Fugaku was just about to step forward, but the Anbu behind the Third Hokage blocked his way.
In that instant, Danzo finally bared his fangs.
He was going to kill Shin-getsu with his own hands!
But Shin-getsu didn't retreat. He advanced instead.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto the blade's path.
[Causality Perception] pinpointed the point of danger.
Half a step to the left.
Head down.
Shoulder turned.
Danzo's short blade grazed Shin-getsu's cheek, cutting off only a few strands of black hair.
Shin-getsu's right hand shot out and clamped around Danzo's wrist.
Of course he couldn't overpower Danzo.
But he didn't need to.
He only needed to make contact.
The next instant, lightning burst forth.
"Lightning Release!"
Crackle!
Lightning Chakra surged through Danzo's wrist.
Danzo's right arm went numb, and his movement faltered.
That was all the opening Shin-getsu needed.
A steel wire whipped out from his sleeve and wrapped around Danzo's wrist.
Tekka roared and charged in with the Body Flicker Technique.
"You old bastard, get out of my way!"
Thud!
Tekka kicked Danzo in the chest.
Danzo stumbled back half a step.
At the same time, Shisui dispatched the Root shinobi blocking his path and slashed with his short blade.
Schhk!
A deep gash opened in Danzo's right arm.
The entire crowd erupted.
A Konoha Councilor, the shadow of the Hokage—
had actually been wounded and forced back by the Uchiha right in front of the Hokage Building!
Danzo's expression darkened, murderous intent churning in his eye.
He suddenly gritted his teeth and formed Hand Seals with his left hand.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Whoosh!
A blade of wind swept across the area.
Tekka and Shisui both retreated at once.
But Shin-getsu had already ducked in advance.
The wind blade skimmed over his head and sliced through a stone pillar behind him.
Boom!
Stone fragments flew everywhere.
The situation had completely spiraled out of control.
The Third Hokage roared:
"Everyone, stop!"
A powerful surge of chakra erupted.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was finally getting serious.
"Enma!"
Thud!
Summoning smoke exploded.
The Adamantine Staff appeared in the Third Hokage's hands. He swung it down between Danzo and the Uchiha.
Boom!
The ground split open.
Everyone was forced to stop.
The Third Hokage looked at Danzo with an icy gaze.
"Danzo, you've gone too far."
Danzo's chest heaved.
He knew he wouldn't gain anything by continuing the fight tonight.
Shin-getsu had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Shisui was there.
Fugaku was there.
The entire Uchiha Police Force was there.
The Third Hokage could no longer pretend not to see what was happening.
He had to back down.
But before he did, he had to protect himself.
Danzo suddenly said coldly:
"This was the work of Root remnants acting on their own."
"I knew nothing about it."
Everyone froze.
Tekka cursed aloud:
"Bullshit!"
But Shin-getsu narrowed his eyes.
Here it comes.
Cutting off his tail to escape.
Danzo said coldly:
"After Root was disbanded, some of its former members did indeed fall out of control."
"They acted on their own, trying to provoke the Uchiha."
"My actions just now were to clean house."
"As for the poison needles, the orders, and the Curse Seals, they can all be investigated."
"I'm willing to cooperate with the Hokage's investigation."
His words were shameless to the extreme.
But it was so like Danzo.
As long as there was no direct order, he could blame everything on "Root remnants."
The Third Hokage looked grim, but didn't immediately refute him.
He knew Danzo was offering both sides a way to back down.
If they kept tearing into each other, the infighting among Konoha's leadership would be exposed for all to see.
Shin-getsu, however, smiled.
"Cooperate with the investigation?"
"Sure."
He raised a hand and pointed at Danzo.
"Then first, you need to be stripped of all your positions."
Danzo's one eye turned cold.
"What did you say?"
Shin-getsu's voice wasn't loud, but it rang out clearly:
"First, suspend your position as a Konoha Councilor."
"Second, seal off every Root base."
"Third, hand over the roster of all Root members."
"Fourth, the Hokage's Anbu and the Uchiha Police Force will conduct a joint search."
"Fifth, Danzo himself is not to leave Konoha's central district."
He looked at the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage."
"If Lord Danzo really is innocent..."
"Then he won't refuse, will he?"
Danzo's expression changed dramatically.
This brat wasn't asking for an explanation.
He was going straight for Danzo's power!
The Third Hokage fell silent.
Everyone was watching him.
The Uchiha were watching.
The Anbu were watching.
The Konoha Ninja were watching.
If he refused, it would mean he was covering for Danzo.
If he agreed, Root would take a devastating blow.
The Third Hokage drew a deep breath.
