Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

The crowd's expressions shifted drastically; anyone could see that this was a coup d'état in the making!

A rebellion in the Leaf Village had actually broken out at this very moment!

Hiruzen's face darkened. He stood up abruptly, staring at the chaos unfolding outside, his thoughts unreadable.

Just then, the Kazekage sitting beside him made his move. He slipped directly behind Hiruzen and effortlessly pressed a Kunai against the vital point of his neck.

"Hiruzen, you really are old. I never imagined I could take you down so easily."

"Oh? Is that so?" Hiruzen remained calm.

"Hiruzen, do you hear the cries outside? So many people want you to step down. How do you feel about that now?" The Kazekage let out a sinister laugh.

"Sigh, so that's how it is. I understand now. No wonder you didn't care when those two Sunagakure ninja forfeited; you had been planning to strike all along, hadn't you?"

"We've reached this point, and you're still worried about that?"

"I only feel regret. An alliance that has lasted so many years is being destroyed in a single day because of you."

"I, for one, think an unfair alliance like this should never have existed in the first place!"

As he spoke, a flash of cruelty crossed the Kazekage's eyes, and he drove the Kunai down with force.

Puff!

There was no expected spray of blood; from the very beginning, this had only been a Shadow Clone!

The critical point was that he hadn't realized it until the end, which was truly laughable.

"Damn it! I've been played by that old man!" The Kazekage realized what had happened and, in a fit of rage, kicked over the desk in front of him!

Where exactly had Hiruzen's real body gone?

No one knew.

The real question was, if Hiruzen had made preparations early on, had he already guessed what was going to happen today?

At this thought, the Kazekage felt it was no longer safe to stay here, so he turned and left.

Yet, all of these scenes were being watched by Keiichi from below.

He felt utterly stunned, because this was not how it was supposed to go!

Shouldn't the person sitting there have been Hiruzen's real body?

Wasn't the Kazekage supposed to be Orochimaru in disguise?

Yes, the rebellion had indeed started, but it shouldn't have played out like this!

What exactly was Orochimaru trying to do?

Keiichi suddenly felt a sense of confusion, as for the first time, he found himself unable to predict what would happen next.

"What exactly is going on?" Sasuke walked over, asking with a worried expression.

It was clear that the Chunin Exams could no longer continue; even the head referee had run off to suppress the rebellion.

"Judging by the situation, I suspect Sunagakure is behind this. However, the Anbu were the first to move, so I fear there is a traitor within the Leaf Village as well." Keiichi frowned, putting on the appearance of someone who had deduced it all, even though he had known the truth from the start.

Come to think of it, he had even played a part in fueling the flames.

"Are you saying someone inside the Leaf Village is colluding with Sunagakure?" Sasuke was extremely shocked; how could that be possible?

"Regardless of the cause, let's find Naruto and the others first. We will follow whatever orders Lord Kakashi gives."

"But what if... Kakashi is also one of the rebels?"

"Do you have so little faith in your teacher?" Keiichi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

What an ungrateful brat; the man had even given him private training!

It was no wonder that in his previous life, he had been so cold and heartless for a time; it had taken Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu" to finally straighten out his twisted logic.

"Keiichi, your eyes..." Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Sasuke slowed his pace and lowered his voice to ask.

"Yes, you guessed right. It's the Sharingan."

As he spoke, Keiichi lifted his Goggles, revealing his One-Tomoe Sharingan, though only Sasuke could see it from this angle.

"Can you tell me where you got them?" Hostility began to surface in Sasuke's eyes, for he would never allow his clansmen to be desecrated after death.

"Give me a break, what are you thinking? When the Uchiha clan incident happened, I was the same age as you. What do you think I could have done?"

"Then explain it! What is going on here?!" Sasuke hissed.

"It's a long story. About a few days before we went to the Land of Waves for our mission, my squad, Team 25, encountered a brutal skirmish. Our leader, Tatsuya, sacrificed himself to protect me. It was only then that I awakened these eyes."

As he spoke, Keiichi wiped away a few fake tears, even though he could barely remember the face of that background-character teacher.

There wasn't much warmth among civilian ninja; from start to finish, that teacher hadn't taught him a single bit of ninjutsu.

"You mean, you awakened the Sharingan yourself?!" Sasuke was taken aback; this was completely different from what he had assumed.

However, he himself had awakened the Sharingan after witnessing the death of his loved ones and experiencing intense emotional distress, so their experiences corroborated each other.

"Yeah, though I don't really know how it happened either."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Remember when we set out on our mission? Kakashi thought it was strange that I wore goggles, but back then, I was already consciously trying to protect my eyes. It is the only reliance I have to become stronger."

Hearing this, Sasuke felt an immediate sense of kinship, for he thought exactly the same way.

He even felt an urge to buy a pair of goggles to wear himself; had he been too careless about protecting his own eyes all this time?

"Besides, you should know that if one were not of the Uchiha Clan, it would be impossible to achieve this..."

As he spoke, Keiichi removed his goggles. The Sharingan gradually faded, and his pupils turned pitch black, leaving no trace behind.

At this, Sasuke was completely convinced.

Because even if an outsider obtained a Sharingan, they could not deactivate it at will. That was why Kakashi had to keep that eye covered with his headband at all times to avoid excessive, involuntary use.

Keiichi's display clearly indicated he possessed the pure Uchiha Bloodline.

