Shimura Danzō's Crimes Were Too Numerous to Count

Mitokado Homura swallowed. Beneath the table, Utatane Koharu's hand trembled slightly...

This is bad!

The same thought ran through both their minds.

Shinji walked slowly past Hiruzen Sarutobi and stopped before Danzo, whose eyes darted away.

"I overestimated myself..."

Shinji stared at Danzo with a cold smile. "I thought I wouldn't care whether they lived or died. Whoever died, died. What the hell did it have to do with me? As long as I survived, that was enough."

Danzo slowly backed away.

Under the table, he readied his hands to form seals. Once an Uchiha lost his mind, there was no telling what he might do...

And that!

That was why they had opposed making this brat a Clan Head—especially the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan!

They really were lunatics through and through!

Those eyes, awakened out of nowhere, were proof beyond dispute!

For every step Danzo retreated, Shinji took one forward.

He gave him no room to breathe!

No room to escape!

"So I thought I'd never possess these eyes in my lifetime. It wasn't until Shisui lost an eye that I understood. I'd been wrong from the start—completely wrong. It turns out that living in this world means forming attachments, whether you want to or not..."

He had never forgotten how happy those "strange parents" had been the moment he was born and opened his eyes. To outsiders, they had been proud and cold; at home, they had been terribly strict.

Nor had he forgotten a single birthday they had celebrated with him...

That distant man had used his wife to give him a carefully carved Training Wooden Sword as a birthday present, year after year.

And whenever Shinji rebelled against his "strange father's" strictness, that gentle woman had accepted him without question.

Even though...

He had once overheard the man awkwardly whisper to his wife, "There's something strange about how mature this child is..."

His wife's reply had been laced with killing intent: "He's my son! Say another word of that nonsense and I'll kill you!"

"Heh... Even their marriage was this intense. What a ridiculous clan."

Shinji shook his head and looked at Shimura Danzō. "So... everyone who lives leaves a mark on this world. And the mark that couple left behind..."

"I can't keep it buried anymore..."

Shinji let out a quiet breath. "Now I want a better life for the Uchiha. I want them to receive what they're owed, if only so those two can rest in peace in the Pure Land. Yet you make even that small thing difficult at every turn? And now you have the nerve to demand an explanation from me?"

"Then let me ask you this: who will answer to me for the couple who died nine years ago, and for Shisui's stolen eye?!"

Shinji Uchiha stared at Danzo's ugly old face. "Shimura Danzō, they... were my family in this world."

"But—"

At the sudden chill in Shinji's voice and the burst of Chakra, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened.

"Shinji! Calm down! We can talk this through! Don't do anything rash!"

Crack!

Shinji acted as though he hadn't heard.

His hand shot out and seized Shimura Danzō by the throat. He drew his blade with his right hand, and a cold flash followed.

A shrill scream rang through the meeting room!

Thud!

As blood sprayed, a severed arm hit the floor.

"You old dog. You made me lose my parents all over again, and you still have the nerve to stand before me and demand an explanation?"

"Just how thick is your skin..."

Poof!

The next instant.

Shimura Danzō, still gripped by the throat, vanished in a puff of smoke.

All Shinji held was a piece of dry Rotten Wood.

Shimura Danzō retreated to the corner. Clutching his blood-soaked shoulder, he glared at Shinji with venomous eyes and roared.

"Shinji Uchiha—!"

Shinji gave a cold laugh.

He formed a seal with one hand and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Danzo. Yang Release gathered in his right leg, adding to the tremendous strength of his body.

He lashed out with an airborne kick!

The air itself shrieked!!!

Bang!!!

"Urgh—pfft!"

Blood burst from Danzo's mouth and became a red mist!

Shimura Danzō could not follow Shinji's movements at all. After all... even Body Flicker Shisui had admitted that Shinji's Body Flicker Technique surpassed his own!

Rumble—!

A man-shaped hole was blasted through the outer wall of the Hokage Building's third-floor meeting room. Shimura Danzō flew out like a torn sack.

A line of blood trailed behind him...

"Summoning Technique!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's deep shout came from behind Shinji. Then a wary voice asked, "Old man, trouble again?"

"Oh? Is it this kid? That Chakra feels strange... but familiar."

An old ape looked up at Shinji, alert and guarded.

Shinji slowly turned his head.

The old ape stared at the intricate, dazzling pattern in Shinji's eyes and visibly froze.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. "Enma, don't look into his eyes!"

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

Buzz—!

The Three Tomoe pattern appeared in the old ape's eyes, and he stood motionless.

Shinji scoffed. He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then glanced at the wary Clan Heads. "Well? Do any of you intend to intervene?"

Hyuga Hiashi turned his head slightly away.

The three members of Ino-Shika-Cho did not move.

The Clan Heads of other prominent clans—the Inuzuka Clan, Aburame, and Kurama among them—answered with silence...

Bitterness filled Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart. He took a deep breath and spoke in a voice that was almost pleading. "Shinji, Konoha can't endure another upheaval! Another shinobi war could break out. Can you bear to watch civilians and shinobi die in it?"

"We can sit down and talk. No one is targeting you, and no one is targeting the Uchiha Clan. We can give you what you want..."

"Third Hokage."

Shinji gazed into the distance, below the cliffs of Hokage Rock. Shimura Danzō was embedded in the mountainside, struggling to free himself and coughing up blood.

Shinji spoke quietly. "When I tried to reason with you, no one listened. Now I don't want to reason anymore. I only want to settle a personal grudge with him."

"And since it's personal, it has nothing to do with Konoha or the other clans. I have no wish to drag innocent people into this either... Don't make a mistake you'll regret."

"..."

Drag innocent people into it?

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised a hand, then let it fall. In an instant, he seemed to age more than ten years. All his vigor drained away.

Shinji's meaning was clear.

If he truly abandoned all concern for the bigger picture and settled every score... Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had a great deal to answer for.

Shinji stood on the open windowsill.

He was about to leap down when he suddenly looked back with a smile.

"One more thing. I believe in stating my reasons before I act. I don't want to give anyone grounds to fault me later. I'll set out the three grievances I have against Shimura Danzō. Third Hokage, Clan Heads, please bear witness."

The meeting room fell deathly silent.

Shinji went on. "On the night of the Nine-Tails' Attack, my parents were patrolling the edge of the clan compound. They happened to see the Clan Head's eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, coming back from the training ground. He was only three years old, and Root moved to kill him. My parents had no choice but to disobey the Third Hokage's orders, leave the compound, and save the poor child. Shimura Danzō called it rebellion, ordered Root to kill them on the spot, and took their Sharingan."

"Second, I, Shinji Uchiha, had just returned from duty at the Land of Lightning Border. Before I could even receive the village's commendation, Root shinobi tried to assassinate me. If I hadn't been capable of defending myself, and if Captain Fugaku of the Konoha Military Police Force hadn't arrived with his clanmates, I'd probably be dead."

"Third, Shisui Uchiha... my best friend. The night before last, Shimura Danzō led Root to ambush him. With his own hands, he gouged out one of the Mangekyō Sharingan he'd coveted for so long. His crimes are truly too numerous to count."

?!!!

As Shinji finished speaking, every clan leader jolted to attention.

...Body Flicker Shisui?

A second pair of Mangekyō Sharingan?!

At that moment, their calculations shifted once more, if only slightly.