Hiruzen Sarutobi Was the One Who Caused Minato Namikaze's Death

"Tap, tap..."

As the footsteps approached, another Daren Yi appeared out of thin air. There was no need to ask—this one was definitely a Shadow Clone too.

In Shimura Danzō's eyes, the scene before him was utterly bizarre. Some of the Root Ninjas were casting jutsu at one another, slaughtering each other.

The rest either ran around like headless flies or stood frozen in place, only to be casually killed by that black-robed, masked figure. It was like harvesting rice on a battlefield.

Could Shisui really not be dead? Did Itachi deceive me? Or was he deceived too?

This genjutsu is unimaginable! Every form of perception has been cut off and deceived. It must be layered illusions, covering every ninja on the field.

Closing one's eyes, even gouging them out, would be useless. This genjutsu must not work through sight alone. It likely affects all the senses—hearing, smell, touch, and more—which is why its deception is so powerful...

Can genjutsu really be this strong?

Other than Shisui, who possesses the Uchiha Clan's strongest genjutsu, the Mangekyo, who else could do this?

What... do I do?

Standing cautiously at a distance and gathering the intelligence his subordinates had uncovered with their lives, Danzō felt his scalp go numb the longer he watched.

This wasn't scientific. This wasn't ninja-like either!

Dead people suddenly attacking me? Who could understand that feeling?!

"Are you looking for the flaws and weaknesses in my genjutsu?"

A ghostly voice sounded beside Danzō's ear, startling him into using the Body Flicker Technique to evade once more.

Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!

A Wind Release jutsu that had been prepared in advance struck instantly toward the source of the voice. The ball of wind Chakra Danzō spat from his mouth swept over that direction like a barrage of bullets, covering a wide area in hopes of forcing the enemy out, but unfortunately...

"You fired in the wrong direction! I'm over here."

The sinister voice, like a parasite clinging to the bone, seemed to press right against Danzō. It entered his ears again from the direction he had fled, as though the speaker were right beside him.

Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!

Without a word, Danzō rapidly formed hand seals with one hand. The high-pressure wind sphere he spat from his mouth expanded to dozens of meters wide, a surging and razor-sharp storm of air currents sweeping toward his other side in an attempt to shred the hidden enemy to pieces.

"Rumble..."

The howling, razor-sharp airflow missed again. It merely tore apart a patch of innocent buildings within the Uchiha compound. The areas struck directly were pulverized into dust, while more distant houses and buildings collapsed amid the roaring shockwaves, bricks, stones, pillars, and timbers shattered into a mess.

"So scary, so scary! Lord Danzō really is strong like a monster. He can actually perform the legendary one-handed hand seals.

"And the power of his jutsu is so astonishing... Too bad he didn't hit a bridge. That would've been even more fitting!"

A silent yet immensely powerful downward kick appeared alongside the somewhat off-key teasing praise, slamming precisely into Danzō's back.

"Bang... thud, thud, thud!"

The next moment, his face full of confusion and disbelief, Danzō shot away so fast that he nearly left an afterimage in place before crashing viciously into the ground a hundred meters away.

He bounced off the ground with surprising elasticity, rebounding three times before smashing into the ruins he had just created with his own jutsu, falling silent.

It turned out that, deceived by the illusion, both jutsu he had released had been aimed in the same direction. Daren Yi's Shadow Clone had been standing behind him the entire time.

First, it quietly gave him room to show off. Then, without mercy, it crushed him in defeat, grinding Danzō's dignity into dust along with him.

"Remember this: from beginning to end, you were immersed in the illusion I created for you!"

After taking that solid heavy blow, Danzō—who had already lost his Wood Style Arm and Sharingan—was severely injured. The spinal bones in his back had completely fractured, while his internal organs were damaged and displaced.

During the impacts and rebounds against the ground, his head suffered violent blows and concussions. Parts of his skull had shattered, and even some cerebrospinal fluid flowed from his ears. His entire body was covered in bloody abrasions.

