Ch. 21Time to close the net: targeting Root

Sasuke led the Konoha forces to raid Root’s safehouses and uncovered evidence that Root diverted military funds to incite unrest and pay advisors Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. The Emergency Elders’ Council ordered Root’s assets frozen, but Danzo resisted at the Root Vault and threatened to detonate it along with Konoha’s underground seals.

  • Sasuke ordered Konoha forces to raid Root’s Third Safehouse, where they stopped the staff from burning the records and found hidden ledgers and Root personnel.
  • The captured bookkeeper revealed two more locations, and Sasuke sent teams to seize the North Alley Winery and the Old Bathhouse, uncovering money, propaganda materials, and hiring lists.
  • Sasuke presented the evidence to the Third Hokage and demanded an Emergency Elders’ Council Meeting, then revealed records linking Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to Root payments.
  • The bookkeeper implicated both advisors, and Sasuke produced a receipt tying Utatane Koharu to purchases for Root’s laboratory.
  • The Third Hokage convened the council, where Sasuke demanded that all Root funds, facilities, and personnel be frozen.
  • An ANBU operative reported that Danzo had barricaded himself in the Root Vault with the Death Squad and threatened to detonate it and Konoha’s underground seals.

Ch. 22The Elders' Council Meeting: Turning the Tables

Sasuke exposed Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu’s links to Danzo’s corruption and forced the Third Hokage to remove Danzo, freeze Root’s funding, and order the vault sealed. The chapter ended with Root’s death squad blocking the vault and challenging the Uchiha to come inside for their eyes.

  • Sasuke pressed for the bookkeeper’s testimony and presented evidence tying Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to diverted funds and Root experiments.
  • Sasuke played a recording of Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu discussing withheld Uchiha funds and secret laboratory supplies.
  • Sasuke appealed to the crowd and clan leaders, who demanded an investigation and supported measures against Danzo and Root.
  • The Third Hokage removed Shimura Danzō from office, froze Root’s funding, and ordered ANBU, the Konoha Military Police Force, and clan representatives to seal the vault.
  • Sasuke made the Third Hokage issue a written order and secured witness signatures from Hiashi, Inoichi, and Choza.
  • An injured ANBU reported that Root had sealed the vault’s perimeter and left a message challenging the Uchiha to enter and take their eyes.

Ch. 23Dog eat dog: infighting among the higher-ups

Sasuke led a coalition to break into Root’s vault after exposing Danzo’s schemes and disarming the defenders. Inside, the group found stolen clan property, including the Byakugan eyes of Hizashi Hyuga, leaving Hiashi shaken.

  • Sasuke persuaded the Hokage to authorize a joint operation, with the Uchiha handling the breach and other clans securing the vault.
  • Sasuke used a list of Root operatives’ families to sow doubt among the defenders and coordinated with Takaya, Kakashi, Shikaku, and Hiashi to disable the detonator and storm the entrance.
  • The coalition subdued the Root operatives and used the Hokage’s order and the hidden Root seal to open the inner vault door.
  • The group found gold, ninja tools, and stolen clan belongings, and Hiashi recognized two Byakugan eyes as those of Hizashi Hyuga.

Ch. 24Kicking a man while he was down, seizing the vault

Sasuke and the clan leaders uncovered evidence that Root had taken Hizashi Hyuga’s eyes and withheld fallen ninja benefits, then brought the records to the Hokage Building. Danzo ordered Orochimaru to prepare a weapon against Sasuke, while a Daimyo envoy arrived to demand answers about Konoha’s unrest.

