An Uchiha rebellion? Take them down!

Even though he knew plenty of people had already followed him over.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer worry about that.

He knew full well that the commotion at Root was growing louder.

He was no fool. He knew perfectly well which matter took priority right now.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi rushed toward the scene, a deafening explosion blasted away everything above Root's headquarters.

Then Bai Ye's Perfect Susanoo came into view.

When everyone saw Bai Ye, Shisui, Danzo, and the many Root operatives, however...

They froze for a moment.

"Clan Head Bai Ye?! What are you doing here?"

Uchiha Setsuna looked at Bai Ye in confusion.

This wasn't right!

Was the business Bai Ye had mentioned earlier coming here to beat up Danzo?!

Seriously?!

You should have said so!

If Bai Ye had told him earlier, he would have brought the Uchiha along to join in!

Whatever else might be said, beating up Danzo was absolutely the thing Uchiha Setsuna wanted to do most in his life.

After all, no one had targeted the Uchiha more relentlessly than Danzo.

If Bai Ye had told him beforehand, he would have led the charge!

"How did they end up fighting?!"

The people who had followed along were also astonished.

After all, Danzo and Bai Ye were actually fighting.

And judging by the scene, it had been quite a battle. And... was that the Mangekyo Sharingan?!

No wonder Bai Ye became Clan Head. Had he already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?!

The legendary power of the Uchiha!

It really existed!

Every Uchiha present was beside themselves with excitement. They knew exactly what it meant for Bai Ye to possess the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Their ancestor, Madara Uchiha, had been able to contend with Hashirama Senju precisely because he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Though he had later gained the Eternal Eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan was hardly weak!

The others each had their own thoughts.

Hyuga Hiashi felt rather relieved.

If he had truly chosen to confront the Uchiha head-on back then, the Hyuga Clan probably would have gained nothing from it.

He even got to watch Bai Ye kick Danzo while he was down.

Hyuga Hiashi had long disliked Danzo.

It was only his position that kept him from taking action.

Seeing Danzo covered in injuries, blood staining the corner of his mouth, was immensely satisfying.

No wonder the Uchiha chose to act. Was it because of the Mangekyo Sharingan?!

Shikaku silently weighed what had caused this battle and how they ought to handle it next.

And that commotion just now... Bai Ye must have caused it.

But had Bai Ye made all this noise deliberately or by accident?!

And just what was Bai Ye planning?!

Didn't he know what attacking the Konoha High Command meant?!

More importantly, the Uchiha had worked so hard to build their reputation.

If they failed to provide an explanation for today's incident...

Then all their recent efforts would likely go to waste. Yet judging by what he had seen before, Bai Ye was hardly a mindless fool.

Why had he suddenly clashed with Danzo?!

Or had Danzo actually struck first?!

Another possibility suddenly occurred to Shikaku, and it seemed quite likely.

Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it. The Uchiha were currently working to improve public opinion of themselves in the village.

What could they possibly gain by attacking the Konoha High Command now?

"Everyone's here!"

Bai Ye turned to glance at those present, an almost imperceptible smile curling his lips.

Now that everyone was here, the show could begin.

Wasn't this moment the whole reason he had caused such a commotion?!

With everyone assembled, he could move on to the next stage of his plan.

"Stop!! What are you doing?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. He had certainly considered how the conflict between the Uchiha and the village had been growing deeper.

He had even considered that something might happen in the future.

But not now!!!

He still did not want an open break with the Uchiha Clan.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Danzo had been making a few moves today.

He had even tacitly approved them himself.

Because he knew very well that Shisui no longer seemed trustworthy.

Under those circumstances, doing nothing was simply out of the question.

After all, what was Shisui's situation now?!

He possessed Kotoamatsukami, yet he was no longer utterly loyal to Hiruzen.

What if Shisui used Kotoamatsukami to control me?!

So, however unwilling he was to let Danzo obtain Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, it seemed he could only allow it to happen now.

What Hiruzen Sarutobi had trouble taking in, however, was Bai Ye's presence.

This was completely different from what he had imagined!

Why was Bai Ye here?!

A sense of foreboding immediately rose within him.

After speaking, he immediately looked toward Danzo.

