I Shadow, You Regret

Aah!

Danzo cried out in shock.

He had never expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to attack him directly. Based on his understanding of Hiruzen Sarutobi, he should have merely been punished before the matter was put aside.

"Hiruzen, have you gone mad? I'm Danzo! I'm Danzo!"

As he shouted, Danzo's hands had already begun forming seals. He had never been one to passively wait for death. He needed to fight back. He needed to escape first, then find Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, have them persuade Hiruzen Sarutobi to calm down, and ask why he had suddenly attacked him.

But the moment he raised his hands, he was immediately restrained.

"Shadow Imitation Technique!"

Shikaku Nara had long been prepared. The moment Danzo showed any sign of making a move, he would use his clan's secret technique to restrain him.

Inoichi Yamanaka was also ready. If Shikaku Nara alone could not hold Danzo down, the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique would immediately follow.

Choza Akimichi and Tsume Inuzuka blocked off every possible escape route, while Mikoto Uchiha and Hyuga Hiashi joined the Third Hokage to form a triangular encirclement around Danzo.

With a net this inescapable, let alone Shimura Danzō, they were confident they could take down any living Kage.

Danzo could see that the situation had turned dire, and his mind was on the verge of collapse.

"Hiruzen, are you really going to kill me? Kill your old friend of so many years?"

"You're the one who killed yourself."

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared. He recognized it—the eye he had dug out belonged to Shisui Uchiha.

When Shisui Uchiha had disappeared before, he had always believed that Shisui's plan to use Kotoamatsukami to control Fugaku Uchiha had failed, and that Fugaku Uchiha had killed him in retaliation.

But now...

That eye was actually on Danzo.

"Tell me, why did you murder Shisui? He was clearly loyal to Konoha."

"And Itachi—he killed his father because you ordered him to, didn't he?"

"And all those innocent Uchiha people—why did you slaughter them so mercilessly?"

Hearing question after question, Shimura Danzō could feel that Hiruzen Sarutobi was serious this time. The fear rising from the depths of his heart made him put away the arrogance he usually displayed before Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He hurriedly lowered his head and explained, "Hiruzen, you have to believe me. Everything I did was for the good of the village. Have you forgotten the Nine-Tails' Attack years ago? The Nine-Tails was controlled by someone from the Uchiha Clan. That inherently evil clan simply cannot be trusted!"

"You still dare mention the Nine-Tails' Attack!"

It would have been better if he had not brought it up. The instant he did, Hiruzen Sarutobi's emotions erupted. He drew a kunai and immediately severed Shimura Danzō's entire right arm.

The moment the right arm fell to the ground—

What appeared was exactly as Naruto had described: a pure white prosthetic limb that remained full of vitality even after being cut apart.

It should have been a prosthetic made from Hashirama Cells mass-produced through human experimentation.

"You bastard! Just how many of our comrades have you harmed?"

"I used to think Orochimaru was the only one using the villagers for experiments. I never expected you to be involved too!"

"Is this what you call loving Konoha?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi broke down. He had governed for decades, yet both the old friend he trusted and the disciple he loved had been harming the people of the village.

Even the Fourth Hokage had been killed by them.

If the Fourth Hokage had not conveyed all this through Naruto today, he did not know how much longer he would have remained deceived.

Minato, you were right. I'm a useless coward.

But now, I'm going to be ruthless for once!

"Danzo, I will personally cut off your hands, strip you of every position you hold, and make you spend the rest of your life in prison."

At those words, Shimura Danzō struggled desperately. But after losing his right eye and right arm in succession, more than half his strength was gone. He simply could not break free from Shikaku Nara's restraint.

Helpless and furious, he shouted:

"Hiruzen, you're going to be this cruel to me over a mere Uchiha?"

"Only the Uchiha?" Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his hand. "Then what about the Fourth Hokage's life? What about the lives of those who died in the Nine-Tails' Attack?"

What?!

Upon hearing that, Shimura Danzō was completely dumbfounded. What the hell did the Fourth Hokage's death and the Nine-Tails' Attack have to do with him?

