"A second broadcast?"
Kakashi turned his masked face toward Sasuke.
Sasuke did not answer him, instead turning his gaze to the Third.
"Lord Hokage, Danzo has started destroying evidence."
"Are you still going to call this a misunderstanding?"
The wrinkles on the Third's face deepened.
He raised a hand and singled out several ANBU.
"Seal off Root's perimeter immediately. No one gets in or out."
Sasuke immediately cut in.
"The Konoha Military Police Force will go too."
Mitokado Homura objected on the spot.
"Root is the village's classified unit. The Konoha Military Police Force has no authority to enter!"
Sasuke did not even look at him.
"Root is suspected of clan extermination, an assassination attempt in the street, and destruction of evidence."
"The Konoha Military Police Force is Konoha's law enforcement agency."
"Councilor, are you obstructing law enforcement?"
Mitokado Homura's face turned livid.
"Don't try to use the rules against me."
Sasuke turned to look at him.
"Aren't you the ones who love rules so much?"
"Why do they suddenly chafe when they apply to you?"
Quiet laughter rose from the crowd.
The laughter stung Mitokado Homura, making his face tighten, but he did not dare shout again.
The Third spoke in a low voice.
"The Konoha Military Police Force may assist along the perimeter. The ANBU will handle the interior."
Sasuke immediately shook his head.
"No."
Anger burned in Utatane Koharu's eyes.
"You want to search Root yourself?"
Sasuke raised the scroll in his hand.
"I'm not going inside."
"I only want everything found in the search cataloged on the spot."
"One copy for the ANBU, one for the Konoha Military Police Force, and one for the clan representatives."
"If even one page is missing, I'll take it as proof that you're shielding Danzo."
The Third stared at Sasuke without speaking for a long time.
This child gave him no room to maneuver at all.
Every word aligned with public sentiment, every step grounded in the law.
Force was out of the question, as were brazen denial and delay.
Shikaku Nara emerged from the back of the crowd then.
He still wore a casual robe, his hair loosely tied, but there was not a trace of sleepiness on his face.
"Lord Hokage, I don't think young master Sasuke's demands are unreasonable."
Mitokado Homura immediately looked at him.
"Shikaku, are you getting involved too?"
Shikaku Nara raised his eyes.
"I'm not getting involved. I'm bearing witness."
"Tonight's events have far-reaching implications. If the ANBU handle this alone, the village won't be at peace tomorrow."
The Third looked at Shikaku.
"Do you represent the Nara Clan?"
Shikaku bowed his head slightly.
"I represent a shinobi who doesn't want Konoha to descend further into chaos."
It was a deftly evasive answer, but it made his position clear.
The other clan heads arrived one after another.
Akimichi Choza, Inoichi Yamanaka, and members of the Inuzuka Clan and Aburame Clan all stood at the edge of the square.
No one spoke up for Danzo.
No one took the heat for the Third.
Seeing this, Sasuke turned and addressed the Uchiha clan members.
"Remember these faces tonight."
"Who stayed silent, who waited to see what would happen, and who helped."
"We'll settle every account in the future."
Several clan members nodded firmly.
The Third heard him, and his expression darkened further.
This brat was not just pressuring the leadership. He was drawing up a new ledger for the Uchiha.
Sasuke turned back around.
"Lord Hokage, the clans are all here."
"It's time to look at the evidence."
Before the Third could speak, Utatane Koharu spoke first.
"The materials in your possession are of unknown origin. They cannot serve as formal evidence."
That was exactly what Sasuke had been waiting for.
He raised his hand and pointed at the Hokage building's outer wall.
"Then let the whole village see."
"If anyone thinks it's fake, step forward and point out what's fake."
"If anyone thinks it's real, don't pretend you didn't hear it."
He poured chakra into a fresh sheet of sealing paper.
Mist rose from the fountain in the square and spread across the Hokage building's outer wall.
Then the writing on the written orders was enlarged and projected onto the wall.
Every line was perfectly clear.
Root operation number.
Danzo's signature.
Seal mark.
Uchiha Itachi to assist in execution.
Retrieve the Sharingan.
Leave no witnesses.
Those words hung on the Hokage building, more glaring than any shouted condemnation.
At first, no one in the crowd spoke.
Then an Uchiha woman who had lost her family fell to her knees and cried out.
"Is this how Kenta's whole family died?"
"Just for their eyes?"
A shinobi of civilian birth stared at the wall, and the Forehead Protector in his hand slipped to the ground.
"Retrieve the Sharingan... They were treating fellow village shinobi as materials?"
"What exactly was Danzo using the Sharingan for?"
At those words, the Third's expression changed completely.
Sasuke did not let the opening slip.
"Good question."
"Lord Hokage, why did Danzo want to retrieve the Sharingan?"
"What rule in Konoha allows the leadership to gouge out the eyes of fellow village shinobi?"
Utatane Koharu immediately shouted.
"Enough!"
Sasuke turned to look at her.
"It's not enough."
"The dead haven't said it's enough."
"Neither have the people who never got the chance to escape."
