This Was Real Treason!

"Uchiha Yi was promoted to Jonin?" Danzo's eyes nearly popped out of his head. How was that possible?

Hadn't he been a Chunin before? One trip away, and he came back a Jonin? The more Danzo thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

After turning it over in his head, he decided he needed a chance to speak to him face-to-face!

After nightfall, Uchiha Yi stayed in his courtyard instead of sending his Shadow Clone to the Land of Snow. These past few days, he had felt that visitors would come knocking. Maybe tonight would be the night.

He was staring blankly at the stone lantern in the corner when he suddenly noticed three uninvited guests in his courtyard.

"Uchiha Yi, Lord Danzo requests your presence!"

The Root operative at the front spoke in a forceful tone that brooked no refusal.

"Heh. That old bastard hasn't croaked yet?"

Uchiha Yi sneered, instantly setting all three of them off.

"How dare you insult Lord Danzo!"

"You brat! Do you have a death wish?"

"You're finished, Uchiha Yi!"

With low, angry cries, the three moved at astonishing speed, surrounding him in a few swift flashes.

The setup looked familiar. Just as Uchiha Yi was puzzling over it, all three shouted in unison, "Flying Thunder God Formation!"

His vision blurred. When his surroundings came into focus again, he stood in a pitch-dark secret base, with Danzo and a group of Root operatives waiting before him.

"Lord Danzo, what exactly do you mean by inviting me here like this in the middle of the night?"

Uchiha Yi wore a smile, without the slightest trace of worry.

"Submit to me, and I'll leave your corpse intact!"

Danzo's tone was indifferent, his gaze utterly cold.

"Huh? That's it? I thought you'd have something new to say. Forget it. I'm done wasting my breath. You old dog, Danzo, keep this up and I'll kill you!"

Uchiha Yi shook his head, looking utterly exasperated.

Those words enraged Danzo. He stared at Uchiha Yi with eyes as cold as ice.

"Obstinate fool! Attack! Kill him!"

Danzo gave the ruthless order, never intending to take him alive. He believed he could extract useful information even from a corpse.

The Root operatives immediately rushed forward, but Uchiha Yi was faster, unleashing Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame.

With his current chakra reserves, he brought out the technique's full power. Though the Root operatives reacted quickly and used Water Release to defend themselves, their techniques couldn't withstand a Majestic Destroyer Flame of this magnitude.

In no time, the underground base became a sea of fire. Danzo froze for a moment, then his face darkened thunderously. Not only had his headquarters been destroyed, but several of his subordinates had died.

"Uchiha Yi, did you kill Kawaguchi and Kuhito?"

Danzo stared at him with vicious eyes.

"That's right. I did."

Uchiha Yi nodded casually, making no attempt to hide it.

"Arrogant fool!"

Danzo's gaze grew colder. "With that meager ability, you dare run wild on Root's territory?"

The remaining Root operatives immediately acted. More than a dozen used Water Release: Water Shockwave together, forcibly extinguishing the flames.

Then another dozen or so formed hand seals. Lightning flashed, and countless bolts instantly surrounded Uchiha Yi. "Lightning Release: Four Pillar Binding Technique!"

But that wasn't all. Another flurry of hand seals followed. "Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillar Binding Technique!"

A barrier made of lightning sealed Uchiha Yi in completely.

Danzo snorted, his eyes filled with disdain. "A brat is still a brat. A few cheap tricks, and you think you can charge around as you please?"

Just then, an angry voice came from inside the barrier. "You old dog, Danzo, what's wrong with you? I hate being called a brat!"

Boom!

As soon as Uchiha Yi finished speaking, the lightning barrier began to swell. Danzo barely had time to register it before the barrier exploded.

An enormous Susanoo appeared before him. Danzo's expression turned hideous, and he practically ground the words out through clenched teeth. "Susanoo? You've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"Oh, you only just figured that out?"

Uchiha Yi's voice came calmly from within Susanoo.

"Damn it!"

A flicker of shock crossed Danzo's eyes before they hardened again. "Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, I can still deal with you!"

Scowling, Danzo stepped forward and kicked aside a Root operative blocking his path. "Everyone, stand back. I'll personally deal with this brat who doesn't know his place."

"Your awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan surprised me, but against me, death is your only outcome."

"Oh? Then why don't you show me?"

"Hmph. You'll see soon enough."

As he finished speaking, Danzo raised his hands and formed hand seals. Several wind blades shot out and struck Susanoo's chest with a series of clangs. Susanoo didn't even sway.

"Danzo, is this all you've got to embarrass yourself with? I'll give you a chance. Get lost now, and you can still live."

Danzo nearly choked with rage. With a sweep of his hand, he revealed his trump card. "Arrogant brat! Since you're asking to die, I'll grant your wish!"

The clothing over his right arm tore apart. Dense tangles of roots burst from underground, instantly wrapping Uchiha Yi and Susanoo up like a parcel.

But the roots shattered at the slightest touch. Susanoo gave a small shudder, reducing the Wood Release roots to splinters.

Shocked and furious, Danzo immediately formed hand seals. "Brat, I'm not done yet! Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"

Countless massive trees reached toward him from every direction. Uchiha Yi frowned and had Susanoo unleash several Lightning Blades. With a series of crashes, the trees were cleaved into shattered timber.

Uchiha Yi lost interest in playing around. He had Susanoo raise its enormous Lightning Blade sword, wreathed in black flames, and slash at Danzo.

