Whoosh!
The two figures stopped in front of White Dove, not taking another step forward. They stood there like puppets.
Sharingan!
Watching Uchiha White Dove's eyes turn bloodred, everyone understood what had happened.
That's right. The two Root shinobi had been caught in a Sharingan Genjutsu.
That was the advantage of a Kekkei Genkai: no hand seals, no preparation—just use it directly. That was what made it so powerful.
The Sharingan was so formidable that the Shinobi World had a saying: "If you're facing an Uchiha one-on-one, run!"
"Lord Hokage, looks like someone isn't following your orders!"
White Dove glanced at Danzo mockingly.
He wasn't about to let his opponent muddy the waters and slip away.
After transplanting the Mangekyo, he naturally had confidence that he could control the situation.
"I'll handle this!" Sarutobi Hiruzen drew a deep breath, then ordered sternly, "Take Danzo back and await his punishment!"
It sounded as if he were showing no leniency, but in reality, he was helping Danzo.
Once they left, it would be much harder to catch him in the act.
Coo-coo!
The sudden sound of pigeons drew everyone's attention.
The Hokage Faction didn't know the details of the battle at Naka Shrine two nights ago, so they had no idea what these pigeons meant.
But the Uchiha leaders who had attended the clan meeting at Naka Shrine seemed to realize something.
One by one, the white pigeons scattered and landed.
One of them happened to fly past Danzo.
Whoosh!
Uchiha White Dove vanished from the front of the group and appeared beside Danzo.
The man and pigeon had switched places.
Flying White Pigeon Technique!
This technique could be called an unconventional version of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
It had both advantages and disadvantages compared with the original.
But when facing an opponent who knew nothing about it, even the strongest could be caught off guard.
Two nights ago, the Flying White Pigeon Technique had left Uchiha Fugaku—a Kage Level shinobi who hadn't dared to use his full strength—in a miserable state.
Now, White Dove used the technique again.
"What are you doing?"
"How dare you!"
"Stop him!"
The Hokage Faction began to panic.
Even the shinobi clans who had been standing by as little more than background scenery began to move.
No matter how much they disliked Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, they wouldn't sit back and do nothing if the Uchiha really rebelled.
But before they could act, they realized it wasn't necessary.
Uchiha White Dove hadn't taken the opportunity to attack Danzo. He had merely swept his right hand past Danzo's right eye as fast as lightning.
Whoosh!
The long bandages came away.
Countless gazes fixed on Danzo's right eye, which had squeezed shut against the sudden light.
Three black tomoe were clearly visible in the bloodred eye.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
Since Danzo wasn't an Uchiha, he couldn't freely deactivate the Sharingan. That was why it was exposed the moment the bandages came off. Kakashi was the same; he couldn't control his eye at will.
"This..."
"It really is a Sharingan!"
"Damn it, wasn't Danzo the one who hated the Uchiha most?"
"Maybe he hated them because he loved them. The Sharingan really is powerful!"
"We absolutely can't let Danzo get away with this!"
Angry voices rang out from all sides.
The Anbu had been preparing to arrest White Dove, but now they had stopped in their tracks at the sight of Danzo's Sharingan. White Dove spoke calmly:
"I told you, the Uchiha aren't the only ones who could have a Sharingan. I suspect Danzo was involved in the Nine-Tails Incident. After all, with the Fourth Hokage dead, the Hokage Position was up for grabs!"
As he spoke, he looked around at the others with scorn, as if to show how ridiculous it was to suspect the Uchiha of planning the Nine-Tails Incident.
Whitewash!
White Dove intended to use Danzo to clear the Uchiha's name.
It was true that Obito, an Uchiha, had been behind the Nine-Tails Incident, but no one knew that. So wasn't Danzo the perfect one to pin the blame on?
Danzo, the Pot King!
Whenever there was a mess, just dump the blame on him.
And there was no way he could explain himself.
After all, he and Root really hadn't acted during the Nine-Tails Incident. Even if they'd shown up, who could say whether they'd sent Shadow Clones or gone themselves?
"You!"
"You actually..."
"How could I have controlled the Nine-Tails?!"
Danzo nearly went mad with rage.
During the Nine-Tails Incident, he hadn't intervened, but he hadn't caused trouble either. He'd focused entirely on preserving Root's strength.
Now, though, with this accusation hanging over him, his decision to preserve his strength looked suspicious no matter how you saw it.
As for controlling the Nine-Tails?