He had to find out exactly what had happened.

More importantly, shinobi from practically all of Konoha's major clans had arrived.

He could hardly gloss over the matter.

How they resolved this problem would therefore hinge on what Danzo said next.

If Danzo could give him a sufficient justification...

Then the matter would be easy to resolve. At least he would hold the initiative.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not the only one who understood this. As his longtime friend, Danzo knew what he needed to do the moment he saw that look.

He cast a cold glance at Bai Ye. Since Bai Ye had failed to kill him...

Then don't blame me...

This time, the initiative would be mine!

Danzo also knew very well that he simply needed to pin everything on Bai Ye.

He was injured, after all. Once everyone saw that, combined with the Uchiha's reputation...

Wouldn't they know exactly what had happened?!

Danzo had already planned this beforehand. If he succeeded, he would seize two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan.

If he failed, he would use Konoha's strength to either arrest the two of them today or wipe out the Uchiha entirely.

Whichever outcome he pursued, Danzo knew that he first needed to shift the blame onto someone else.

Without hesitation, Danzo declared, "Uchiha Bai Ye and Shisui Uchiha stormed Root's headquarters, intending to murder members of the Konoha High Command!"

"What?!"

The people around them looked astonished at Danzo's words.

Was that really true?!

Coming from Danzo, the claim somehow felt rather implausible!

Did the Uchiha have any reason to attack him now?!

Yet the scene before them showed that Bai Ye had nearly beaten Danzo to death.

Bai Ye and Shisui, on the other hand, looked perfectly fine.

Although the claim was admittedly a little absurd, the outcome before them seemed to lend it some credibility.

"Attacking the Konoha High Command?! Bai Ye, are you Uchiha planning a rebellion?!"

Utatane Koharu could no longer spare a thought for anything else.

She had already been deeply displeased with Bai Ye, and returning the land today had made her even more resentful.

Now that an opportunity lay before her, she naturally would not let this chance to attack Bai Ye slip away.

She could even drag the Uchiha into it.

There was no way she would pass up this opportunity.

Attacking the Konoha High Command?!

The moment that accusation was leveled at them, Shisui grew anxious.

Shameless!!!

How could this man be so shameless?!

Danzo was the one who had started this!

None of this would have happened if not for Danzo!

Shisui truly had never expected Danzo to dump all the blame on them.

"Bai Ye, we've already been negotiating. Are you still dissatisfied?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Bai Ye and questioned him.

The moment he finished speaking, the mood shifted.

Uchiha Setsuna, in particular, immediately erupted in anger. "Hiruzen Sarutobi, what right do you have to blame us Uchiha based solely on Danzo's word?!"

"Isn't that what happened?! Haven't you Uchiha always been clamoring for rebellion?! You seized this opportunity to assassinate a Konoha Elder. More importantly, perhaps the Nine-Tails' Rampage back then was the same sort of thing!"

Danzo had initially thought that his account of the incident was admittedly a little far-fetched.

For one thing, Root's headquarters was well hidden.

Very few people in Konoha even knew where it was.

After all, an ordinary shinobi who entered Root's headquarters was unlikely to ever leave safely.

Then there was the question of how they had bypassed Root's defensive formations and entered directly.

If they had forced their way in, the commotion likely would not have been like this. They probably would have been discovered much earlier.

So, even if he wanted to twist the truth, Danzo understood those basic issues very well.

But then Danzo suddenly realized that he had been looking at it the wrong way.

All he needed was for most people to believe what he said.

Besides, hadn't the Uchiha Clan always been clamoring for rebellion?!

There was no conclusive evidence concerning the Nine-Tails' Rampage, either.

That meant he could pin it squarely on the Uchiha.

Looking at it that way, hadn't I actually said nothing wrong?!

Upon hearing Danzo's words, the others also sank into thought.

"Bai Ye, what do you have to say for yourself?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Bai Ye. As far as he was concerned, no matter how outrageous Danzo's claims were...

He had realized that he could only side with Danzo.

Otherwise, there would be nothing in it for him.

Danzo could not possibly implicate him in the end, and he had never given Danzo any explicit instructions. He had never openly discussed this matter.

