"W-who did this?"
At the sight of his son's horrific condition, Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer maintain his usual gentleness and kindness. He ground his teeth and spat out the words.
His contorted face and the veins bulging at his temples made the surrounding Anbu Ninja shudder.
At that moment, everyone present knew that the Third, hailed as the strongest Hokage in history and honored with the title of Shinobi Hero, was furious.
"W-we don't know. When we found him, he was already..." the Anbu Ninja beside him stammered.
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could respond, the Anbu squad led by Kakashi hurried over from the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Lord Hokage, only Sasuke Uchiha survived from the Uchiha Clan. He's under a genjutsu and in a deep coma. And..."
Kakashi's expression beneath his mask was particularly complicated. He hesitated, then continued, "We also found Chiya's body. He seems to have been caught in a powerful genjutsu similar to Sasuke Uchiha's, then stabbed through the chest and killed with a single blow. His mask and sword are missing, too. We've recovered his body."
Chiya was his friend Yuhi Kurenai's student.
The orphan of his teacher, Naruto's, first love.
Kakashi had also taught Chiya some ninjutsu, and had thought highly of him.
No matter who they were, no one wanted to see Chiya die.
Yuhi Kurenai especially cared for Chiya. Kakashi was probably the one who knew that best.
During the year Chiya had spent in Anbu, monitoring the Uchiha Clan,
Kurenai had asked him about Chiya almost every few days.
All Kakashi could do was reassure her that Chiya was safe, without revealing anything about the mission.
He could hardly imagine how devastating it would be for Yuhi Kurenai to learn that Chiya was dead.
Hearing that Chiya had died brought Sarutobi Hiruzen a small measure of comfort.
But he was a wily old fox. Noticing the sorrow in Kakashi's voice, he could only suppress his own grief and murderous rage, then feign regret. "Chiya died protecting his comrades and the Uchiha from the attack on Konoha. He was a hero of Konoha. Once you've finished handling the Uchiha Clan's bodies, take some people and give him a proper burial."
"As for Kurenai, Chiya was her student. You should go and let her know."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi replied respectfully. Deeply moved, he admired the Third all the more for his consideration toward his subordinates.
After Kakashi left, the Third's gaze turned icy. "Start counting the Uchiha Clan's dead immediately and verify every name. Also, take Shinnosuke and the others' bodies to the Analysis Department. I want to know who killed them."
He suspected that someone besides Itachi had emerged as a powerful fighter within the Uchiha Clan.
Otherwise, his son, an elite jonin, and four capable assistants could not have died so terribly.
And it was very likely the same mysterious person who had severed Danzo's left arm and taken Shisui's right eye.
With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen led the surrounding Anbu into the Uchiha Clan Compound at a brisk pace.
This time, besides finding the person who had killed his son and the other clan members, he also needed someone to take the blame for the Uchiha Clan's destruction.
He could pin most of the blame on Uchiha Itachi.
But those old foxes from Konoha's other clans were not so easy to fool.
They knew the whole story between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha High Command like the backs of their hands.
One wrong move, and they would all become anxious and turn Konoha into a disunited mess.
Then he would no longer be able to hold on to the Hokage Position.
That was the last thing Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted.
So he needed a scapegoat.
And that scapegoat was none other than his good friend, Shimura Danzo.
This would bring two benefits.
First, it would appease the other clans of Konoha.
Second, Root Division had grown too powerful to control. It had even reached the point where it no longer took him, the "strongest Hokage in history," seriously.
They had only Lord Danzo in their hearts, not the Third.
This was the perfect opportunity to weaken Root Division.
That was also why he had agreed to let Danzo go to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
As for the little scheme Danzo was carrying out in secret—
Recovering Sharingan, was it?
He knew all about it.
He would consider it a small compensation for Danzo.
Poor Danzo had traded away the watermelon for a sesame seed. He was secretly congratulating himself for exterminating the Uchiha Clan, unaware that he had been caught in Sarutobi Hiruzen's schemes all along.
Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen himself wasn't doing much better.
Not only had he lost his eldest son and daughter-in-law, but Chiya had also nearly wiped out his entire clan.
In secret, Chiya watched it all unfold.
The idea to fake his death had come to him on the spur of the moment.
He wanted to make Konoha High Command believe that someone had disguised themselves as him and wiped out the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan.
He had no choice. He couldn't just leave his student, Mitaraishi Anko, behind like Orochimaru had, then walk away without a care.
Yuhi Kurenai was still in Konoha.
This was also a way of protecting her.
Afterward, whether or not Sarutobi Hiruzen found out that he had killed members of the Sarutobi Clan, Chiya would already be dead as far as everyone knew. Sarutobi Hiruzen would have no choice but to swallow his anger.
By the time Chiya returned to Konoha, it would be time for the Konoha Crush Plan.
"I should go see Kurenai."
Knowing that the Root Division Ninja had never seen Kyoka Suigetsu's release, Chiya thought it over carefully. Using Kyoka Suigetsu as cover, he took away the three crows that had died in his place and in place of Uchiha Izumi and Mikoto.
Then he casually stole Fugaku's body, along with the bodies of several nearby Uchiha Clan members who had Three-Tomoe Sharingan, to use as smoke screens.
Finally, he slipped away from the Uchiha Clan Compound without a sound.
Meanwhile,
at the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters,
"Be careful! Don't damage my Sharingan!" Danzo said, enduring his stomachache as he directed the Root Division Ninja to recover the Sharingan. He was both suffering and enjoying himself.
Just then, a Root Division Ninja came to report. "Lord Danzo, we've finished counting the dead. Everyone in the Konoha Military Police Force has been killed, except Uchiha Fugaku, who was at the Uchiha Clan Compound. I've sent the death list to the Third as you requested, but..."
The ninja hesitated, then continued, "Most of them had both eyes gouged out. And there aren't many Three-Tomoe Sharingan left, either."
"That damned bastard." Danzo furrowed his brow and cursed under his breath.
He knew about this.
It was part of his deal with Obito. Obito would help him wipe out the Konoha Military Police Force, and in return, Obito would take half of the Sharingan.
But judging by what his subordinate had said, Obito had clearly taken more than half.
"Lord Danzo, what should we do?" the Root Division Ninja asked.
"Leave a few people here to keep watch and continue recovering the Sharingan. The rest of you, come with me to the Uchiha Clan Compound," Danzo ordered sharply.
Before you continue