Retrial

The one who spoke was Sarutobi Kakuya.

He had been listening quietly below.

He already knew about Danzo Shimura being accused of these matters.

It was Danzo Shimura who had ordered Ryoma Aburame to provoke Uchiha Yato. The key was that he and Hyuga Boya were merely two dispensable substitutes.

Yet in the end, they simply recited the charges and claimed that Ryoma Aburame was still young and had acted on his own.

His anger flared up at once, and unable to restrain himself, he loudly declared that he disagreed with the verdict.

Everyone who had thought it was over instantly changed their attitude.

Even Uchiha Yato, standing above, could barely hold himself back. He had thought he could only fleece the sheep once, but now he could get two more rounds out of them.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi saw that it was his own nephew objecting, he was momentarily left speechless.

Danzo Shimura was even worse off. Since the trial had begun, he had already been humiliated for nearly two hours.

Now, because of a single sentence from this hotheaded fool, it might drag on even longer.

The others were affected to varying degrees as well.

At that moment, Uchiha Yato continued to press the wound. "Don't be afraid. If there is any injustice, we will speak up for you."

"Come on, say everything you want to say out loud!"

"Ding~"

"Congratulations, Host, for breaking Konoha F4's defenses."

"Received 200 Emotion Coins."

"Congratulations, Host, for causing emotional fluctuations in Uchiha Kei and the others."

"Received 50 Emotion Coins."

Thinking back on the events of the past few days, Sarutobi Kakuya laid out everything involving Uchiha Lianjiang and Danzo Shimura.

Looking at the crowd, Sarutobi Kakuya said, "The punishment is too light. Hyuga Boya and I were chosen by him as targets to be framed."

"But what if it had been someone else?"

"Remember this!"

"If I stand by coldly today, then tomorrow no one will wave the flag and shout for me!"

Those words were immensely stirring. Even Hyuga Boya, who had been somewhat hesitant, felt his blood begin to boil.

The Uchiha Clan staff felt that this was simply too Uchiha!

But the ones most deeply affected were probably Konoha's villagers.

Their combat strength was the lowest.

In the ninja world, might made right. Why were Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha able to end the chaotic age and usher in the era of ninja villages?

Why, while Hashirama Senju was alive and Madara Uchiha had not left Konoha, did the other ninja villages not dare start a war?

Gradually, many of the observing villagers also felt that such a verdict was far too lenient.

There was no longer any need for the two advisors to express their opinions or relay any messages.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt deeply conflicted.

On one hand, the issue with his friend Danzo Shimura had now become something all the villagers cared about.

On the other, even his own nephew had spoken up, making it difficult for him to show favoritism.

Most importantly, the line, "If I stand by coldly today, then tomorrow no one will wave the flag and shout for me," had caused far too great an emotional impact. If mishandled, it could easily stir up public resentment.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered his thoughts before saying, "Danzo Shimura failed in his supervision and did not restrain the actions of his subordinates."

"Danzo Shimura will now be retried."

"He is stripped of his position as Hokage's assistant and will be imprisoned in Konoha's jail for three months."

"The Shimura Clan will compensate the Uchiha, Aburame, Hyuga, and Sarutobi Clans."

After saying this, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to let out a breath.

Then he brought this trial to an end.

This time, the villagers had gotten quite the scoop, and they eagerly spread word of the court established by the Uchiha Clan.

They also spread word of how the villagers who had attended the hearing had expressed dissatisfaction with Danzo Shimura's verdict, leading to the retrial.

Basically, everyone who had appeared in court became the subject of a major wave of discussion.

Sarutobi Kakuya in particular had effectively spoken on behalf of the villagers.

Sarutobi Kakuya was overjoyed. The next day, many villagers voluntarily sent him fruits and vegetables.

It had to be said that such simple folk customs and heartfelt gratitude were the most comforting things.

Of course, the unfortunate Danzo Shimura privately sought out Hiruzen Sarutobi.

When Danzo Shimura threw a fit in the Hokage's office, no one paid any attention to him.

Danzo Shimura said, "Hiruzen, how could you let your nephew behave so foolishly?"

"He got to show off all he wanted!"

"Now look at me—I ended up in prison."

"And that Uchiha Yato, his mouth was practically split from smiling during the trial."

"You old comrades didn't help me either. You all just stood there watching me make a fool of myself."

Danzo Shimura's voice gradually shifted from furious roaring to recounting his grievances, and finally into pitiful complaints.

Honestly, Danzo Shimura did look rather pitiful like that.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "All right, all right. Take this as a lesson."

"Don't make another move against Uchiha Yato. This isn't the first time you've suffered at his hands."

"I know exactly what happened this time. Didn't you kill the man's aunt, then decide to strike first because of what happened before?"

As Konoha's Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew perfectly well what kind of person his old friend was.

So he stated it directly, making Danzo Shimura understand his mistakes while also showing that the Hokage had plenty of eyes and ears.

It also made Danzo Shimura understand what someone of his status ought to be doing.

After consoling him for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi added, "You will continue as the leader of Root. You are still my right-hand man."

"But you'll have to suffer a little. You need to go through the motions at Konoha's jail—just go through the motions. I won't let you stay there for long."

"After a few months, once you've produced some achievements, we'll clear your name before the villagers. Then you'll have your elder's position back as well."

Danzo Shimura naturally knew what the final outcome would be. He had not come merely to chat with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had also come to create an alibi for himself.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Konoha Village, near the Uchiha Clan compound.

Three men dressed in black stood before Uchiha Yato, confronting him.

Uchiha Yato said, "All right, all right, drop the act. Aren't you Danzo's men?"

"You're organized and disciplined, so I won't ask any more questions. Let's begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, the three men charged directly at Uchiha Yato.

To avoid giving anyone grounds for criticism, all three used basic ninjutsu and familiar elemental techniques.

Uchiha Yato's thoughts were even simpler: not one of them was leaving this place alive.

His eyes instantly transformed into the three-tomoe Sharingan, and with a ninja blade in hand, he rushed toward one of them.

The three reacted quickly as well. Working together and using various tools and explosive tags, they caused Uchiha Yato quite a bit of trouble.

But an Uchiha jonin was not so easily brought down.

Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Red.

This technique had been developed from the Phoenix Flower Fire Technique. By attaching flames to flying shuriken, it sent shuriken blazing with searing heat at the enemy like phoenix flowers scattered across the sky.

Not only did it possess the heat and destructive force of Fire Release, it also retained the shuriken's cutting power. Even after the flames went out, the shuriken could still inflict severe injuries on the enemy.

Because it required considerable skill to use, it was more powerful than the Phoenix Flower Fire Technique and made for an excellent feint.

Following that technique, Uchiha Yato used Fire Release: Wildfire.

This was a combined ninjutsu he had learned from Hiruzen Sarutobi. Flames instantly filled the sky.

The exaggerated spectacle made Uchiha Yato look like a demon of fire.

The three men opposite him had worked together for a long time. Knowing that Uchiha Yato was an Uchiha, they naturally had plenty of Earth Release and Water Release users among them.

Water Release: Water Encampment Wall.

It immediately extinguished the flames around them, finally giving them a chance to catch their breath.

Only then did they truly understand one thing: they should never have believed Danzo's nonsense and come to ambush an Uchiha.

"Now that you regret it, you won't be getting away anymore~"