Danzo's Diary

Even so, when Hiruzen Sarutobi learned what Uchiha Kazuto had done, he was so furious he could barely think. Was this sort of thing really something that could be made public, something the villagers could be allowed to know?

Once it was out, how was he supposed to deal with Danzo? Oh, Danzo was dead, so that was fine.

No, something that symbolized the village's dark side couldn't just be revealed to the villagers!

Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious. He got angry, then got angry again, because he realized Uchiha Kazuto was practically invincible now, like a hedgehog. He simply couldn't do anything to Kazuto. Kazuto was too valuable to the village—and to Hiruzen himself. He was no longer merely the clan head of the Uchiha Clan or merely the head of the Military Police Force.

Besides, Hiruzen had no reason at all to punish Uchiha Kazuto. This was simply a demonstration of Kazuto's loyalty. He was the sort of Loyal Konoha Subject who was devoted to the village and couldn't stand to see anyone harm its interests or the Will of Fire.

Exposing Konoha's dark side was exactly the sort of thing this guy would do. That was Uchiha Kazuto's way.

What mattered most was that Uchiha Kazuto had only exposed the misdeeds of Shimura Danzō, leaving everyone else in Konoha out of it. Anyone with eyes could see that some of those things must have been done with the Hokage's tacit approval, yet they'd been rewritten as Shimura Danzō deceiving Lord Hokage, violating the Will of Fire, and acting behind his back. Kazuto had managed to absolve both the Hokage and everyone else completely.

Uchiha Kazuto knew how to handle things.

"Ah."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. In the end, all he could do was summon Uchiha Kazuto, give him a brief reprimand, and leave it at that. After all, Kazuto was so loyal. What he'd done seemed a bit excessive in Hiruzen's eyes, but it hadn't crossed the line.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. Loyalty!"

Uchiha Kazuto snapped to attention and spoke with a look of utter devotion. Then he left the Hokage's Office.

Lord Hokage, this really will be the last time!

They were so close. Just a little longer, and it would be time to close the net. Everything was going according to plan.

A faint smile tugged at Uchiha Kazuto's lips.

Meanwhile, as Konoha's dark side was exposed, the village grew even more oppressive. With the Military Police Force's deliberate, if subtle, protection, more and more villagers began joining together and making plans.

Konoha was really this dark? Things hadn't been like this when the Second Hokage was in charge. Shimura Danzō, was it? They knew him—the Second Hokage's student and Hiruzen Sarutobi's comrade. Back then, he'd been one of the guards who should have done everything in his power to protect Lord Hokage, yet in the end, Lord Hokage had to protect the guards and help them escape.

How laughable. It was like a country's president paying his bodyguards, then charging into battle against the enemy to protect them when an attack came. And the worst part was, only a few of you saw what happened back then. Who knew what really took place? Was the Second Hokage truly killed by the enemy?

Third Hokage, you really had grown old and confused. You actually let a madman like Shimura Danzō, who dared to attack his own comrades, stay in the village and wield so much power. Who was it always saying that, for the sake of the village, everyone had to uphold the Will of Fire and never harm their fellow villagers?

So it was one rule for the powerful and another for everyone else, huh? Letting someone like Shimura Danzō stay in the village was no different from keeping a man-eating tiger. Were the villagers out here supposed to be food you'd prepared for Danzo?

If it weren't for Lord Kazuto, how would we ever have known Konoha had such a terrifying dark side?

And what a joke! Shimura Danzō had supposedly committed these crimes behind Lord Hokage's back for his own selfish ends. If they were just petty offenses, fine—but many of the crimes that had been exposed looked exactly like things you, the Hokage, had approved of!

Poor Lord Kazuto. Out of consideration for you, old man, he'd toned down the evidence. And yet even so, the loyal Lord Kazuto had still exposed it. Uchiha Kazuto really was devoted to Konoha!

A wave of conspiracy began sweeping through Konoha, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi remained completely in the dark.

There was no helping it. Who would dare talk about Hiruzen Sarutobi in public now? Anyone caught would be taken in for "tea" and beaten. Besides, the Anbu didn't need to pay much attention to ordinary civilians, and Uchiha Kazuto would never report street gossip to Hiruzen. Under those circumstances, it would have been a miracle if Hiruzen had found out.

And even if he had, what could he do? Was Hiruzen Sarutobi going to kill all the villagers? Of course not!

Soon, the real main event arrived.

An incredibly clumsy farce unfolded, but no one cared about the truth.

At the Konoha Military Police Force station, a Root Shinobi who had been tortured until he was at death's door seized his chance and, while the guards weren't paying attention, summoned every last bit of strength to escape.

"Hee-hee, I have to get out! I have to destroy Lord Danzo's... diary..."

Fuu Yamanaka ran on and on, his heart filled with joy.

Though he'd endured brutal torture and revealed many of Root's secrets, there was one secret he'd never reveal, even if it cost him his life. It was an ultimate secret that concerned the village's safety and unity.

The Diary of Shimura Danzo

It recorded the secrets shared by Lord Danzo and Lord Hokage, along with other terrifying secrets that could overturn the village. It absolutely could not be allowed to leak.

After Lord Danzo died, Fuu had followed his final instructions and planned to destroy it. Unfortunately, the Military Police Force had arrived too quickly. He hadn't had time to dispose of it, so he'd hurriedly hidden it inside his body. Luckily, the guards had kept torturing him instead of killing him. Otherwise, they would surely have found the diary on his corpse.

At the time, curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he'd secretly read it. So the Second Hokage hadn't been killed by a ninja from an enemy village at all. Instead...

Instead, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura had joined forces to assassinate him—all for the Hokage's position. When Fuu had read that part, he'd been horrified and hadn't dared to read any further.