Outside Root's base, the ANBU had formed a tight perimeter. Dozens of masked operatives stood at strategic positions, weapons ready, escape routes blocked. The operation had been planned meticulously. Nobody was getting out without Minato's permission.
At the entrance to the underground facility, four figures stood in opposition.
On one side: Minato in his Hokage cloak, and Kenji standing slightly behind him. On the other: Danzō, and Hiruzen, who'd arrived shortly after the ANBU deployment began.
The atmosphere was electric. One wrong move and this would turn bloody.
"Danzō," Minato said calmly. "I'll say this once. Order your Root ninjas to stand down and submit to investigation. This is your final opportunity to cooperate."
Danzō's expression remained neutral, almost bored. His visible eye swept over the ANBU forces surrounding them before settling back on Minato.
"I'm afraid I don't understand. Root has served Konoha faithfully for decades, operating in the shadows so the village could remain safe. We've done nothing that could be considered harmful to Konoha's interests. So I have to ask, what exactly has prompted you to surround us with ANBU tonight? Have you been listening to rumors?"
The response was textbook Danzō. Calm denial, appeal to service and sacrifice, subtle implication that Minato was acting on insufficient information. It was the kind of answer designed to make the accuser second-guess themselves.
But Minato didn't flinch.
"Rumors? Shimura Danzō, leader of Root, you stand accused of collusion with enemies of Konoha. You've been in contact with a wanted criminal responsible for the Nine-Tails attack. You secretly incited the Uchiha clan toward rebellion while simultaneously arranging for Root operatives to massacre Uchiha civilians tonight during the chaos you yourself created. Additionally, you've attempted to murder fellow Konoha ninjas, stolen Sharingan from deceased Uchiha, and illegally pursued bloodline limits through human experimentation. ANBU investigation has confirmed all of this. As of this moment, you are classified as a rogue ninja."
Danzō's expression didn't change. But Minato, watching carefully, noticed the slight tension in Danzō's shoulders. The minute shift in weight distribution. The man was preparing to move.
"These are serious accusations. I'm sure you understand that making claims of this nature against a former Hokage advisor requires substantial evidence. Surely you're not basing this on hearsay?"
Before Minato could respond, Hiruzen stepped forward.
"Minato. Danzō has dedicated his life to protecting Konoha. Whatever he's done, I'm certain he believed it was in the village's best interests. Perhaps we should handle this more carefully."
He glanced at Danzō, then back to Minato.
"How about this, we strip him of all official positions immediately and place him under temporary detention. Then we can conduct a thorough investigation to determine the truth. That way, we're not rushing to judgment based on incomplete information."
Kenji had to admire the move. Hiruzen was trying to de-escalate, offering a compromise that would save Danzō's life while maintaining some appearance of justice. Strip him of power, lock him up, then quietly let the investigation drag on until people stopped paying attention. But it wouldn't work. Hiruzen didn't understand the full scope of what they knew.
The Third Hokage understood very well what was at stake. If Danzō was officially declared a rogue ninja and the charges were proven, there would be no coming back from that. Everything Danzō had done was enough to earn a death sentence. More importantly, his own reputation was on the line. His student had already defected and become one of the most wanted criminals in the shinobi world. If his closest friend and political ally also turned out to be a traitor, the damage to his legacy would be catastrophic. People would question how the "Professor," the "God of Shinobi," the "Strongest Hokage" could have failed to notice such corruption right under his nose. They might even suspect he'd known all along.
So he was trying to protect Danzō, not out of friendship necessarily, but out of self-preservation. Their fates had always been intertwined.
"Let me ask Danzō something directly?" Kenji said suddenly.
Both Hiruzen and Danzō turned to look at him. Minato remained facing forward, but Kenji could sense his attention.
"Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, you haven't been deployed to combat, correct? And I haven't heard any reports of you suffering serious injuries to your right arm or right eye during that period. Yet lately, you've been keeping both covered. Why is that?"
Danzō's visible eye flickered briefly toward Kenji. "As I said, old injuries. Nothing more."
"Old injuries," Kenji repeated thoughtfully. "The thing is, I have well-developed sensory abilities. And when I focus on those covered areas, the chakra signatures I'm detecting are interesting."
He took a step forward.
"Your right arm, for example. The chakra reaction there is extremely familiar. If I had to guess, I'd say you've got Wood Release cells grafted into it. Hashirama cells, probably. Difficult to obtain, very illegal to use in human experimentation. But that's not all, is it? There are multiple additional chakra sources in that arm. Sharingan, unless I'm very much mistaken."
His gaze shifted to Danzō's covered eye.
"And that right eye of yours, the one you keep wrapped up. That's a Sharingan too, isn't it?"