"What gives you the right to say it's enough for them?"
Utatane Koharu's face twitched.
Mitokado Homura spoke through gritted teeth.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you incited the public and stormed the Hokage building tonight. You've already crossed the line."
Sasuke pointed at the document on the wall.
"Danzo is the one who crossed the line."
"I'm just shining a light on his footprints."
The Third finally spoke.
"Sasuke, what do you want?"
At those words, the square grew quieter.
Everyone understood.
The Hokage was giving ground.
Sasuke looked at the Third without answering immediately.
He smoothed the edge of his collar, moving so slowly that Mitokado Homura wanted to rush over and hit him.
"What I want is simple."
"Publicly arrest Shimura Danzō."
"Disarm all Root personnel on the scene."
"Declare Uchiha Itachi a rogue ninja."
"Konoha must publicly apologize, pay compensation, and erect a memorial for everyone who died tonight."
By the time the Third finished listening, his expression could not have grown any darker.
"Itachi's case requires review."
Sasuke gave a short laugh.
"He didn't wait for a review when he killed people."
"If you shield him, don't blame the Uchiha for not trusting you."
Anger simmered in the Third's eyes.
"Sasuke, I'm not shielding him."
Sasuke pointed at the wall.
"Then sign."
He took a temporary announcement that had already been drafted from a clan member and handed it straight to Kakashi.
"Sir ANBU, please deliver this to Lord Hokage. Sorry for the trouble."
Kakashi glanced at the announcement's contents.
His mask hid his face, but his hand paused for half a beat.
The Third took it and scanned a few lines, his face turning ashen.
The announcement was ruthless.
Shimura Danzō was suspected of plotting the clan's extermination.
Root was to suspend all operations.
Uchiha Itachi was to be listed as a rogue ninja and a prime suspect.
A joint investigative team was to be established at the Hokage building.
Every provision cut into the leadership's flesh.
Mitokado Homura leaned over for a look and immediately roared.
"You can't sign this!"
Sasuke raised his hand, and the written orders on the wall lit up again.
"Then I'll keep broadcasting."
"I also have a conversation between Danzo and Itachi."
"I also have witnesses to Root's attempt to assassinate me just now."
"And the scene where the bodies lie."
He looked at the Third.
"Lord Hokage, would you rather cut out a piece of your flesh now, or wait until the Daimyō sends someone to ask questions?"
At the mention of the Daimyō, both councilors fell silent.
The Hokage Tower's funding and the ninja village's legitimacy both depended on the Daimyō.
If this reached the Daimyō's court, the Hokage's humiliation would no longer be confined to the village.
The Third's hand hovered over the notice for a long time.
No one in the square urged him on.
But every pair of eyes pressured him.
At last, he picked up the pen and signed the notice.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The moment the Hokage's seal came down, a roar rose from the Uchiha crowd.
"He signed it!"
"Danzo's finished!"
"The higher-ups finally admitted it!"
Sasuke reached out, took back the notice, and handed it to the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force behind him.
"Make ten copies."
"One for the Hokage Tower, one for the Konoha Military Police Force, one for each clan, and one to post on the noticeboard at the village entrance."
Mitokado Homura pointed at him.
"Don't you dare!"
Sasuke countered.
"It's a notice signed by the Hokage himself. Why wouldn't I dare post it?"
Mitokado Homura turned to the Third.
"Hiruzen, you can't let him humiliate Konoha like this!"
Sasuke stepped toward him.
"Danzo is the one who humiliated Konoha."
"He's also the one who disgraced the Will of Fire."
"I'm just letting everyone see what he did."
The Third closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his voice was low and hoarse.
"Post it."
Mitokado Homura's expression crumpled completely.
Sasuke looked at the people in the square.
"You all heard him."
"From this moment on, anyone who tears down the notice is Danzo's accomplice."
The civilians immediately began shouting.
"We'll keep watch!"
"Anyone who tears it down has something to hide!"
"Danzo must stand trial!"
The Third turned and gave orders to the ANBU.
"Pass the order: remove Shimura Danzō from his post as the Hokage's aide and seal all Root documents."
Kakashi acknowledged the order and left with his men.
Sasuke did not follow.
He knew Danzo would not obediently wait to be arrested.
For now, he had to keep control of public opinion.
As long as the crowd stayed in the square, the higher-ups would not dare handle this behind closed doors.
Just then, another ANBU rushed over from behind the Hokage Tower, bloodstains marking his body.
"Lord Hokage, Root's outer personnel are refusing to disarm."
The Third's expression turned cold.
"Where's Danzo?"
The ANBU looked up, his words coming fast and strained.
"Shimura Danzō is not at any of the known bases."
The square erupted into unrest again.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"He ran?"
The ANBU swallowed.
"He hasn't fled."
"We found a sealed operating room inside the base. There were three Uchiha corpses in it, with their eyes gouged out."
Sasuke turned toward the Third, his voice sending a chill down the spines of everyone nearby.
"Lord Hokage, tell me now."
"Is this another misunderstanding?"
Before you continue