced to retaliate."
"That's all."
Forced to retaliate? That's all?
Hiruzen's rage was almost enough to burn away his sanity.
"Forced to retaliate?"
"By slaughtering the entire Root?"
"By murdering a Konoha Elder in front of me?!"
Hiruzen's voice trembled.
Facing the Third Hokage's interrogation, Akira's expression showed no change whatsoever. He even took two steps forward, walking to Danzo's head, which lay dead with wide-open eyes.
Then, he extended his foot and gently kicked the head aside, as if it were some filthy garbage.
This action made Hiruzen's eye twitch violently.
"Hokage-sama, do you truly believe that it was I, Uchiha, who actively provoked this incident?"
Akira raised his eyes, meeting Hiruzen's gaze calmly.