Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed with those words.
So did everyone else.
But before Shimura Danzō could celebrate, panic seized him the next second.
The small cage trapping him was steadily shrinking.
The scorching heat burned through his fur and flesh, advancing toward his organs.
His whole body felt as though it were melting in searing agony, and he let out a shrill scream.
"Hiruzen! Hiruzen!!!"
Shimura Danzō's desperate cries finally made Sarutobi Hiruzen speak up.
"Enough!"
"Jinghuo Uchiha!"
"Stop!!"
But Jinghuo Uchiha wanted to kill even him. How could he possibly listen?
The Golden Flame Cage continued to shrink. A pungent burning stench spread through the air, and paired with Shimura Danzō's screams, it sent Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind into turmoil.
"Jinghuo Uchiha!!"
"I said stop!!!"
"Do you want Konoha and the Uchiha Clan to go to war!!!"
Jinghuo Uchiha remained calm.
Golden light shone from behind his closed eyes, soul-stirring and imposing as it fixed upon the enraged Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Then let there be war."
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought Jinghuo Uchiha would be afraid, so he said the words he had prepared. "Then hurry up and release—"
He froze halfway through.
He stared blankly at Jinghuo Uchiha.
At that moment, it was as if he had realized for the first time that he had no leverage whatsoever to make the other man change his mind.
"Ah—!"
"Jinghuo Uchiha! Konoha will be destroyed by your hands!!!"
"Even if I die, I will never let you go!!!"
Jinghuo Uchiha slowed the cage's movement, delighting Shimura Danzō, who thought Jinghuo Uchiha had been cowed by his threats.
But Jinghuo Uchiha's next words plunged him into an icy abyss.
"Don't be happy. I slowed it down only so you can feel the pain slowly, so you can die a little slower."
Then, ignoring Shimura Danzō's frantic curses and the awe and fear of the surrounding ninja, he turned toward Sarutobi Hiruzen and said with overwhelming force, "Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Hokage, you still sheltered Shimura Danzō after all the vile things he did? Just now, you even used all of Konoha to threaten me? Are you playing favorites?"
The moment the words "playing favorites" fell, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt as if he had suffered a devastating blow. His expression changed drastically.
Not only him—even the ninja beside him could not help looking toward Sarutobi Hiruzen. As though they had been deceived, their eyes were filled with shocked disbelief.
"No... no... Jinghuo Uchiha doesn't have the authority to carry out an execution... I... I..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly tried to explain himself to the ninja, but every ninja he looked at averted their gaze. Not one echoed his words.
The scene fell silent, with only his panic hanging in the air.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face slowly filled with gloom and defeat.
The Uchiha Clan Members behind Jinghuo Uchiha were so excited they wanted to applaud.
"Jinghuo is incredible!"
Their eyes gleamed. They all felt that if Jinghuo Uchiha was not the Clan Head, heaven itself would not permit it.
With a Clan Head like him, why would the Uchiha Clan fear failing to rise?
"Shisui! Hurry up and give Jinghuo your position!" The words roared excitedly through every clan member's heart.
Uchiha Shisui watched calmly, a faint smile appearing on his face.
He had long since been disappointed in Sarutobi Hiruzen, unlike someone currently hiding in a corner and doubting his own choice.
Jinghuo Uchiha intended to slowly torture Shimura Danzō.
But unable to endure the pain, Shimura Danzō chose to throw himself into the Golden Flame Cage and kill himself.
Before dying, he left behind these words: "Jinghuo Uchiha! Even as a ghost, I won't let you go!!!"
Jinghuo Uchiha narrowed his eyes.
[Quest name: You Think I'll Let You Off Just Like That?] [Quest content: Torture Shimura Danzō for one hundred days!] [Quest reward: Lava Style Chakra Mode]
Besides the new quest, there was also a reward for completing a quest.
[Quest You Know How to Scheme? completed. You have obtained the Eternal Mangekyo.]
Jinghuo Uchiha felt more at ease.
Losing his eyes would not have affected him much, but it was still somewhat regrettable.
Now, his eyes were back.
Especially since the Eternal Mangekyo allowed him to use Susanoo without cost, greatly enhancing his combat strength.
He was incredibly powerful now!
A thought even emerged in his mind—Should I take this chance to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen?
After thinking it over, he decided to wait.
If he killed him now, Konoha would fall into chaos.
Thus, with his eyes closed, golden light brimming with pressure fell upon the utterly defeated Sarutobi Hiruzen, and his voice was filled with authority.
"From today onward, Root will be controlled by the Uchiha Clan. Sarutobi Hiruzen, do you have any objections?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's lips were dry, and instinctively, he wanted to object vehemently.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he saw the ninja around him, who had become somewhat distant and rejecting. In the end, the words of refusal caught in his throat. He did not say a single word and merely lowered his head as if nodding.
That night, the Uchiha Clan became Root's masters.
Members of Konoha's clans looked at their clan members trapped in Root, wanting to say something but holding back. Yet all of them were dragged away by their Clan Heads.
Some were still unwilling, and their Clan Heads were so angry that they slapped them hard across the face.
"Can't you see that those clan members have been brainwashed until all they want is to kill Jinghuo Uchiha?!"
Those clan members of theirs... were already beyond saving.
Sarutobi Hiruzen left.
The ninja left as well.
Only the Uchiha Clan remained.
Their expressions were excited, their faces flushed. Their blood-red Sharingan no longer shone only with hatred in the deep night, but with brilliant radiance.
"Jinghuo, what do you plan to do with these people?" Uchiha Shisui asked.
Uchiha Shisui meant the people of Root.
Jinghuo Uchiha faced the more than forty Root Members trapped within the Golden Flame Cage. He could clearly sense their furious killing intent.
These people were all clan members from other families. Their minds now held only Shimura Danzō, and they believed he was their only hope.
Now that Jinghuo Uchiha had killed Shimura Danzō, the Rage Flame in their hearts wanted only to kill Jinghuo Uchiha and accompany Shimura Danzō in death.
The easiest choice would be to kill them all.
But that would drive away the clans they had only just drawn closer.
"Have the various clans cooperate with us to undo their brainwashing. If it succeeds, let them return to their clans."
Hearing this answer, Uchiha Shisui was somewhat puzzled. "Then how will Root be arranged?"
The Uchiha Clan was already nearly fully staffed just running the Police Force. Adding another Root would leave them severely short-handed.
"Other than the important posts, reassign everyone else to Root."
As Jinghuo Uchiha spoke, he raised his head toward the front left. "Itachi, come out."
The surroundings abruptly fell silent.
Even the clan members looked in that direction.
Nearly ten seconds passed before a figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
Before you continue