At last, he spoke.
"Danzo."
"During the investigation, your position as a Councilor is suspended."
Danzo whipped his gaze toward the Third Hokage.
"Hiruzen!"
The Third Hokage's eyes were icy.
"This is a Hokage's order."
Danzo stared at him.
After a moment, he suddenly smiled.
His smile was chilling.
"Fine."
"I'll cooperate."
But the instant he finished speaking, Shin-getsu suddenly moved.
He flicked a Kunai from his hand.
It wasn't aimed at Danzo.
It was aimed at the sleeve of a Root shinobi behind him.
Clink!
The sleeve split open.
A small Communication Talisman fell out, its edge already halfway burned away.
Everyone's expression changed.
Shin-getsu sneered.
"Cooperate with the investigation?"
"Then what's this?"
The Root shinobi's face blanched. He turned to flee.
Shisui appeared with the Body Flicker Technique and knocked him unconscious with the hilt of his blade.
Tekka stepped forward and picked up the Communication Talisman. He glanced at it, his face lighting up with delight.
"It's a destruction order!"
"It was sent to the Root Southeast Outpost!"
The entire crowd was shaken.
A Root outpost!
Shin-getsu looked at the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage."
"If you'd waited just one more minute to agree..."
"The evidence at the Root outpost would have been burned to ashes."
The Third Hokage's expression darkened completely.
"Anbu!"
"Seal off the Root Southeast Outpost!"
Shingetsu spoke at once:
"The Uchiha Police Force is going too."
The Third Hokage glanced at him.
This time, he didn't refuse.
"Approved."
Tekka excitedly drew his sword.
"Brothers!"
"We're raiding Root's den!"
The Uchiha Police Force erupted into an uproar.
Dozens of figures surged into the night.
Danzo glared at Shingetsu.
At last, he understood.
From the very beginning, this kid hadn't planned to bring him down with witness testimony alone.
Shingetsu wanted to force him to cut the line.
To force Root to issue a destruction order.
Then use that order to go straight after the outpost!
Each move linked to the next.
Fast.
Ruthless.
Precise.
Danzo ground his teeth, killing intent practically spilling from his one eye.
"Uchiha Shingetsu..."
Shingetsu looked back at him, his Three-Tomoe slowly spinning.
"Don't rush."
"Tonight is only the beginning."
"I'll pull your roots out one by one."
The System Prompt boomed.
[The host publicly forced Councilor Danzo to suspend his duties.]
[The Root Southeast Outpost has been exposed.]
[Konoha High Command's control over Root has developed a rift.]
[Received Causality Points: 6000.]
[Current Causality Points: 6700.]
[The Night of the Clan Massacre Deviation has increased.]
[Current deviation: 15 percent.]
Southeastern Konoha.
An old underground warehouse.
On the surface, it was a long-abandoned wartime supply depot.
Its wooden door was rotten, the walls were peeling, and weeds grew thick all around.
But deep underground lay one of Root's outposts.
At that moment,
the outpost was in chaos.
"Quick!"
"Destroy all the mission scrolls!"
"Burn all the experimental records!"
"Leave no lists behind!"
"The Uchiha and Anbu are on their way!"
The Root shinobi moved swiftly.
They didn't scream in panic or waste time with needless words.
The instant they received the destruction order, they all began disposing of the evidence.
Scrolls were thrown into braziers.
Bottles and jars were smashed.
Hidden compartments were sealed shut.
One by one, the corpses preserved in ice were dragged toward the Underground Incineration Room.
This wasn't Root's central base.
But it still held plenty of things that weren't meant to see the light of day.
Especially the surveillance records on the Uchiha from the past few years.
If those things fell into Uchiha hands, it would spell trouble.
The outpost commander wore a gray mask, his gaze cold.
"Move faster."
"Lord Danzo has been temporarily held up by the Hokage."
"We have to clear everything out before Anbu and the Uchiha arrive."
A Root shinobi said gravely,
"There are still three boxes of scrolls in the Armory."
The commander replied coldly,
"Burn them."
"There are two test subjects in Room B."
"Dispose of them."
"Yes."
The Root shinobi turned to leave.
But just then,
BOOM!
The ground shook violently.
Dust fell from the ceiling of the entire underground outpost.
The commander looked up sharply.
"What's going on?"
The next instant, a Root shinobi rushed in.
"The entrance has been breached!"
"The Uchiha Police Force is here!"
The commander's pupils contracted.
"So soon?"
Before he'd finished speaking,
a furious roar sounded outside.
"You Root scum!"
"Your grandpa Tekka is here!"
Before you continue