Abducting the Jinchūriki? You Uchiha Are Plotting Rebellion, and Your Crime Deserves Death

"Lord Danzo has ordered that tonight is the night the Uchiha Clan is exterminated. Not even a fly is allowed to escape."

Just after the leader finished speaking, he came face-to-face with Fugaku and the others, who were still standing at the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Compound. Silence fell over the scene. Even Naruto had not expected such a dramatic turn of events.

Naruto even wore a mocking expression. Look, the best scapegoat in all of Naruto is about to arrive.

Fugaku's expression turned extremely ugly, his face so dark it seemed water might drip from it. This Danzo had gone too far.

These arriving ninja were obviously Danzo's Root ninja. Coupled with what their leader had just said, it seemed there was no doubt that Danzo was the one who wanted to wipe out the Uchiha. Even if it was not him, he was still inextricably involved.

"Fuck, so you're the ones who want to wipe out our Uchiha Clan? Everyone, grab your weapons!"

"Damn it! We gave way at every turn, and you only pushed us harder. Now you've even come knocking at our gates! Do you really think the Uchiha have no one left to fight?"

"You've gone too far! You even thought of using the clan head's younger son to threaten his elder son. How dare you?"

"Root, huh? Don't think I can't recognize you just because you're wearing Anbu masks. Let me tell you, this isn't over. If you don't give us an explanation today, you'll pay for it. Even Danzo won't be able to help you!"

The Uchiha seethed with righteous indignation. These people actually dared to walk all over them. Did they really think they would not dare launch a revolution? At this moment, the Uchiha of every faction were more united than ever. They stared fixedly at the Root ninja, seemingly waiting for Fugaku's order before they crushed Konoha's leadership without hesitation.

As for the Root leader who had shouted that declaration, however stupid he might have been, he now knew he had said the wrong thing. Especially after seeing those dozen or so pairs of scarlet Sharingan, he felt a chill run down his spine. He swallowed with difficulty.

He did not know whether he was imagining it, but he kept feeling that the Uchiha before him wanted to devour them alive.

"Um, what I said just now was a slip of the tongue. Could you pretend you didn't hear it?"

No sooner had he spoken than he heard a voice that chilled him to the bone. It was all too familiar. He whipped his head around and saw Lord Danzo of Root walking over with his cane.

"Oh? What is it that you're pretending not to have heard? Don't you know I've always been meticulous? My eye is a ruler. If I saw it, I saw it."

Everyone present turned toward Danzo, unsure why he would say such a thing.

Naruto was a little dumbfounded too.

"Wait, is he really that bold?"

The Root leader from earlier wanted to die. Right now, he wished he could rush over and cover his lord's mouth. Lord Danzo, please shut up. Stop talking. You're only making it worse.

Danzo also realized something was wrong. The atmosphere around him was very wrong, especially with all those Uchiha glaring viciously at him. He thought it over. Could the things I've done have been exposed? But he quickly rejected the idea. He had handled everything cleanly. There was no way he had left any traces.

"Why are you all looking at me? Is there something on my face?"

Danzo touched his face uncertainly. I was quite handsome when I was young, but now I'm just a decrepit old man. Why do they keep looking at me? Especially those Uchiha. They've even brought out their Sharingan. What are they trying to do?

At this point, Danzo clearly had not yet realized how serious the problem was. Once again, it was the Root leader from earlier.

He jogged over to Danzo's side and whispered in his ear:

"Lord Danzo, something terrible has happened. When we arrived just now, we accidentally..."

After he finished explaining, Danzo felt utterly awful. He took another careful look at the subordinate before him. Looking only made things worse. Once he saw him clearly, Danzo finally remembered who this fellow was.

Shimura Agou. He was the oddball who had tried stabbing Susanoo with a Kunai last time, and also the fellow who had made his office exceptionally well soundproofed. Worse still, this fellow belonged to his own clan, so it was hard to justify severely punishing him. Last time, he had reapplied the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to him.

But because of their bloodline, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal did not restrain him very strongly. That was also why he retained some emotions. And because Agou was a member of his own clan, Danzo had naturally assigned him the position of squad captain, or commander. Who could have imagined that this bastard would mess things up for him again, and cause no small amount of trouble this time?

No wonder Danzo kept feeling that nothing had been going his way lately. It had all been because of this brat.

"Shimura Agou. Good, good, good. You've really done very well."

Naruto nearly laughed aloud when he heard the name. He had not expected this dim-witted fellow to belong to Danzo's clan. It really proved that saying: all a villain's careful plotting could not match a fool's sudden inspiration.

This Shimura Agou had clearly wanted to make a good showing in front of Danzo, only to make a mess of things with his good intentions.

Although Danzo kept praising him, hearing those words frightened Shimura Agou nearly out of his wits. Right now, he felt cold air blowing across his back. It was strange today; his back kept feeling chilly, as though someone had installed an air conditioner on it.

Shimura Agou trembled uncontrollably as he knelt on the ground with his head bowed low, terrified that Danzo would slap him dead on the spot if he said one more word.

"Lord Danzo, I was wrong."

All he could do now was beg Danzo for mercy and pray that Danzo would not kill him.

Danzo ignored him entirely and simply kicked him into the crowd behind him.

Danzo's own expression was just as ugly now. He had not expected that fellow Agou to speak so quickly or arrive so quickly, only to discover that the Uchiha Clan had not been exterminated at all.

"Damn it, it's all that damned Uchiha brat's fault. Have I been played? I knew I shouldn't have trusted that bastard brat."

Looking at the large group of Uchiha before him with their Sharingan activated, even Danzo felt an invisible pressure. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It seemed that unless he handled this matter properly today, it would not end well.

"Ahem, Fugaku..."

Before Danzo could finish, Fugaku cut him off mercilessly.

"Lord Danzo, don't you owe us an explanation? What do you mean, the night the Uchiha are exterminated? You certainly talk big, Lord Danzo, deciding the life and death of a great clan with just a few words."

Fugaku looked at Danzo with a dark expression. He had never imagined that his forbearance would lead to the situation they faced now, with Danzo walking all over him.

"Good, good, good. Very good indeed, Lord Danzo."

"If I said this was a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"

Danzo offered a smile uglier than a crying face. Perhaps it was because he habitually kept a stern expression that his smile looked exceptionally ugly. But how could Fugaku possibly believe his lies?

"Heh. What do you think, Lord Danzo?"

Seeing that he could not explain his way out and that the situation around him was becoming increasingly unfavorable, Danzo frantically scanned the surrounding Uchiha with his one eye. He even saw some of them rubbing their fists and flexing their hands. They were already prepared to attack.

Danzo's little eye swept rapidly over his surroundings. Just as those Uchiha looked ready to attack him, a casual glance revealed someone he had not expected to see. That head of blond hair stood out especially clearly. Was that not the Jinchūriki? Why had he come here?

I've got it. A bold idea appeared in his mind, and a hint of a smile even curled his lips. Since you Uchiha have shown me no kindness, don't blame me for showing you no loyalty.

"You Uchiha abducted the Jinchūriki and are plotting rebellion! Today, I will execute your entire clan!"

What? He could actually do that?

Watching Danzo act so shamelessly, Naruto could not help the twitch at the corner of his mouth. It had been a certain-death situation, yet somehow he had managed to salvage it.

Six-six-six. He could even salvage this. Old dog Danzo, I'm not even salty anymore.