  • Hiashi learned from Root’s records that Konoha had substituted Hizashi for him during the Kumogakure envoy incident, while Root took Byakugan samples to study the Caged Bird Seal.
  • Sasuke voided Root’s old rules, arranged for clan belongings to be returned and withheld death benefits to be paid, and ordered the evidence registered under joint custody.
  • Hiashi and Fugaku agreed to seek answers at the Hokage Building, while Sasuke secured evidence of Root’s fallback route and decided to wait for the Third Hokage’s authorization before pursuing Danzo.
  • Danzo learned that Root’s vault had fallen and Hizashi’s eyes had been found, then told a messenger snake to advance his deal with Orochimaru and obtain something to kill Sasuke.
  • Sasuke, Hiashi, Fugaku, Shikaku, and Kakashi delivered evidence to the Hokage Building, where Sasuke placed Hizashi’s file beside the Daimyo’s urgent dispatch and asked who would be held accountable.

Ch. 25A Visit to the Hyuga: The Mystery of the Caged Bird Seal

Sasuke forced the Third Hokage to grant the Hyuga access to records about Root’s Byakugan experiments, then revealed evidence that Hizashi’s death and the Caged Bird Seal had been exploited. Hiashi allied the Hyuga with the Uchiha, but their meeting was interrupted by an attack from unknown ninja seeking Sasuke and the Byakugan.

  • Sasuke pressured the Third Hokage into signing an order that gave the Hyuga access to files about the Kumogakure incident and Byakugan experiments.
  • At the Hyuga compound, Sasuke showed Hiashi and Neji Root records suggesting Hizashi’s eyes had been preserved and Branch Family members had been targeted for experiments.
  • Neji asked to avenge his father, and Sasuke urged him to gain power and standing rather than kneel.
  • Sasuke offered an alliance, and Hiashi signed a pact supporting the Uchiha’s audit and reorganization in exchange for help investigating Root’s crimes against the Hyuga.
  • A barrier alarm sounded as enormous snakes broke through the compound wall, and four unfamiliar ninja announced they had come for Sasuke and the Hyuga Byakugan.

Ch. 26A Bloodline Alliance, Hiashi's Fury

Sasuke, the Hyuga, and the Uchiha repelled Orochimaru and Root operatives who attacked the Hyuga compound, while recording evidence of their alliance. The chapter ended with ANBU receiving footage implicating Danzo’s Root and revealing a Hokage Building access insignia.

  • Hiashi and Fugaku organized defenses as Orochimaru, the Sound Four, and Root operatives attacked the Hyuga compound.
  • Sasuke warned the Hyuga not to touch Root’s explosive-sealed kunai and ordered them to record the attackers’ techniques and identities.
  • Neji protected Sasuke from a Root operative’s Chakra Threads, and Sasuke broke the Sound Four’s barrier at a chakra-network fault.
  • Hiashi defeated the Root captain while Sasuke recovered evidence, and Orochimaru declared that Hiruzen’s roots were rotten before escaping.
  • Sasuke gave Kakashi a recording scroll to take to the Hokage Building, and Hiashi prepared to bring the evidence and captives to confront the Hokage.
  • ANBU arrived, and Sasuke showed them footage of Orochimaru’s message and a Hokage Building access insignia beneath the Root captain’s cuff.

Ch. 27Another showdown with the Hokage, fighting for the Byakugan

Sasuke forced the Third Hokage to issue an S-rank wanted notice for Shimura Danzō and approve a public review of the Kumogakure incident files. The chapter ended when a bloodstained message warned that Root operatives were in the Daimyo's Residence envoy convoy, which had reached Konoha's South Gate.

  • Sasuke stopped an ANBU from taking away the Hokage Building Access Seal evidence and demanded that its registry be checked publicly.
  • Sasuke, Hiashi, and their allies presented the evidence against Root and challenged the Third Hokage in front of the gathered villagers.
  • Sasuke pressured the Third Hokage to sign an S-rank wanted notice for Shimura Danzō, and the Third Hokage stamped it.
  • Hiashi demanded the original Kumogakure incident files, and the Third Hokage approved a joint review involving representatives from several clans and ANBU.
  • Sasuke called for the implicated advisors to recuse themselves and for the Council of Elders to be restructured, gaining support from Hiashi, Shikaku, Inoichi, and Choza.
  • A bloodstained message arrived warning that Root operatives were in the Daimyo's Residence envoy convoy at Konoha's South Gate.

