"Lord Third, you've finally arrived."
Uchiha Dohan, who had remained silent since the beginning, finally spoke.
"Dohan… what exactly happened?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the mutilated remains of Danzō before he looked back at Dohan.
"This morning, we were assigned a mission by the village," Dohan said calmly. "But we were ambushed en route. After eliminating all attackers, we discovered the body of Elder Danzō among the dead."
"You lie! Why would Danzō ever ambush you?!" Homura Mitokado immediately snapped.
"Regardless of what anyone says, that's the truth," Dohan replied evenly. "During the battle, he exposed the Sharingan implanted in his right arm. Believing him to be a thief who desecrated our clan's bloodline, we struck him down—only to realize afterward that he was Elder Danzō."
"Don't listen to him, Hiruzen! This is clearly a setup. The Uchiha murdered Danzō and are now trying to pin it on him!" Koharu Utatane interjected.
"We Uchiha would never desecrate the remains of our own!" roared one of the Uchiha elders standing behind Dohan.
"And what we discovered wasn't just the Sharingan," Dohan added, still unfazed.
He stepped forward, removed the Sharingan from Danzō's arm one by one, and lifted the sealing technique.
In an instant, without suppression, the Hashirama cells in Danzō's corpse erupted—consuming the body and transforming it into a gnarled wooden stump.
"Is that… Wood Style?"
Some of the older shinobi present recognized the technique immediately.
At that moment, Dohan gestured for Inabi to drop the unconscious Yamato to the ground.
"We also found this—someone capable of using Wood Style. I don't think I need to explain what that means," Dohan said, locking eyes with Hiruzen.
"You desecrated the First Hokage's remains?!"
Even one of the pacifist Uchiha elders couldn't suppress his fury. He had always deeply respected Hashirama Senju. The sight was unbearable.
Now even the Hokage's shinobi began to waver. Danzō's actions were no different from defiling their very beliefs.
Hiruzen knew he could no longer remain silent.
"I will have all of this investigated thoroughly," he said at last. "I promise to give everyone here a clear answer. Please, give me some time."
"Don't believe him! Dohan, we should revolt right now!"
Two hardliners stepped out from the crowd, yelling, "You've awakened Lord Madara's eyes! You're the one who can lead the Uchiha to glory!"
Both Shisui and Itachi were stunned. The clan was already falling into frenzy.
The two exchanged a glance—each silently resolving that even if it cost them their lives, they would stop this madness.
But just then, Dohan suddenly turned and shouted:
"Silence!"
The moment his voice rang out, the Uchiha who had just cried for rebellion instantly froze. Even the elder militants looked at him in disbelief.
Dohan's eyes were now Mangekyō Sharingan, spinning slowly.
"What nonsense are you shouting?" he barked. "Konoha was founded by both the First Hokage and Lord Madara. We were born here, raised here—this village is our home. We drink from the same Naka River. We eat rice from the same fields. We are Konoha."
Shisui and Itachi stared at Dohan, speechless. Was he… not trying to rebel?
"Clan Head," Dohan said, turning to Fugaku, who had remained silent throughout. "Don't you agree?"
Fugaku met Dohan's gaze and then stepped forward, bowing deeply toward Hiruzen.
"Dohan is right. My clansmen were simply too emotional. I apologize for the disturbance, Lord Hokage."
Some of the radicals opened their mouths to argue, but one look at Dohan's Mangekyō made them reconsider and fall silent.
"It's understandable," Hiruzen said, seizing the chance to deescalate. "Even I would struggle to remain calm if I saw the corpse of a fellow clansman treated like that. Fugaku, please take your people home for now. Once the investigation is complete, I promise everyone will get a proper explanation."
"But Lord Hokage," Dohan interjected again, "we do need an explanation now."
He pulled out a scroll—one stamped with the Hokage's official seal.
"This mission scroll… was this issued by you?" Dohan asked, smiling faintly.
Hiruzen barely glanced at the scroll—he had no intention of shouldering Danzō's sins.
"I never assigned a mission to your team. There's no record of this in the mission registry either," he said, looking at the wooden stump that used to be Danzō.
"So then… this was all Elder Danzō's doing?" Dohan asked pointedly.
'Forgive me, Danzō,' Hiruzen thought. But I have to distance myself from you.
"That's correct," he answered.
"How vile!" Dohan suddenly burst out, his tone filled with righteous indignation.
"Lord Hokage exhausts himself daily for the good of the village, and yet some would betray him for their selfish gains. There are traitors by your side, Lord Hokage!"
As he said this, Dohan deliberately glanced at Homura and Koharu.
"Dohan, I understand how you feel," Hiruzen replied, his voice cautious. "Don't worry—I will get to the bottom of this."
"For this matter, the Uchiha Clan is willing to assist you, Lord Hokage," Dohan said, bowing formally.
"I appreciate that, Dohan—"
But Hiruzen paused. As he looked up, his gaze was caught by the slow, spiraling Mangekyō Sharingan in Dohan's eyes.
"Lord Hokage, the Uchiha Clan is willing to share your burden," Dohan repeated.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Hiruzen's temple.
It was only now that he understood—this was Dohan's true aim.
Hiruzen remembered what Shisui had told him yesterday: about the terrifying ability Dohan now possessed. Though Hiruzen had insisted that even if Dohan used that eye to control him, it wouldn't affect the village's balance of power, he had never truly wanted to become a puppet.
He had let Danzō act because, deep down, he had hoped someone else would bear the risk.
But now, Hiruzen realized—Uchiha Dohan was more dangerous than any Uchiha he had ever met.
With a heavy sigh, he said,
"If that's your intention… then I'll leave this matter to you."
As he spoke, Dohan's Mangekyō slowly faded, and he bowed once more.
"As you command."
He then turned to look at the Uchiha behind him.
Just as Hiruzen was preparing to withdraw, Dohan's voice rang out again:
"Uchiha Clan, salute the Hokage!"
Standing at the head of the clan, Dohan raised his hand to his forehead.
"Loyalty!"
Behind him, the Uchiha—including Fugaku—followed in unison:
"Loyalty!"