Danzo is Dead! I Killed Him!

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions shifted completely.

Stripped of all honors! Designated a Rogue Ninja! Wanted across the entire ninja world!

What did this mean?

It meant that everything Danzō had sacrificed for Konoha over decades would be utterly denied and erased.

Danzō's name would be nailed to the pillar of shame—his lifetime honor, his posthumous reputation, all turned into disgrace.

Killing a man only goes so far as the blade falls! This was crueler than killing Danzō outright!

It was an attempt to root out the very existence of Shimura Danzō from Konoha's history, from the source.

How could this be allowed?

For decades, Danzō had poured his heart and soul into the village, working in silence. Even if he had no merits, he had his toils.

How could one incident today completely negate him?

Utatane Koharu immediately wanted to wield the authority of the Hokage's advisor to refute this excessively harsh demand.

But when her eyes met Uchiha Yao's, the words caught in her throat.

She had no doubt.

If today they failed to give Uchiha Yao a satisfactory explanation, this Uchiha clan head—who had just suppressed a Tailed Beast, mastered Wood Release, and clearly held no reverence for the higher-ups—would truly flip the table.

By then, could Konoha, having just endured war, lost the Third Hokage, and been severely weakened, withstand another storm?

A deep sense of powerlessness and chill swept over Utatane Koharu. She realized that perhaps the times had truly changed.

The youth before her was no longer someone they, as elders, could easily suppress or casually brush off.

Weighing pros and cons.

Measuring the stakes.

After a long moment, Utatane Koharu, as if all strength had been drained from her, let her shoulders sag slightly and forced out a single word through clenched teeth:

"Fine!"

Mitokado Homura remained silent, adjusting his glasses without further objection.

"Thank you, Advisor-sama!"

Seeing his goal achieved, Yao did not linger. He gave the group a slight bow and left the meeting room.

Only when their footsteps faded down the corridor did Utatane Koharu slam her fist onto the table:

"Outrageous! Utterly outrageous! This Uchiha Yao—does he have any sense of hierarchy or respect?!"

"He shows no reverence for the village's leadership, acts with arrogance and brutality, and lacks the obedience expected of a ninja!"

"Today he dares to threaten an advisor with wooden spikes; tomorrow... hmph! I see him as nothing but a future calamity for Konoha!"

Jiraiya rubbed his brow, not taking up Utatane Koharu's words.

He had spent years traveling abroad and wasn't familiar with the village's current state.

But from what Naruto often mentioned, Yao was his best friend and the only one in the village willing to play with him.

For that reason alone, Jiraiya couldn't bring himself to criticize Uchiha Yao.

Kakashi said flatly, "Advisor-sama, please calm down. Do not speak words that harm unity."

He lifted his gaze, sweeping it over Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura:

"The Third Hokage has just fallen, the wounds from Orochimaru's attack have yet to heal, and Danzō's defection adds insult to injury."

"Konoha right now is in an unprecedented state of weakness."

"The immediate priority is to consolidate whatever strength remains and weather this crisis together."

"Yao may be unruly, but he possesses the power to suppress a Tailed Beast—a high-end combat force the village urgently needs."

"Pushing him into opposition at this moment is far from wise."

Kakashi's words struck like cold water, cooling Utatane Koharu's heated mind. She slumped back into her chair, sulking in silence.

She understood full well that Kakashi spoke the truth. Konoha's top-tier combat strength was in a dire generational gap!

The Third Hokage had died in battle, Danzō had vanished, Jiraiya was a free spirit unwilling to take the mantle, and Tsunade had left for distant lands with no word...

If, at this point, powerful enemies surrounded them or internal strife erupted, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Uchiha Yao—an unstable yet formidable force—was something the village... indeed needed now.

"Alright! Enough arguing."

Jiraiya clapped his hands, breaking the heavy atmosphere, and put back on that seemingly carefree smile:

"Leave finding Tsunade to me. I guarantee I'll drag her back to be the Fifth Hokage."

"But before I leave the village, I want to take that brat Uzumaki Naruto along on this trip!"

Yo and Sasuke left the Hokage Building, weaving through the chaotic streets toward the Uchiha clan compound.

Sasuke's brow was tightly furrowed. He walked in silence for a while before finally speaking, his voice barely containing his rage:

"That old bastard Danzo did something like that—there's no way we let him off!"

"We should track him down, find him, and kill him!"

Yo kept his hands in his pockets. At this, he merely glanced sidelong at his younger brother. "No need to look!"

"No need?"

Sasuke froze, indignant. "What do you mean? Are we just letting him flee with the Sharingan?"

"He's already dead!"

Yo didn't slow his pace, speaking lightly. "I killed him. Along with his entire Root organization—every last one. All of them vanished without a trace."

"..."

Sasuke stopped dead, his eyes widening slightly. The anger on his face gave way to shock. For a long moment, he didn't react.

After several seconds, his throat bobbed. His voice came out hoarse:

"...Dead? You... you killed him? Then that 'Danzo' who teamed up with Orochimaru to attack the Third Hokage..."

"I was impersonating him."

"Why?!"

Sasuke's voice cracked as he asked, his shock turning into disbelief.

He couldn't understand his brother's actions at all. Killing Danzo was one thing.

But the Third Hokage was beloved by the villagers, and Sasuke himself respected him.

Yet his own brother had disguised himself as Danzo and taken out the Third?

"Because he pissed me off!"

Yo let out a cold laugh. "That old dog Danzo not only planned to use Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan to turn me into a puppet tool that would obey his every word!"

"But he also shamelessly transplanted so many of our clan's Sharingan onto himself! Could I really let him off easy?"

He paused, his tone carrying a deep chill:

"I didn't just want him dead! I wanted him disgraced, his name stinking for all eternity!"

"Let the reputation he spent decades building—his so-called 'for the sake of Konoha'—become a complete joke!"

"Let him be nailed to the pillar of shame in the ninja world, spat on and despised by everyone! Only then can I slightly console the restless souls of our clan."

Sasuke fell completely silent.

Though he felt the methods were... a bit too harsh and cruel.

But thinking of what Danzo had done, how he had defiled their clansmen—

The slight discomfort was quickly crushed by hatred and agreement.

To deal with someone like Danzo, maybe... you had to be this ruthless.

After a moment, he recalled another key point and looked up. "You said earlier... Brother Shisui?"

"What's that about? Didn't Brother Shisui commit suicide?"

Yo glanced at him and kept walking forward. Sasuke hurried to follow.

"Uchiha Shisui awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan back then!"

Yo's voice was low in the twilight streets:

"The jutsu attached to his right eye was 'Kotoamatsukami.'"

"That technique is terrifying. It can directly invade someone's brain without them ever noticing!"

"Permanently and completely rewrite their will, turning them into a puppet that absolutely obeys the caster."

Sasuke felt a chill run through him.

Permanently rewrite will?

Turn someone into a puppet?

There was a jutsu like that?

"That old bastard Danzo found out about this from somewhere!"

Yo said coldly. "He ambushed Shisui, stole that right eye containing 'Kotoamatsukami,' and transplanted it into his own right eye."

"Today, luring you out and forcing me to go to Root—that was his plan to use Kotoamatsukami to turn me into his dog!"

"That filthy bastard!!!"

Sasuke erupted in fury.