A bold idea sprang into Danzo's mind, and the corners of his mouth curled upward. Take a gamble, and a bicycle could become a motorcycle.
"You Uchiha abducted the Jinchūriki and plotted rebellion. Today, I will wipe out your Uchiha Clan!"
What? He could do that?
Watching Danzo act so shamelessly, Naruto couldn't help twitching at the corners of his mouth. It had been a certain-death situation, yet somehow he had managed to salvage it.
Absolute genius. He actually salvaged that. You old dog Danzo, you're not even pretending anymore.
The surrounding Uchiha were dumbfounded too, but they quickly caught on. Danzo was blatantly twisting the facts. Every one of them gritted their teeth, itching to charge over and tear that old dog apart with their bare hands.
Even Fugaku, who was usually so composed, nearly burst out cursing. In all his years, he had never seen anyone so shameless. Today had certainly been an education.
Naruto was even more speechless.
"Sure enough, it isn't that old people turn bad. Bad people just grow old."
His eyes had certainly been opened today. In his previous life, he had often come across those wicked old men and women in short videos. Perhaps because he was a shut-in whose schedule differed from normal people's, he had never encountered those outrageous old men and women himself. Who would have thought that, having never met one while he was alive, he would run into one after transmigrating?
"Fugaku, you really are bold. With witnesses and evidence right here, what excuses could you possibly have left? You even dared to abduct the Jinchūriki and bring him right to your doorstep. What are you planning? A second Nine-Tails' Rampage? Will you be blocking my door tomorrow?"
Danzo's mouth was like a machine gun. Once he started, there was no stopping him. He gave Fugaku no chance to speak, continuing on his own and growing more agitated as he spoke. Even the hand gripping his cane trembled uncontrollably. It wasn't fear. It was excitement.
"Teacher, can you see this? Today, I can finally destroy the evil Uchiha Clan."
A murky tear slid down Danzo's face and struck the ground, shattering in an instant like a severed obsession. Shattering with it was the resolve he had held to all these years. Nobody understood him; they only thought he was deliberately targeting the Uchiha. But today, he had finally found an opportunity to destroy the Uchiha Clan with proper justification, and the frustration that had weighed on his heart for so long dissipated completely at that moment.
As Danzo said this, he paid no heed to the people around him. They were all ninja, yet he spoke so loudly it was as though he feared they wouldn't hear him.
Fugaku's entire face flushed an extraordinary red with anger, his teeth clenched tight. He truly wanted to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan right then, summon Susanoo, and slap the old dog Danzo dead.
But his remaining reason told him he couldn't. He clenched his fists, his Sharingan appearing as he fought desperately to control his emotions.
Now, the positions of attacker and defender had reversed.
Danzo stood right in front of him, smiling at Fugaku. He was deliberately provoking Fugaku into attacking him first, which would make his next moves easier.
He even walked straight up to Fugaku and patted his face.
"What's wrong, esteemed head of the Uchiha Clan? You seem quite angry."
Danzo's expression was so outrageously arrogant that it stirred anger in those watching. Fugaku, the one being humiliated, was especially red-faced with rage. Had his Mangekyō Sharingan's ability not been frantically telling him that attacking could plunge the Uchiha Clan into eternal ruin, he would have struck him long ago.
The Uchiha clansmen behind Fugaku were even more eager to rush forward and burn Danzo to death with their Great Fireballs. Unfortunately, their clan head hadn't given the word, so they dared not act. At the same time, they wondered how Fugaku could still endure this.
Naruto wondered the same thing.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. A ninja, all right. He can even endure this."
"Danzo, let go of our clan head! If you have a problem, come at me!"
"Damn you, Danzo! Get your filthy hands off him!"
"Clan head, give the order! Just say the word today, and we Uchiha will raze Konoha!"
Hearing his clansmen's words, Fugaku was deeply moved. Much as he wanted to, now was not the time.
Seeing that Fugaku could still endure even this, Danzo continued his mockery on the surface, but inwardly he had already made up his mind. Someone capable of such forbearance, and an Uchiha at that, absolutely could not be allowed to live.
Fugaku had some self-restraint, but what about his two sons? Itachi was one thing; he was older and understood a few things. But Sasuke? Could a mere brat endure seeing his father humiliated in the street?
"Damn you! Get your filthy hands off my father!"
At those words, Danzo looked toward Sasuke, a trace of bewildered surprise in his eyes. He had been worrying about how to provoke Fugaku, and now his son had delivered himself right to him.
Now let's see whether you can still keep your cool.
Fugaku also noticed something was wrong with Danzo. He could already guess what the old bastard intended to do. Whipping his head around, he shouted at Sasuke, who was charging toward them:
"Sasuke, stay back!"
"Too late. This child's life is mine."
As for Sasuke, he now realized his mistake. Seeing the vicious-faced Danzo charging at him, he was at a loss. After all, he wasn't the Sasuke of many years later. Right now, he was still only a child.
Just as Fugaku and Itachi were about to rescue Sasuke, someone moved faster than either of them.
That was right. The one who acted was Naruto. Slightly faster than Danzo, he kicked Sasuke toward Itachi before Danzo could grab him.
He couldn't worry about whether the kick hurt Sasuke. He had held back just now, after all. Otherwise, a full-force kick from Naruto as he was now might have sent Sasuke straight offline, leaving no subsequent plot.
Having grabbed at empty air, Danzo looked unhappily at Naruto, completely failing to notice how Naruto had done it. By this point, anger had already clouded his mind.
"Brat, you've meddled where you shouldn't."
"Tch, so what? Wipe out the Uchiha Clan? Did I agree to that?"
"Tsk. Such a little brat, yet such big talk."
For some reason, hearing Naruto's words kindled a surge of inexplicable anger in Danzo's heart. Now he finally understood how Fugaku had felt earlier.
"You brat, you're courting death!"
Danzo rapidly formed hand seals, no longer caring about Naruto's status as a Jinchūriki. Right now, he only wanted to teach him a proper lesson.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
But Naruto seemed to have gone stupid, showing no intention of dodging at all.
"Dodge, Naruto!"