Hiruzen's eyes moved to Danzō's covered arm and eye. He'd never questioned the wrappings before, and had accepted Danzō's vague explanations about old wounds. But now that it was being pointed out, the constant concealment did seem suspicious. If Kenji was right, if Danzō really had Sharingan implanted in his body...
"You're making wild accusations," Danzō said calmly. "These are old battle scars, nothing more. I keep them covered to avoid frightening civilians and younger ninjas."
"Old battle scars," Kenji echoed. "Well, I happen to know some medical ninjutsu. How about I take a look and verify that everything's fine?"
Before Danzō could respond, his body flickered and he vanished from where he'd been standing. The movement was so fast that most of the watching ANBU didn't even track it properly.
At this close range, his senses gave him confirmation. The eye hidden beneath the bandages was definitely another Sharingan. From the subtle differences in its chakra signature compared to the eyes in Danzō's arm, it was clear this one was different from those Danzō had been using earlier that night. He had switched it out recently. Which meant Danzō's collection of Sharingan was even larger than he had initially suspected. Even without the massacre happening tonight, the man had somehow accumulated a lot of Sharingan over the years.
"Kenji!" Hiruzen raised his voice slightly. "Stand down. This isn't how we handle these matters."
Kenji released Danzō's shoulder and stepped back, returning to Minato's side. As he moved, he caught Minato's eye and gave the slightest nod. The message was clear: Danzō had not removed his Sharingan.
Minato understood immediately.
"Sandaime-sama," he said formally, "the fact that I brought ANBU here tonight means the investigation is already complete. We have all the evidence we need. However, out of respect for you and your long service to this village, I'll offer Danzō one chance to prove his innocence."
He turned his full attention to Danzō.
"Remove the bandages on your right arm and right eye. Let everyone see what you're hiding. If there's nothing there except old scars as you claim, then this can all be cleared up immediately."
Danzō stood motionless for several seconds. His eye moved from Minato to Kenji to the surrounding ANBU forces. Finally, slowly, he nodded.
"Very well."
Hiruzen relaxed slightly. If Danzō was willing to reveal what was beneath the bandages, perhaps everything could still be salvaged.
Danzō extended his right arm, pulling it free from his sleeve. The limb was wrapped in thick medical bandages, secured by a series of metal clasps that served both as physical restraints and as sealing mechanisms.
Click.
The first clasp fell to the ground.
Minato's hand moved subtly, chakra beginning to gather in his palm. He wasn't taking any chances.
Danzō began unwrapping the bandages slowly. Layer after layer of fabric fell away, revealing skin beneath. The ANBU forces tensed, hands moving toward weapons.
Then, just as the final layer was about to come off, his hands blurred through seals faster than most of the watching ninjas could track. The remaining bandages exploded outward as he tore them away completely, and his right arm was fully exposed to the moonlight.
Ten Sharingan stared out, embedded in neat rows.
Several ANBU gasped. Even the most hardened operatives recoiled slightly at the sight.
But Danzō wasn't done. His hands completed the seal sequence and he drew in a massive breath.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
A concentrated ball of wind chakra erupted from Danzō's mouth. The attack was massive, easily three meters in diameter, and it was aimed directly at Minato and Kenji.
Hiruzen was standing between them and the attack. He threw himself backward, barely clearing the path of the technique. The wind sphere screamed past him, close enough that the pressure wave tore at his clothing and sent him tumbling across the ground.
Danzō used the chaos as cover. His body moved quickly, using the technique's obscuring effect to burst through a gap in the ANBU perimeter. Several operatives tried to intercept him, but he was already activating another jutsu.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
A cutting wave of wind forced the ANBU back, giving him the opening he needed. He cleared the encirclement and put distance between himself and Minato's forces.
Hiruzen struggled to his feet. His eyes were fixed on Danzō's retreating form, specifically on those ten Sharingan still visible on his exposed arm. Each one represented a dead Uchiha. And each one was evidence of crimes that couldn't be explained away or justified.
Danzō spun to face them, putting his back to the forest.
"For Konoha!" he shouted. "For the shinobi world! The Uchiha were a threat that needed to be eliminated! Their sacrifice was necessary! It's you weak-willed idealists, who've condemned this village to destruction!"
"Is that so?"
The voice came from directly behind him.
Danzō's body went rigid. He started to turn, but it was already too late.
Minato stood there, having teleported using the Flying Thunder God mark he'd placed on one of the ANBU during their initial deployment. His right hand held a fully formed Rasengan.
The attack drove into Danzō's back.
CRACK.
The sound of multiple ribs breaking was clearly audible even from a distance. Danzō's body lifted off the ground from the impact, spinning through the air. He hit the earth, tumbled and rolled, carving a deep furrow in the dirt before finally slamming into the wall of the Root base.
The impact shattered stone. Debris and dust exploded outward, obscuring Danzō's form from view.
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