Ch. 28The advisors fell, as the people demanded

Sasuke exposed Root's plot against the Daimyo's Residence Envoy and revealed that Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had embezzled funds. With public and political pressure mounting, the Third Hokage dismissed the two advisors and appointed Hiashi and Shikaku to the vacant seats; the chapter ended with a message that Shimura Danzō wanted to see Sasuke.

  • Sasuke stopped the envoy's convoy and, with Kakashi, Neji, and the Hyuga, exposed a Root operative and explosive tags hidden beneath the carriage.
  • Sasuke showed the envoy a secret order implicating Root and accounts tracing Daimyo's Residence funds to private estates owned by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
  • The envoy, clan representatives, and Shikaku signed a Temporary Dismissal Order, and the Third Hokage sealed it, allowing police recruits to arrest the two advisors.
  • Sasuke proposed Hiashi and Shikaku for the vacant Council of Elders seats, and both accepted their appointments.
  • A Hyuga Scout reported a Root Backup Bunker in the Northwestern forest and delivered a blood-written message saying Shimura Danzō wanted to see Sasuke Uchiha.

Ch. 29Seizing power, sidelining the Third Hokage

Sasuke used the new council’s authority to impose oversight on ANBU, Konoha’s finances, and military policing, sidelining the Third Hokage as the village prepared to hunt Danzo. The team uncovered signs of Danzo’s activity at an abandoned Hashirama Cells storage site, where a final warning revealed that the right arm had awakened and all ten eyes were open.

  • Sasuke, Hiashi, and Shikaku approved laws requiring shared oversight of ANBU operations, financial transfers, and an internal ANBU review, while the Third Hokage’s veto failed.
  • Kakashi accepted responsibility for the ANBU review, and the new laws were posted for the villagers as the Third Hokage remained isolated in his office.
  • Sasuke found an old ANBU mission record tied to Root’s recovery of Wood Release remains and received approval to deploy Kakashi and eight ANBU against Danzo.
  • Sasuke, Kakashi, Hiashi, Neji, and their team set out for an abandoned valley that had once stored Hashirama Cells.
  • An ANBU scout reported that the dogs outside the valley had been killed by wooden branches and delivered a bloodied eye patch bearing a warning that the right arm had awakened and all ten eyes had opened.

Ch. 30The gaze beneath Root, a new storm

Sasuke led a team into Danzo’s hidden laboratory, where they uncovered evidence that Danzo had stolen Uchiha eyes and experimented on people with Wood Release. The team cornered Danzo and forced him to spend several Izanagi lives, but he activated a Reverse Four Symbols Seal and began collapsing the laboratory with everyone inside.

  • Sasuke led Fugaku, Hiashi, Kakashi, Neji, and their teams into a concealed underground Root facility after discovering signs of Wood Release outside the village.
  • The team found failed experiments, preserved Sharingan labeled with the names of missing Uchiha, and Root operatives killed by Wood Release.
  • Danzo revealed a right arm implanted with more than ten Sharingan and claimed his experiments were meant to protect Konoha.
  • Sasuke ordered Fugaku, Kakashi, and Hiashi to attack Danzo in turns, forcing him to use several Sharingan to recover from lethal injuries through Izanagi.
  • Danzo triggered a hidden Reverse Four Symbols Seal connected to the laboratory’s Wood Release conduits, causing the underground complex to collapse.

Ch. 31Four Symbols Unleashed, an Escape by Shedding His Shell

Sasuke led the escape from Danzo’s collapsing laboratory with the severed arm and records as evidence, while Danzo escaped after losing the arm. A secret Hokage order put Kakashi under instructions to surveil Sasuke, and a second order authorized treating Sasuke as an out-of-control bloodline limit if he refused.

