Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze fell on Danzo Shimura's arm. The realization hit him like a slap.
That old fool had actually used the First Hokage's cells for his own twisted experiments. Even Hiruzen hadn't known the extent of it.
But before he could open his mouth—
"Hokage-sama, you've heard it yourself!" Uchiha Kazuto's voice cut in sharply. "Fugaku has confessed. This entire mess was Danzo Shimura's conspiracy! Now tell me, Hokage-Sama are you aware that Danzo desecrated the remains of the First Hokage, murdered members of our clan, and stole their eyes?"
Kazuto raised Danzo's grotesque arm, eyes glinting red under the light.
"I didn't know…" Hiruzen murmured, setting down his pipe with a long sigh. "I never expected Danzo to go this far behind my back."
That, of course, was only half true. He'd known bits and pieces. And if he'd really wanted to stop Danzo… he could have. But how could he admit that now?
Whether Kazuto's words were fact or fiction didn't even matter anymore. Danzo was dead, and the dead couldn't defend themselves.
Especially not with his arm lying here, covered in stolen Sharingan.
In Konoha, killing your own comrades was the ultimate taboo.
"Uchiha Kazuto," one of the village elders snapped, stepping forward. "Don't twist the truth. Fugaku's confession might not be real! What proof do you have that he and Danzo were working together? Danzo is dead, he can't refute you!"
Before Kazuto could even reply—
"Then why not let the Yamanaka clan read Fugaku's memories?" another elder suggested, stroking his beard.
"Shut up!" Kazuto barked, his voice sharp enough to slice through the air. "Fugaku may have betrayed the clan, but he was still our leader once. He holds our secrets. I won't allow outsiders to rummage through his memories like thieves!"
"Yes, I admire Hokage-sama deeply, but I'm still an Uchiha. I have a duty to protect my clan's dignity. You want evidence? Fine. Here it is."
He waved his hand, and a member of the Uchiha Guard stepped forward, placing several photographs on the Hokage's desk.
"This is the proof," Kazuto said firmly. "Shimura Danzo ambushed Uchiha Shisui, one of our clan's greatest prodigies to steal his eyes. The eyes of Kotoamatsukami, capable of bending a man's will. Danzo wanted to use them to control you, Hokage-sama."
Kazuto handed over the photos.
"Unfortunately," he continued with grave calm, "Shisui's eyes were destroyed during my battle with Danzo Shimura."
Destroyed?
Hiruzen stared at the photos in silence. He knew of Shisui's eyes, eyes that could rewrite a person's very thoughts. If Danzo had coveted them, that made perfect sense. It was just like him.
Danzo was always suspicious. Always scheming. Always staring at the Hokage's seat as if it were his birthright.
But… were those eyes truly destroyed?
Hiruzen frowned deeply, torn between reason and instinct. His gaze moved from Kazuto's calm, honest face to Fugaku's pale, remorseful one.
Slowly, doubt gave way to reluctant belief.
Yes. It made sense. If Danzo couldn't possess something, he'd rather destroy it. That was exactly who he was.
If Danzo had just behaved like a human being, perhaps this story would've sounded absurd. But knowing the man he'd been… it all fit too well.
The ambition, the experiments, the obsession with control; it was all Danzo.
He'd even tried to have Hiruzen assassinated once. He'd stolen Shisui's eyes. If anything, Kazuto's words sounded merciful compared to the truth.
Hiruzen finally let out a weary sigh. "Kazuto… you've done well."
Even as he spoke, unease stirred in his chest. Something felt off but could all this really be a lie? Could Kazuto have gone so far just to oust Fugaku from power? No, impossible.
The two senior advisors, who'd been loudly protesting a moment ago, now stood in heavy silence.
Their earlier objections had been more out of habit than belief. Deep down, they too knew what kind of man Danzo Shimura had been.
After a long pause, Hiruzen's gaze shifted to Fugaku. Once the proud leader of the Uchiha clan, now nothing more than a traitor in chains.
Still, considering his past status, and at Kazuto's insistence, it was decided that Fugaku would not be executed. Instead, he would be imprisoned within the Uchiha compound.
He was spared because of his cooperation… and because of Uchiha Itachi.
Otherwise, he would have been dead already.
In truth, Fugaku's biggest mistake wasn't treason, it was fatherhood. He had brought Itachi into the world, and through him, doomed his entire family.
If he'd known what the future held, perhaps he would have regretted not smashing that baby's head against the wall the day he was born.
"Hokage-sama," Kazuto said, raising Danzo's severed arm high. "Now that we have the proof, please entrust Danzo Shimura's crimes to the Uchiha Guard. We will cleanse Konoha of this darkness once and for all."
Hiruzen stared at him for a moment, his old eyes unreadable. Then he nodded slowly.
"…Alright. The Anbu and the Uchiha Guard will investigate together."
Kazuto bowed. "Understood."
He turned and left with his clan, heading straight toward the Root base.
When the door closed behind them, silence swallowed the Hokage's office.
What had happened today overturned everything Hiruzen thought he knew. It was too much to process all at once.
"Hiruzen," Koharu muttered cautiously, "what if this is all part of an Uchiha scheme?"
Hiruzen took a long drag of his pipe and exhaled smoke into the dim light. "No," he said softly. "I saw the Will of Fire in Uchiha Kazuto's eyes. This was the work of Danzo and Fugaku. Not the clan."
Moments later, an Anbu entered and placed a stack of documents before him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen flipped through them, and the name on the top page caught his eye…
Uchiha Kazuto.