Morning broadcast, the village erupts

"Play it."

Sasuke did not wait for the Third Hokage to speak. He pressed his palm onto the seal.

The screen lit up. Inside a dim underground base, Danzo's disfigured face appeared before the entire village. Orochimaru sat opposite him, his fingers toying with a glass vessel. Three Sharingan and an unfolded Konoha Defense Line Map lay on the table.

The Uchiha in the front row of the square drew their blades on the spot.

Fugaku raised a hand to stop them. "Watch to the end."

On the screen, Danzo pushed the Defense Line Map across the table.

His voice carried through the Amplification Scroll, hammering into everyone's ears. "This, in exchange for Sasuke Uchiha's life."

No one shouted.

Civilians who had only just been roused from sleep stood in the cold wind, sleep creases still on their faces, yet they could no longer blink. The ninja recognized that map. Barrier entrances, gaps in patrols, old drainage outlets-everything was clearly marked.

The Third Hokage stood below the steps, his face thunderous. "Turn it off."

Kakashi stretched an arm across the projector. "Lord Hokage, the evidence is being presented to the public."

"Kakashi!"

"I'm here."

Kakashi did not back down.

The image on the screen changed.

At an old drainage outlet, the Sound Five entered Konoha along the route Danzo had provided. The barrier seals dimmed, then lit up again. An Image Scroll hidden inside a tree trunk had captured the entire process in perfect detail.

Someone finally cried out, "They got into the village! They really got in last night!"

"The defenses didn't sound an alarm? Why didn't they?"

"Danzo sold them a way in? So while we were sleeping, the enemy was already at our doors?"

The crowd grew restless. Members of the Konoha Military Police Force held long batons to maintain the lines. No one dared rush forward, because the next recording had already begun.

At the center of the training ground, the Four Violet Flames Formation rose. Driven into a corner, Tayuya shouted in her own voice, "Danzo said he'd trade the Defense Line Map for your life!"

Next came the images from Qingmu Shen's memories.

The Root remnants handed him the White Stone and Black Needles, telling him to die if the mission failed. Danzo had no use for prisoners. Then Danzo's recorded order appeared. His words, "Konoha will remember your loyalty," left many police recruits looking sick.

Might Guy stood at the front of the crowd, fists clenched at his sides. He looked at those recruits. "This is what comes of betraying youth. Take a good look."

Yamada Naoto dragged Qingmu Shen onto the side platform.

Qingmu Shen's chakra had been sealed, his hands bound, and his face was frighteningly pale. At the sight of the people in the square, his legs buckled, and he nearly fell to his knees.

Sasuke did not look at him. "Qingmu Shen, what mission did Root give you?"

Qingmu Shen's lips trembled. "Place the White Stone outside Training Ground Three and help the Sound Ninja get in."

"And the Black Needles?"

"Suicide. Destroy my brain so I couldn't be interrogated."

"Who gave the order?"

Qingmu Shen closed his eyes. "Danzo."

Curses rose from the crowd.

"Traitor!"

"He was a police recruit too! He took their pay and still sold out the village!"

"Don't let him die! Make him name his accomplices!"

Sasuke raised his hand, and the Amplification Barrier suppressed the curses.

"He will stand trial alive. The police have no use for a corpse that can't testify."

As those words fell, Inoichi stepped forward and unrolled the Yamanaka Evidence Record.

"The Yamanaka Clan confirms that Qingmu Shen's memories are genuine. Tayuya's memories are genuine. The Root remnants' memories are genuine. The evidence establishes that Danzo traded the Defense Line Map to Orochimaru."

The Third Hokage gritted his teeth. "Inoichi, do you know what you're saying?"

Inoichi turned and bowed to him. "Lord Hokage, I do. Precisely because I do, I cannot pretend I saw nothing."

The members of the Yamanaka Clan standing in the crowd straightened their backs at those words.

Hiashi took another scroll. "The Hyuga Byakugan Squad confirms that the Sound Ninja entered Konoha through the old drainage outlet last night. Their route matched the Defense Line Map. A Root Message Channel was discovered in the Old Well beneath the Hokage Building, along with evidence that an abridged map had been sent out."

At that, the square could no longer be held in check.

"Hokage Building Underground?"

"There's a Root passage under the Hokage Building?"

"Did the Third Hokage know?"

"Third Hokage, give us an explanation!"

Wave after wave of voices crashed toward the steps. The ANBU formation behind the Third Hokage drew inward by half a step. Several ANBU began avoiding the villagers' eyes.

Sasuke was in no hurry to twist the knife. He took the urgent dispatch from the Western Territory from Fugaku and unfolded it for everyone to see.

"Just moments ago, a Bounty Exchange in the Western Territory listed an abridged Konoha Defense Line Map for one hundred million ryo. The buyer's name: Shimura Danzō."

An imprint of the urgent dispatch was immediately projected onto the screen.

The Bounty Exchange's stamp, the bounty number, the fragment of the abridged Defense Line Map, and Danzo's signature were all enlarged across the wall of the Hokage Building.

Among the civilians, some clutched their children, the fear on their faces turning to fury.

"He's selling it a second time!"

"That bastard didn't just flee! He's still trading Konoha for money!"

"Lord Hokage, why do you keep protecting him?"

The Third Hokage finally spoke. "I am not protecting him. Danzo has already been declared a rogue ninja. Konoha will hunt him down."

Sasuke turned to face him. "Hunt him down? With what? An ordinary wanted notice? A request for assistance at the borders? Or will you wait until he's sold a third Defense Line Map before holding another meeting?"

