Who Was He Preparing to Control?

"Everyone, take a good look. He attacked Shisui today, then immediately stuffed the Sharingan into his own eye socket."

"Someone who covets everyone's bloodline limits can actually sit among Konoha's upper ranks!"

Zhengye's gaze swept over the bloodline clans' ninja from the Hyuga Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho, and others, his voice sinking.

"Why don't you all think about it—could Danzo have done something like this alone without hiding it from the Hokage? Or did someone permit it?"

The Hyuga Clan and Ino-Shika-Cho members' expressions changed dramatically, while the other ninja clans all revealed shocked and incredulous looks.

The way they looked at the Third Hokage was plainly filled with distrust.

The Third Hokage's head spun. He truly had not expected Danzo to directly install the Sharingan into his own eye socket.

He was not even trying to hide it anymore.

If there had been no evidence, he might have been able to smooth things over somehow. But now the evidence was right on Danzo's body—how could he argue his way out of this!?

And that was not all!

Inabi slashed down with his blade. With a clang, the sealing iron cuff on Danzo's arm fell away, and the bandages completely unraveled.

Beneath them was a strange grayish-white arm. More importantly—

Three Sharingan were rolling around on it!

"Sarutobi Hiruzen! What else do you have to say! Exactly how many members of my Uchiha Clan did you secretly assassinate!"

Zhengye's shout made the Third Hokage's head buzz.

The Third Hokage could not help taking a step back.

He truly had not known that Danzo had dug out so many Sharingan and implanted them in his arm.

This was no longer merely a scandal. It was a devastating blow to Konoha's leadership's reputation!

Even the ANBU who had rushed over had lost all will to fight, staring blankly at the Third Hokage.

Gritting his teeth, the Third Hokage said, "This matter... I... was unaware of it."

The moment the words left his mouth, even he found them powerless.

He was the Hokage. His deputy had been systematically plotting to seize the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan for years—and he knew nothing? Who would believe that?

Whether Ino-Shika-Cho or the Hyuga Clan, they all stared deeply at the Third Hokage.

He immediately added, "But I will investigate Danzo thoroughly at once. I will definitely give your Uchiha Clan an explanation!"

"But Danzo needs to have his bleeding stopped immediately. If he dies, then the dead will tell no tales!"

Looking at the pool of blood beneath Danzo, the Third Hokage's brow twitched fiercely.

Danzo had made an enormous blunder today, but he absolutely could not die.

If his strongest scapegoat died, the Third Hokage would be the only one left to shoulder the blame.

Besides, who would do all the dirty work then?

Zhengye could also see that Danzo was nearly done for. After all, having both legs severed resulted in a horrifying amount of blood loss.

If Danzo had not been a ninja, he would already have been dead.

But he was not far from it now. Having lost so much blood, he could not even activate the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.

His consciousness had already sunk into the abyss, and he had completely passed out.

Zhengye lifted his chin, signaling the white-capped medical ninja beside him to go over.

Having received instructions long ago, the medical ninja swiftly ran over to stop Danzo's bleeding.

During that time, the Uchiha Clan's elites, along with the other clansmen led by Yashiro, had already gathered behind Zhengye.

The Uchiha Clan members had basically learned what had happened here.

Especially since Danzo still had four Sharingan on his body.

After performing some simple treatment, Konoha's medical ninja said, "Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo's life is in critical danger. He must be taken to the hospital immediately, or he will not survive three hours."

The Third Hokage looked toward Zhengye, but Zhengye showed no intention of letting Danzo off.

He beckoned to Izumi among the Uchiha Clan members.

Izumi was Itachi's classmate. Though she was only eleven, she possessed outstanding talent in medical ninjutsu and could already independently perform simple surgeries.

More importantly—Zhengye needed Itachi to watch Izumi dig the Sharingan out of Danzo's body one by one.

"Go. Dig out all the Sharingan on his body. One of them belongs to Shisui—put it back for him."

"M-Me?" Izumi was a little nervous.

Izumi was surprised. She did not understand why, when there were medical ninja in the clan more skilled than her, Zhengye had called for her.

