"Was this a misunderstanding too?"
Sasuke's question weighed heavily over the square.
No one dared answer.
Much of the color drained from the Third Hokage's face.
Three Uchiha corpses.
Their eyes had been gouged out.
This was no longer something that could easily be covered up as Danzo acting behind his back.
The Uchiha rushed straight to the steps of the Hokage Building.
"Move!"
"We're going to Root!"
"Give us back the bodies!"
The ANBU drew their swords and barred the way.
The Uchiha drew their swords too.
Both sides were one step away from bloodshed.
Sasuke raised a hand.
"Everyone, stop."
The Uchiha panted heavily, their eyes frighteningly red, but they still stopped.
Sasuke looked at the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, do you see that?"
"They're still willing to listen to me."
"You'd better give me something I can tell them."
The Third Hokage understood.
This was not a request.
It was a threat.
If Sasuke did not hold them back, the Uchiha would go to war with the ANBU tonight.
Once blood was spilled within Konoha, the Third Hokage would never be able to wash his hands of it.
The Third Hokage spoke.
"Secure the bodies and hand them over to the Uchiha for identification."
Sasuke immediately added.
"With Clan Representatives as witnesses."
The Third Hokage clenched his pipe between his teeth.
"Agreed."
The Uchiha captain asked, his eyes red.
"Young master Sasuke, that's it?"
Sasuke turned to look at him.
"You want to charge in right now?"
The captain roared.
"They gouged out our clansmen's eyes!"
Sasuke stared at him.
"So you want to kill ANBU in front of the Hokage Building?"
The captain breathed heavily.
Sasuke stepped forward, his voice quiet, yet forceful enough to make the captain lower his head.
"What does Danzo want?"
"He wants the Uchiha to lose control."
"He wants the whole village to forget that he gouged out people's eyes and remember only that the Uchiha stormed the Hokage Building."
"Are you going to help him?"
The captain gritted his teeth and slowly lowered his sword.
"I won't."
Sasuke nodded.
"Then hold it in."
"This isn't forgiveness. It's saving your blade for when you can strike the man responsible."
Those words quieted the Uchiha once more.
The civilians understood too.
Someone spoke in a low voice.
"That boy has such a clear head."
"If it were me, I'd have charged in already."
As the Third Hokage listened to those comments, his heart sank further.
Sasuke gave him no chance to catch his breath.
"Lord Hokage, now it's your turn to speak."
"Shimura Danzō plotted to wipe out our clan, ordered Itachi to kill, sent Root to silence the witnesses, and even gouged the eyes out of Uchiha corpses."
"As Hokage, how do you intend to answer to Konoha?"
The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment.
"I will order Danzo's capture."
Sasuke shook his head.
"Not enough."
Mitokado Homura could no longer hold back.
"What more do you want? The Hokage has already made concessions!"
Sasuke turned to him.
"Concessions?"
"The Uchiha were nearly slaughtered to the last person, and you call the Hokage investigating the culprit a concession?"
"Lord Advisor, do you think Konoha is your family's private countinghouse?"
Mitokado Homura's chest heaved with anger.
Utatane Koharu spoke.
"Sasuke, the most important thing right now is to stabilize the village."
Sasuke looked at her.
"Stabilize it?"
"Bury the dead, take away the evidence, let the murderer go, then have everyone head out to buy groceries tomorrow as if nothing happened?"
Utatane Koharu's expression darkened.
Sasuke raised his hand and pointed toward Hokage Rock.
"You're always talking about the Will of Fire."
"Where leaves dance, fire burns."
"But the fire that reached the Uchiha's doorstep tonight was lit by Danzo."
"Lord Hokage, would you like to tell the entire village whether that fire still counts as Konoha's fire?"
At those words, the expressions of many veteran shinobi changed.
The Will of Fire was the Third Hokage's banner.
Sasuke was now using that very banner to strike back at him.
The Third Hokage finally lit his pipe, but the flame had barely flared before the night wind blew it out again.
He simply put the pipe away.
"Danzo's actions betrayed the Will of Fire."
Sasuke immediately pressed him.
"Just betrayed it?"
"He killed comrades, gouged out eyes, and tried to exterminate a clan that helped found the village."
"Lord Hokage, do you not dare call him a case of Village Betrayal?"
The Third Hokage's face tightened.
Standing at the edge of the crowd, Shikaku Nara's gaze changed.
He saw it now.
Sasuke did not want a few reassuring words.
He wanted the Third Hokage to cut Danzo loose himself.
And he wanted it done in front of the entire village.
If the Third Hokage refused, the Uchiha would have reason to keep pressing him.
If he did, cracks would appear in the shadowy alliance the Konoha High Command had maintained for years.
This boy is ruthless.
The Third Hokage spoke slowly.
"Shimura Danzō is suspected of Village Betrayal. He is stripped of all positions, and the ANBU will pursue him."
Angry shouts rose from the Uchiha crowd.
"That's not enough!"
"Root has to be disbanded too!"
"Who knows how many more eye-gouging animals are in there!"
Sasuke did not speak immediately.
He turned to the clan heads.
"Clan heads, tonight Danzo could gouge out the Uchiha's eyes."
"Could he take the Hyuga's Byakugan tomorrow?"
Standing outside the crowd, Hyuga Hiashi's expression changed instantly.
