Kage-Level Chakra! Danzo Comes Looking for Trouble!

When they got home, Sasuke was already asleep.

Zuo Hao found himself a spot.

He sat down cross-legged.

And began refining chakra.

After the fight, Indra's Chakra within him was unusually active.

On top of that, he had activated Curse Mark Stage Two.

The Cursed Seal was itself a state of partial sage transformation, so it naturally carried a trace of Senjutsu Chakra.

Senjutsu Chakra, Indra's Chakra, and a portion of the Nine-Tails Chakra within him

produced a strange chemical reaction.

His chakra surged—double, triple, sixfold, elevenfold!

Zuo Hao's chakra reserves broke straight through to Kage Level. His combat experience wasn't there yet, but in sheer chakra volume, he had already surpassed many Kage-Level ninja.

The night breeze slipped through the window and brushed his hair. Zuo Hao slowly opened his eyes, a deep light reflected in them.

"Good. Now I just need to raise my bond with Obito to level three, get Wood Release, and then find a way to get my hands on the Wood Release jutsu in the Scroll of Seals..."

Imagining himself using Susanoo-Clad Kurama one day, Zuo Hao felt a sudden rush of excitement.

Before long, the next day arrived.

Sure enough, Danzo came looking for trouble.

The door to the Hokage's Office flew open. The tap of a cane against the floor sounded like an ominous countdown.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk, his pipe suspended halfway to his mouth. His aged fingers tightened slightly.

He had already guessed why Danzo had come.

"Hiruzen." Danzo's voice grated like a blade dragged across glass. "Last night, a vicious incident occurred on the outskirts of Konoha. Five Root ninja were brutally killed while on patrol. Their bodies were found by the lake."

The Third Hokage said nothing.

Danzo's single eye swept across the office before settling on Zuo Hao, who stood by the window.

Morning sunlight slanted through the glass, lighting one half of the boy's face while the other remained in shadow. His black eyes were unsettlingly calm.

"The killer was him." Danzo pointed his cane at Zuo Hao. "Sahiro Uchiha."

The air in the office froze.

In the corner, Kakashi frowned slightly and slowly closed his copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance. A complicated look passed through both advisers' eyes.

"Elder Danzo," Zuo Hao said, unhurried and almost lazy, "you came to the Hokage's Office first thing in the morning to accuse me. Where's your evidence?"

"Evidence?" Danzo sneered. He pulled a scroll from his robes and slammed it onto the desk. "The bodies of the five Root ninja bore clear signs of Fire Release burns. Surely you recognize the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release?"

Zuo Hao glanced at the scroll, the corners of his mouth lifting. "There are at least a hundred ninja in Konoha who can use Fire Release. Calling me the killer based on burns alone is quite a stretch, Elder Danzo."

"You weren't home last night." Danzo fixed his single eye on Zuo Hao. "A Root ninja saw you go out late at night. You didn't return to the Uchiha Clan Compound until dawn."

"Is going for a walk a crime now?"

"A walk?" Danzo stepped closer, his cane striking the floor with a dull thud. "You took a walk by the lake, happened upon five Root ninja, and then happened to kill them all with Fire Release? Sahiro Uchiha, where do you think you are?!"

"Enough."

The Third Hokage's voice rang out, low and heavy.

He set his pipe on the desk and slowly rose, his gaze moving between Danzo and Zuo Hao.

"Danzo, you say Zuo Hao killed five Root ninja. Then I have a few questions for you."

The Third Hokage walked around the desk and stopped between them, his aged figure like a dam on the verge of breaking.

"First, you sent five Root ninja to patrol the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Compound last night. Who gave you permission to deploy Root within the village without my approval?"

Danzo's single eye narrowed.

"Second," the Third Hokage said, taking a document from his sleeve and laying it gently on the desk, "this is the official report Kakashi submitted last night."

"It clearly states that five Root ninja attacked Team 7 students Sahiro Uchiha and Ino Yamanaka without provocation."

"Ino's father, Inoichi Yamanaka, has already confirmed his daughter's testimony."

Kakashi stepped forward. His usual languor was gone from his eyes.

"I can testify to that. At the lake last night, five Root ninja ignored the Third Hokage's Hokage's Decree and insisted on killing Zuo Hao. Everything Zuo Hao did was in self-defense."

"Self-defense?!" Danzo slammed his cane against the floor. "He killed five Root ninja! Five! That wasn't self-defense. It was premeditated murder!"

"Then what do you call Root ninja attacking a newly graduated Genin?" Kakashi's voice turned cold. "Training?"

Utatane Koharu cleared her throat. Her aged voice was measured. "Danzo, why did Root attack Sahiro Uchiha?"

Danzo's throat worked.

The air in the office grew heavier. Everyone knew the answer, but no one said it aloud.

"Because he's a remnant of the Uchiha Clan," Danzo finally said. "Sahiro Uchiha displayed strength far beyond that of a normal Genin during the Graduation Exam."

"His fighting style, his chakra reserves, his attitude toward ANBU—it all points to one fact: he's hiding his strength. And an Uchiha who hides his strength..."

Zuo Hao laughed, the sound cool and mocking.

Danzo had thoroughly inherited the Second Hokage Tobirama's hatred of the Uchiha.

In his eyes, every Uchiha was guilty. It didn't matter whether they had done anything wrong; he condemned them all the same.

"Brat!" Danzo's face turned livid. His voice scraped out like gravel. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny?!"

Zuo Hao slowly let his smile fade, but the contempt in his eyes spread without restraint, as though he were watching a trapped beast brandish its claws in vain.

"I'm laughing at you, Shimura Danzō. I thought you were someone worth taking seriously. Turns out you're just a fool whose hatred has eaten away his brain."

He paused. A faint, mocking smile returned to his lips, and before Danzo could speak, he continued in a voice dripping with sarcasm:

"Let me guess. Next you're going to say, 'Zuo Hao, you're hiding ambitions to overthrow Konoha,' aren't you?"

Zuo Hao stood before them all, that faint smile still on his face, but there was no warmth in his black eyes.

"'Hiding ambitions to overthrow Konoha'?" he repeated, then shook his head slightly. "Danzo, that's a cruel thing to say."

He took a step forward.

With that single step, everyone in the office felt an invisible pressure. It wasn't chakra bearing down on them. It was the anger a young man had held in for five long years.

"My Uchiha Clan has been a cornerstone of Konoha since the village was founded."

"Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju founded Konohagakure together. Surely you know that?"