Terrified out of his wits, Danzo formed hand seals and shouted, "Wood Release: Violent Spear Tree!" But it couldn't stop the attack. The black-flamed Lightning Blade split the Violent Spear Tree in two and sent Danzo flying as well.

"Lord Danzo!" The surrounding Root operatives turned pale and immediately rushed in, unleashing Earth Release and Water Release. But a sweep from Susanoo sent them flying, with many blasted apart outright.

Uchiha Yi stared at the spot where Danzo had vanished and said coldly, "Come out, Danzo. This is pointless."

Danzo emerged from the shadows, his expression grim. The eleven Sharingan on his right arm were particularly conspicuous.

Uchiha Yi sneered. "This is why you wiped out my Uchiha Clan, isn't it?"

Danzo didn't deny it. Instead, he assumed a self-righteous air. "That's right! The Uchiha are an evil clan. Left unchecked, you would destroy the shinobi world. Serving as sacrifices for me is your honor."

Uchiha Yi nearly snorted with laughter. Fuck you. Who the hell do you think you are?

He couldn't be bothered to argue with Danzo. Forming hand seals inside Susanoo, he called out, "Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

A pillar of fire ten times stronger than the previous Majestic Destroyer Flame erupted, blasting straight through the ceiling of Root's headquarters.

The underground chamber was a full hundred meters high, but the pillar of fire shattered its entire roof. The blaze lit up the night across all of Konoha.

Konoha's residents felt the ground shake. The Third Hokage immediately rushed over with his men, and the village went on Level One Alert.

Looking at his headquarters with its roof blasted open, Danzo's face darkened thunderously. "Damn you! What have you done?"

But the next moment, the Third Hokage rushed in with his men. Danzo immediately regained his composure and fell back on his old tricks. "Hiruzen, you've come just in time! Uchiha Yi is rebelling! Help us take him down!"

Silence instantly fell. The Third Hokage's mouth twitched. He understood perfectly well what had happened. He knew Danzo's character all too well; Danzo had undoubtedly struck first.

"Danzo, calm down," he said gravely. "Uchiha Yi wouldn't betray the village."

Danzo grew desperate and immediately trotted out his usual excuse. "Hiruzen, you've been deceived! He's awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! If he controls the Nine-Tails, the village is finished!"

Danzo shouted at the top of his lungs, "Do you want a repeat of the Night of the Nine-Tails from over a decade ago? He's the greatest threat to the village right now!"

But as soon as he said that, many of those present suddenly changed expression.

The Third Hokage stared at him and sighed. He was just about to speak when Uchiha Yi spoke first.

Uchiha Yi stared at Danzo and scoffed. "I'm betraying the village? I'm its greatest threat?"

He dispelled Susanoo and appeared in front of Danzo in a flash.

Panic seized Danzo, and he hastily retreated. But with a tearing sound, Uchiha Yi ripped off his Sharingan-covered right arm, along with half his torso.

Cries of shock erupted all around.

"What is that?"

"Why is Lord Danzo's arm covered in Sharingan?"

"Something's wrong with his body!"

Danzo's heart sank. The secret he had hidden for so long had just been exposed.

Uchiha Yi sneered. "You're seeing correctly, everyone. Those eyes on Danzo's arm are the Sharingan, my Uchiha Clan's kekkei genkai."

"What I never expected was that even after our extermination, my clansmen's bodies wouldn't be allowed to rest in peace."

Danzo panicked and shouted, "Shut your mouth! All you Uchiha are evil! I merely put your power to proper use. This is your atonement!"

Even the Third Hokage couldn't bear to watch him twist the truth like this.

Uchiha Yi shook his head mockingly. "Before you start calling other people evil, Danzo, take a look at yourself. You're the most evil one here."

Danzo stiffened his neck and roared, "Nonsense! Everything I've done has been for Konoha! What do you know?"

"For Konoha?" Uchiha Yi's voice turned cold. "Then was digging up the First's body for research also for Konoha?"

Those words caused an uproar. The Third Hokage's expression changed as well, while Tsunade whipped her glare toward Danzo, her eyes blazing with fury.

Danzo still tried to deny it. "Don't slander me!"

"Slander you?" Uchiha Yi pressed relentlessly. "Didn't you just use Wood Release against me? Wasn't that half of your body grown from the First's flesh?"

"And when Orochimaru attacked Konoha, he used Impure World Reincarnation to summon the First and the Second Hokage. Didn't he need material from their bodies for that?"

"So you've been colluding with Orochimaru all along? Were his earlier actions carried out on your orders too?"

Uchiha Yi said nothing more, but the Konoha ninja around them instantly began looking at Danzo differently.

Tsunade had already clenched her fists, barely able to contain her killing intent.

The Third Hokage sighed, his face filled with disappointment. "Danzo, surrender."

He knew Danzo had done plenty of dirty deeds over the years, but he had never imagined he would dare target the First.

The First was Konoha's foundation, and the Second Hokage had been their teacher. With everyone present now knowing about this, he could no longer protect Danzo.

Danzo gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, glaring at Uchiha Yi. This is all your fault, you brat! If not for you, how could I have ended up like this?

He knew he was finished if he stayed any longer. Making up his mind, he formed hand seals and shouted, "Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique!"

As he prepared to escape through the smoke and dust, Root's ninja charged forward to hold off Konoha's forces.

The Third Hokage practically stamped his feet in fury, pointing at Danzo. "Danzo, you..."

This was real treason!

Escape? Could Danzo really get away?