Every gaze around him turned his way.
Sasuke did not continue. He simply left the question hanging.
Hiashi remained silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Root must undergo a Joint Review."
Inoichi Yamanaka spoke as well.
"Root's records include mental interrogations. The Yamanaka Clan can help determine whether the testimony is genuine."
Akimichi Choza said gravely.
"The village cannot continue to let an unrestrained force run wild."
Shikaku Nara added.
"A Joint Review would quell public anger."
A crack finally appeared in the Third Hokage's composure.
Ino-Shika-Cho had spoken up, and the Hyuga would not take the blow for the higher-ups.
That meant the clans had already begun to guard against Root.
This was exactly what Sasuke wanted.
He looked at the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage, did you hear that?"
"It isn't just the Uchiha who don't trust you."
"All of Konoha needs answers."
The Third Hokage's gaze swept over the clan heads before finally settling on Sasuke.
"Root will suspend operations and undergo a Joint Review."
Sasuke kept questioning him.
"Who will lead it?"
The Third Hokage answered.
"The ANBU."
Sasuke sneered.
"The Hokage's Direct Anbu, investigating a Hokage Advisor's Root?"
"Do you think anyone will trust that?"
Kakashi stood below the steps, his short sword lowered, and offered no rebuttal.
The Third Hokage furrowed his brow.
"Then who do you say should investigate?"
Sasuke raised his hand and pointed toward three groups.
"The ANBU, the Konoha Military Police Force, and Clan Representatives."
"All three parties must sign off on every document."
"All three parties must be present for the interrogation of every Root member."
"No party may take a witness away alone."
Mitokado Homura snapped angrily.
"You're trying to lay Konoha's secrets bare for every clan to see!"
Sasuke looked at him.
"You call a clan massacre a secret."
"You call gouging out eyes a secret."
"Then I'd rather Konoha had fewer secrets like those."
The crowd erupted again.
"Well said!"
"No more letting Root hide!"
"Investigate them! All of them!"
The Third Hokage had been backed into a corner.
He looked at Shikaku.
"Shikaku, you'll coordinate the Clan Representatives."
Shikaku bowed his head.
"Understood."
Sasuke immediately spoke up.
"The Konoha Military Police Force will begin guarding Root's perimeter tonight."
The Third Hokage looked at him.
"The perimeter."
Sasuke nodded.
"The perimeter."
He left himself room to maneuver.
If he pushed too hard now, the Third Hokage might actually turn on him.
Power had to be swallowed one bite at a time.
At last, the Third Hokage announced before the crowd.
"Shimura Danzō is hereby removed from his position as the Hokage's aide."
"Root will suspend all missions, and every member will undergo a Joint Review."
"The Uchiha victims will be jointly examined by the Konoha Military Police Force, ANBU, and Clan Representatives."
"The village will issue a formal apology and compensation to the Uchiha."
As soon as the announcement was made, shouts surged across the square.
The Uchiha's eyes reddened.
Not because they had forgiven anyone.
But because, for the first time, they had forced Konoha High Command to bow its head.
Sasuke looked at the Third Hokage and suddenly spoke.
"Lord Hokage, an apology takes more than words."
The Third Hokage's brow twitched.
"What else do you want?"
Sasuke held out his hand.
"Danzo's Root assets."
Mitokado Homura's expression changed on the spot.
"Don't push your luck!"
Sasuke turned to him.
"Danzo used Konoha's money to fund Root, then used Root to kill Konoha's people."
"What's so unreasonable about seizing those assets to compensate the victims?"
Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth.
"Root's funding involves classified information!"
Sasuke stared at her.
"The dead can't eat classified information."
"Neither can widows and orphans."
Those words left Utatane Koharu speechless.
Someone among the civilians immediately shouted.
"Pay them!"
"You have to pay!"
"The Uchiha lost people! Why shouldn't they be compensated?"
The Third Hokage's face already looked much older.
He knew the crowd in the square would not disperse unless he agreed tonight.
"Some of Root's assets will be seized to provide compensation."
Sasuke immediately pressed the attack.
"How much is 'some'?"
The Third Hokage looked at him.
Sasuke did not back down.
"Don't play word games."
"Make the inventory public."
Shikaku Nara coughed.
"Lord Hokage, taking inventory before calculating the amount will help reduce disputes."
The Third Hokage glanced at Shikaku.
Shikaku lowered his head, avoiding his gaze.
The Third Hokage finally said.
"The inventory will be made public."
Only then did Sasuke look away.
He walked over to the Uchiha, accepted an outer robe, and draped it over himself.
His wounds still hurt.
But he showed not the slightest weakness.
He looked toward the Hokage Building, his voice carrying far.
"After tonight, the Uchiha will remember every signature, every announcement, and every witness."
"If anyone wants to overturn this, they'd better ask whether the whole village will allow it."
The Third Hokage did not argue.
He had no room left to argue.
But just as everyone thought the situation had settled somewhat, a ninja from the Konoha Military Police Force rushed over from the distance, his face spattered with blood.
"Young Master Sasuke, Lord Fugaku is on his way with a group of men!"
Sasuke turned.
The ninja was panting heavily, and his next words silenced the square once more.
"Itachi has also broken free of the forces trying to capture him and is heading here. He says he wants to see you!"
Before you continue