Danzō shook his muddled, nearly unconscious head. After being ambushed and toyed with repeatedly without warning, he had almost completely lost his ability to fight.

The only method he had left was the mutual-destruction Sealing Jutsu, the Reversed Four Symbols Seal. But he needed to lure the enemy close, then take advantage of his pride and carelessness after victory... He would have only one chance!

"...You are not Shisui. Shisui would never be this ruthless toward ninjas from the same village!"

There was no need to pretend. Danzō was already gravely wounded and on the verge of death, so his weakness and helplessness naturally showed through his words, making it easy for others to lower their guard.

In his previous life, injuries like these would have meant full-body paralysis at best, perhaps even time to begin arranging his funeral. But in the Shinobi World, such injuries could still be treated.

"Someone who has died once will naturally be different, especially after witnessing his clan's complete destruction!"

"Uchiha Shisui" did not step closer as Danzō had hoped. Instead, he remained where he was, his tone sorrowful as he recounted the story he had just fabricated.

"...After you ambushed me, I faked my death and hid in the shadows. On one hand, I wanted to help Itachi awaken the Mangekyo. On the other, I had been entrusted by Clan Head Fugaku to secretly investigate certain matters in accordance with the Fourth Hokage's final orders.

"Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha was never a man without opinions, someone who would simply close his eyes and wait for death!

"Amid that chaotic and complicated situation, he accurately saw where the problem lay and found a truly correct path.

"He entrusted me with the responsibility of saving the Uchiha Clan and the entire village of Konohagakure. But I never expected that the method Clan Head Fugaku used to numb you people would become the reason for his own death. You actually acted so decisively...

"But even if you wiped out the Uchiha Clan, don't think you can keep hiding the truth. Tonight, I tracked down the Mysterious Masked Man who could control the Nine-Tails and was proficient in Space-Time Ninjutsu. In the end, I saw all of you working together, with clearly divided roles and flawless coordination!

"As expected, Clan Head Fugaku's deduction was correct.

"The true culprits who released the Nine-Tails seven years ago, harmed Konohagakure, and drove the Fourth Hokage and his wife to their deaths were you people!

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage who returned to power after the disaster, and his loyal lapdog, Shimura Danzō!"

???

Shimura Danzō was stunned speechless, so furious that his mind went blank. What? I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi's loyal lapdog?

You must be blind! How the hell did you come to that conclusion?! This is far too insulting!

...No, that was not important for the moment. More importantly, Hiruzen Sarutobi released the Nine-Tails and drove Minato Namikaze to his death?

What kind of nonsense was that? It was utterly absurd!

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly do such a thing? What was this guy, who was supposedly Uchiha Shisui, even talking about?

"Hmph, a baseless slander! The feelings Hiruzen and I have for Konohagakure are beyond the understanding of traitors like you. We are Konohagakure's roots and trunk. Only with our nourishment and Guard can the great tree of Konohagakure flourish and stand proudly at the peak of the Shinobi World!"

"Yes, you love Konohagakure deeply. But over time, that fanatical love has become twisted and corrupted, turning into selfishness and possessiveness at any cost.

"In your hearts, rather than saying that you belong to Konohagakure, it would be more accurate to say that Konohagakure belongs to you."

Daren Yi, disguised as "Uchiha Shisui," spoke in a sorrowful tone, his emotions sincere as he fully immersed himself in the performance.

"To become Hokage, you would plot assassinations and frame the current Hokage.

"You firmly believe that you alone are the finest Hokage, and that even if Konohagakure has to pay a price for it temporarily, it is merely growing pain.

"As long as everyone endures for a while, everything will surely become better once you become Hokage.

"For Konohagakure, for the village, for the arrival of the greatest Hokage, the innocent sacrifices in the village can only suffer first!

"Hiruzen Sarutobi and you are exactly that kind of people!

"To become Hokage again, you really would do something like this: control the Nine-Tails and assassinate the current Fourth Hokage!"

