Chapter 81: The True Home

Hiruzen Sarutobi could never have imagined that Danzo would choose this moment to betray the village. With Danzo’s departure, all the pressure now bore down upon him alone. It was only moments ago that he had ordered the Anbu to summon Danzo for confrontation! Yet in the blink of an eye, Danzo had vanished...

As both old friend and subordinate, Danzo’s flight rendered Hiruzen defenseless, no matter how justified his position might have been. Blood surged in his veins, and the new pipe in his hand let out a sharp crack—the whole pipe snapped in two.

“Well now, Danzo really did choose to flee without hesitation...” Uchiha Li, upon hearing the news, was momentarily stunned, then quietly laughed to himself. Danzo must have realized there was no way to escape responsibility for the assassination attempt this time, so he simply acted preemptively and ran.

Given his character, such a choice was only to be expected. On the surface, everything Danzo did was for Konoha, but in reality, it was always to satisfy his own ambitions. Why was he always targeting the Uchiha? Was it not for the coveted power of the Sharingan, desiring it for himself?

Now, with nothing gained and on the verge of being made the scapegoat by the Third Hokage, Danzo would never accept such a fate. He would never take on that burden. But in fleeing, he had shifted all the blame onto the Third Hokage.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Li looked at the Third, whose face was ashen, and said with thinly veiled mockery, “Lord Hiruzen, it seems that even as acting Hokage, you cannot control your own subordinates. No wonder such things have come to pass.”

“I just wonder, is it only Root that is like this, or does the entire Anbu behave so? I truly begin to suspect that perhaps your mind is failing you, for such things to occur.”

His words, sharper even than before, were spoken without mercy. This time, the clan heads and villagers gathered around were numb with shock. Uchiha Li’s words were indeed ruthless, leaving no room for retreat. Yet they were all reasoned “speculations” based on facts, leaving no grounds for rebuttal.

Suppressing his anger with great effort, Hiruzen’s expression turned icy as he said coldly, “Li, watch your tongue. Some things cannot be spoken carelessly!”

Never before had he felt such loathing for a member of the Uchiha, but now he could not show it.

“Carelessly?” Uchiha Li shook his head. “I am only speaking the truth.”

Without pausing, Uchiha Li continued, “Everyone should remember, shouldn’t they? Lord Acting Hokage’s own student, Orochimaru, once committed heinous acts in this village, disregarding the lives of its people to conduct human experiments.”

“And yet, under the Anbu’s pursuit, Orochimaru still managed to escape from the village.”

“And now, as Danzo was about to be held accountable, he too managed to escape.”

“So the question is: was this a failure on the part of the Anbu, or did you, Lord Acting Hokage, never intend to capture them at all?”

At this, Uchiha Li’s gaze swept across the crowd, righteous indignation in his voice: “Who can guarantee that, under the leadership of our acting Hokage, there will not be such failures again?”

“And if such a thing does happen again, will the one responsible escape justice once more, leaving us powerless to pursue them?”

A string of questions sent ripples through the previously numb crowd. When they looked at the Third again, the trust of old had given way to doubt. For what Uchiha Li had said was undeniably true.

Attacking villagers, fleeing after the fact—these incidents, taken individually, might seem innocuous. But when they occurred repeatedly with the same result, incompetence was no longer a sufficient explanation.

“Could it be that the Third really...?” Even among the most loyal members of the Anbu, some now wavered. The facts were plain to see; they could not help but wonder.

The heads of the great clans exchanged uneasy glances. The string of incidents was simply too coincidental. But how could there be so many coincidences in this world?

Looking from the Third to the Fourth, some began to confer in secret. With things having reached this point, there was no way to simply move on. No matter how respected the Third might be, he would likely have to resign in disgrace.

Once the Fourth reclaimed the mantle, everything would be different. As clan leaders, they would have to choose: stay on the sinking ship with the Third, or side with the new Shadow, the Fourth.

And with the Uchiha steadfastly supporting the Fourth, their position now required a fresh assessment.

With this in mind, the clan heads turned to Hiashi Hyuga, their expressions unreadable.

The Hyuga had already allied with the Uchiha, and with both clans at the top of Konoha’s hierarchy, their future strength would only grow.

Had all this been arranged in advance, prepared long ago?

Sensing the gazes upon him, Hiashi Hyuga knew there was no explaining things now. After some thought, he decided to go all in; after all, in the eyes of others, Hyuga and Uchiha were already a single faction.

He turned to Shikaku Nara, accompanied by the other two, and said, “The three of you should carefully consider the position I mentioned earlier.”

At his words, the other clan heads narrowed their eyes and turned their attention to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. With the Hyuga’s support declared, if the traditionally Hokage-aligned Ino-Shika-Cho also took a stand, then it would be settled.

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza exchanged glances, then nodded to Shikaku Nara. Shikaku, speaking on behalf of the trio, announced, “Wherever the Hokage stands, we will stand. It has always been so, and will be so in the future.”

At this point, there was no reason to hesitate. The Third was already yesterday’s leader, and his continued rule was illegitimate. The Fourth, only twenty-five, now had the simultaneous support of both the Uchiha and Hyuga.

Hearing the Ino-Shika-Cho’s official declaration, the other clan heads nodded as well, their eyes turning to Minato Namikaze.

Outside the Hokage Tower, silence fell once more, yet something fundamental in that silence had already shifted.

“The outcome is decided! Now for the final blow.”

From the corner of his eye, Uchiha Li took in the scene and understood that the tide had turned entirely in his favor.

The Third, who had always claimed the mantle of justice and the law, was now undone by both.

Without hesitation, Uchiha Li fixed his gaze on the silent Third Hokage and said, his voice cold yet gentle, “Lord Hiruzen, while you still have a sliver of dignity left, take the initiative.”

“Announce your failings to the entire village, to the Land of Fire, and to the world. Admit your mistakes, and step down.”

After a slight pause, Uchiha Li said solemnly, “Your fire will continue to illuminate the village, and let new leaves sprout upon the tree...”

To destroy a man’s heart is not enough—only by letting the Third fall in disgrace upon the very Will of Fire he had always preached would Uchiha Li’s true wish be fulfilled.