He had done plenty of evil in his life—so much that even he could not count it all—but he had never imagined anyone would pin the Fourth Hokage's death and the Nine-Tails' Attack on him.

Shimura Danzō wanted to speak, but Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer wanted to listen.

"Enough. Stop trying to argue your way out of this. You don't get to tell me how to do things. I am the Hokage!"

As the words fell—

Hiruzen Sarutobi's kunai did not come down. Instead, a black flame of terrifying heat suddenly ignited on Shimura Danzō's body. Everyone else hurriedly retreated, leaving only Shimura Danzō in place as he howled in agony.

In just a few seconds, more than half of Shimura Danzō's body was burned away. Before he died, he managed only one sentence between his wails.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

After Danzo died, the black flames still had not dispersed. Everyone turned in unison toward Mikoto Uchiha. Blood tears streamed from her left eye as she panted weakly.

Was this the ocular technique awakened by her Mangekyō Sharingan?

How terrifying!

Mikoto Uchiha did not say much to them. She simply walked straight toward Naruto's hospital room.

She opened the door.

She walked inside.

Bang—!

With a heavy slam, she shut the door.

"Is she expressing her dissatisfaction?" Tsume Inuzuka muttered.

"Probably." Inoichi Yamanaka could not help adding, "Danzo killed so many people and kept slandering the Uchiha, yet the Third Hokage only intended to imprison him. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to stand it either."

After saying that, Inoichi Yamanaka quickly lowered his head.

"Third Hokage, I didn't mean to criticize you. I just think you're far too merciful."

"Ah..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not offer any rebuttal. Nor did he blame Inoichi Yamanaka. He opened his palm, revealing the Sharingan he had taken from Danzo.

"Help me return this eye to the Uchiha. I'm going to deal with Root."

"Yes!"

Hearing their voices outside the hospital room, Mikoto Uchiha wiped away her bloody tears with a tissue, then walked to Naruto's bedside and gently hugged him.

"Naruto, you're so clever. You actually predicted something like this."

Before Shimura Danzō had arrived, Naruto had quietly pulled her aside and whispered something to her.

He had said...

The Third Hokage was too softhearted and would likely be unable to kill Shimura Danzō. He had told Mikoto Uchiha to find a suitable moment and kill Shimura Danzō herself.

Naruto had judged him perfectly.

The Third Hokage truly was far too weak. Danzo had committed so many evils, yet imprisonment was all he had thought of.

"Actually, I'm not that clever." Naruto curled up slightly in Mikoto Uchiha's embrace. "I was just judging based on past experience."

In the original story—

Orochimaru had conducted human experiments and been caught red-handed by the Third Hokage. Yet because of a moment of weakness, the Third Hokage had not killed him, allowing Orochimaru to escape.

Danzo had planned the Uchiha massacre, yet he had merely been stripped of his position.

Later, even when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan and was about to beat the Third Hokage to death, the Third Hokage only decided to seal Orochimaru's hands at the very end.

With such an absurdly softhearted fool, Naruto could infer that even if Mikoto Uchiha killed Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi probably would not do anything to her.

Until his death, Danzo never realized that the reason he had gotten a premature game over was entirely because he had not taken Naruto Uzumaki's few remarks seriously.

"Mama Mikoto, there's something else I want to tell you."

"Hmm?"

"Actually... I made up the part about Shimura Danzō being the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails' Attack."

"Ah?!"

"I just... wanted to make you happy. I didn't want you to watch your enemy remain free and unpunished right before your eyes."

Sneaking a glance at Sasuke, who was still unconscious, Naruto squeezed deeper into Mikoto Uchiha's embrace.

Sasuke!

Sorry.

To keep Mama Mikoto from thinking you're too pitiful and wanting to join you, I have to be a little more manipulative.

Naruto said, "I don't want to see Mama Mikoto looking sad because her enemy wasn't punished. That would hurt more than being killed!"

PS: Dear handsome, dashing, and charming readers, this little author is begging on his knees for every kind of vote. Please!

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