Chapter 6: There Are Villains Beside the Hokage

“Third Hokage, you’ve finally arrived.” It was only now that Uchiha Tohkan, who had remained silent from the beginning, slowly spoke.

“Tohkan, what exactly happened?” Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the half-collapsed Danzo on the ground before turning to ask Uchiha Tohkan.

“This morning, we received a mission from the village, but on the way, we were ambushed,” Tohkan said calmly. “After slaying all the attacking ninja, we found among their bodies the remains of Lord Danzo.”

“That’s nonsense! How could Danzo be involved in an ambush against you?” Mitoemon Homura immediately retorted angrily.

“No matter what, the fact remains,” Tohkan’s tone remained steady. “During the fight, he revealed the Sharingan on his arm. We took him for a thief trying to steal our clan’s bloodline and killed him, only to discover it was Elder Danzo.”

“Hiruzen, don’t listen to his lies. This is clearly a frame-up by the Uchiha clan after murdering Danzo!” Koharu Utatane also spoke up at this moment.

“The Uchiha clan would never desecrate the body of one of their own!” the eldest Uchiha elder behind Tohkan shouted in anger.

“What we found wasn’t just the Sharingan.” Tohkan faced the accusations without anger. He removed the Sharingan from Danzo’s arm and dispelled the sealing jutsu on it. The uncontrolled Hashirama cells immediately consumed Danzo’s remains, turning them into a twisted wooden stake.

“This is... Wood Release?” Some of the elder shinobi present recognized the phenomenon. At the same time, Tohkan signaled Inaho to toss down Yamato from his back.

“During the fight, we also found this—a ninja capable of using Wood Release. You can imagine what this means,” Tohkan said, his gaze burning intensely as he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

“You dare desecrate the First Hokage’s remains!” A pacifist Uchiha elder, who had always respected the First Hokage deeply, spoke out in disbelief and could not accept the scene before him.

At this moment, the faces of the Hokage’s ninja showed some unease. After all, Danzo’s actions were nothing short of a betrayal against their faith.

Sarutobi Hiruzen understood he could no longer remain silent. “Everyone, I will send people to thoroughly investigate and give you all an explanation. Please give me some time.”

“We can’t trust them! Tohkan! Lead us in rebellion! You have awakened Lord Madara’s eyes! Surely, you can lead the Uchiha clan to glory!” Two radicals immediately stepped forward, shouting.

Shisui and Itachi were greatly alarmed, but their clansmen were already caught in a frenzy.

The two exchanged a glance and made a firm decision: even if it cost their lives, they would stop this chaos.

---

At that moment, Uchiha Tohkan suddenly turned and shouted, “Silence!”

The Uchiha clan, who had just been clamoring for rebellion, froze. Several elder fighters stared at Tohkan in disbelief.

Now, the three magatama in Tohkan’s eyes had transformed into the distinctive pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Without mercy, he scolded, “What nonsense are you shouting? Konoha was founded jointly by the First Hokage and Lord Madara! We were born here and raised here; this is our home! We drink from the same Naka River and eat the grain from the same rice fields. We are part of this village!”

Hearing Tohkan’s words, Shisui and Itachi both paused—could it be that Tohkan had no intention of rebellion?

“Clan leader, you agree, don’t you?” Tohkan then looked at Uchiha Fugaku, who had remained silent all along.

Fugaku gave Tohkan a long look, then stepped out of the crowd and bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen. “Tohkan is right. Earlier, my clansmen were too emotional. I apologize for the embarrassment caused to the Hokage.”

The radicals behind them wanted to protest but, seeing the Mangekyo in Tohkan’s eyes, wisely held their tongues.

“I understand,” Hiruzen also softened his tone. “Even I would find it hard to remain calm if I saw the body of a clansman treated like that. Fugaku, please have the clansmen return home for now. Once the investigation is complete, I will give everyone a satisfactory answer.”

“But, Hokage, we do need an explanation now.” At this moment, Tohkan spoke again, producing the mission scroll stamped with the Hokage’s seal that they had received earlier that morning.

“Did you issue this scroll?” Tohkan asked Hiruzen with a smile.

“Tohkan, I never sent any such mission, and there is no record of it in the mission hall,” Hiruzen said after glancing at the wooden stake that was all that remained of Danzo’s body. He was eager to distance himself from Danzo.

“So it was Elder Danzo’s personal action, correct?” Tohkan asked.

[Forgive me, Danzo.] Hiruzen thought silently, but distancing was necessary.

“That’s right,” Hiruzen said.

“How detestable!” Tohkan became indignant. “The Hokage works tirelessly for the village, yet some act selfishly in ways that harm it! There are traitors close to the Hokage.”

As he said this, Tohkan deliberately cast a glance at Mitoemon Homura and Koharu Utatane.

---

“Tohkan, I understand your feelings. Rest assured, I will get to the bottom of this,” Hiruzen said repeatedly, unable to say more in the face of Tohkan’s loyalty.

“Hokage, the Uchiha clan is willing to share the burden with you,” Tohkan bowed respectfully.

“Tohkan, I appreciate your loyalty...” Hiruzen began to respond formally but, looking up, he saw the slowly spinning Mangekyo in Tohkan’s eyes.

“Hokage, the Uchiha clan is willing to share the burden with you.”

Cold sweat dripped down Hiruzen’s temple as he realized this was Tohkan’s true intention.

Watching the slowly revolving Mangekyo, Hiruzen recalled what Shisui had told him yesterday: the dangerous ocular jutsu now in Tohkan’s possession. Though, as he told Shisui, directly controlling the situation in Konoha with it was impossible, it didn’t mean Tohkan was willing to be controlled by it. Hiruzen had tolerated Danzo partly hoping he would handle this ticking time bomb.

Only now did Hiruzen fully understand that Tohkan was more formidable than any Uchiha he had ever encountered.

With a long sigh, Hiruzen said, “If that is your intention, then I entrust this matter to you.”

As he finished speaking, the Mangekyo in Tohkan’s eyes extinguished, and Tohkan bowed slightly to Hiruzen.

“As you command.” With that, Tohkan glanced back at his clansmen.

Just as Hiruzen was about to leave with his men, Tohkan’s voice rang out again:

“Uchiha clan, salute the Hokage!”

Leading the clan at the front, Tohkan raised his right hand sharply and placed it at his temple: “Loyalty!”

The rest of the Uchiha, including clan leader Fugaku, followed suit: “Loyalty!”