Hyūga Hiashi was extremely dissatisfied with their doubts. Could the Hyūga clan possibly be faking this?
With a look of displeasure, he said, "If anyone doubts this, feel free to inspect the laboratory at Danzō's Root headquarters, provided you are led by my clansmen."
This incident had exceeded the scope of ordinary understanding; he had never imagined it could be this bad. It was truly shocking. Danzō had actually committed such a horrific act—those were over fifty fresh, living lives. Letting them see it with their own eyes should also clear him of any suspicion of fabricating evidence. If anyone still wanted to cause trouble after that, then they truly were just looking for a fight.
The clan head who had raised the doubt stiffened. He hadn't expected Hyūga Hiashi to speak so bluntly, even offering a tour of the evidence. After a moment's thought, he decided to let it drop. If they actually saw such a scene, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night. The other clan heads likewise had nothing more to say. Since the man was willing to let them verify it, how could it be fake?
Seeing that no one else had any objections, Ryōsuke motioned for the heads of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio and the Inuzuka clan head to present their evidence.
Shikaku felt helpless. He hadn't expected that he, once a loyal supporter of the Third Hokage, would now be the one testifying to the Third's crimes. His heart was filled with complex emotions. Before coming here, the three of them had discussed it and decided to report the truth. Lying would mean opposing the Uchiha clan. Given the current strength of the Uchiha, that was clearly an irrational move that would bring disaster to their families.
On the other hand, even if the Third Hokage faced judgment, their actions wouldn't be considered betrayal; they were simply telling the truth, which carried no guilt. Of course, the most important matter remained hidden: the issue regarding Senju Nawaki's biological samples. This matter absolutely could not be revealed. Otherwise, the village would be utterly disillusioned, and Konoha would lose face across the entire ninja world.
Shikaku also organized a stack of documents, stood up, and spoke. "Similar to the Hyūga clan, the four of our families went to another of Danzō's bases. We discovered a large amount of human experimentation equipment and data. The detailed documents are all here and will be distributed to each clan head for review shortly."
"Furthermore, if there are still those who do not believe, you are, of course, welcome to go and see for yourselves."
"Additionally, we found Shisui's body at the Root base. According to the examination by the Inuzuka clan head, there was only one fatal wound to the heart. It appears he died from a sneak attack, and the Third Hokage is under heavy suspicion."
"Moreover, Danzō's base was under the Third Hokage's control. Afterward, our four clans and the Uchiha clan briefly interrogated the Third Hokage, and he has already admitted to the surreptitious murder of Uchiha Shisui."
"Shisui's body has already been handed over to the Uchiha clan."
Fugaku immediately stood up and added, "Clan Head Shikaku is correct. Shisui's body has indeed been returned to us, and it has been properly preserved. I hope you will not seek to inspect it further; it would be disrespectful to the deceased."
The other clan heads felt no resentment upon hearing Fugaku's words. It didn't matter if they couldn't examine Shisui's body because many of them had already seen it. What they hadn't expected was that the Third Hokage really had murdered Uchiha Shisui. Though they had heard the rumors, they were now mentally prepared for the confirmation.
However, the mention of more human experimentation made their skin crawl. Did Danzō really have two large-scale human experiment labs within the village?
Soon, they began reviewing the materials Shikaku had distributed. When they saw the human experiments were related to the Senju clan members, they were horrified. They hadn't expected Danzō to be so ruthless as to target even the Senju. The records within were blood-curdling. No wonder the Senju clan had declined so rapidly, to the point where Tsunade had to disband them. This was likely the reason.
They sighed inwardly. If the Senju clan were still around, perhaps the Uchiha wouldn't be this dominant. After all, back then, the Uchiha were perfectly suppressed by the Senju. Yet, such a powerful clan had fallen at the hands of one of the village's Consultant Elders. And the backer of that elder was none other than the Third Hokage.
