Even Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking at Danzo with suspicion, even wariness, wondering if he had caused the Nine-Tails Incident.
From what Hiruzen knew of Danzo, he was absolutely capable of it.
They had been friends for decades, yet Danzo had still tried to assassinate him. What wouldn't Danzo do?!
And Root had been nowhere to be seen last night. Its absence from start to finish was another glaring point of suspicion.
It was hard not to wonder what Danzo had been up to.
This showed just how important a good reputation was.
Danzo had done so many rotten things that, the moment anything went wrong, everyone believed he was responsible.
But this really wasn't Danzo's doing!
Danzo was so furious he could spit blood. All he'd done last night was conserve his forces and order Root to stay hidden.
How had that turned into him sending Root's Shinobi off to do something shady?
"You still haven't explained why the Sharingan appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes."
"Until you explain that, the Uchiha Family remains the prime suspect in the Nine-Tails Incident and the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife!"
Unable to convince anyone, Danzo tried to shift the blame.
It was his usual tactic. After all, there was no denying the Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails' eyes last night. Plenty of people had seen it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward as well, hoping to clear his old friend of suspicion.
"That's right. The Uchiha Family owes Konoha an explanation."
"Many civilians died or were injured last night. We must get to the bottom of this."
Hiruzen truly didn't want to abandon Danzo. They had been brothers-in-arms for years, and Hiruzen had tacitly approved many of Root's covert actions.
It would be a shame to give up such a useful Pot Kage to take the blame.
Besides, if Danzo were backed into a corner, who knew whether he might turn on Hiruzen?
And targeting the Uchiha Family was practically a tradition among the Hokage's faction. Of course Hiruzen had to speak up now.
Xuanye turned his smiling gaze toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Third Hokage, are you sure you want to get to the bottom of this?" Xuanye kept digging the trap.
Hiruzen declared righteously, "This concerns the Fourth Hokage. Of course we must uncover the truth."
He might as well have added, I will never tolerate evil.
Xuanye nodded. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
But the look on Xuanye's face made Hiruzen uneasy.
He had a nagging feeling Xuanye had laid a huge trap for him.
"As I said earlier, there are two ways to judge whether someone is the culprit."
"One is motive. The other is capability."
He had covered motive. Now it was time for capability.
"Before the Fourth Hokage used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, he told me that the mysterious man he fought last night wore a spiral-patterned mask. Only his right eye was visible—and it held a Sharingan."
"And though he couldn't see the Masked Man's face, his hairstyle and hair color were exactly the same as yours, Elder Danzo."
"What a coincidence! Don't you think?"
The moment Xuanye said that, everyone looked at Danzo differently.
Their gazes fixed especially on his bandaged right eye. They had always wondered why he kept it covered.
So that was what he had been hiding?
Xuanye pressed on. "Elder Danzo, would you mind removing the bandages from your face and showing everyone what your right eye looks like?"
Danzo was utterly stunned. He couldn't even maintain his outward composure. His hand instinctively flew up to cover the bandages over his right eye.
Everyone knew that someone without Uchiha blood couldn't switch off a transplanted Sharingan.
All they had to do was remove the bandages over Danzo's right eye, and they would know at once whether he had one.
He didn't realize that his gesture only made him look guiltier.
It was no secret that Sharingan could be transplanted. Kakashi's left eye had been transplanted from his dear friend Obito.
But the Uchiha Family had agreed to that—or at least Fugaku had.
Of course, Fugaku had done so to curry favor with the Hokage's faction, hoping to win over Namikaze Minato or bring him to their side.
As it turned out, Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage after the war.
But that was beside the point. As Danzo covered his right eye, every gaze in the room sharpened.
His attempt to hide it only made things more obvious. There was evidence enough already.
Veins bulged on the foreheads of the Hyuuga Clan members, whose bloodline also granted them a visual jutsu. Others almost mistook it for them activating the Byakugan.
They could not allow anyone to transplant another bloodline clan's abilities without permission.
Today it was the Uchiha Family. Tomorrow it could be the Hyuuga Clan!
Some Shinobi whom Namikaze Minato had saved on the battlefield made no effort to hide the killing intent in their eyes.
Kakashi most of all. If not for the last shred of his self-control, he would already have attacked Danzo.
There was more than enough evidence now. The deaths of Minato and his wife, and all those villagers killed or injured—it was all Danzo's fault!
"I have nothing to prove! This is all a Uchiha plot!" Danzo roared. He knew he absolutely could not remove the bandages. Once he did, he would look guilty whether he was or not!
He had motive and capability.
Even the attacker's appearance matched his.
Danzo began to doubt himself. Had I really done it last night?
Had I done all of it in my sleep without knowing?
Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes.
He knew the truth no longer mattered.
By covering his right eye, Danzo had all but confirmed himself as the prime suspect in the Nine-Tails Incident.
No, perhaps he was more than a suspect. Shinobi had never needed much evidence.
If they wanted evidence, they could capture Danzo. There were plenty of ways to extract his memories.
Even Hiruzen now wondered if Danzo truly had orchestrated everything last night, intending to frame the Uchiha Family today and seize the position of Fifth Hokage while he was at it.
Given Danzo's character, he was absolutely capable of it!
Xuanye smiled with delight.
Danzo, you old bastard. So you know what it feels like to be falsely accused.