Konoha Village, the Shimura Clan Grounds.
The sky was clear, the weather fine and the breeze gentle.
The few remaining members of the Shimura clan were gathered in small groups, discussing the content that had just been broadcast on the Sky Screen.
"It feels like Danzō-sama is in big trouble this time…"
"What trouble? That was Danzō-sama eliminating unstable elements for Konoha. In my eyes, that's a contribution to the village!"
In one prominent house among them lived Shimura Danzō, now idle and staying at home.
With Tsunade taking office, he had not only lost the last shred of dignity as the Hokage Advisor, but his former Root headquarters had also been repurposed to imprison the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Aside from a few truly loyal members, the rest of Root had scattered like monkeys when a tree falls, accepting reassignment into the ANBU.
Now, Danzō had truly become a tiger without fangs.
"Hiruzen… you know now, don't you! If I hadn't acted decisively back then, who knows what losses the village would have suffered."
Danzō paced resentfully alone in his courtyard. Under the repeated crushing of his cane, the fallen leaves on the ground let out crisp, creaking sounds.
With the broadcast on the Sky Screen, the entire process of the Uchiha clan's massacre had been laid bare before the whole world. Danzō believed he had made great contributions to this matter and was extremely dissatisfied with Hiruzen's behavior of "burning the bridge after crossing it."
Just as he was ranting, a commotion suddenly arose from the clan grounds.
Soon, the noise grew from distant to near, and Danzō slowly stopped pacing, turned around, and looked toward the gate.
Creak—
The gate of his house slowly opened.
Hiruzen, dressed in casual attire, walked in slowly, followed by Jiraiya with two toads sitting on his shoulders. However, Jiraiya's face bore no frog-like markings; he hadn't entered the Sage Mode.
On the roof of Danzō's house, ANBU members wearing various strange masks stood in dense formation.
Recognizing the visitors, Danzō's face flushed red, as he shouted at Hiruzen: "Hiruzen! With such a grand display, have you come to take my life?!"
"Go ahead then, I'm not afraid of you. I'm standing right here. Do whatever you want!"
Hiruzen quickly approached Danzō and stood facing him. He took a puff from the pipe in his hand, slowly exhaled the smoke, and said with a smile.
"Ah, Danzō, don't be so angry."
"I'm just here to discuss something with you."
Danzō scanned his surroundings and sneered, "Hmph, as expected of the Third Hokage. You need so many people to come to my place just to discuss something."
"Is my home some kind of dragon's den or tiger's lair? It's not like this is your first time here! Or is the decades-old friendship between us not worth trusting in your eyes?"
"Hiruzen, stop wasting words. Do whatever you want—kill me or spare me, it's up to you!"
Hiruzen still wore a full-faced smile.
He extended his right hand to pat Danzō's shoulder, but Danzō slapped his hand away.
Hiruzen's smile slowly faded. "Danzō, I won't beat around the bush. Hand over Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan."
Danzō immediately gritted his teeth upon hearing that, glaring at Hiruzen. His cane struck the ground heavily, producing a loud thud.
The ANBU on the roof instantly readied their kunai, adopting offensive stances. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, his arms that had been clasped behind his head quietly lowering, as if ready to strike at the slightest sign of trouble.
"What gives you the right!" Danzō's voice trembled.
"What right do you have?!"
"I obtained this Mangekyō myself. What gives you the right to take it? I've already handed over ten Sharingan to you before. Hiruzen, don't go too far!"
Hiruzen ignored Danzō's words, his gaze locked on the heavily bandaged right eye.
Danzō had rendered great service to Konoha in his early years—his right eye, right arm, and the scars on his chin were all medals of honor. In the past, he had never paid much attention to this detail. But now, thinking back, Shisui's eye was likely installed right there.
"Danzō, that eye does not belong to you."
"It belongs to Shisui. It belongs to the Uchiha. And more than that, it belongs to Konoha. Hand it over."
Danzō's chest heaved violently. He looked at Hiruzen, then turned his head to scan Jiraiya and the ANBU on the roof.
He really wanted to strike out at Hiruzen before him, but the disparity in power was far too great. Even dealing with Hiruzen alone was not a guaranteed victory, let alone with Jiraiya and a group of ANBU present.
After grimly comparing the situation in his mind, Danzō suppressed the urge to tear Hiruzen limb from limb and forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"Hiruzen… you truly are ruthless."
He slowly raised his hand and began to unwind the bandages wrapped around his right eye. The moment the bandages fell away, Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan was instantly exposed to the world.
Danzō reached out, completely disregarding the pain, and removed the eye from its socket. Where his right eye had been, only an empty cavity remained.
"Take it." He handed the eye to Hiruzen.
"Now I have nothing left! Are you satisfied now, Hiruzen?"
Hiruzen took the eye, examined it carefully, then raised his head to look at Danzō.
"I know you believe everything you do is for Konoha."
"But some things—when they are wrong, are just wrong."
"From today on, stay home and enjoy your retirement."
With that, Hiruzen turned and left. Jiraiya glanced at Danzō, said nothing, and followed. And the ANBU on the roof withdrew as swiftly as a tide.
Only Danzō remained in the courtyard.
He stood in place, his left eye staring at the now-empty gateway.
The wind blew, and the fallen leaves rustled.
Hatred!
That was all he felt.
When had Hiruzen become so cold-hearted?
If he had known, he would have hidden that eye somewhere else.
---
[Konoha, Year 52]
The day the Sky Screen broadcast ended, a document arrived on the desk of the reigning Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen: "The Uchiha Clan's Application for Reform of the Military Police Force."
Hiruzen picked up the document, read it carefully, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
It seemed Fugaku had taken the content of the Sky Screen to heart, his efforts had not been in vain.
Over the next few days, the villagers of Konoha discovered something surprising.
The Uchiha clan's attitude toward maintaining public order had improved.
No—it wasn't just improvement. It had completely changed.
The Uchiha Police Force, who used to have cold faces as if everyone owed them money, now all wore smiles, with gentle eyes and warm demeanors.
The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.
What was going on?
Had the Uchiha been replaced?
Someone whispered: "Are they… under a Genjutsu?"
"I don't know, but it's kind of scary."
The Uchiha themselves were also uncomfortable at first.
Tetsuka stood on a street corner, his smile frozen on his face like it had been pasted there. He whispered to Inabi beside him: "My face is cramping…"
Inabi maintained his smile as well, squeezing out words through his teeth: "Mine too. But Fugaku-sama said we must smile!"
Tetsuka nodded: "Then we keep smiling…"
And so the two of them continued standing on the street corner, flashing perfect eight-tooth smiles at the passersby. When villagers walked past, they were so startled by the smiles that they quickened their pace.
"Hurry, hurry—the Uchiha are acting strange today…"
"Could this be a prelude to a coup?"
"I don't know, but I'm running first and asking questions later!"
Tetsuka watched the villagers flee in panic, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Inabi… they seem even more afraid of us now…"
Inabi sighed: "Maybe we're not smiling naturally enough?"
Tetsuka thought for a moment: "Should we try a different angle tomorrow?"
"Sounds good."
Not far away, Shisui stood on a high vantage point, watching all of this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting.
*****
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