The Third Hokage's face twitched. "What do you want?"

Sasuke took a wanted notice he had prepared in advance from his sleeve and unfolded it. Everyone in front of the Hokage Building could see the words at the top.

Shinobi World-Wide S-Rank Treason Pursuit Warrant.

Shikaku stepped onto the platform. "This warrant requires the Hokage's seal and the joint signatures of three members of the Council of Elders. It includes the established facts of Danzo's treason, the leak of the Defense Line Map, the Sound Ninja's invasion, and the Root Message Channel in the Hokage Building Underground."

Hiashi continued, "The Hyuga agree to co-sign."

Inoichi followed. "The Yamanaka agree to serve as witnesses to the collection of evidence."

Akimichi Choza raised his hand in the crowd. "The Akimichi also support the pursuit. We cannot let the ninja at the borders be sold out and do nothing."

With the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans declaring their positions together, the ninja in the crowd were fired up.

"Sign it!"

"Make Danzo wanted across the entire Shinobi World!"

"He sold all our lives!"

The Third Hokage stood on the steps, cornered by his own villagers for the first time.

He looked at Sasuke. "You want the police to have authority to pursue him across borders?"

Sasuke nodded. "Danzo traded Konoha's defenses for my life. The police will lead this case. Pursuit authority must go to the police, with ANBU providing support and border checkpoints granting passage."

The Third Hokage's voice hardened. "The police are not an army."

Sasuke stepped forward. "Then who captured the Sound Ninja last night? Who protected the defenses? And who preserved the evidence when you sent people to take the assassins away?"

Kakashi took out the Third Hokage's written order from the previous night and displayed it to the square.

"The Hokage Building ordered ANBU to take custody of the assassins. I refused to carry it out because it violated the New Law."

The square erupted.

The Third Hokage glared at Kakashi. "You're making an internal order public?"

Kakashi's Sharingan was exposed. "This is not an internal order. It's part of the chain of evidence in a treason case."

Those words cut deeper than a blade.

The Third Hokage's arms hung at his sides. His cuffs trembled twice.

With Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu removed from office, no one remained in the Hokage Building to speak for him. Now the Hyuga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Uchiha all stood against him. Even the ANBU Captain-in-Chief would no longer shield him.

Sasuke held the warrant out to the Third Hokage. "Sign."

The Third Hokage did not take it.

The cries from the crowd changed.

"Sign!"

"Sign!"

"Sign!"

Every shout bore down on the steps of the Hokage Building. At the rear of the ANBU formation, some lowered their heads and stopped looking at the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage took the pen, but before its tip touched the paper, he made one last attempt to resist.

"Sasuke, leave me the authority to investigate the Old Well beneath the Hokage Building."

Sasuke looked at him. "You're in no position to set terms."

The Third Hokage's hand stopped.

Shikaku spoke at just the right moment. "Lord Hokage, if you refuse to sign, the Council of Elders will submit impeachment documents to the Daimyo's Residence on charges of shielding treason. The Daimyo's Residence Envoy has not yet left the village. The documents can reach him within half an hour."

Hiashi added, "The Hyuga are willing to provide an escort."

Fugaku said nothing. He merely set his scabbard on the steps.

The sound was soft, but it made several ANBU behind the Third Hokage stiffen.

At last, the Third Hokage signed his name and affixed the Hokage Seal.

Sasuke took the warrant and raised it high.

"Danzo is an S-rank traitor. Anyone who provides his whereabouts will receive fifty million ryo. Anyone who assists in his capture will receive one hundred million ryo. Anyone who shelters him will be prosecuted as an accomplice to treason."

The square boiled over.

Yamada Naoto led the police officers in posting copies of the warrant on the noticeboard, one after another. Ninja Hawks took flight at the same time, heading in every direction.

The Third Hokage turned to return to the Hokage Building.

Sasuke's voice came from behind him. "Lord Hokage, not so fast."

The Third Hokage stopped.

Sasuke looked at the Root remnants held below the platform. "Danzo's ability to send the abridged map out of Konoha proves that a network still remains inside the village. The police request an immediate investigation of everyone with past ties to Root, with their accounts frozen, records sealed, and permission to leave the village restricted."

The Third Hokage turned back, unmistakable killing intent in his eyes for the first time.

"You're using this opportunity to carry out a purge."

Sasuke handed a copy of the warrant to Yamada Naoto. "I'm arresting accomplices to treason in accordance with the law."

Shikaku opened the provisional statutes. "Based on last night's evidence, the request is valid."

Hiashi stamped his seal. "The Hyuga agree."

Inoichi stamped his seal. "The Yamanaka agree."

Choza stepped forward and pressed down the Akimichi seal. "The Akimichi agree."

The Third Hokage stared at those seals, finally unable to utter another word.

Sasuke turned to the police formation. "All units, move out. Arrest everyone on the list. Anyone who tries to burn the accounts, break their hands. Anyone who tries to flee the village, cripple their legs. Anyone who tries to take poison, dislocate their jaw."

"Yes!"

The police formation split up and raced toward every corner of Konoha.

Just then, a black Ninja Hawk plummeted into the square from the west, its feathers covered in blood. When it landed on Sasuke's arm, its claws still gripped half a sheet of scorched paper.

Kakashi removed the paper. One glance was enough to change his expression.

"The Bounty Exchange in the Western Territory has replied."

Sasuke took it.

There was only one line on the scorched paper.

Shimura Danzō has canceled the bounty and is instead offering the abridged Defense Line Map in exchange for the location of the Hashirama Cells Final Cultivation Pod.