Chapter 118: Danzo Takes Off His Clothes

Under the sapphire sky, a hawk soared gracefully through the clouds. 

Through his piercing eagle-like gaze, Danzo observed a wagon slowly making its way along the road. 

At this pace, it would take two or three days to reach Konoha. 

... 

Danzo was innocent! 

From the moment he began working with Fugaku, Aozora appeared to be carefully peeling back the layers of truth step by step, but in reality, he had already decided on the answer and simply kept searching for supporting clues. 

Who was the mastermind behind the missing clan members? 

Aozora first suspected Danzo, then Obito Uchiha. 

He suspected Danzo because of the Sharingan embedded in his right arm, as recorded in historical accounts; suspecting Obito was due to his need for the Sharingan to use Izanagi. 

However, once he learned more details about the case, he immediately removed Obito from the list of suspects. 

Because the victims weren't only Uchiha, and if Obito truly wanted to kill other ninjas in Konoha, there was no need to go through such complicated methods. 

Convinced that Danzo was behind it all, Aozora set out to prove it. 

Because of his suspicion of Danzo, Aozora had always been skeptical of the Anbu intelligence outposts. Sogami Aozora's overly dramatic performance around Shuichi and others was merely a cover. 

Shimon Hiruko's appearance greatly surprised Aozora—he hadn't expected that the Rogue Ninja still maintained ties with Danzo. 

Yes, Aozora instantly pinned another accusation on Danzo. 

To him, it made perfect sense—since Danzo had collaborated with Orochimaru on forbidden techniques, working with Shimon wasn't surprising either. 

He even believed he understood how Shimon had managed to escape Konoha so easily—it must have involved covert assistance from Danzo. 

After defeating Shimon Hiruko, Aozora worked tirelessly to gather evidence that would incriminate Danzo. 

But Danzo was too meticulous—he left absolutely no traces. All available evidence was circumstantial at best, only proving that high-ranking Anbu within the village colluded with Shimon. 

So Aozora quickly interrogated Sogami Daisora, but unfortunately, Daisora suddenly dropped dead, leaving no evidence behind. 

No one understood why, but Aozora, already convinced that Danzo was the killer, immediately thought of [Curse Mark of Tongue – Silencing Death]. 

Afterward, wary that someone might be watching him, Aozora used [Earth Release] and [Jia Xing] to return directly to Konoha and talk over the matter with Fugaku. 

Throughout everything, Danzo remained undetected. 

Without any proof, practically no one would suspect him as the hidden mastermind. 

Upon discovering that the intelligence outpost in Dahe City had been destroyed, he ordered his subordinates to monitor Aozora's group via summoning beasts, then proceeded to play the role of the falsely accused—the villain who strikes first with false accusations. 

Danzo had originally planned to exploit the timing gap, betting on Fugaku's past weakness—should Fugaku remain uninformed beforehand, he might very well sacrifice Aozora's group for the sake of village stability. 

Yet he hadn't expected Aozora to arrive early, nor had he anticipated Aozora would pin the entire blame onto him like this. 

So when Aozora showed up, and numerous clan leaders gathered before him, Danzo felt turmoil inside. 

Having weathered more than fifty years of intrigue, though shocked, he continued seeking opportunities to stir up confusion and chaos. 

To stay safe, he'd even prepped an escape plan—cutting bait to save himself if needed. 

Still, despite going to such lengths, Aozora refused to let him off the hook. 

"Shimon Hiruko said he had previously cooperated with Elder Danzo and used the Chimera Technique to craft a special right arm for Lord Danzo."

Uchiha Aozora had barely finished speaking when he and Danzo instantly became the center of attention in the room.

Fugaku and Hiashi acted on instinct, activating their dojutsu at once to inspect Danzo's right arm. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other ninja also fixed their gazes upon it.

Not even the piercing vision of the Sharingan or Byakugan could penetrate the shielding provided by the sealing ninja tools covering Danzo's right arm.

Yet why would Danzo go to such lengths as to conceal his own arm?

This very thought surfaced simultaneously in everyone's minds.

"Boom!"

Danzo slammed the table with cold fury, his eyes narrowing as he rebuked, "How dare you, Uchiha Aozora! Slander against Konoha's leadership is not taken lightly."

Uchiha Aozora replied, "It was Shimon Hiruko who made the accusation. I'm simply asking Elder Danzo to prove his own innocence."

"Nonsense!" Danzo's voice turned icy cold. "Just because of your lies must I personally prove my innocence? If I had to clarify every single rumor, how would I find time to manage Konoha?"

"Lies?" Uchiha Aozora asked, feigning confusion. "Why does Elder Danzo think I'm lying? Could it be that your right arm isn't the Chimera Arm said to be crafted by Shimon Hiruko's Chimera Technique—but something far worse?"

At this, Danzo hesitated for a moment before retorting, "Nonsense! Ninja intelligence is sacred and vital. As high-ranking officials of a village, our personal information is top secret. Should we expose such secrets just because of the ramblings of a rogue ninja?"

"Oh," Uchiha Aozora said curiously. "So the appearance of your arm is classified too? Is there any other form a normal arm could take, unless yours isn't exactly normal?"

"It's about the injuries on my arm!" Danzo countered.

Before he could finish, Uchiha Aozora interrupted, "We aren't asking for a thorough check—just a glimpse from afar wouldn't work either?"

As Danzo tried to speak again, Uchiha Aozora quickly added, "Isn't it just one quick look? What harm could come from that?"

Without waiting for Danzo's reply, Uchiha Aozora continued, "Unless… is your right arm truly a Chimera Arm crafted by Shimon Hiruko's Chimera Technique?"

[Where leaves dance, the flame never dies. It lights the path of our village and nourishes the birth of new growth!]

"We didn't ask for your life—just a simple gesture. Can showing one arm be that hard?"

"We've faced hellfire and steel together without flinching. Now you can't even bare an arm? Really?"

...

Uchiha Aozora fired his words like arrows—fast, sharp, and impossible to ignore. Every syllable rang out clearly among the gathered ninjas.

Danzo's face grew increasingly grim until finally, he struck the table before him once again with full force.

"Boom!"

The table shattered into pieces, splinters flying everywhere, and the meeting room fell silent at once.

Still, the others kept looking at Danzo with suspicion, their stares locked on his right arm.

Danzo realized that this sharp-tongued Uchiha boy had the upper hand in words. If the argument continued, he might lose the support of all the ninja present.

He shifted his gaze toward Hiruzen. "Hiruzen, can the dignity of Konoha's leadership truly be trampled upon like this?"

"Although he secretly developed [Secret Jutsu], planted spies around him, and turned his nephew against him...

Danzo still believed Hiruzen Sarutobi would forgive him as he always had before. After all, they had walked this path together since childhood, sharing over fifty springs of life!

When Hiruzen found out that the guards protecting him had already been turned, and his most cherished nephew had defected to Danzo's side, not a shred of affection remained in his heart for Danzo.

He could tolerate Danzo's extreme methods. He could even turn a blind eye to Danzo's secret research into [Kinjutsu].

But this did not mean he was willing to hand over his authority or place his life in Danzo's hands.

Hiruzen hesitated slightly, then blocked the exit leading out of the meeting room.

'Danzo, for the sake of peace of mind and the greater good, please bear with this little inconvenience.'

Upon hearing this, Danzo stiffened in surprise, then laughed bitterly. 'Fine! Fine! Fine!'

He said 'fine!' three times, then slowly rolled up the sleeve on his right arm.

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