Chapter 53: Hiruzen’s Apprehension, Danzo Removed from Office

Hokage Tower.

The Konoha Four had all gathered.

Standing before them was Uchiha Itachi.

"...That’s what happened. After Elder Danzo attacked him, Shisui didn’t want to see a future in which the Uchiha launched a coup, so he committed suicide."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head as he spoke.

Danzo remained expressionless.

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane exchanged glances.

Bang!

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his fist against the table in fury.

"Danzo, what have you done?!"

His anger at this moment was completely genuine.

Shisui was an Uchiha who was absolutely loyal to him. He had even revealed secrets such as the Mangekyo Sharingan and Kotoamatsukami to him.

Moreover, if Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami plan had succeeded yesterday, Uchiha Fugaku could now be indirectly brought under his control.

The entire Uchiha clan would have fallen into his hands.

The greatest hidden threat to his position as Hokage would have been eliminated just like that.

However!

Because of Danzo’s attack on Shisui, everything had gone up in smoke!

Danzo, however, remained completely calm.

"I don’t trust Uchiha Shisui. If a power like Kotoamatsukami were used against us, it would be far too dangerous."

"Nonsense!" Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped angrily.

Who would believe such garbage?

He didn’t believe Danzo couldn’t tell what kind of person Shisui was!

After arguing for a few more moments, Sarutobi Hiruzen temporarily suppressed his anger. Then he suddenly thought of something and frowned worriedly.

"Itachi, does the Uchiha clan know about what happened yesterday?"

If the Uchiha clan found out, the situation would truly become troublesome.

He could practically imagine the scene of the Uchiha clan becoming enraged and launching a coup.

"Uchiha Yashiro and the others came to find me earlier, but I didn’t tell them."

"As for Uchiha Reiji, Shisui asked him before his death not to reveal anything, so he didn’t tell Uchiha Yashiro and the others either."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Itachi continue.

"However, Uchiha Reiji demanded that Elder Danzo be punished. Otherwise, he would still reveal the matter of Shisui being attacked."

"Hmph!"

Danzo immediately snorted coldly, his expression disdainful.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and first dismissed Itachi. Then he looked at Danzo, a trace of hesitation appearing on his face.

A bad feeling rose in Danzo’s heart.

"Hiruzen? Are you really going to punish me according to that brat Uchiha Reiji’s demands?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent.

Beside him, Koharu Utatane spoke.

"If we don’t do something, what happens if Uchiha Reiji directly reveals what happened to Shisui and the Uchiha clan launches a coup?"

Homura Mitokado nodded worriedly, clearly sharing the same opinion.

"Ridiculous! What do the two of you know?!"

Danzo sneered and immediately stated his own view.

"Now that Uchiha Shisui is dead, we should take advantage of this opportunity to eliminate the entire Uchiha clan. Otherwise, are we supposed to wait for them to launch a coup?"

However.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others remained unmoved.

Seeing this, Danzo truly became anxious.

"Hiruzen, Uchiha Reiji actually chased after me before and even tried to kill me!"

"Do you believe that if the Uchiha clan launches a coup, Uchiha Reiji would dare to kill you as well?"

"Someone this reckless is the greatest threat we face right now!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, and his resolve wavered slightly.

Uchiha Reiji had actually chased Danzo down and even tried to kill him before. This showed that he had absolutely no reverence for the village’s higher-ups.

Someone like that was indeed a hidden threat.

But—

How could he possibly exterminate the Uchiha clan right now?

As Hokage, if a thousand-year-old shinobi clan were exterminated within the village during his tenure, it would become an enormous stain on his record.

It would severely damage his reputation!

At that point, the other shinobi clans in the village would probably become extremely anxious.

Even if they didn’t openly say anything, they would probably all be hoping for his death deep down!

That couldn’t happen!

Having made up his mind, Sarutobi Hiruzen had someone call Uchiha Itachi back inside.

His expression became solemn.

"Itachi, I’ve made my decision. Danzo will be removed from his position as the leader of Root. Go and inform Uchiha Reiji."

Crash!

Danzo directly knocked over his chair and stood up, his expression extremely ugly.

"Hiruzen, do you know what you’re doing?!"

However.

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained completely unmoved. With a solemn expression, he said, "Danzo, this is the decision of the Hokage. You went too far in the matter concerning Shisui!"

"..."

Danzo was furious. He pointed at Sarutobi Hiruzen but was unable to find anything to say.

After a long while, his expression gradually calmed down, but his face became frighteningly gloomy.

As he walked toward the door, he said, "Hiruzen, you’ll regret the decision you made today."

The two elders soon left as well.

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Itachi a few more questions.

After confirming that both of Shisui’s eyes had been destroyed, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a wave of regret, and he no longer had any doubts about his decision to punish Danzo.

If not for Danzo, he wouldn’t have lost such a useful tool with the Mangekyo Sharingan.

As for Uchiha Itachi, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Lord Hokage, when Shisui died, I also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."

As he spoke, he revealed the Mangekyo he had recently awakened.

After obtaining Sarutobi Hiruzen’s decision to punish Danzo, Itachi felt even more contempt for what Uchiha Reiji had said yesterday.

In his eyes, those words were nothing more than Uchiha Reiji’s biased slander against the Third Hokage.

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen’s expression changed dramatically, and then his heart filled with wild joy.

He had just lost one Mangekyo Uchiha, and now another had appeared!

Sure enough, his decision to punish Danzo had been the right one.

Hadn’t Itachi now directly revealed the secret of his Mangekyo to him?

In the past, he had regretted that he couldn’t make the other half of the Uchiha’s Twin Stars work for him.

But now, it seemed that Uchiha Itachi, who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, clearly possessed greater potential than Uchiha Reiji!

After asking about Itachi’s ocular technique and discovering that it wasn’t a divine technique like Kotoamatsukami, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt slightly disappointed.

Nevertheless, he still put on an encouraging expression.

"Itachi, from now on, I’ll be counting on you when it comes to the Uchiha clan."

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