Hiruzen Sarutobi had, of course, seen Danzo's pleading look, but how was he supposed to save him? Was he supposed to provoke the Uchiha while they were furious? Wouldn't that be asking to die?
But how could Danzo possibly admit to what he had done? He appealed to Hiruzen Sarutobi again, this time with a threatening look. His meaning was clear: if you don't save me today, I'll spill everything I did for you.
How could Hiruzen Sarutobi miss what his old friend meant? He could only steel himself and speak.
"Well, everyone, could you do me a favor..."
But after Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, nobody showed any intention of acknowledging him, leaving him standing awkwardly in place.
"Danzo, you saw that. It's not that I won't help. They really won't listen to me."
Seeing that even his friend could not help him, Danzo slowly stood up with Shimura Agou's support. He could only brace himself and speak.
"Gentlemen of the Uchiha, young and old, allow me to say a few words. Those Sharingan really aren't what you think. They were... yes, I found them."
"Found them? Are you kidding me? Two of those Sharingan belonged to the second son of the husband of the younger sister-in-law from the mother-in-law's family of my aunt's cousin's son. I personally saw him off at his funeral and buried him with my own hands. Now you're telling me you found those Sharingan? Did you climb into his coffin to find them?"
Uchiha Inaho stared at Danzo with a vicious gleam in his eyes. The speed with which he tore apart his story was almost too much for Danzo to bear.
"I... well..."
Danzo stammered, unable to get a word out. This was far too embarrassing. He had never expected that man to have relatives.
"Lord Danzo, you've gone far too far. The things our Uchiha Clan has done have never let Konoha down. Who would have thought that even our dead would be denied peace, and that someone would use our Uchiha Clan's Sharingan for personal gain?"
Fugaku's icy words made the Uchiha present straighten their backs. Their clan leader had finally shown some backbone for once.
Just then, Itachi came to Fugaku's side and whispered something in his ear.
Soon, a look of disbelief appeared on Fugaku's face.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. He told me himself."
"Hiss... is he really that brazen?"
Itachi said nothing more, but his expression made it clear that it was all true.
At that, Fugaku waved his hand.
"Go. Do what you want to do. I-no, we'll back you up."
Itachi first looked at his father, then at the clansmen standing behind him. They all turned their gazes toward him. In their eyes, he could see resolve, faith, and hope...
Was this what Shisui meant? That I had to protect the Uchiha Clan...
Itachi understood now. He tucked away the longing in his heart and slowly walked up to Danzo.
Danzo grew a little excited when he saw Itachi approaching.
"Uchiha Itachi, have you come to plead on my behalf? I knew you were a kind child."
Itachi did not answer his question. He simply kept walking toward him. As for what he intended to do, Naruto, who was watching the show from behind, could already guess.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Here it comes. One of the most spectacular little moments in Naruto. I never thought I'd get to see it here today, except the lead has changed from Sasuke to Danzo."
Itachi said nothing and simply kept approaching Danzo. Without giving him a chance to react, he moved his hand, grabbed Danzo, and gouged out the Mangekyō Sharingan in his right socket that did not belong to him.
The whole process was clean and swift.
Now Danzo finally understood what Itachi had come to do.
"Aaaah!"
He clutched his eye socket, blood pouring between his fingers as though it cost nothing. He stared at Uchiha Itachi in disbelief. He had never imagined Uchiha Itachi would be so bold as to gouge out his eye right in front of so many people.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing nearby, was badly startled too. He had never expected a child like Uchiha Itachi to do something so brutal.
"Uchiha Itachi, you..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had intended to reprimand Itachi, but what Itachi did next left him utterly chilled by Danzo's actions.
"This is Shisui's eye. I'm merely taking it back."
"What? Shisui's eye? Does that mean he was responsible for Shisui's death?"
When they heard that it was Shisui's eye, the Uchiha were likewise filled with emotion. Many of Shisui's supporters, upon hearing that his Sharingan was actually in Danzo's possession, got started one after another. They racked their brains for the most vicious words in the world to attack Danzo with.
Shisui had earned the title Body Flicker Shisui himself on the battlefield. Many in the Uchiha Clan regarded him as their role model. They had never imagined that, rather than dying on the battlefield, Shisui would be killed by someone from his own village-and that his killer would be one of the village's higher-ups. How could they stand for that?
"Damn you! Were you the one who killed Shisui?"
"Fuck! Kill him! Avenge Shisui!"
"Yes! Finish him off! Make him pay blood for blood!"
"Danzo, you motherfucking *, I'll fuck your ****! You absolute dumb ****! Look at that * face of yours! If I'd known it would come to this, I should've just * you onto the wall back then!"
Amid the clamor, countless Uchiha hurled all manner of abuse at Danzo. Some even launched into impassioned tirades, verbally tearing him to shreds.
Naruto watched from the sidelines with relish. Who said the Uchiha were bad at expressing themselves? Just look at that guy. He was so good at it! Such verbal artistry, such emotional embellishment, so vivid, so fierce! Look at the tongue-lashing he was giving Danzo.
"Tsk, tsk. Listen. Everyone, listen. This is the Uchiha's attack power."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, too, was glaring furiously at Danzo. He truly had not expected this. At the time, he had naively assumed that Danzo had driven Shisui to his death for the sake of their upcoming plan.
Who could have imagined that he had actually done away with Shisui, an outstanding inheritor of the Will of Fire, for the sake of the Mangekyō Sharingan?
"Danzo, you... I never imagined you would do something like this for your own selfish desires. How can you face Kagami? Back then, he sacrificed himself to save you. Is this how you repay him?"
Silence. All Danzo could do now was remain silent. He tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, terrified that one wrong move would get him beaten to death by these people.
After all, he had no Izanagi left to use now. In other words, he was out of revival tokens. He did not dare play recklessly anymore.
"I... well... he..."
Danzo truly did not know what to say. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he obediently shut it again. Even he found it difficult to defend himself as he was now. At this moment, all words seemed so pale and powerless.