Public Execution: Severing the Hand of Hypocrisy

The abrupt sound was the system notification echoing repeatedly through his mind. A system panel unfolded before him, three flashing options appearing in the center of his vision.

Option One: Quit while ahead, throw a specially made smoke bomb, and retreat immediately. Reward: the Escapist title.

Option Two: Take Danzo hostage and force the Third Hokage to back down. This required capturing him alive first. Reward: an A-rank Water Release ninjutsu.

Option Three: Sever the arm embedded with Sharingan before everyone. This would expose the truth to all, utterly disgrace Konoha's upper ranks. Reward: an advanced Yin–Yang Release analysis scroll.

Without a moment's thought, Ye chose the third option.

The veins around Danzo's shriveled eye socket bulged. At the brink of death, the immense ocular power accumulated by the Mangekyō Sharingan had yet to take shape when the fear rising in his heart forcibly interrupted it. His instinct to survive overwhelmed every calculation.

"You little bastard, don't do anything reckless. You wouldn't dare!"

As Danzo roared at the top of his lungs, the chakra within him spiraled out of control, wildly surging backward through his chakra pathways.

His wide black sleeve burst apart on the spot, countless scraps of cloth flying through the air. No longer caring to hide his trump card, he violently shook his right shoulder.

The First Hokage Cells were forcibly driven to their limit, and the more than ten Three-Tomoe Sharingan on his pale arm spun madly.

Sharp, thick Wood Release branches pierced through his palm with a dull sound of flesh and bone tearing apart, hurtling toward Ye's heart with the wind.

The strike was so fast that there was no room to dodge, simply because the two stood far too close.

Without moving even half a step, Ye watched the Wood Release spear toward him.

Dark purple energy instantly covered his body, forming a heavy, solid layer of defense. The chakra of his Sage Body accelerated on its own within him.

A piercing cracking sound rang out as the Wood Release branch struck Ye squarely in the chest.

Wood chips scattered everywhere. The wooden spike began collapsing segment by segment from its tip, unable to pierce his flesh and instead failing under the force rebounding toward it.

The viciousness on Danzo's face was swept away by terror. His remaining left eye widened, blood vessels bulging one after another beneath it.

Even the First Hokage Cells he had been so proud of could not break through Ye's defense.

"Old dog, is that all you've got?"

Finding the struggle before him laughable, Ye curled his lips into a cold smile. He wasted no more time, coating the ninja blade in his hand with high-frequency vibrating Wind Release chakra as it flashed with azure light and slashed down.

There was no suspense to this attack.

The shrill sound of cutting made everyone's scalp tingle. The blade sliced through flesh, then severed the shoulder bone.

A great spray of blood splattered over the scorched earth, gushing from Danzo's right shoulder and drawing a crimson line beneath the moonlight.

Pain distorted his entire face beyond recognition, and a miserable scream squeezed from his throat.

Losing his balance, Danzo clutched the smooth stump with his left hand and fell into the rubble, rolling back and forth while holding his shoulder.

In a grotesque sight too horrible to look at, the pale arm spun through the air, more than ten scarlet Sharingan turning beneath the moonlight.

It rolled across the rubble several more times before crashing down into an open space dozens of meters away.

Dozens of clan heads from the major families charged into the battlefield right after that, just as a large force of Konoha elites broke through the ruins surrounding the area.

The severed arm rolled all the way to the feet of Hyuga Hiashi, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, and the others, who had only just steadied themselves. Its bloodstained fingers pointed directly at them.

Only the wind swept through the ruins, moaning low between broken walls. Not a single human voice could be heard.

Hyuga Hiashi staggered backward several steps, nearly crashing into his clansmen behind him. Instinctively activating his Byakugan, he saw the chakra pathway structure within the arm.

Choza Akimichi's large hands trembled uncontrollably as he gripped his iron staff, the metal shaft trembling faintly as well.

No Konoha ninja could mistake that pale flesh or those familiar eyes. They were the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan.

This arm embedded with Sharingan had just been attached to Shimura Danzo, one of Konoha's top officials and the leader of Root.

