The Secret to Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan

"Danzo, we came to see you." The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, pushed open the door to the place where Danzo had been confined, his tone carrying a hint of complicated emotion. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura followed close behind, their faces equally grave.

"Hmph, I don't believe you came merely to see me. You can't suppress the Uchiha anymore, can you?" Danzo sat in the shadows, his face full of disdain and his voice tinged with mockery.

"Danzo, don't blame me either. This was all for Konoha. You know how troublesome the Uchiha are. Under those circumstances, I had to give them an explanation." The Third Hokage explained helplessly, a trace of weariness in his voice.

"Hmph, Hiruzen, you're just too weak. The Hokage's authority is absolute. Why should you give them an explanation? Wouldn't it have been enough to simply suppress them?" Danzo said coldly, contempt flashing in his eyes.

"We could suppress them directly, but what if the Uchiha only accepted things in the future when the Hokage issued compulsory orders? Leaving aside whether I'd work myself to death, delaying many matters even a little would completely change the situation." The Third Hokage spoke gravely, helplessness in his tone.

"Hmph, would they dare? Besides, do you think fools like Fugaku Uchiha could think that far ahead?" Danzo sneered, his voice filled with contempt.

"Fugaku Uchiha can't. But what about Uchiha Chuan?" the Third Hokage said calmly, his gaze meaningful.

"Uchiha Chuan? He's just a brat right now. We only need to find a way to get rid of him." Danzo sneered, a sinister note in his voice.

"What if we can't get rid of him? Right now, he's merely offering a few suggestions, yet every one of them strikes at our weak points. If we can't eliminate him, who can estimate what will happen if we thoroughly provoke him?" The Third Hokage shook his head, concern in his tone.

"Hmph, you're just weak. So what if the Uchiha completely break with the village? What's there to fear? This is the era of hidden villages. No ninja clan can oppose an entire village with the strength of a single clan, and the Uchiha are no exception. Even the Senju would be no exception." Danzo said coldly, his voice brimming with confidence.

"They can't, but they can inflict enormous losses on us and make Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure attack us at the same time." The Third Hokage spoke in a deep voice, a warning in his tone.

"Better a short pain than a long one. As long as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki remains, as long as we remain, and as long as the Legendary Sannin remain, Konoha will not be destroyed. At worst, we'll let them seize some benefits. Once we recover, without the Uchiha Clan holding us back any longer, reclaiming what belongs to us will be effortless." Danzo said proudly, full of confidence.

"The Uchiha are also a ninja clan. Are you sure that after the Uchiha are destroyed, the other ninja clans won't protect themselves? Once they do, what will we use to recover? Civilian ninja?" The Third Hokage said disdainfully, mockery in his voice.

"That's right, civilian ninja. Hand them over to me. I'll use Root's methods to train them, rapidly increase their combat strength, and make them too afraid to betray us, turning them into absolute tools." Danzo said proudly, full of confidence.

"Idiot! The reason civilians agree to let their children become ninja is because their children can live in the sunlight. Once their entire lives are spent in darkness, what civilians would still support us? If we do that and all the civilians leave Konoha, then we won't be far from destruction." The Third Hokage rebuked him angrily.

"Hmph, there's no shortage of people in this world, and there are even more wandering orphans. Let those who want to leave go. There will be even more who want to come." Danzo continued to snort coldly, full of disdain.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage." The Third Hokage's face turned livid with anger, authority in his voice.

"Hiruzen, you will regret this." Danzo said coldly, a threat in his tone.

"Hiruzen, Danzo, stop arguing. Don't forget why we came today: to find a way to restrain the Uchiha." Utatane Koharu helplessly acted as mediator, weariness in her voice.

"That's right, the important matter comes first. Everything is for Konoha. Without Konoha, we have nothing." Mitokado Homura also tried to persuade them, helplessness in his tone.

"That's right, Danzo. Now isn't the time for us to argue. Through Stilt Football, the Uchiha are gradually being accepted by the villagers. It won't be so easy to deal with them in the future." The Third Hokage spoke gravely, helplessness in his tone.

"Hmph, don't lump me together with you. I'm not as foolish as you are. Uchiha Chuan has already placed our advantage right in front of us, yet you still don't know what it is." Danzo said disdainfully, his voice full of mockery.

"What is it?" Utatane Koharu ignored Danzo's disdain and immediately asked, urgency flashing in her eyes.

"Hmph, our lifeline is where our advantage lies. Think carefully—which wave of Uchiha Chuan's attacks frightened us the most?" Danzo said calmly, his tone meaningful.

"You mean the Uchiha Second Konoha Ninja Academy?" Mitokado Homura asked with a frown, confusion flashing in his eyes.

"That's right, the Ninja Academy. The Ninja Academy is our lifeline and our advantage. That's why we dared not let him establish one. We didn't even dare let him establish training classes, because we feared the students would be influenced by the Uchiha." Danzo said coldly, a sinister note in his voice.

"So we can use the Ninja Academy to strike back at the Uchiha? The question is, how?" Utatane Koharu asked with a frown, urgency in her tone.

"Do you remember the Uchiha Civil War after Madara Uchiha left, when the village had just been founded?" Danzo suddenly asked, his tone meaningful.

"I remember. What does the Uchiha Civil War back then have to do with targeting the Uchiha?" Mitokado Homura asked with a frown, his eyes full of confusion.

"Heh heh, once you learn the secret behind the Uchiha Civil War, you'll know what it has to do with this." Danzo chuckled softly, mystery in his tone.

"What secret?" The Third Hokage asked gravely, his gaze solemn.

"The secret to the Uchiha awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan." Danzo said calmly, a chill in his voice.

The three immediately listened intently, their eyes full of anticipation.

"You only know what Teacher Tobirama told you: after the Uchiha awaken the Sharingan, different stimuli cause tremendous changes in their personalities, making them extreme, violent, and even filled with the desire for destruction." Danzo said calmly, mockery in his voice.

"But you don't know that if they personally cause that stimulus—for example, by personally killing their own relatives—they become even more twisted. And the more twisted they become, the stronger the Sharingan they awaken will be, until they eventually awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan." Danzo said coldly, his voice full of malice.

"Madara Uchiha's departure left the Uchiha without the Mangekyō Sharingan. Therefore, during that period, in order to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and thereby lead the Uchiha Clan, internal strife erupted among the Uchiha, with brothers killing brothers. That was the truth behind the Uchiha Civil War." Danzo said coldly, his voice full of disdain.

"How did you learn all this?" The Third Hokage suddenly had a bad feeling and asked gravely.

"Hmph, of course I gathered it myself." Danzo said proudly, full of confidence.

"Hmph, how could they possibly leak secrets that strike at the very foundation of the Uchiha? It was Kagami, wasn't it? You read his memories after his death." The Third Hokage gritted his teeth, anger in his voice.

"Hmph, everything I did was for Konoha." Danzo said coldly, as though it were only natural. "Otherwise, how would you know the Uchiha's weakness today?"

"Damn it, you're desecrating our companion!" The Third Hokage shouted angrily.

"Hmph, precisely because he was our companion, he should contribute even more to the village. Just as we can sacrifice ourselves for Konoha." Danzo did not think he was wrong in the slightest, his voice full of cold cruelty.

"You..." The Third Hokage's face turned livid with rage, his fists clenched, yet for a moment, he could not speak.