He could easily claim that he had known nothing at all about Danzo's actions.

But between the Uchiha and Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately chose to shield Danzo.

Besides, after this incident, the relationship between the village and the Uchiha could never return to what it had been.

Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only cut his losses-or rather, pin the entire incident on the Uchiha first.

Then he would find an opportunity to resolve the Uchiha problem.

It was clear that after Danzo's failure, Shisui would no longer trust the village.

That meant he would need to guard against Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.

"Danzo was trying to steal my Sharingan! He lured me to Root's headquarters under the pretense of discussing matters between the Uchiha and the village. If Clan Head Bai Ye hadn't appeared, Danzo would already have taken my Sharingan!"

Shisui could no longer remain silent.

At the same time, he lost the last of his faith in Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had once respected Hiruzen Sarutobi so deeply. He had never imagined that, in this matter, Hiruzen would ultimately choose to favor Danzo.

Shisui was no fool.

He knew perfectly well himself: could Hiruzen Sarutobi really have been unaware of this?!

Absolutely not!

As Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not possibly have been kept in the dark about the village's every move.

Yet despite knowing about this, Hiruzen Sarutobi had ultimately chosen to shield Danzo.

Shisui knew exactly what this meant, and it extinguished the last of his hope.

Since he had done this, why should I keep my old promise?!

What good would that do me!?

It seemed the Uchiha and the village really were just as Bai Ye had said. Unless they got rid of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and the others, there would be absolutely no chance of survival!

Bai Ye was right!

"Heh, Sarutobi, I don't think I need to say much more about what happened, do I?! The Uchiha have a history, and I was attacked right here at Root!"

Danzo neither admitted nor denied it. Instead, he played a little trick.

All he had to do was pin all the blame on the Uchiha.

"The Uchiha do have a history. The Battle of the Valley of the End was Madara Uchiha fighting Hashirama Senju!"

Mitokado Homura spoke up as well.

Even though the truth was still unclear, his ingrained prejudice, coupled with his existing resentment toward the Uchiha, took over.

It led Mitokado Homura to side with Danzo outright.

As far as he was concerned, Danzo wasn't wrong.

After all, whether it was the battle at the Valley of the End or the Nine-Tails' Rampage...

Which one hadn't involved the Uchiha?!

So the Second Hokage's Uchiha Threat Theory was absolutely sound.

As disciples of the Second Hokage, all of them had inherited some of Tobirama Senju's thinking to varying degrees.

Beside him, Utatane Koharu continued, "Exactly. You caused the deaths of two of the village's Hokage, and now you want to attack the Konoha High Command. Are you trying to kill three of Konoha's Hokage?!"

Utatane Koharu shifted the accusation, claiming the moral high ground.

Even Uchiha Setsuna, a member of the Radical Faction, was left speechless.

After all, those events really had happened.

Madara Uchiha had indeed returned with the Nine-Tails to destroy Konoha.

Hashirama Senju had merely drawn him away to the Valley of the End, where the battle ultimately took place.

It was also true that Hashirama Senju had died soon afterward.

Although there was no conclusive proof regarding the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan had indeed appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes, and the Fourth Hokage had died as a result.

Now that this accusation had been leveled at them, he had no idea how to refute it.

Even Uchiha Hui and Uchiha Huo were bewildered, unable to understand why Bai Ye had suddenly done this.

Hadn't everything been going their way before this!?

Why give Konoha an opening!

Didn't this make the Uchiha everyone's target all over again?!

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately declared, "Uchiha Bai Ye and Shisui Uchiha are suspected of attacking a Konoha Elder and destroying Root. Lock them up first. We'll decide what to do once the investigation is complete!"

Now that he had the situation under control, he could begin.

Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this matter had been settled too.

As long as Bai Ye and Shisui were arrested, he could produce a satisfactory outcome afterward.

The Anbu ninja began preparing to move in and arrest Bai Ye and Shisui.

Completely unfazed, Bai Ye took something out, a mocking smile tugging at his lips. Now the show had truly begun.

He had kept silent all this time precisely because he had been waiting for this moment!

The more Hiruzen Sarutobi favored Danzo now, the greater the price he would pay later!