UTBW: Ch. 58

The Junichi recorded in the intelligence reports was a thin and frail teenager. Nothing like how he appeared now.

Is it his Mangekyō ability? Or something else... Hiruzen was filled with uncertainty and, after a brief pause, glanced quietly at Guy in the crowd, who looked serious, first shaking his head, then nodding slightly.

Seeing this, he let out a breath of relief.

That meant: Guy wasn't completely confident he could defeat Junichi, but he was confident he could seriously injure him. If all eight gates were opened, he could unleash terrifying power at the cost of his life for a short period.

However, the extent of the power unleashed depended on the skill level of the practitioner.

Like Guy's father, Duy.

When he opened the Eight Gates, he could pierce through the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but couldn't manage to kill them all. Whereas the future Guy, after opening all Eight Gates, nearly kicked Madara to death.

At this moment, Fugaku stepped forward and bowed to Junichi.

"Thank you for your efforts," Junichi nodded to him, then turned his gaze to the gathered crowd.

The assembled ninjas immediately tensed up.

"No need to be nervous," he said with a light laugh. "I've called you here just to show you something."

As he spoke, he turned around and walked away. Revealing the huge passage torn open behind him.

This action made Danzō's heart jolt.

No way...? A bead of sweat formed on his forehead, though he tried to maintain his composure: Impossible, the evidence should have been destroyed quickly enough. He shouldn't have had time to stop it!

He struggled to keep his face neutral.

As Junichi stepped aside, the violently broken-open base inside was fully exposed. Everyone frowned slightly, looking on with confusion. Though they didn't know what was happening, they decided to at least see for themselves.

"Is this... the Anbu?"

"No, it's Root!"

"The Root base was broken open!?"

At the first glance, everyone froze. Then, someone noticed something, and their expression changed drastically.

"Takuya!? Why is his body here?!" This sentence was like a thunderclap, shocking the gathered ninja clans.

Impossible, right? They knew Danzō had been conducting forbidden experiments, but they never imagined he would target people from the village!

The Hokage was watching, after all.

With disbelief heavy in their hearts, the ninjas carefully examined the inside of the Root base.

And in the next moment, almost everyone's faces changed dramatically.

"That's one of our missing clan member!"

"Fontaro! My ninja hound who went missing during a mission!"

"Takeuchi!? Didn't he die in a trap explosion, completely blown to pieces?"

"That child... she's..."

The clan members widened their eyes, their faces full of disbelief. Their missing family members were actually found inside the Root base, soaked in nutrient tanks, being used for experiments.

"That's Daishi," Hiashi said grimly, having recognized someone inside as well.

It was a young boy. Soaked in a tank, his eyes hollow, and the Caged Bird seal clearly visible on his forehead.

"Danzō!!" An jonin from a small clan roared and charged at Danzō: "He supposedly died on a mission, how is his body here?!"

Danzō's expression changed slightly as he backed away repeatedly. His Root guards immediately moved to block the charging jonin.

Clang!

The enraged jonin drew his sword without hesitation.

"Stop!" Danzō quickly shouted, "I was just doing a good deed, helping your family retrieve the corpse!"

Hearing such a shameless excuse, the jonin was momentarily stunned. Then his face flushed red with even greater fury.

"Is that so?! Then, today, I'll risk my life to cut you down!!" He roared, slashing with full force at every strike. For a moment, the two Root guards were overwhelmed by his reckless, wound-for-wound assault.

And he wasn't the only one. Other jonin from various ninja clans had cold glints in their eyes. Many gripped their weapons tightly. The atmosphere shifted dramatically.

The jonin, who had once been united on the same side, were now ready to abandon ship.

This wasn't just an Uchiha matter anymore!

Many began to suspect: was the so-called "Uchiha Rebellion" merely a fabricated excuse? Was Danzō's true goal to collect Sharingan for his own experiments?

If the Uchiha were wiped out, then they might be next.

"Stop!!"

A loud roar drew everyone's attention.

Hiruzen stepped forward. His face looked weary, but he had no choice but to speak: "Danzō violated the regulations. The village will punish him accordingly. What do you all think you're doing?"

"Especially you. Attacking a Konoha elder is insubordination!"

Hiruzen glared fiercely at the jonin who had attacked. Trying to use his gaze to force the man to back down.

But the jonin simply stared back coldly and said, "Are you sure you want to waste your breath on such meaningless words?"

Hiruzen's heart tightened. He instinctively turned his head to look at the other ninja clans, only to see countless jonin, all of clan origin, staring at him with predatory, murderous eyes.

If he weren't the Hokage, they would've torn him to shreds by now.

"..."

A chill ran down his back. He instinctively took half a step back, cold sweat pouring down.

This was bad.

The authority of the Hokage title no longer held sway. If he continued trying to suppress them by force, these people likely wouldn't care about "Hokage" or anything else.

And it made sense.

The bloodline limits of the ninja clans were sacred, absolutely not to be touched. Any violation would be met with brutal retaliation. Yet Danzō had gone so far as to collect their corpses for experimentation.

No one could endure that.

You damned fool! Hiruzen cursed inwardly, glaring furiously at Danzō. Koharu and Homura also glared at him, faces full of rage.

Danzō lowered his head, cursing his Root subordinates bitterly inside. He had ordered them to destroy the evidence, how had they managed to leave everything intact for Junichi to intercept!?

Useless fools!

"Danzō has indeed committed a grave offense," Koharu had no choice but to step in to ease the tension. "But you must trust the Hokage."

"He will surely carry out a fair judgment!" Homura added.

"Please believe me," Hiruzen hurriedly said, pressing Danzō down and bowing deeply to the ninja clans.

Danzō, though full of resentment, was forced to bow under pressure.

But the clan jonin only sneered coldly, their gazes remaining icy. In fact, even more people were now gripping their weapons. Such empty platitudes could never satisfy them.

And beyond the clans, even the civilian jonin looked grim, their eyes filled with anger. Though they didn't possess bloodline limits, they had their own inherited skills, techniques passed down only to their families or chosen disciples.

If Danzō dared to seize bloodlines now, what was stopping him from coveting their family arts later?

They couldn't help but feel a deep sense of unease. Their trust in the higher-ups plummeted sharply.

Hiruzen naturally noticed these changes in their expressions and cursed inwardly: This is terrible. How did they pull this off so!?

In one move, the Uchiha had scattered half of the Third's original support. The remaining half, civilian ninja, were now wavering in their loyalty as well.