The moment the image on the black-framed screen appeared, the Konoha F4 all felt the same chill crawl down their spines.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
If the next scene was going to be shown in full detail, then this would not merely be embarrassment. It would be a public execution. Not of their bodies, but of every ugly secret they had buried beneath Konoha's bright surface.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead immediately broke out in thick beads of sweat. Orochimaru, meanwhile, looked delighted, as though he had just been handed the finest gift imaginable.
In the underground chambers of Root, Danzo's face shifted between light and shadow. The words he had spoken earlier came back to him, and for the first time in a long while, even he felt a faint sting of unease.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged a look. Panic flashed clearly in both pairs of eyes.
Elsewhere, in a nameless tavern on Tanzaku Street, Tsunade slammed her bottle onto the table with enough force to make the cups jump.
"A bunch of old bastards," she cursed.
"Lady Tsunade, you really can't drink anymore," Shizune said hurriedly, clutching Tonton and stepping in to stop her.
"I'm not drunk!" Tsunade snapped, shoving her away.
Even so, her eyes never left the sky. She had been following the chat room the whole time, silently listening to Hashirama and Tobirama. Hearing their voices again had stirred something painfully familiar in her heart.
But the two people she wanted most to hear from still had not appeared. That disappointment sat heavily in her chest. Shizune could only sigh and quietly sit beside her.
On the black-framed screen, the scene continued.
"Hiruzen, we still need an explanation for this," Koharu said first after Danzo shot her a subtle look.
"The jinchūriki should be supervised within a controlled framework. Letting him live in Konoha like this is too dangerous. No one can predict what might happen."
Homura followed at once. "And if another disaster happens, Konoha as it is now may not be able to bear it."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked completely unhurried, as though they were discussing some routine matter instead of the fate of a child. He lifted his pipe, drew in a slow breath, and exhaled just as slowly.
"Danzo, what about you?" he asked.
Danzo answered without changing expression. "Hiruzen, Koharu and Homura are right. The jinchūriki belongs to Konoha, not to you alone. You made this decision without consulting any of us. Morally and logically, he should not be allowed to slip beyond our control."
Hiruzen raised a brow. "So?"
"Hand him over to Root," Danzo said flatly. "The way he left today made me uneasy. If you cannot guarantee his absolute loyalty to Konoha, then don't play with fire."
The whole ninja world went quiet for a beat.
Then Ōnoki barked a laugh in the chat. "As expected of Konoha's Darkness. You really do live up to the name."
Danzo immediately shot back, "I am doing this for Konoha's sake. This is Konoha's internal affair. What are your intentions, constantly slandering me?"
The words sounded righteous. That only made them uglier.
Koharu spoke again. "Hiruzen, giving him to Root is indeed the best choice. At the very least, it guarantees the jinchūriki's absolute loyalty."
"Loyalty?" Hiruzen turned his head and narrowed his eyes. "To Konoha? Or to Root?"
One sentence was enough to silence her.
Hiruzen tapped ash from his pipe and said, "I have already arranged this matter. There is no need to say more. Danzo, withdraw your men. I do not want Naruto coming into contact with Root."
Danzo's eye twitched. "Hiruzen! Do you know how much damage that brat could do if he loses control? Can you guarantee absolute safety with the few ANBU you've assigned?"
Hiruzen finally put his pipe down. His voice remained calm, but it carried the finality of a blade returning to its sheath.
"That's enough. Withdraw your people. We'll leave it at that."
"Hiruzen, you—"
"Danzo," Hiruzen cut in, "I am the Hokage."
That single sentence froze the room solid.
Danzo's expression turned so ugly it looked as though he had swallowed something rotten. Koharu and Homura closed their mouths at once.
After a long, poisonous silence, Danzo let out a harsh snort.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen."
He turned and strode out, slamming the office door hard enough to shake the wall.
The Fourth Raikage's booming laughter rang through the chat room. "Now that is an interesting scene!"
Hiruzen's face in the arena grew even darker.
Deep underground, inside Root's base, Danzo slammed a fist into the table. "Hiruzen!"
But just as he and the others thought the worst of it had passed, the black-framed screen continued.
Seeing Danzo leave, Koharu and Homura exchanged another look.
"Hiruzen, put the jinchūriki matter aside for now," Homura said in a much lower voice. "The Uchiha clan has been restless lately."
The moment those words came out, Sasuke's mind went blank.
What did that mean? Why was the Uchiha clan appearing here too? Could it be that the annihilation of his clan was also tied to these old people?
Madara's cold voice entered the chat room immediately. "As expected. These useless fools inherited Tobirama's will perfectly."
Then he added, "Well? Someone from the Uchiha tell me. Was the clan wiped out?"
Tobirama's expression changed at once. "Monkey. Don't tell me that's true."
Hiruzen replied slowly, "Tobirama-sensei… by the time I found out, it was already too late. I had already stripped Danzo of his position as my assistant."
Tobirama fell silent.
That silence was worse than rage.
He regretted it. He regretted speaking in Hiruzen's defense. He regretted staying behind to cover the retreat all those years ago. If he could go back, he would have chosen almost anyone else.
Danzo reacted immediately. "Slander! Hiruzen, how shameless can you be? I know nothing about the Uchiha affair. Besides, who can say the black-framed world is exactly the same as ours?"
Then Orochimaru spoke with lazy amusement. "The Uchiha clan was wiped out. I remember that quite clearly."
"Orochimaru, shut up!" Hiruzen roared.
Orochimaru merely smiled. "Itachi Uchiha slaughtered the clan."
Just as he was about to say more, another voice interrupted him.
"That is enough, Orochimaru. Don't continue."
Fugaku Uchiha had finally stepped forward.
He had remained silent until now, but he could no longer stay out of it. Sasuke was still alive in Konoha. Everyone else in his family was dead. If the whole truth were laid bare here and now, Danzo—cornered and humiliated—might decide to erase the last surviving Uchiha as well.
"Father!" Sasuke's eyes reddened instantly.
Izuna Uchiha stared in stunned disbelief. "He destroyed his own clan? What kind of beast is that?"
Above the arena, the black-framed screen flickered softly, its light washing over one frozen face after another.
And for the first time, the people of Konoha truly understood that this was never just a comparison between two Narutos.
It was an autopsy.
One by one, the hidden sins of the village were being carved open under the gaze of the entire ninja world.
And the worst part was that everyone had begun to realize the same thing.
This was only the beginning.