Naruto: Starting with Snatching the Mangekyō Sharingan

It didn't take long for Yamanaka Inoichi to interrogate Danzo. Within just an hour, he returned to the conference room with a written scroll in hand, which he solemnly handed over to Hiruzen.

As Hiruzen read the contents of the scroll, his expression darkened considerably. The revelations about Danzo's collusion with Orochimaru dated back further than he had anticipated, and the crimes were far worse than he had imagined.

"Letting him establish Root was clearly a mistake…" Hiruzen thought bitterly.

Back when he took over as the Third Hokage in a time of crisis, he lacked significant accomplishments to solidify his authority over Konoha. To bolster his position, he allowed Danzo to form Root as a support system.

But by the time Hiruzen had fully consolidated power, Root had grown too big to disband easily. Worse, Hiruzen had developed a dependency on Root to handle Konoha's dirty work in the shadows.

Never did he expect Danzo's ambitions would swell to such an unmanageable extent.

Researching forbidden Mokuton techniques, abducting countless villagers as experimental subjects, stealing bloodline limits from fellow clans in the village, defying direct orders from the Hokage…

Looking at the incriminating scroll, Hiruzen's eyes blazed with fury.

"To think that Nagato, this powerful enemy with the Rinnegan, was provoked by Danzo's schemes…"

According to the confession Danzo had written, it was his actions that pushed Nagato to become a sworn enemy of Konoha.

"So this bastard Danzo allied with Hanzo to betray the Akatsuki's original leader…" Hiruzen could feel his blood boiling. He wanted nothing more than to strike Danzo down right there.

A chilling thought crossed his mind—if not for Danzo's meddling, perhaps the Nine-Tails incident might never have occurred. Minato wouldn't have died.

Without Minato's sacrifice, Konoha would be in a much stronger position. Even the war with Kumogakure might not have happened.

Clenching his fists, Hiruzen spat through gritted teeth, "Danzo, you damn fool! You've done nothing but cause trouble—ruining everything you touch. I underestimated just how destructive you could be!"

Those present were stunned by Hiruzen's visible anger, exchanging puzzled glances. Even Akira cast him a questioning look.

"What's going on?" Koharu asked, frowning. "What else has Danzo done?"

Hiruzen exhaled sharply and slammed the scroll onto the table.

"See for yourself. Nagato's enmity with Konoha stems directly from Danzo's actions."

Akira's eyes lit up in realization. So it's this matter. During that mission to Amegakure, Danzo must have been setting up a scheme, just like in the original timeline—teaming up with Hanzo to kill Yahiko...

"What?" Koharu quickly grabbed the scroll, scanning through its contents. Her face grew darker with every line she read.

"Unbelievable! That man is utterly useless!" she exclaimed, her voice shaking with anger.

Turning to Hiruzen, she snapped, "How many times did I tell you not to give Danzo so much power? Look at the mess he's made!"

Her words only heightened the curiosity of those present. Even at times like this, the need for gossip was universal.

Hiruzen could only offer a wry smile in response to Koharu's rebuke. It wasn't as if she was wrong.

"Enough," Koharu eventually said with a defeated sigh. "What's done is done. There's no point in dwelling on it now." She passed the scroll to Homura Mitokado, who skimmed through it with a similarly grim expression before setting it down on the table.

Homura inhaled deeply and pushed the scroll back toward Hiruzen. Unlike Koharu, he chose not to pass it on to the others.

Hiruzen sighed as he observed the eager faces around the table.

"Fine. Pass it around. Read it for yourselves and then give me your thoughts on what we can reveal to the public. We need to address the villagers' growing anger."

As the scroll made its way around the room, the expressions of those who read it became increasingly conflicted.

Their emotions ranged from shock to helplessness, and even a touch of dark humor.

If Jiraiya's antics had been frustrating before, Danzo's actions were downright catastrophic.

Finding someone with the Rinnegan should have been a golden opportunity to establish an ally—but Danzo's convoluted schemes had turned Nagato into a mortal enemy instead.

It might have been excusable if Danzo and Hanzo had succeeded in killing Nagato back then. But they hadn't—and now, Nagato was a threat of unparalleled scale.

"Calling him a troublemaker is an understatement," one elder muttered under their breath.

After a long silence, Hiruzen surveyed the room.

"Danzo has committed far too many atrocities. Some of these details cannot be disclosed to the public. What do you think should be revealed?"

No one spoke up.

The room grew uncomfortably quiet, as if everyone was holding their breath.

The unspoken tension was clear: Danzo was Hiruzen's long-time ally. If someone said the wrong thing, would they suffer the consequences later?

Hiruzen finally broke the silence. "Koharu, Homura, your thoughts?"

After exchanging a glance, Homura spoke first.

"I suggest revealing everything except the details about the Rinnegan. Those must remain classified."

Hiruzen turned to Koharu. "And you?"

She nodded reluctantly. "I agree with Homura. Aside from the Rinnegan, the rest should be made public."

The two of them had little love for Danzo. Unlike Hiruzen, their ties to him weren't strong enough to inspire loyalty. In fact, with Danzo gone, their influence would only increase.

Furthermore, given the Uchiha clan's involvement in this matter, suppressing the truth was impossible. It was better to handle things openly and preserve the appearance of authority.

"Very well," Hiruzen said after a moment's consideration. "We'll proceed with that plan."

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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