The Uchiha Traitor Makes His Exit

No matter who he faced, Uchiha Itachi could prattle on endlessly about his twisted logic, firmly believing that anyone who did not agree with him was a selfish fool.

Only when facing Shisui could he not.

It was not because Uchiha Shisui had been his guide, but because Shisui was utterly upright and honorable.

In the beliefs Shisui had imparted to Itachi, protection meant protection. Even if sacrifices had to be made, Shisui would only sacrifice himself.

And Uchiha Shisui had indeed lived out his ideals with his life.

Yet Uchiha Itachi's decision had been to sacrifice others—to sacrifice the clansmen he should have protected.

His actions had been even more vile: colluding with enemies from another village and slaughtering his own relatives and clansmen.

Uchiha Shisui was steadfast, a pure good man who walked only the righteous path. Uchiha Itachi could not distort him, so naturally he had no way to tell Uchiha Shisui, "This is how I protect my clansmen."

Uchiha Itachi could not explain himself and could only remain silent.

Receiving no answer from Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui casually turned toward the Root ninjas on his right and called out loudly, "Shimura Danzō!"

"You ambushed me and gouged out my eye!"

"For Konoha's stability, to prevent conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village, I chose suicide!"

"But why did you refuse to let it go? Why did you deceive Uchiha Itachi, collude with the Mangekyō Sharingan ninja who murdered the Fourth Hokage, and join in the slaughter of my Uchiha Clan?"

The accusation was too grave. Shimura Danzō could no longer keep his head down and could only jump out to argue, "Nonsense!"

"I never ambushed you, I never gouged out your eye, and I certainly never colluded with the enemy who murdered the Fourth Hokage!"

"You dare slander me? Slandering the Hokage's advisor is a serious crime!"

"Root ninjas, seize this Uchiha traitor who faked his death and interrogate him thoroughly about what conspiracy he is plotting!"

Without a word, the Root ninjas lunged at Uchiha Shisui.

Seeing Uchiha Shisui's miserable state, hearing his anguished accusations, hearing mention of the Fourth Hokage's murderer, and then hearing Shimura Danzō's feeble rebuttal, the Konoha ninjas who had gathered naturally reached their own conclusion.

Shimura Danzō had done it!

Seeing the Root ninjas resort to force without reason, the Konoha ninjas could no longer endure it. A huge commotion erupted.

"Stop!"

"Stop, or we will not be polite!"

"Do not attack Shisui!"

Even the Anbu ninjas behind the Third Hokage broke into a commotion, with people continuously calling out in low voices.

"Lord Third Hokage!"

"Lord Third Hokage, please stop Danzo's reckless actions!"

"Lord Hokage, you must step forward!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his scalp go numb. He was an old Hokage, and he instantly understood that today's situation could not be settled peacefully, nor could it be smoothed over.

The moment Uchiha Shisui stood before everyone in such a miserable state and clearly identified Shimura Danzō as the person who had ambushed him, Shimura Danzō's betrayal of the village was nailed down.

The Third Hokage had repeatedly stressed that anyone who attacked Konoha ninjas was a rogue ninja. This was Konoha's iron law.

There had been warning signs before.

Fugaku Uchiha had accused Danzo of murdering Uchiha ninjas countless times, only for Danzo to forcefully dismiss him, claiming Fugaku had neither witnesses nor evidence and was simply slandering him.

The weak-willed Fugaku had always chosen to yield, so Danzo had grown bolder and his methods more brutal. Today, he had finally gone too far.

Uchiha Shisui, the victim himself, had personally accused Danzo, yet Danzo merely used the feeble excuse of slander to justify arresting Uchiha Shisui for interrogation.

So right and wrong were whatever he said they were?

Such overbearing, unreasonable conduct cemented his image in the hearts of the Konoha ninjas.

By extension, they also believed that the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, collusion with the enemy who murdered the Fourth Hokage, and the manipulation of Uchiha Itachi—this entire string of traitorous acts—had all been done by Danzo.

Yes, the Konoha ninjas had decided: Shimura Danzō had betrayed the village!

Hiruzen Sarutobi still wanted to protect Shimura Danzō. This was his closest friend, his classmate who had supported him for twenty years, the black glove he had worn for more than a decade.

He truly could not bear to simply discard him.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly sensed the fury in the hearts of the Anbu ninjas behind him. The burning gazes of the Konoha Jonin to his left carried equally surging rage.

Though that fury was not aimed directly at him, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi still felt as if blazing flames were searing his back.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly. Sigh, Shimura Danzō had gone too far this time. He left such dirty evidence behind that people caught him. He was probably going to suffer for it.

In truth, Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious. He had previously guessed that Danzo was behind Shisui's disappearance, but he had lacked direct evidence to prove it.

When Uchiha Shisui appeared before him in such a miserable condition, Hiruzen Sarutobi saw those bloody eye sockets and felt a stabbing pain in his heart.

This was the ninja who best embodied the Will of Fire. Danzo, how could you bring yourself to do this?

And you had actually swallowed Shisui's eye. You had gone far too far. This time, you would definitely be taught a harsh lesson.

The necessities of practical interests, along with his emotional disgust and anger, drove the Third Hokage to make his decision.

He stepped forward and loudly commanded, "In the name of the Third Hokage, I order the Root ninjas to stop!"

Yet not a single Root ninja stopped. They did not even glance at the Third Hokage and continued charging toward Uchiha Shisui.

The Root ninjas drew their weapons, including dangerous items such as explosive tags.

Clearly, they did not intend to take him alive. They intended to silence him forever.

The Konoha ninjas were thoroughly enraged. They also drew their weapons and faced the Root and Shimura Danzō, but their eyes turned toward the Third Hokage, awaiting his order to kill the traitors.

But the Third Hokage froze. He had never imagined that Shimura Danzō would openly defy his command and even attempt to kill Uchiha Shisui right in front of him.

Shimura Danzō actually intended to kill someone before his eyes—to kill the ninja who had luckily survived a Root ambush.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was in chaos. He could not understand Shimura Danzō's thoughts, nor could he believe that the leash he had tied around Danzo's neck could no longer restrain him.

The stunned Third Hokage did nothing, blankly watching the Root ninjas charge at Uchiha Shisui.

Uchiha Itachi watched the ninjas rushing past him. His fingers twitched as he prepared to kill, but a hand stretching from a vortex grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

Obito sneered. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Foolish junior, the only thing you need to do now is retreat."

"Three hundred Konoha Jonin are nearly gathered. Do you think you still have an overwhelming advantage against them like you did against the Uchiha Jonin?"

"They do not have Sharingan. They will not be utterly suppressed by your targeted genjutsu."

"If the Konoha Jonin really surround you, you are dead."

Hearing Obito's words, Uchiha Itachi's tense body relaxed, and he vanished along with the spinning vortex.

Shazo watched them disappear but did not immediately step forward to stop them, because he knew he had no suitable ninjutsu to do so.

Uchiha Itachi's eyes had not yet gone blind, and he could still activate Susanoo. Unless Shazo could shatter Susanoo's defenses in a single strike, he could not stop Obito from taking someone into the Kamui Dimension.

But as Shazo sensed the beacon planted in Uchiha Itachi's soul, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.