Shikamaru's guess was correct; this was exactly what Shinji intended to do, the revenge he was enacting!
With Madara Uchiha's departure in a fit of pique and his subsequent defeat by the First Hokage at the Valley of the End, the Uchiha clan seemed to have shouldered some kind of original sin, forever viewed with hostility by the Hokage faction.
However, the Hokage faction forgot that when Madara left the village back then, not a single Uchiha followed him; instead, they unanimously chose the village.
The Uchiha clan made their choice through action, yet the Hokage faction had no intention of sparing the Uchiha.
When the Second Hokage established the Konoha Military Police Force, aside from the genuine need for a daily security department as the village expanded, his hidden intention was to use the nature of police duties and the Uchiha clan's unique arrogance to alienate the Uchiha from other ninjas in the village.
With the establishment of the Military Police Force, over the decades, the Uchiha clan not only offended all the ordinary ninjas in the village but also became increasingly arrogant due to their police privileges, gradually becoming objects of exclusion for all Konoha ninjas.
One had to admit, the Second Hokage was a master of manipulating people's hearts.
Using just the Military Police Force department, he made the Uchiha clan exclude themselves from the Konoha family, giving the Hokage faction a reasonable and legitimate excuse, as well as a foundation of public opinion, to eliminate the Uchiha clan.
Unfortunately, the higher-ups of the Uchiha clan didn't realize this. They fell into the trap set by the Second Hokage decades ago and sank deeper and deeper, finally ending with the tragic near-annihilation of the clan, almost putting a period to this prestigious Dojutsu bloodline family that had lasted since the Warring States period.
So, what Shinji was targeting was not just Danzo, nor specifically any individual Hokage or advisory elder. What he was truly targeting was the immense prestige and status advantage accumulated by the Hokage faction in the village over decades.
Prestige is something intangible, yet it truly exists because it resides in everyone's heart.
Konoha ninjas might not have a clear concept of the "Hokage faction," but everyone actually knew very well in their hearts that those truly qualified to become Hokage were only a very small circle of people within the village.
This didn't involve strength, because even someone as strong as Kakashi's father, the White Fang of Konoha, could be forced to commit suicide by the Hokage faction manipulating public opinion.
One could even say cynically that the reason Kakashi could integrate into the Hokage faction today was that after his father's suicide, he didn't choose to confront the Hokage faction but continued to diligently serve as a Konoha ninja, so the Hokage faction offered compensation. Or more specifically, the Fourth Hokage, representing the Hokage faction, offered him compensation.
What Shinji wanted to shatter was precisely this immense prestige and status advantage of the Hokage faction in the village.
The Second Hokage used the Military Police Force to tie down the Uchiha clan, driving a wedge between the Uchiha and other Konoha clans. Now, Shinji would use Danzo, this former advisory elder laden with crimes, to destroy everything the Hokage faction had painstakingly built over decades.
So Danzo could not die yet!
A Danzo chained under a large tree, wretched and hysterically mad, was what Shinji truly needed.
He wanted to use the heavily stained Danzo to let everyone in the village know just how many shameful things the high-level officials of the Hokage faction had done in secret.
After all, Danzo was currently the biggest flaw and stain of the Hokage faction, something other members of the faction didn't possess. With such a good resource, Shinji naturally had to make full use of it. Otherwise, it would be a tremendous waste!
Things needed to ferment slowly, so Shinji was in no hurry.
He turned his gaze to the other side.
Orochimaru still stood dazed, having no reaction to anything happening outside. This was normal; he couldn't even resist Itachi's ordinary Genjutsu, let alone the 'Tsukuyomi' cast by Mumei, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
As for Orochimaru's subordinates, Yakushi Kabuto had already regained consciousness.
Previously, when fighting Mumei, he could have escaped by himself, but Mumei had turned directly toward Orochimaru, saying she would kill him. This forced Kabuto, whose refined 'Senjutsu Chakra' was nearly depleted, to turn back and fight. In the end, a moment of carelessness allowed Mumei, operating 'Twelve Palaces' at full power, to land a punch on him, defeating him completely.
However, his resilience in 'Sage Mode' was extremely high, so he had woken up just as the Konoha ninjas were besieging Danzo, and had been quietly refining 'Senjutsu Chakra' without alerting anyone.
Tayuya had also regained consciousness.
Upon discovering that Orochimaru was trapped in Genjutsu, Kabuto was defeated, Jugo was unconscious from heavy injuries, and Guren was surrounded by Konoha ninjas, she was exceptionally horrified.
Walking toward Yakushi Kabuto, Shinji asked, "Who instigated you to attack the village?"
"Instigated?" Kabuto smiled insincerely and said, "No one instigated us. We came this time to rescue Jugo, Guren, and the others."
He knew very well that at this time, he absolutely must not be linked to the Akatsuki organization.
Shinji gave Kabuto a deep look, then ordered, "Sealing Squad, seal them all and escort them to the Military Police building!"
"Yes!"
The Sealing Squad ninjas stepped forward in unison.
Seeing this, Guren said, "Kabuto, what do we do now?"
Tayuya also shouted, "Should we break out?"
Kabuto's expression kept changing.
Currently, on his side, only Guren, Tayuya, and himself—who had recovered slightly—could fight. But they had to face a full three Mangekyo Uchiha, including Shinji.
Especially Mumei, standing behind Shinji, made him extremely wary.
He was now certain Mumei wasn't Akatsuki's 'B', but that was meaningless because her strength completely surpassed his.
Taking one last glance at Orochimaru beside him, still trapped in Genjutsu, Kabuto sighed faintly.
If Orochimaru weren't trapped in Genjutsu, he could summon the 'Impure World Reincarnation' bodies of the First, Second, and Fourth Hokage. Even without giving these bodies much intelligence, just based on their instincts, the three Hokage's 'Impure World Reincarnation' bodies could help them break out of the encirclement.
Moreover, Orochimaru could even summon their final trump card, the 'Impure World Reincarnation' body of Madara Uchiha!
Unfortunately, all of this was completely nullified by that single 'Tsukuyomi' Mumei cast upon meeting.
As the Sealing Squad ninjas approached, Kabuto ultimately chose to give up resistance.
Seeing Kabuto give up resistance, Guren and Tayuya, who were already frequent visitors to Konoha's secret prison, also had to surrender, allowing the Konoha Sealing Squad ninjas to seal them one by one.