"Retire into seclusion?"
The moment Uchiha Naraku finished speaking, not only was the Third Hokage stunned, but even the Konoha powerhouses standing beside him froze in place.
At that moment, the Kage-level experts beside the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō included Danzō's loyal supporters, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. On the other side of the Third Hokage stood Konoha's Kage-level experts: Uchiha Tsuki's teacher, Tsunade; Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who were also among the Sannin. Even Uchiha Tsuki's friends, Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki, stood behind Jiraiya—on the opposite side from Uchiha Tsuki.
Clearly, in order to deal with Uchiha Tsuki and complete this certain-kill scheme, Shimura Danzō had assembled Konoha's strongest lineup to face him. However, once Uchiha Naraku revealed that he and his son, Uchiha Tsuki, had long intended to retire into seclusion, the Konoha powerhouses—including the Third Hokage—shifted their gazes toward Shimura Danzō, the architect of this conspiracy.
At that moment, most of the Kage-level experts looked at him with doubt in their eyes.
At that moment, most of Konoha's Kage-level experts believed that everything had been Shimura Danzō's scheme, and that they had been deceived.
However, just as the Konoha Kage-level experts, who stood completely opposed to Uchiha Tsuki, began to question their own beliefs, Uchiha Tsuki suddenly smiled. That smile appearing on his face immediately brought countless Konoha Kage-level experts back to their senses. The next second, before any of them could speak, Uchiha Tsuki looked directly into his father Uchiha Naraku's eyes and said:
"Father. I knew from the beginning that retiring into seclusion was impossible."
"It was only that, before despair set in, I still held onto a sliver of hope for Konoha! Now, even that last trace of hope is gone. All I can do is despair!"
"Let the idea of retiring into