At Danzo's words, the Uchiha showed no reaction, but Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga Clan, went dark in the face.
Who are you taking a shot at?
During the Third Great Ninja War, a member of the Hyuuga Clan's Main Family had lost an eye on the Kirigakure battlefield. Kirigakure had later brazenly transplanted that Byakugan into an Elite Jonin.
It was no secret among the Konoha High Command. Kirigakure had not even bothered to hide it.
To the Hyuuga Clan, having another village openly transplant their Kekkei Genkai was a tremendous humiliation.
The worst part was that the Hyuuga Clan had no way to settle the score.
What were they supposed to do, send their shinobi into Kirigakure to kill Ao and take the Byakugan back?
There were easier ways to get themselves killed.
Was Danzo saying to his face that the Hyuuga Clan was inferior to the Uchiha?
Danzo had no attention to spare for whether he had offended the Hyuuga Clan. Even if he had realized it, he probably would not have cared.
Right now, he was doing everything he could to brand the Uchiha as traitors.
If he could not bring someone down physically, he could still crush them completely in spirit.
Hatake Sakumo was the best example.
That was precisely what Danzo was trying to do now.
But a knowing smile appeared on Xuanye's face.
"Is that really so, Lord Danzo?"
"Of course!"
Danzo sounded utterly righteous, but he felt a twinge of guilt.
Beneath the bandages over his right eye, he had a Three-Tomoe Sharingan transplanted.
Its origins were not exactly shameful. It had belonged to Kagami Uchiha, a friend of his and Sarutobi Hiruzen's, and a fellow student of Teacher Tobirama.
It was just that after Kagami died in battle, Danzo had taken the eye and transplanted it into himself without the Uchiha's consent.
The Sharingan collected by Root shinobi on the battlefield were still safely stored in the Root Base, and almost no one knew about them.
But the eye beneath his bandages was a glaring weakness. If these fearless Uchiha pulled the bandages off his face in public, it would all be over.
All he could do was gamble that Xuanye did not know.
But what people feared most had a way of coming to pass.
Xuanye's smile did not change. He kept watching Danzo with that unreadable expression.
This time, though, he addressed everyone present.
When someone spread rumors about you, the most important thing was not to fall into the trap of trying to prove your innocence.
The one making the accusation had to provide proof. Failing that, you could at least try to drag them into the mess.
And if you could not drag them in, you muddied the waters.
"There are two excellent ways to judge whether someone is the culprit."
"First, look at his motive. The Fourth Hokage and his wife died in the Nine-Tails Incident, and Konoha must choose a Fifth Hokage."
"Who among us do you think would most want that to happen?"
Everyone fell into thought. Some turned their eyes toward Danzo.
Everyone knew Danzo had wanted to become Hokage for years.
He wanted it so badly that he had long since become willing to do anything.
Danzo had also said in public more than once that the village had to control its Jinchuriki completely. He had designs on the Nine-Tails, too.
The Uchiha, on the other hand, only wanted one of their own to become Hokage. They did not seem to care about the Nine-Tails.
To everyone's shock, it all fit!
It was too much to dismiss as coincidence. Judging by motive, Danzo was a serious suspect.
Danzo's talent for making people hate him had its uses: plenty of them were now laying the blame squarely at his feet.
If something terrible happened and no one knew who was behind it, Danzo must have done it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew Danzo had once tried to assassinate him. Even he looked at Danzo with suspicion now.
Could he really have done it?
Even the jonin who did not know Danzo well followed the crowd and turned to look at him.
Everyone else is looking at him, so I will too.
It took a certain kind of reputation to make everyone suspect the same man.
And Danzo had earned it.
His name was mud with nearly every shinobi clan. Now almost everyone suspected him of having a hand in the Nine-Tails breaking free and the deaths of Minato and his wife.
The reason was simple: he stood to gain the most.
Unless the Third Hokage returned to power and kept his grip on it, an election for the Fifth Hokage was inevitable.
Besides, Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting old. Even if he returned to office, how many more years could he hold on?
Power would eventually pass to the next Hokage.
And within the Hokage Faction, few people still had both the standing and the ability to take the position.
Of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade had developed Hemophobia. She could not even serve as a shinobi anymore.
Jiraiya had no interest in power and had been away from Konoha for a long time.
That left Orochimaru. After losing the race for Fourth Hokage, he no longer seemed particularly interested in the Hokage Position. He sat in a corner of the meeting hall now, wearing an almost amused expression.
Indeed, Orochimaru looked as though he was enjoying a show.
He had little interest in becoming Hokage anymore, but he was happy to watch Danzo squirm.
Within the Hokage Faction, Danzo was currently the likeliest person to become the next Hokage.
As for the Uchiha... terrifying as their fighting strength was, anyone with eyes could see they were not part of the Hokage Faction. Sarutobi Hiruzen would certainly stop them from taking the position.
Before anyone knew the Uchiha possessed such overwhelming strength, Danzo releasing the Nine-Tails to get Namikaze Minato killed would have sounded entirely plausible. It sounded exactly like Danzo.
With that one remark, Xuanye had also dug a deep pit for Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He could hold the reins for a while. After all, Konoha needed a stable transfer of power, not upheaval.
But if he delayed the Fifth Hokage election for too long, certain people would begin to see what Sarutobi Hiruzen intended.
Only when he noticed everyone looking at him did Danzo realize the trap Xuanye had set.
"You... you're making baseless accusations! I did no such thing!"
At that moment, those two feeble protests were all Danzo could muster.
Because he had suddenly realized that the evil Uchiha brat was right. Judging by motive, he was the prime suspect.
Even the Uchiha looked less suspicious than he did.
Danzo was so furious he could have coughed up blood.
If anyone in the room knew he was innocent, it was Danzo himself.