  • Danzo activated a sealing jutsu to destroy the underground level, but Sasuke exposed his attempted escape and baited him into admitting his crimes on the recording scroll.
  • Sasuke, Fugaku, Hiashi, and Kakashi forced Danzo into the seal, and Sasuke severed Danzo’s right arm before Danzo escaped.
  • Sasuke’s group evacuated with the arm, experiment records, and recording scrolls, while Sasuke ordered that the evidence remain sealed and protected.
  • Sasuke claimed the collapsed laboratory as a crime scene, barred unauthorized access, and explained that keeping Danzo alive would let his escape create further charges.
  • Kakashi received a secret order to report Sasuke’s movements and contacts every twenty-four hours, and Sasuke called Kakashi the Hokage’s first blade delivered into his hands.
  • An ANBU operative brought Kakashi a second secret order authorizing Sasuke to be treated as an out-of-control bloodline limit if he refused surveillance.

Ch. 32ANBU surveillance: Luring the snake out

Sasuke forced the Third Hokage to recognize Danzo as an S-Rank missing-nin and imposed strict rules on ANBU surveillance of the Uchiha Compound. He then baited Kakashi with a file about the Hokage Building’s role in Hatake Sakumo’s disgrace, leaving Kakashi inside Sasuke’s study with the evidence within reach.

  • Sasuke accepted ANBU surveillance only under Kakashi’s command and required the Uchiha, Hyuga, and ANBU to witness and seal the evidence against Danzo.
  • Sasuke presented Danzo’s Sharingan-implanted arm, Root experiment records, and witness testimony to the Third Hokage, then demanded that Danzo be declared an S-Rank Missing-nin fleeing prosecution.
  • Under pressure from Sasuke, Fugaku, and Hiashi, the Third Hokage signed and sealed the wanted notice for Danzo.
  • Sasuke agreed to ANBU guarding the Uchiha Compound but barred them from key clan areas and required every member and shift change to be recorded.
  • Sasuke left a file about the Hokage Building’s involvement in the public campaign against Hatake Sakumo where Kakashi could see it.
  • Kakashi entered Sasuke’s study to reach the file, and Sasuke invited him to read the records of his father’s life.

Ch. 33White Fang's death, faith shattered

Sasuke showed Kakashi evidence that Root and the Hokage Building had fueled the rumors that drove Hatake Sakumo to his death, and Kakashi’s faith in Konoha’s leadership collapsed. Kakashi agreed to serve Sasuke while secretly reporting to the Third Hokage, as a bloodstained message revealed that the Fourth Hokage’s team might have suffered a similar cover-up.

  • Kakashi read records linking Root and the Hokage Building to the campaign against White Fang and demanded to know whether they were authentic.
  • Sasuke showed Kakashi a preserved memory of Danzo ordering Root to spread rumors about Hatake Sakumo while Hiruzen remained silent.
  • Kakashi agreed to follow Sasuke’s orders, promised to keep sending the Third Hokage misleading reports, and asked to have Danzo handed over alive.
  • Sasuke told Fugaku that Kakashi would help secure the ANBU Internal Affairs Archive, which held records tied to Danzo and the Third Hokage.
  • A black crow dropped a bloodstained strip of cloth at Sasuke’s window, warning that the Death Report for the Fourth Hokage’s Team was locked in the archive.

Ch. 34Forcing a reorganization, swallowing up resources

Sasuke used Kakashi’s access to the ANBU archive to uncover Root’s holdings and seized its Konoha businesses before the Hokage Building could claim them. After forcing the elders to approve a division of the assets, he unveiled a proposed new police law and prepared to challenge the Hokage Building further.

