Inside Konoha's prison, Shimura Danzō also received word that Gengetsu had used his overwhelming power to suppress Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.
"What!? What did you say!"
"How is that possible! Hiruzen Sarutobi gathered the elite forces of so many clans. How could he have failed! Could he not even deal with one brat!"
Disbelief filled Danzo's remaining eye as he stared at the Root member kneeling before him and demanded answers.
After all, Danzo had been waiting in prison for Hiruzen Sarutobi to reclaim power over Konoha and release him!
But he had never expected that, instead of news of Hiruzen Sarutobi's success, he would receive word that Uchiha Gengetsu had suppressed him.
That was precisely why Danzo was so shocked.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had controlled Konoha for so many years. How could he have lost to Gengetsu!
"Lord Danzo, it's all true!"
"Uchiha Gengetsu... he awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan and displayed utterly terrifying power!"
"He summoned a crimson giant's upper body dozens of meters tall! With just one casual swing of its sword, it split an entire mountain! ..."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi and all the Konoha ninja were scared witless. They didn't even have the courage to fight! ..."
"Now Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi has been stripped of all his positions, and Uchiha Gengetsu has taken complete control of Konoha!"
The Root member swallowed and spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan!?"
Danzo's expression immediately darkened. Clearly, he had also heard of the Mangekyō Sharingan's fearsome reputation.
But he had never expected Uchiha Gengetsu to awaken it.
Once his shock passed, Danzo immediately began cursing.
"Bastards! The evil Uchiha Clan!"
"I said long ago that the Uchiha Clan was inherently evil and must never be allowed to remain!"
"That useless Hiruzen Sarutobi! Always so indecisive! If he'd listened to me earlier and wiped out the Uchiha Clan, how could things have come to this!"
Danzo had already despised the Uchiha Clan. Now, not only had they seized power over Konoha, they had also produced a monster with the Mangekyō Sharingan!
All of Konoha would soon become the Uchiha Clan's property!
"No! The Uchiha Clan must never be allowed to control Konoha! It must never fall into the hands of the evil Uchiha!"
Danzo gritted his teeth, a ruthless resolve flashing in his eye.
"Since Hiruzen Sarutobi can no longer be relied upon, I'll have to do it myself! Only I, Shimura Danzō, can save Konoha!"
At that thought, Danzo did not hesitate. He immediately issued an absolute order to the Root members outside.
"Open the cell door immediately! Help me escape!"
"Yes!"
Hearing Danzo's order, the Root member did not hesitate. He swung his Ninja Blade, severing the cell's refined steel chain with a crack.
Such a loud disturbance soon drew the attention of the ninja guarding the prison.
"Who's there!?"
"What happened!"
"Oh no! Someone..."
The guards soon noticed the activity and shouted.
But before they could finish, several Root members rushed out of the shadows and slit their throats.
Soon, every ninja guarding the prison had been killed by Root members.
Then the cell door opened, and Danzo strode out.
"Assemble every member of Root immediately! We're leaving Konoha!"
Danzo could not help saying.
"Yes!"
All the Root members swiftly moved into action, following Danzo.
Meanwhile.
Inside a meeting room in the Sarutobi Clan's compound.
Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Hiruzen Sarutobi sat around a long table with grim expressions.
"Sarutobi, say something! What exactly are we supposed to do now!"
Utatane Koharu clenched her fists tightly and asked in a shrill voice.
"Exactly! Are we just going to give up like this! We're Konoha's advisers. How can some Uchiha Clan brat strip us of our power with a single sentence!"
Mitokado Homura also spoke with an expression of deep resentment.
As Konoha's advisers, they had controlled the entire village's resources and power for years.
Yet today, in front of the Konoha Gate, Uchiha Gengetsu had driven them back like dogs before all the village's ninja. That enormous fall from grace and humiliation nearly drove them mad.
Neither of them could accept being stripped of all their power like this.
Faced with their questions, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer. Instead, he sat there holding his pipe and smoking continuously.
Thick smoke shrouded his wrinkled old face, obscuring his current expression.
Clearly, even this old fox who had ruled Konoha for decades could not make up his mind now.
Originally, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two had planned to use Gengetsu's crime of killing the daimyo to claim the moral high ground and incite all the village's ninja to take him down together.
But they had never expected Gengetsu to disregard their script entirely and bring up the history of the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan founding Konoha.
With just a few words, he had laid bare these clans that had grown by attaching themselves to Konoha, completely destroying their legal grounds for challenging him.
What Hiruzen Sarutobi had expected even less was that Gengetsu's Mangekyō Sharingan would be this powerful.
That crimson Susanoo, dozens of meters tall, could actually split a mountain with one sword stroke.
Faced with Gengetsu's absolutely terrifying power, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly had no good solution now.
"Whew..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, tapped his now-empty pipe against the table, and sighed before speaking hoarsely.
"Alas! Send someone to bring Jiraiya and Tsunade back!"
"With things as they are, only Jiraiya and Tsunade can deal with Gengetsu!"
At Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura froze for a moment before their eyes lit up.
"That's right! We can find Jiraiya and Tsunade!" Mitokado Homura stood up excitedly and slammed both hands onto the table.
"Jiraiya is extremely powerful. He's a hero proficient in Senjutsu. He'll have no trouble dealing with Gengetsu!"
Utatane Koharu nodded repeatedly as well. Much of the fear on her face instantly faded, and her shrill voice grew excited.
"Not only that! Tsunade is the First's own granddaughter! Since Uchiha Gengetsu brought up the village's founding history and said Konoha was established by the Uchiha and Senju, then as the Senju Clan's rightful heir, no one is better suited than Tsunade to deal with the Uchiha Clan! As long as Tsunade returns, Uchiha Gengetsu's legal advantage will vanish completely!"
Seeing hope rekindled in the two of them, a calculating gleam flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's cloudy eyes, and he continued.
"Not only that, we can join forces and nominate Tsunade or Jiraiya as the Sixth Hokage!"
Hearing this momentous plan from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura grew even more excited.
"Exactly! Jiraiya and Tsunade both enjoy tremendous prestige in the village. Either of them would be very well suited to becoming Hokage!"
"As long as one of them becomes Hokage, given how little they understand political maneuvering, they'll ultimately still have to rely on us veteran advisers to control Konoha and handle all its complicated administrative affairs!"
"Sarutobi, your plan really kills two birds with one stone!"
As the three of them saw it, as long as Jiraiya and Tsunade returned to Konoha.
They could not only use their strength and status to eliminate Uchiha Gengetsu, that grave threat, but also naturally reclaim Konoha's supreme power and continue ruling from on high.
There was no better way!
Before you continue