Fugaku was also somewhat speechless. The Uchiha clan truly respected the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama; after all, they were old rivals. In the ninja world, the only ones who could truly contend with the Uchiha were the Senju. He hadn't expected that their old rivals hadn't been defeated by the Uchiha, but rather by their own people. He didn't know how to feel about it. He wanted to laugh but couldn't. If the clan didn't have Uchiha Ryōsuke...
Would the Uchiha have also been controlled by the Third Hokage? Fortunately, the family had Ryōsuke as its pillar. He felt much more relaxed.
At this moment, Ryōsuke began his move, looking toward the two Consultant Elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. "May I ask if the two Consultant Elders were aware of this?"
The two elders were panicking internally and quickly shook their heads. "We knew about the experiments involving Senju clan members merging with Lord Hashirama's cells."
"The reason we allowed Senju members to merge with Lord Hashirama's cells was to recreate a Wood Style powerhouse to bolster Konoha's strength."
"You are all aware that after the Second Hokage died in battle, the Mist, Sand, and Stone Villages all had designs on the fertile lands of the Land of Fire. At that time, the village had no top-tier experts, and the situation was extremely critical. We didn't even dare to intervene when the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed. So, we had no choice but to do this. It was all for the sake of Konoha, and those Senju members participated voluntarily."
The people present all sighed. The situation back then had indeed been perilous. The village lacked top-tier masters, internal stability was shaken, and there were strong enemies outside. It was understandable that the high-level officials would take such risks.
Seeing the crowd's reaction, the two consultants were relieved, thinking they might escape blame. They continued, "As for Danzō conducting experiments on infants to merge them with Lord Hashirama's cells, we were truly unaware."
After speaking, they looked at Uchiha Ryōsuke. They knew perfectly well that the Uchiha clan was currently led by him. If this person accepted their answer, they could walk away unscathed today.
However, Ryōsuke asked, "Since you conducted experiments for Senju members to merge with Lord Hashirama's cells and sacrificed so many Senju lives, you must have achieved great results. How many successful cases were there?"
Mitokado Homura sighed. "There were no successes. Lord Hashirama's cells were too strong; merging with them was not that easy. Every Senju member who underwent the experiment died from the backlash of the cells."
Ryōsuke had naturally known this result long ago. "To think this was the outcome. After sacrificing so many people, this is all you have to show? You don't actually think a single phrase like 'for the sake of Konoha' will allow you to fool your way out of this, do you?"
"The Senju clan declined because of you so-called high-level officials. Do you admit your guilt?"
The expressions of everyone present changed drastically. They hadn't expected Ryōsuke to target the two consultants before even touching the Third Hokage. The two consultants were now terrified. Was he using the Senju incident to suppress them? They couldn't resist, and they knew which way the wind was blowing. There would be no place for them in the future high-level administration. Perhaps admitting guilt now was the only way to ensure their safety.
They looked at each other and said in unison, "We admit our guilt."
The other clan heads had nothing to say. Causing the deaths of so many Senju and directly leading to the clan's decline was a massive crime. Even if their intentions were "good," they had failed to produce results and had sacrificed their own kin. It was perfectly valid for the Uchiha to target them.
Ryōsuke said seriously, "Since you have both admitted your guilt, for a crime of this magnitude, we shall remove you from your positions as Consultant Elders. You should have no objections, right? Does anyone else have an objection?"
The former consultants immediately replied, "We have no objections." Though they lost their positions, they were still alive.
Seeing how cooperative they were, Ryōsuke didn't bother pursuing them further. "Good. As of today, your duties are terminated. The village will select new Consultant Elders later. Additionally, did the Third Hokage know about Danzō's experiments on infants with Lord Hashirama's cells?"
The two replied helplessly, "We aren't sure about that."
They truly didn't know. Even if a newborn could successfully merge with the cells, they couldn't be converted into immediate combat power. That was likely Danzō's own idea. Although they were old classmates, now that he was dead, they weren't going to let him drag them down.