Chapter 45: Third Hokage and Danzo were still unaware of the clan's annihilation at this time.
"Who is it? Who?"
Seeing his son's tragic state, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer maintain his usual gentleness and benevolence, spitting out those two words through gritted teeth.
His ferocious face, coupled with the bulging veins at his temples, sent shivers down the spines of the Anbu Ninja surrounding him.
At this moment, everyone present knew that the Third Hokage, renowned as the 'Most Powerful Hokage of All Time' and known as the 'Ninja Professor,' was enraged.
"I-I don't know. When we found them, they were already..." the Anbu Ninja beside him stammered.
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could reply, the Anbu squad led by Kakashi arrived from within the Uchiha Clan Territory.
"Hokage-sama, only Uchiha Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan is still alive, but he's under a powerful Genjutsu and in a deep coma. And..."
Kakashi's expression beneath his mask was particularly complex. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, "We also found Qianye's body. He seemed to have been struck by a powerful Genjutsu similar to Uchiha Sasuke's before he died, then someone pierced his chest, killing him instantly. His mask and sword are also missing. His body has already been collected."
Qianye was his good friend Yuhi's disciple.
He was Naruto's, his teacher's orphan, white moonlight.
He himself had also taught Ninjutsu to Qianye and had a very good impression of him.
No matter who it was, no one wanted to see Qianye die.
Especially Yuhi, no one knew better than Kakashi how much she cared for Qianye.
During the year Qianye had been in Anbu monitoring the Uchiha Clan.
She would inquire about Qianye almost every three days.
To this, he could only reassure her without revealing mission details.
It was hard to imagine what a heavy blow Yuhi would suffer if she learned of Qianye's death.
Upon hearing of Qianye's death, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a slight sense of relief in his heart.
But he was an old fox after all. Noticing the despondency in Kakashi's emotions, he could only suppress the grief and killing intent in his heart and feigned regret, saying, "Qianye died protecting his Konoha comrades, the Uchiha Clan members. He is a hero of Konoha. After we've dealt with the Uchiha Clan's remains, you can take people to bury him."
"As for Yuhi, since Qianye was her disciple, you can go and inform her."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Kakashi respectfully replied, deeply moved and filled with admiration for the Third Hokage's consideration for his subordinates.
After Kakashi left, the Third Hokage's gaze suddenly turned cold, and he said sternly, "Immediately begin counting the number of deceased in the Uchiha Clan and verify each one. Also, send the bodies of Shinnosuke and the others to the analysis department. I want to know who killed him."
He suspected that besides Itachi, there were other powerful individuals in the Uchiha Clan.
Otherwise, with his son's strength as an Elite Jonin, coupled with four capable assistants, it would be impossible for him to die so miserably.
And it was very likely the mysterious person who had severed Danzo's left arm and taken Shisui's right eye previously.
After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi led the surrounding Anbu and quickly entered the Uchiha Clan Territory.
This time, in addition to finding the murderer of his son and clan members, he also needed to find a scapegoat for the Uchiha Clan's annihilation.
Although most of the blame could be placed on Uchiha Itachi.
The old foxes in the various Konoha clans were not so easily fooled.
They were as clear as day about the issues between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha high-ranking officials.
If not handled well, everyone would feel insecure, turning Konoha into a disorganized mess.
At that time, his position as Hokage would not be stable.
This was absolutely not what Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to see.
So, a scapegoat was needed.
This scapegoat was none other than his good friend, Danzo Shimura.
Doing so had two benefits.
On one hand, it would appease the dissatisfaction of the various Konoha clans.
On the other hand, Root had become too powerful, even reaching a point where they no longer respected him, the 'Most Powerful Hokage of All Time.'
They only had Danzo-sama in their hearts, not the Third Hokage.
This was a perfect opportunity to weaken Root's power.
This was also why he agreed to Danzo going to the Konoha Military Police Force Headquarters.
As for Danzo's little secret actions.
Recovering Sharingan, of course.
He was perfectly clear about it.
It was just a certain compensation for Danzo.
Poor Danzo, losing the watermelon and picking up sesame seeds, was secretly pleased about annihilating the Uchiha Clan, unaware that he was always within Hiruzen Sarutobi's calculations.
Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself wasn't much better off.
Not only did he lose his eldest son and daughter-in-law, but almost his entire clan was also massacred by Qianye.
In the shadows, Qianye watched everything unfold.
Feigning death—that was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
His goal was to create the illusion for Konoha's high-ranking officials that someone had impersonated him to annihilate the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan.
There was nothing he could do; he couldn't just leave like Orochimaru, leaving behind his disciple Anko Mitarashi and simply walking away.
Yuhi was still in Konoha.
This was also a form of indirect protection for Yuhi.
Afterward, regardless of whether Hiruzen Sarutobi knew if he had killed the Sarutobi Clan members, he was already dead anyway, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would just have to swallow his bitterness.
When he returned to Konoha again, it would be time for the Konoha Crush Plan.
"It's time to see Yuhi."
Considering that Root Ninja had not seen Mirror Flower Water Moon's release, Qianye deliberated repeatedly and, under the cover of Mirror Flower Water Moon, collected the three crows that had taken his place, as well as Uchiha Izumi and Mikoto's deaths.
Then, he conveniently stole the bodies of Fugaku and several other Uchiha Clan members with Three-Tomoe Sharingan nearby to serve as a smokescreen.
Finally, he silently left the Uchiha Clan Territory.
At the same time.
Konoha Military Police Force Headquarters.
"Quick, everyone be careful! Don't damage my Sharingan!" Danzo commanded the Root Ninja to recover the Sharingan, enduring pain while feeling joyful.
Just then, a Root Ninja reported, "Danzo-sama, the death toll has been counted. All members of the Konoha Military Police Force, except Uchiha Fugaku who was in the Uchiha Clan Territory, have been killed. I have sent the death list to the Third Hokage as per your request, but..."
He hesitated before continuing, "Most of them had their eyes gouged out. There aren't many Three-Tomoe Sharingan left either."
"That damned scoundrel," Danzo frowned and cursed under his breath.
He knew about this matter.
Because this was a deal he made with Obito; Obito was responsible for helping him annihilate the Konoha Military Police Force, and in return, Obito would take half of the Sharingan.
But from his subordinate's words, it was clear that Obito had taken more than half of the Sharingan.
"Danzo-sama, what should we do?" the Root Ninja asked.
"You few stay here and continue recovering the Sharingan. The rest of you, follow me to the Uchiha Clan Territory," Danzo said sternly.
P.S.: First update