Menma's voice, projected from behind the white three-eyed fox mask as he hovered in the air, struck a heavy blow against the hearts of every Konoha's Ninja present.
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the crackle of distant flames and the faint moans of the wounded.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, who had been directly named, felt his face instantly drain of color. His knuckles turned white from the force of his grip on the Adamantine Staff, but decades of leadership allowed him to quickly suppress the storm within. A pained, yet authoritative, expression settled on his features.
"Preposterous! Shameless slander!" Hiruzen's voice boomed, filled with righteous anger. He stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he stared down the floating figure of Shura, "The Uchiha tragedy is the result of an internal rebellion born from their own inflated ambition! The root of all this is you… Shura! And that Uchiha woman by your side! It is you who used honeyed words to deceive the Uchiha, to incite ambitions they should never have entertained! This... this must be a vile contingency plan left behind by the long-dead Uchiha Madara! His ghost and his schemes still haunt Konoha even now!"
He deftly shifted all blame onto the deceased Madara and the obvious 'outsiders', a calculated move to rally Konoha's fractured morale.
"Exactly!" Danzo immediately chimed in, his voice a cold rasp as his cane struck the ground, "The Hoshigakure has harbored wicked ambitions towards Konoha for years! This is all their conspiracy!"
The assembled clan's heads and Jonin, like Shikaku, Choza, Inoichi, Hiashi, and the others, though internally troubled by the Uchiha's plight and privately critical of the leadership, found their instincts pulling them towards the village.
Faced with the mysterious and formidable external threat of Shura, and the undeniable 'rebellion' of the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan's branch family, siding with Konoha felt like the only choice.
An enemy of an enemy was not necessarily a friend, especially one as dangerously unpredictable as the Land of Stars' leader.
However, their silent alignment was short-lived.
"Deceived? Forced?!" A Uchiha survivor, drenched in blood with a deep gash on his arm, roared with grief and fury, pointing an accusing finger at Hiruzen and Danzo, "It was you! Konoha pushed us into a corner, step by step! You never trusted us! You moved us from the village center to the outskirts, watching us like we were criminals!"
"And now... now you want to wipe us out completely! You made Uchiha Itachi, that monster, slaughter his own parents and kin! Did Shura force you to do that too?!"
"He's right!" Another Jonin, a survivor of the Police Station massacre, shouted passionately, "If the Star Ninja hadn't arrived when they did, we'd be dead already, killed by that masked freak in the Police Station!" His words ignited a chorus of furious agreement and accusations from the other Uchiha survivors.
Then, the voice of Shisui, emanating from within the crystal core of the colossal emerald Susanoo, cut through the noise, clear and laden with pain and deep disappointment.
"Third Hokage..."
Shisui's gaze seemed to pierce through the Susanoo, fixing on Hiruzen, "There was a time when you were the person I respected most. I truly believed you could bring peace and understanding between the Uchiha Clan and the village... But now, I ask you to look at me and tell me the truth. About Shimura Danzo ambushing me, stealing my eye, trying to have me killed... Did you truly know nothing about it?"
The question was more devastating than any direct accusation. It struck at the very core of Hiruzen's integrity and honor.
Hiruzen's body swayed almost imperceptibly. A complex whirlwind of emotions, heartache, helplessness, and a flicker of something that might have been guilt… passed over his face. He was silent for a long moment before releasing a heavy, burdened sigh.
"Shisui... What happened to you causes me great pain. When you disappeared, I did dispatch many Anbu to search for you. But I... I swear I did not know who was responsible."
His words sounded earnest, yet they carefully skirted the crucial issue: whether he had suspected, or what he might have learned after the fact.
"Hmph!" Danzo cut in sharply, his single eye glinting, "Hiruzen, there is no point in hiding it now! It was I who discovered Uchiha Shisui's secret dealings with the Land of Stars, his plot against the village! I gave the order to capture this traitor! A pity he escaped and was taken in by Shura, only to return and slander me!"
He turned the accusation on its head, then swiftly redirected the focus, "And the Hyuga! Shura's obsession with the Hyuga Clan is no secret! He attacked them twice, stole their Byakugan, and now he incites their branch family to rebel! This is all Shura's grand design! They are Konoha's true enemy!"
Danzo sought to muddy the waters, using the Hyuga Clan's rebellion and Uchiha 'collusion' to reframe the conflict as one against an external foe.