Shimura Danzō was dumbfounded. For a moment, panic left him staring blankly into space. If the position of Hokage were right before him, would he do such a thing? All it would take was...

To say it once again, lies did not hurt people. Truth was the sharpest blade. Shimura Danzō's defenses had been shattered!

Because he really was that kind of person. He had done something like this before. But what about Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Could Hiruzen Sarutobi have become just like him?

...He had never considered it before. Could it be that he had simply believed Hiruzen Sarutobi's character was far better than his own?

Impossible. That "Monkey" could not possibly have better character than him. Hiruzen Sarutobi must have deceived and misled him, which was why he had never suspected him.

Shimura Danzō lay sprawled in the ruins. The wounds in his heart hurt far more, and far worse, than the wounds on his body.

It was like a scumbag suddenly discovering that the innocent, pure girlfriend he had always felt guilty toward had actually been cheating behind his back so openly that everyone knew about it. She was a female player and a master manipulator, while he was the one who had been PUA'd by her instead.

Humiliation turning to rage, thunderous fury, helpless fury...

He had only made one tentative attempt in the past, without holding much hope. Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had not only done it behind his back, but had actually succeeded!

He had taken such enormous risks and borne such a foul reputation, yet he had never been Hokage for even a single day!

After Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down, he had actually returned and served as Hokage for another seven years!

This, this, this—Shimura Danzō nearly crushed his teeth from gritting them so hard!

Projecting his own thoughts onto others, he had already believed fifty to sixty percent of these lies...

"Wait, this old man was also deceived by that villain Hiruzen Sarutobi. I knew nothing about it. Since you want to save Konohagakure and overthrow that black-hearted conspirator Hiruzen Sarutobi, this old man can cooperate with you!"

Stimulated by immense shock and fury, the quick-witted Shimura Danzō no longer wanted to die together with anyone. He only wanted to become Hokage now, earnestly trying to speak from the heart with the Uchiha traitor he had seen in the past.

"Once we overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi, I will become Hokage and you will rebuild the Uchiha Clan. As the future Hokage, I promise you that the Uchiha Clan will forever be Konohagakure's foremost great clan!"

Daren Yi almost rolled his eyes. This old bastard could not even make a proper promise. At a time like this, with his life in someone else's hands, he still could not bear to temporarily give up the position of Hokage even verbally.

Without even promising the position of Hokage, how could he expect to lure a Kage-level expert onto his sinking little wreck of a ship?

But the performance had to continue!

"No need. I will not cooperate with someone whose hands are stained with the blood of his comrades!"

The disgusted voice of "Uchiha Shisui" reached Danzō's ears. His heart had just tightened when Shisui's next words made him relax, even sending him into wild joy.

"You are an elder of the village. I will not kill you without authorization. I will find a way to tell every ninja and every civilian in the village the truth. Then, before the eyes of everyone, you and Hiruzen Sarutobi will receive a fair and strict trial.

"This will comfort the souls of the dead Uchiha, and allow all the innocent victims and sacrifices of these past decades to rest in peace!

"You will die, but not at the hands of Rogue Ninjas. You will be executed under the name of Rogue Ninjas!"

Shimura Danzō was laughing wildly inside, desperately suppressing his emotions to keep Shisui from noticing them.

Shisui, Shisui... Even after dying once, you are still this naïve!

Truth? Sometimes it mattered, but sometimes it did not matter at all. The clans behind Hiruzen Sarutobi and the many ninja clans in the village had long formed a group bound by shared interests and reputation.

They would prosper together and suffer together. Even if it were truly confirmed that Hiruzen Sarutobi had committed such wrongdoing, for the sake of their collective reputation and interests, they could never allow him to bear the infamy or face public trial.

At most, he would step down from the position of Hokage on the grounds of old age, then disappear from sight. At that time, Danzō's opportunity would come.

As for the fairness and justice Uchiha Shisui hoped for, they would have to yield before the realities of Konohagakure!

You will never see them...