Judgment

Inside the Hokage office.

"Danzo, do you have anything left to say?"

Tsunade looked at the Danzo before her, finding it strange that he offered not the slightest resistance.

Yet she said nothing more; after all, the Anbu sensory ninjas had already checked his chakra, confirming it was no substitute.

A person's appearance could be disguised, but chakra attributes could not; every individual possessed unique variations.

While ordinary ninjas might not be able to discern this, in the eyes of sensory ninjas, it was impossible to fake.

The reason Tsunade asked this was merely a matter of routine procedure.

"There is nothing to say. Everything this old man has done was for the sake of Konoha."

"Is forcing female ninjas to sell their bodies also for the sake of Konoha?"

Bang!

Tsunade snatched the criminal files off the desk and slammed them into the latter's face.

The man did not dodge, and blood trickled from his forehead where he had been struck.

"Those were necessary sacrifices. The strength of Root was enhanced as a result, and Konoha was better protected because of it."

Hearing this, Tsunade was consumed by rage. She rushed in front of Danzo, grabbed him by the collar, and interrogated him furiously.

"What about making siblings kill one another? And the others—forcing them to kill those they shared bonds with? Making the head of an orphanage assassinate the children she raised? Was this also for the sake of Konoha? You piece of shit!"

Bang!

Tsunade threw a punch, sending "Danzo" sprawling to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

On the other side, the spirit of Kimura Takuya was shaken, nearly severing the connection, but he quickly re-established it.

"Danzo" then climbed up from the floor.

"Yes, of course it was for the sake of Konoha! Only by severing bonds can one become a tool without emotion, and such tools are the best tools. Tools like these have no selfish desires; they are ninjas who exist solely for Konoha—they are the most useful tools!"

"You bastard, I'll kill you!"

"Enough, Tsunade."

Sarutobi Hiruzen flashed forward to stop her, blocking her path and catching her fist.

"He cannot die by your hand."

"Heh, Hiruzen, you are still as weak and incompetent as ever!"

The fake "Danzo" continued his act, and after speaking, he secretly began to undo the seal on his right arm.

Naturally, he was discovered by the Anbu and knocked unconscious immediately.

However, no one expected "Danzo" to be faking his faint; as he lay on the ground, he continued to undo the seal.

Though he nearly succeeded in breaking the seal, he was caught again, leading to another struggle. In the end, "Danzo" was overwhelmed by numbers and died at the final step of unsealing his arm.

Tsunade, the Third Hokage, and the others sighed, all believing he had intended to use that sealed arm to kill everyone present and seize power.

The Third Hokage had his suspicions, so he did not want the truth behind the arm to be revealed.

He tried to stop everyone from inspecting it, but Tsunade was one step faster and tore open the final seal.

"How is this possible? What is this?"

"Sharingan? So many Sharingan?"

"And this arm? Hiruzen, what is the meaning of this?"

"Old man! Why is my grandfather's face on this arm? What is going on here?"

"Sigh."

Helpless, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to reveal the truth.

He spoke of the Uchiha clan's annihilation and the fact that the arm utilized First Hokage Cell technology.

He also laid bare the secret dealings that had been going on for years between Root and Orochimaru.

He did not mention Itachi's status as a double agent in public, claiming only that he had been deceived by Danzo into becoming a rogue ninja.

"I never imagined it! Teacher Sarutobi, you knew everything! Then why did you turn a blind eye to the atrocities of Root? Why would you do this?"

Tsunade did not understand; she struggled to restrain herself as she loudly questioned Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Some of Root's actions were indeed permitted by me, but I never expected Danzo to go so far, or that he would hide so many things from me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the furious Tsunade, shook his head bitterly, and continued.

"From this day forward, my Anbu is officially disbanded. I no longer have the qualifications to interfere with your decisions."

"Tsunade, from now on, you make the decisions."

After saying this, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned his Anbu captain and disbanded his personal Anbu unit on the spot.

Seeing this, Tsunade immediately took over a portion of the personnel, reorganizing them into her own Anbu, signaling that she still trusted the Third Hokage.

It was a gesture of comfort toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, who seemed to have aged significantly in an instant.

From that moment on, the core of power in Konoha truly began to shift into Tsunade's hands.

The next day, Tsunade announced the verdict of the trial against Shimura Danzō.

She made Danzō's crimes public and declared that he had committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

The public opinion was in an uproar.

"It's simply terrifying; those in Root didn't even treat ninjas like human beings!"

"It's too horrible; the orphans of heroes actually became tools for Danzō, only to be slaughtered by him at will."

"And it's not just the crimes listed in the announcement, have you heard? Even the tragedy of the Uchiha clan was his doing! He used that opportunity to collect an entire arm's worth of Sharingan. No wonder his arm was sealed up all year round; it turns out he was afraid of people finding out!"

"What? There's actually such a thing?"

The clamor of the crowd rose once again.

Within the crowd, a young boy in blue clothes with black hair had also been watching the announcement at the Hokage Building.

Upon hearing this news regarding the Uchiha, his face was filled with disbelief.

How could this be? If it was Danzō's doing, then that man—the man I swore to kill—what was his intention? Why did he claim that he was the one who killed everyone?

"Uchiha Sasuke, the Fifth Hokage wishes to see you."

An Anbu led Sasuke toward the Hokage's office.

Inside the Hokage's office.

Tsunade looked at the child before her, momentarily unsure of how to begin.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you already know about the Uchiha clan's extermination, don't you? It doesn't matter if you haven't heard. The destruction of the Uchiha clan was related to your clan's rebellion, but before they could truly rebel, they were wiped out by Danzō. Danzō's goal, however, was the Sharingan of your clan. The S-rank missing-nin Uchiha Itachi was actually acting to atone for his sins and protect you. That is why Uchiha Itachi even killed your parents himself, creating the reality of being a missing-nin, and went undercover in a mysterious organization. I originally did not intend to make this public, but the so-called truth spread throughout the village overnight. So now, I am telling you this true reality. I am doing this to hand these Sharingan over to you for safekeeping. This is the power of your clan; you should be the one to decide its final destination."

After finishing, Tsunade handed all the Sharingan that had been on Danzō's arm to Sasuke.

"It's a lie, it's all a lie! I will ask him myself!"

Sasuke took the Sharingan, which were soaking in nutrient solution, with a numb expression.

He suddenly shouted, wanting to go and confront Uchiha Itachi in person.

He turned and ran out the door.

"Hokage-sama, is it really okay to give the Sharingan to this child?"

"If I don't do this, how can I draw out the person hiding in the shadows? I only learned the news about the Uchiha yesterday. By this morning, the news had already spread; there are rats that have infiltrated Konoha, and I will not rest until I catch them! Send people to follow him closely!"

"Yes!"