"Keiichi, I fear your parents' identities are not simple. At the very least, one of them must have been a member of our Uchiha Clan." Sasuke naturally deduced this conclusion.

"I lost my parents when I was very young and grew up in an orphanage. I don't even remember what they looked like, so how could I know what kind of people they were?" Keiichi gave a bitter smile.

"But... it's good..."

"What's good?"

"Knowing there are still clansmen alive in this world, and that you are someone I acknowledge—it's good!" Sasuke revealed a rare smile and patted Keiichi on the shoulder.

He truly regarded Keiichi as his own kin now.

The Uchiha Clan was like that—quite genuine in their nature. When they hated someone, they could hate them to the bone, but when they considered you family, they would give you their heart and soul, trusting you completely.

Sasuke was genuinely happy, for over the past six years, he had always felt lonely, viewing everyone else as an outsider.

Only now, discovering that Keiichi was a clansman lost to the outside world, did he finally feel what family affection meant.

He was no longer walking this path alone.

"Uchiha Keiichi!" Sasuke couldn't help but call out to him.

"Yeah..." Keiichi's expression was somewhat awkward.

"Uchiha Keiichi!"

"..."

"Uchiha Keiichi!"

"Stop, stop, stop! Sorry, although I have awakened the Sharingan, I have never lived within the Uchiha Clan and don't understand what being an Uchiha truly entails, so please stop calling me that."

"It doesn't matter. I believe that one day, you will surely understand what the surname Uchiha represents. After all, we share the same bloodline!"

Sasuke's incredibly gentle gaze made Keiichi feel intensely uncomfortable.

Can you go back to how you were?

I prefer you when you're arrogant and untamed!

You're giving me goosebumps all over.

You might not believe it, but I also have the same bloodline as Naruto; in terms of purity, Naruto and I are the real brothers, you know.

"Forget it, I think it's fine as it is." Keiichi waved his hand.

Seeing Keiichi's evasive manner, Sasuke gradually realized that, after all, he had never lived in the Uchiha Clan. Even if he truly carried Uchiha blood, so what?

Could he understand the deep-seated hatred of the clan's extermination?

In the end...

He was still walking alone.

While talking, the two had dawdled their way to the spectator stands, only to find Kakashi helping to evacuate the crowd. Sakura and Naruto were unconscious nearby, clearly having been affected by the mist.

"You two arrived just in time. The Hokage has just issued an order for us to escort these dignitaries safely out of Konoha, at all costs," Kakashi said hurriedly.

"The Hokage? Where is he now?"

"I don't know, but the order was issued through the Konoha jonin. The source is reliable; it is impossible for Root to be faking the order."

Clearly, Kakashi was also aware that Root was involved in this rebellion, and that the Anbu had likely already been infiltrated by them.

"At a time like this, you're still thinking about protecting these parasites?" Sasuke curled his lip, unable to understand.

"Sigh... don't forget that our Konoha military budget relies on these parasites, so why offend them?" Kakashi waved his hand helplessly.

"What about Naruto and Sakura?"

"I will stay here to protect them. The antidote will arrive soon. Once they wake up, they will go to rendezvous with you."

Although they didn't understand, the two acted immediately, running to the VIP area to join the other Konoha genin in protecting these gaudily dressed parasites as they headed toward the village gate.

Fortunately, these parasites also valued their own lives and followed the most basic discipline.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to leave in such a chaotic state.

"Remember, the Hokage has issued an order: if you encounter any ninja on the road who is not from Konoha, whoever they are, kill them without mercy."

Kakashi's final sentence made both of them shiver.

If this order to kill without mercy were issued against all Konoha ninja, one could only imagine the bloodbath that would ensue within the village.

One had to consider that the Chunin Exams included ninja from several other large and small hidden villages; were these people to be slaughtered as well?

Yes, kill them all, even if it meant facing criticism afterward, and even if relations with these villages deteriorated rapidly.

But at a time like this, one had to cut the Gordian knot with swift and decisive action.

Everyone present was intelligent and understood why Hiruzen had to act this way; at such a moment, it was better to kill a thousand innocent people than to let a single traitor escape, as no one knew exactly which villages had participated in the rebellion.

If he did not harden his heart now, the damage caused by the rebellion would only grow greater.

In fact, the Hokage everyone was searching for was currently sitting in the Hokage Building, having gone nowhere at all.

The one attending the Chunin Exams was merely his Shadow Clone.

He knew very well that once the rebellion broke out, he, as the backbone of the village, was the most important factor; by sitting here, he could issue orders most effectively.

Gathered around him were the Konoha jonin he trusted most; aside from Kakashi, almost all of them were present.

The Anbu ninja, conversely, had become the people he could trust the least, as no one knew how many Root moles had infiltrated their ranks.

He issued order after order in an orderly fashion, appearing completely unaffected by the rebellion, and these jonin would leave the office one by one to help him carry out his commands.

"Have the reconnaissance squads search the entire village of Konoha. Once you find Danzo, immediately... tell him that I am waiting for him here. I am giving him one last chance to explain himself."

"Yes!"

After the final order was given and all the jonin had been dispatched, Hiruzen was finally able to catch his breath.

He had waited for Danzo for an entire month, yet the man had consistently avoided him, which made him increasingly suspicious of Danzo's hidden malice.

Yet, even now, with sufficient evidence proving that Root had incited the rebellion—and with calls for his own resignation even surfacing—with the culprit clear as day, Hiruzen was still willing to give Danzo a chance to explain.