Of course he'd wanted to. He'd dreamed of it. But Sarutobi Hiruzen had kept the Jinchūriki firmly under his control, never giving Danzo the chance to get near him.
"Then can you explain why you and Root didn't act that day, but left the Fourth and Third to deal with it? Surely you weren't just preserving your strength and watching them take risks?"
White Dove pressed him for an answer.
Danzo couldn't answer the question... He couldn't exactly admit that was what he'd been thinking, could he?
"Looks like you have nothing to say. So you admit it, right?"
White Dove bluntly drew his "conclusion."
No matter what, the best thing was to pin this black pot on Danzo.
"I..."
Danzo was completely speechless.
If he had been someone else, he might have even thought he really was the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Incident.
But he knew he wasn't, so he glared furiously at Uchiha White Dove.
White Dove thoroughly enjoyed that look.
It felt incredible to use his information advantage to "steer the narrative."
Even Danzo, the Darkness of the Shinobi, had been smeared from head to toe.
Only the person who wronged you knew how wronged you were!
White Dove knew exactly how unfair this was to Danzo, but he had no intention of clearing his name.
There was no need to expose Danzo's Wood Release arm and the Sharingan embedded in it just yet. He could still use Danzo to strike at the Hokage Faction later.
As long as Danzo was around, the Hokage Faction had a glaring weakness.
That was what made him a true "god-tier teammate"—far better than Uchiha Fugaku, that "useless teammate."
Even if someone tried to assassinate Danzo, White Dove would never allow it. He might even step in to save him.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
White Dove seized the opening and cast a Genjutsu empowered by his Mangekyo, immobilizing Danzo, who had still been trying to say something.
"You..."
Danzo's explanation cut off at once. He stood rigidly in place like a puppet.
White Dove's lips curled slightly.
He knew perfectly well that Danzo must have plenty of trump cards. It was possible he could even turn the situation around.
But couldn't I just "mute" him?
If I didn't give him a chance to speak or act, then no matter how many tricks he had, they'd be useless.
"Uchiha White Dove!!"
Seeing Danzo's state, Utatane Koharu was furious.
In her view, even if Danzo had committed a crime, it was the Hokage's job to deal with him. An Uchiha brat had no right to intervene.
If White Dove dared to target Danzo today, he might come after her tomorrow. She didn't even want to imagine what he might do the day after that.
"Counselor Utatane, as Police Force Captain, I'm assisting the Anbu in arresting a criminal. What's the problem?"
White Dove asked, pretending not to know.
A truly cutting blow!
It was already outrageous enough that he'd gone after Danzo, one of the F4. Asking Utatane Koharu what the problem was made it even worse.
"...Even if you want to help ease the Hokage's burden, White Dove, that doesn't excuse acting recklessly!"
Mitokado Homura picked up the argument.
He could use his status as a counselor to pressure ordinary Uchiha, but the Police Force Captain held the same standing as the counselors. So he spoke more politely.
"Elder Mitokado is right. But I'd like to know whether the Sharingan in Lord Danzo's eye is Shisui's, and how he should be dealt with."
White Dove pointed to Danzo's right eye.
"Lord White Dove, Shisui's Sharingan is a treasured possession of our clan. We must retrieve it, no matter what!"
Seeing Danzo in trouble, Uchiha Setsuna couldn't hide his smile. But at the mention of "Shisui's Sharingan," he couldn't help reminding White Dove.
A Kekkei Genkai must never be allowed to fall into other hands. That was an ironclad rule among the great bloodline clans. The Shinobi World had shed countless drops of blood to reclaim Kekkei Genkai, so this was an extremely serious matter.
And this was a Mangekyo Sharingan, no less. The Uchiha would do anything to get it back.
"I believe Lord Hokage will give the Uchiha a reasonable explanation!"
White Dove soothed his clan members, who were on the verge of erupting, and passed the responsibility to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
As a transmigrator, he wasn't as fixated on Kekkei Genkai as the people of the Shinobi World were.
As he saw it, strength came from people, not Kekkei Genkai.
Just as the First Hokage had used Wood Release to conquer the world while Yamato used it for landscaping, it was better to leave the Three-Tomoe Sharingan as a stain on the Hokage Faction than to reclaim it. They could also negotiate for tangible benefits.
For example, they could trade for the genuine Mangekyo in Kakashi's eye and secure benefits for the Uchiha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen soon made his decision.
Before you continue