The clan's heads frowned, their expressions troubled. While not fully believing Danzo, the stark reality of an external power interfering and two great clans in open revolt left them with little room to maneuver.
Their loyalty, for the moment, had to lie with the village.
But Danzo had miscalculated. He underestimated the evidence Shisui possessed, and his resolve.
"Danzo!" Shisui's voice rose, sharp and dripping with scorn, "You claim you were capturing a traitor? Then I dare you, here and now, in front of everyone, to remove that eyepatch! To unwrap the bandages on your arm!"
"Let everyone see what you are hiding underneath!"
The words landed like a physical blow. Every eye on the battlefield locked onto Danzo. Even Hiruzen turned to stare at him, his own eyes wide with shock and dawning suspicion.
Danzo froze. A flash of pure panic, quickly suppressed, showed in his single visible eye.
His hand instinctively flew to the bandages covering his right eye and arm.
"Uchiha Shisui! Do not spew your lies here!" He blustered, his voice tight, "You seek only to disrupt us!"
"Lies?" Shisui's sneer was audible, "When you ambushed me, you used the Uchiha Clan's forbidden technique, Izanagi! The Three-Tomoe Sharingan you used for that technique was stolen from my clan!"
"I swear on my honor as Uchiha Shisui, and on these eyes! Beneath those bandages, Shimura Danzo, you have transplanted not one, but many Sharingan taken from the Uchiha! My own eye might even be among them!"
"You, a Konoha's Elder, steal our Kekkei Genkai, conduct blasphemous experiments on the dead! Third Hokage, can you truly claim ignorance?!"
The revelations were staggering. Stealing a clan's Kekkei Genkai? Defiling the deceased? Forbidden experiments?
The concepts hammered into the minds of the Ninjas present, sending waves of shock and disgust through their ranks.
"Danzo! Explain this!" Hiruzen's voice was thick with a mixture of fury and horror. He stared at his old teammate, feeling the situation spiral completely beyond his control. He had known of Danzo's dealings with Orochimaru, but had believed that chapter closed. He knew if Shisui's claims were true... the depravity was unthinkable.
As Danzo stammered, caught in a web of his own making, the large form of Kisame materialized silently beside Hikari. He handed her a thick scroll, murmuring a brief report.
Hikari accepted it. Her scarlet Mangekyo swept dispassionately over the Konoha's leadership before she began to unseal the scroll.
Her voice, cold and clear, rang out like a judge pronouncing sentence.
"Perhaps words are not enough. Then, let all present hear this… an experimental log recovered from the deepest archives of Konoha's Root."
She began to read, each entry more damning than the last:
"...Date X. Test Subject Number XXX. Implanted with Three-Tomoe Sharingan, source: Uchiha battlefield casualty. Severe rejection reaction observed. Deceased after three hours."
"...Attempted fusion of First Hokage, Senju Hashirama's cells with Sharingan tissue. Test subject suffered catastrophic cellular disintegration."
"...Following Orochimaru's defection, project progress has stalled. Replacement researchers lack comprehension of core data parameters."
"'Feasibility Report on Sharingan Transplantation and Izanagi Application.'"
The cold, clinical entries laid bare the festering rot at Konoha's heart. The theft of the Uchiha's treasured eyes. The desecration of the First Hokage's legacy. Inhuman experimentation. All happening under the banner of the village's protectors, within the shadows of Root.
After reading several pivotal entries, Hikari flicked her wrist. The scroll shot through the air, landing squarely in Hiruzen's grasp with the precision of a thrown kunai.
Hiruzen's hands trembled as he caught it. He unrolled it with frantic haste, his eyes scanning the familiar Root formatting and the horrifying contents within.
With every line, his face grew paler, his hands shook more violently.
Finally, he snapped the scroll shut, his eyes squeezing closed. His face was a mask of agony and the chilling realization of utter betrayal.
He knew. Danzo was finished. With this evidence laid bare before the clans, not even him, the Hokage could shield him. Konoha's honor was about to be shattered.
The surrounding clan heads and Jonin, though they hadn't seen the scroll's contents directly, needed no further proof. The Hokage's devastated expression and the damning snippets read aloud painted a clear and horrifying picture. The looks they now cast at Danzo were filled with revulsion, shock, and a deep, simmering anger.
Menma, still hovering serenely above the chaos, spoke once more.