  • Sasuke recognized the bloody message as bait and sent Kakashi to retrieve Root’s business registrations and transfer records without opening the Fourth Hokage’s report.
  • Kakashi sent Sasuke records of Root’s businesses and other property, and Sasuke ordered the Konoha Military Police Force to seal them before dawn.
  • Sasuke led the seizure of Root-linked businesses, while Kakashi and other observers documented the operation and confirmed the properties bore Root’s covert seal.
  • Sasuke pressured the Third Hokage and the elders to approve victim compensation, police expansion, evidence storage, and investigations before dividing the remaining assets.
  • The Third Hokage signed the agreement, allowing the Konoha Military Police Force to take most of Root’s aboveground resources.
  • Sasuke presented a document titled New Konoha Police Law and told the clan heads it was time to dig out the Hokage Building’s roots.

Ch. 35The New Police Law: Breaking the Bloodline Barrier

Sasuke opened the Konoha Military Police Force to civilian and clanless ninja, resisting the Third Hokage’s attempts to block the expansion as the first recruits were examined and accepted. After Sasuke planned to inspect the new recruit camp alone, a bloodstained message revealed that Sound Ninja had accepted a contract to collect eyes.

  • Sasuke invoked the Three Seals to expand Police Force recruitment, and Hiashi and Shikaku supported the plan while the Third Hokage objected.
  • Yamada Naoto posted the public recruitment notice, and Sasuke accepted Might Guy as a Taijutsu instructor candidate.
  • Kakashi informed the Third Hokage that a new council resolution let the Police Force expand without personnel-office approval during the rogue-ninja pursuit.
  • Sasuke and Fugaku oversaw examinations that assigned applicants to combat, patrol reserve, or logistics, and Sasuke ordered the Police Force to include the Hokage Building in its patrol districts.
  • Neji reported that an anonymous black-market bounty targeting Sasuke used an old Root code, and Sasuke announced he would inspect the new recruit camp alone at dawn.
  • A Message Dog arrived with a bloodstained note stating that Sound Ninja had accepted a contract from eye collectors.

Ch. 36Rival powers, twin towers

Sasuke used the expanded Konoha Military Police Force to challenge the Hokage Building’s authority, arresting officials tied to corruption and Root while building independent funding and security systems. A Malice Perception scroll then revealed that Danzo had traded Konoha’s Defense Line Map to the Sound Ninja and that a mole named Aoda was already among the police recruits.

  • Sasuke rejected Fugaku’s offer to follow him and arranged a trap at Training Ground Three while Kakashi prepared to release files implicating Hokage Faction officials and the Barrier Team’s deputy captain.
  • The new police force arrested Fujiwara’s nephew for assault and property damage, then detained the Barrier Team’s deputy captain for accepting Root money and leaking a patrol gap.
  • Sasuke expanded police patrols to the streets around the Hokage Building, while the Third Hokage watched public support shift toward the force.
  • Sasuke countered the Hokage Building’s planned mission quota cuts with independent commissions from the Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Hyuga clans, then planned further changes to Konoha’s defenses.
  • Sasuke’s Malice Perception scroll revealed a transaction involving Konoha’s Defense Line Map, the Sound Ninja, and Orochimaru, and Neji spotted a message identifying Aoda as a mole among the police recruits.

Ch. 37A Shadowy Deal, a Betrayed Defense

Sasuke uncovered Danzo’s deal with Orochimaru and identified Qingmu Shen as the recruit carrying instructions for the Sound Ninja. He prepared to expose Aoda during the planned attack at Training Ground Three, but a coded warning revealed that the real focus of the formation lay beneath the Hokage Building.

  • Sasuke ordered the Konoha Military Police Force to keep recruits inside headquarters while he investigated the roster and planned to let Danzo’s deal proceed so he could gather evidence.
  • Sasuke identified Qingmu Shen as a likely Root contact and arranged for him to guard Training Ground Three without arresting him.
  • Danzo gave Orochimaru Sharingan and Konoha’s defense map in exchange for help capturing Sasuke, and Orochimaru sent Kimimaro and the Sound Four into the village.
  • Danzo told Orochimaru that Aoda would provide Sasuke’s route and gave him a black needle to silence the contact if the operation failed.
  • Sasuke arranged surveillance and recording scrolls for the next morning, while Neji spotted the black needle hidden in Qingmu Shen’s cuff.
  • A crow delivered a snake scale warning Sasuke that Training Ground Three was only the entrance and that the formation’s true focal point was beneath the Hokage Building.