He had actually used the corpses of comrades from the same village for such brutal human modifications. This was what the old man who had long claimed to be Konoha's Root had been doing in secret.

Some people stared at that row of Sharingan, unable to move their feet for a long while. Others gritted their teeth, veins bulging in the arms gripping their weapons. Some felt their stomachs churn and turned away to retch.

The looks directed at the Third Hokage changed. The ninja blades in the Anbu's hands trembled slightly as disgust, terror, and fury rapidly spread through the crowd.

The Ruyi Jingu Bang slipped from Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand, sending rubble rolling in every direction. The blood drained from his face.

Under everyone's gaze, he could only watch as all the ugly secrets he had concealed were utterly exposed by that severed arm. His lips moved a few times, but not a single word came from his throat.

But this was not over yet.

Ignoring everyone's reactions, Ye walked toward Danzo, who was still rolling amid the rubble. Looking down at the struggling man, he raised his foot and planted it on Danzo's chest, pinning him firmly in place.

"Take your filthy hand away. Trash like you doesn't deserve to use these eyes."

Ye reached out, driving two fingers directly into Danzo's right eye socket.

A miserable scream that made everyone present shudder shot into the sky. Blood splashed onto Ye's hand as Danzo's cries rose even higher.

Blood dripped continuously from severed nerves as the eyeball, still warm, was forcibly dug out.

It was Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.

After confirming the item was correct, Ye took out a sealing scroll and placed the eyeball on it. A wave of chakra passed through it, and the storage was complete.

Too lazy to spare the cripple a second glance, he bent his right leg as massive chakra gathered at the tip of his foot. A flying kick struck Danzo squarely in the abdomen.

Danzo flew backward skimming over the ground, smashing through three broken walls before finally rolling to a stop at Sarutobi Hiruzen's feet. Several ribs snapped in the process.

Even his final twitching ceased. Covered in blood, Danzo's body lay limp in a heap.

Yet no one dared take a step forward, even as the Konoha ninja all around drew their weapons, metal blades leaving their sheaths one after another.

Ignoring the wary Konoha ninja, Ye began mobilizing the energy within his body, his hands weaving rapidly through seals.

Several movements flowed together in one smooth sequence as chakra began to circulate.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation."

He then opened his mouth and expelled flames gathered to their limit. Immense chakra surged into his throat, causing Ye's chest to swell.

Far beyond any record in the books in both scale and temperature, a wall of fire a hundred meters wide surged forward, forming a vast sea of flames in the blink of an eye.

Everything in its path was swallowed by fire, dark crimson flames consuming the entire district.

A fierce wind swept the flames upward. The bluestone pavement below melted into liquid under the intense heat, while the surrounding air rapidly thinned, creating a difference in air pressure.

Scorching heat waves swept through, throwing them down in groups. The dozens of Konoha ninja tried to join forces and use water, but the water completely evaporated the instant it left their mouths.

An impassable barrier of extreme heat rose from the flames, the wall of fire cutting off every route of pursuit.

At the center of the searing inferno, Ye turned and walked toward a secluded corner deep within the ruins.

Her face and clothes covered in bloodstains, Izumi Uchiha shielded three surviving Uchiha children as they huddled behind a broken wall.

Watching the trembling children, Ye extended his arm. An invisible chakra barrier expanded outward, blocking all the rushing flames and heat waves.

"Close your eyes. Hurry and grab my clothes."

After recognizing Ye's face, Izumi did not hesitate. She raised her bloodstreaked face and reached out to clutch the hem of his clothes.

His gaze passed through the raging flames. Ye turned his head and looked toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose face was deathly pale in the distance.

A short sentence pierced through the sounds of the burning surroundings. Chakra infused his voice, carrying it clearly into the ears of every Konoha ninja.

"Old bastard, watch carefully. Look at the mess you created with your own hands."

The surrounding space twisted, and as his words fell, a black Flying Thunder God mark lit up with a blinding glow.

Ye departed with Izumi and the three children, his figure vanishing amid the sea of flames.