He took a slow, deliberate step through the air, as if surveying a domain he already owned. His masked voice held a tone of cold, omniscient mockery.
"Do you see now? This is the face of the Konoha leadership you serve. Perhaps Uchiha Madara foresaw this all those years ago. He foresaw that the village he helped build would eventually turn on his clan with suspicion, exclusion, and finally, with purge and plunder. That is why he wished to leave. A pity his own clansmen chose to trust Konoha over their leader."
His gaze swept over the surviving Uchiha, their faces etched with confusion, rage, and sorrow.
"And what has that trust earned the Uchiha these past decades? Suspicion. Surveillance. Isolation. Even your home was moved from the village's heart to its fringe. One might be forgiven for thinking this Konoha was founded by the Sarutobi Clan alone."
"Shura! Stop your poisonous lies!" Hiruzen roared, fighting to maintain his composure, "The Uchiha's suffering pains me deeply, but it gives you no right to incite rebellion and tear this village apart!"
"Poisonous? Tear apart?" Menma's voice dripped with disdain, "My actions are nothing compared to yours. You systematically pushed a founding clan to the brink of annihilation. You drove a son to slaughter his own family. What, I ask you, have I done that compares to that?"
His gaze then traveled slowly over Shikaku, Choza, Inoichi, Tsume, and the other clan heads. His voice took on a subtle, hypnotic quality.
"I recall a story from the Land of Water, from Kirigakure... First, they found a pretext to move against the Yuki Clan, nearly wiping them out under the banner of crushing a rebellion... Then, they applied pressure, little by little, until the Kaguya Clan could take no more and rose up, giving Kirigakure the justification they needed to exterminate them as well..."
"So I ask you, esteemed leaders... which clan will be next on Konoha's list? Which of you will be deemed a threat that must be removed?"
The question hung in the air, a venomous chill that seeped into the bones of every clansman present, especially those whose loyalties were not firmly tied to the Hokage's faction. A cold dread settled over them.
'If the Uchiha Clan, the founding clan of the village, could be treated this way... who was safe?'
The seed of doubt, once planted, began to sprout thick, gnarly roots.
Menma seemed to decide the point had been made. He gave a slight, dismissive wave of his hand.
"Enough. Debate is pointless. Let those who wish to leave, make their choice."
Killing Danzo and Hiruzen, or simply obliterating Konoha with a massive attack, would be too merciful. Death was simple.
He wanted to break their spirit. He wanted to grind their corrupted [Will of Fire] into the dirt.
As his words faded, Hizashi stepped forward. He ripped the Konoha's forehead protector from his brow and hurled it to the ground with contempt.
His eyes burned into the pale faces of Hiashi and Hiruzen.
"The Hyuga Clan is rotten to its core! The main and branch family system is nothing but a chain! And Konoha is the blacksmith that forged it and the warden that keeps it locked! I, Hyuga Hizashi, and all branch family's members who seek freedom, hereby declare our secession from Konoha!"
"From this day forward, we pledge our lives to Shura-sama! We will find a true home with him!"
Next, Shisui's voice boomed from within the Susanoo, "The Konoha's leadership is corrupt beyond saving! I, Uchiha Shisui, withdraw from Konoha!"
He then turned his attention downward, "Fugaku-sama! There is no place for the Uchiha in Konoha any longer! Look at our clansmen! Look at our dead! The time for a final decision is now! For the future of the Uchiha Clan!"
Fugaku stood amidst the ruins of his clan's home. He saw the desperate, hopeful, and furious eyes of his surviving clansmen.
He looked up at the enigmatic, powerful figures of Shura and Hikari. His original plan, which is to die with his clan to secure Sasuke's future, now seemed like a futile sacrifice in the face of this new, stark alternative. A path that could actually preserve the Uchiha's name, their bloodline, and their power.
He drew a deep, shuddering breath, as if casting off an immense weight, or perhaps gathering the last of his courage. His voice, heavy with finality yet ringing with clarity, echoed across the silent battlefield.
"I, Uchiha Fugaku, leader of the Uchiha Clan, hereby declare-"
"The Uchiha Clan secedes from Konoha, effective immediately!"
The words fell like a final, resounding gavel strike, marking the end of this bloody night, and drawing a fractured, permanent line through the decades-long history shared by the Uchiha Clan and the village they helped create.