Zhengye glanced at Itachi, then nodded at Izumi.

"Yes. Don't worry, you're just removing some eyes."

"Yes, understood." Izumi took a deep breath, then went to dig out Danzo's eyes.

Medical ninjutsu in the ninja world could forcibly stimulate bodily cells to divide and reconnect. Thus, reconnecting the optic nerve—the hardest part in Zhengye's original world—had become the easiest step.

All that was needed was to place the eyeball back into the socket in the correct direction. Medical ninjutsu would handle the rest.

Shisui's eye was soon returned to its socket.

He checked it with his ocular power and confirmed that it was indeed his own eye, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

He had gone through too much tonight, and Shisui was also somewhat exhausted.

However, an accident occurred when Izumi dug out the three Sharingan from Danzo's arm.

The instant the three Sharingan left that gray arm, it began to swell continuously. It looked as though countless insects were wriggling beneath the skin, while tiny saplings poked out one after another from its pores.

The Third Hokage's pupils suddenly contracted.

Hashirama Cells!

Danzo had actually performed this kind of experiment on himself!

If that arm went out of control in the center of Konoha, the consequences would be unimaginable!

He immediately gave the medical ninja beside him a look.

The other man understood. With a flash of his chakra scalpel, he severed the entire arm from Danzo's shoulder.

The severed arm hit the ground and rapidly twisted and warped, transforming into a gnarled tree stump in the blink of an eye.

Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan stared fixedly at the stump, his brow tightly furrowed.

Hashirama Cells—Danzo had actually been using the First Hokage's cells for experiments.

He instinctively glanced at the Third Hokage, then silently looked away.

By now, Danzo had lost all four limbs and had become nothing more than a living torso.

If they did a little more work on his head, he would be no different from a human swine.

Ever since the many Sharingan on Danzo's body had been exposed, Fugaku had not spoken. He merely stood behind Zhengye with a grim expression.

Yet the way he looked at Zhengye was extremely complicated—shock, gratification, and more.

He knew that many things must have happened tonight for Inabi, Shisui, and Itachi to support Zhengye so resolutely.

While the entire Uchiha Clan had mobilized, Zhengye's series of moves had all struck Konoha where it hurt most.

Whether it was building alliances or military deterrence, he had handled everything exceptionally well.

They had once been bullied by Konoha to the point of having to move to the village's outskirts, yet in one night, all their pent-up resentment had been dispelled.

Fugaku could not help wondering whether his former policy toward outsiders had truly been wrong.

"Uchiha Fugaku, regarding tonight's matter..." The Third Hokage tried to get Fugaku to take the bait.

But Fugaku merely raised a hand in a casual stopping gesture and pointed at Zhengye.

"Tonight's operation was commanded by Zhengye, the Fourth Elder of our Uchiha Clan. Say whatever you have to say to him."

As he said this, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

But he had to admit that Zhengye's performance tonight was far superior to that of him, the clan head.

Fugaku's complete delegation of authority filled the Third Hokage's heart with gloom.

He could already tell that Zhengye was far more troublesome than Fugaku.

The Third Hokage could only say in a deep voice, "Zhengye, we cannot remain here indefinitely. Have your clansmen return to the clan grounds."

Zhengye turned to look at the members of the other ninja clans. A smile appeared on his face. His goal was to have every other ninja clan in Konoha come out and support him.

He intended to settle Danzo's matter once and for all.

"Fine. Have the Third Hokage publicly convict Danzo, acknowledge the previous targeting of the Uchiha Clan, and hold a meeting in the village tomorrow to compensate us."

The Third Hokage's expression stiffened. Convicting Danzo was certainly not a problem, but deciding how severe the punishment had to be to keep the Uchiha Clan from refusing to let it go would require great finesse.

With a faintly mocking smile, Zhengye said, "Third Hokage, Shisui's ocular technique is ineffective against Clan Head Fugaku, who also possesses the Mangekyo."

"Who do you think he dug out Shisui's Sharingan to control?"

The Third Hokage's eyes abruptly narrowed.

Danzo... were you planning to control me?