Ch. 38Sound Ninja infiltration, remnants providing support

Sasuke used the Sound Ninja’s planned attack at Training Ground Three to expose Danzo’s role in supplying them with a Defense Line Map. The Sound Ninja entered Konoha and found Sasuke waiting, while Qingmu Shen’s support for the attack was exposed and the entire confrontation was recorded.

  • Sasuke sent Kakashi to check the Hokage Building after receiving Orochimaru’s Snake Scale, while arranging to lure the Sound Ninja to Training Ground Three.
  • Qingmu Shen met with Root remnants, accepted a Route Map, and agreed to place a White Stone to signal the Sound Ninja that the route was clear.
  • Kimimaro and the Sound Four entered Konoha through the Old Drainage Outlet, unaware that an Image Scroll recorded their faces.
  • Kakashi confirmed seal fluctuations beneath the Hokage Building, but Sasuke postponed investigating them to focus on exposing the Sound Ninja and Danzo.
  • Qingmu Shen placed the White Stone, but Sasuke revealed that he knew about Danzo’s Defense Line Map as the Sound Ninja trapped him in the Four Violet Flames Formation.
  • Yamada Naoto and a Yamanaka Ninja confronted Qingmu Shen as the Black Needles’ seal activated, while Kidomaru discovered that the entire training ground was being recorded.

Ch. 39Turning their scheme against them, luring the snake out

Sasuke turned the Sound Five’s ambush into a trap, exposing Danzo’s sale of Konoha’s defense map and capturing the Sound and Root operatives with evidence. As the prisoners were taken into Konoha Military Police custody, Neji discovered a Sealing Line activating beneath the Hokage Building.

  • Sasuke used the formation and his Sharingan to interrogate Jirobo, who revealed that Danzo gave Konoha’s defense map to Orochimaru, while Yamada Naoto secured Qingmu Shen and the black needle as evidence.
  • Sasuke activated the Sealing Tags around the Four Violet Flames Formation as Kakashi, Fugaku, and Konoha forces surrounded the Sound Five and the Root remnants.
  • Tayuya confessed that Danzo traded the defense map for Sasuke’s life, and the Konoha forces broke into the formation and captured the Sound Five.
  • Sasuke ordered the Sound Five and Root remnants taken separately to the Konoha Military Police Force dungeon and sent the recording scroll to the Third Hokage.
  • Neji used his Byakugan to detect a Sealing Line running from the old drainage outlet beneath the Hokage Building, and saw it begin to light up.

Ch. 40Assassination night: caught in the trap

Sasuke captured the Sound Ninja and Root remnants, uncovered evidence that Danzo had sold Konoha’s defenses, and resisted the Third Hokage’s attempt to take the prisoners. The chapter ended when Neji reported that a backup defensive map had already been sent out of Konoha.

  • Sasuke stopped Neji from touching a chakra line beneath the Hokage Building, while Tayuya revealed that Danzo had arranged an escape route and an accomplice inside Konoha.
  • Sasuke ordered the prisoners held separately and tasked the Yamanaka Clan with locating Qingmu Shen’s sister, Aoki Yuri.
  • Kakashi rejected the ANBU order to transfer the prisoners, and Sasuke played Tayuya’s recorded accusation against Danzo in front of witnesses.
  • Inoichi extracted Qingmu Shen’s and Tayuya’s memories, revealing Danzo’s suicide order, his sale of Konoha’s defensive map to Orochimaru, and three preserved Sharingan.
  • The Third Hokage arrived to claim the prisoners, but Kakashi and Sasuke insisted that evidence and procedure be respected.
  • Neji reported that the sealing line beneath the Hokage Building had been severed and that a voice said Danzo’s backup defensive map had been sent out of Konoha.
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