Chapter 80 (Patreon)

“One-Sword Style: Shura!”

In the span of a heartbeat...

A streak of black light flashed.

The next moment, Yujiro appeared at Sarutobi Hiruzen’s right side, his black blade already sliding back into its sheath with a slow, clean sound.

At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen’s head fell.

His body and head were severed apart.

Yujiro’s cold voice rang across the trial platform.

“The judgment is complete. Sarutobi Hiruzen has been executed.”

“Yeah!”

“Finally!”

“He’s finally dead!”

The crowd erupted at once.

They had been kept in the dark for far too long. Now that the truth had finally been exposed, the anger and resentment that had been choking their hearts could no longer be held back.

Yujiro rested one hand on the hilt of his black blade, then slowly turned his gaze toward Shimura Danzō in the distance.

“Now then, Shimura Danzō. You’re next.”

“What?”

The moment Danzō met Yujiro’s eyes, his heart clenched.

Then he lowered his gaze toward Sarutobi Hiruzen’s corpse lying on the ground.

“This matter has nothing to do with me!” Danzō shouted.

“Oh? Nothing to do with you?”

Yujiro gave a faint chuckle.

“You are the one in charge of Root. And yet the members of Root directly resisted the Hokage’s orders. So tell me, how exactly do you plan to explain that?”

“No!” Danzō snapped. “Root may be an organization under my command, but if the Hokage truly gave an order, there is no reason Root shinobi would refuse to obey!”

“So, Root shinobi do obey the Hokage’s orders?”

The corners of Yujiro’s mouth lifted slightly.

Then he glanced at Minato beside him.

Minato nodded. A moment later, ten Root shinobi were brought onto the trial platform.

The instant Danzō saw them, his expression changed.

He understood at once what Yujiro intended to do.

Cruel.

This method was even sharper than his own.

First, force him to speak with his own mouth. Then use those very words to strike him down.

Danzō’s face turned gloomy, and the aura around him began to waver.

“The reason this tribunal was built is so everyone can learn the full truth.”

Yujiro walked slowly to the edge of the platform and spoke in a calm voice.

“Everyone heard what the leader of Root said just now. So let us verify whether his words are true.”

Minato looked toward the ten Root shinobi and asked coldly, “Did Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen conspire together in last night’s operation?”

The ten Root shinobi trembled.

But none of them spoke.

“Answer him!”

“Why are you silent now?!”

“Didn’t your leader just say Root shinobi would never disobey the Hokage’s orders?”

After a short while, the crowd began questioning them one after another.

However, every Root shinobi had been placed under Danzō’s Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. They could not reveal anything connected to Shimura Danzō.

Danzō’s expression grew even uglier.

Naturally, he knew better than anyone what the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal did.

But in this situation, their silence only proved that everything he had said before was nothing but empty words.

Whether they admitted his crimes or remained silent, the result was the same.

He was guilty.

Realizing this, Danzō shot Yujiro a vicious glare.

“What are you staring at, you filthy old man? Keep looking at him like that, and I’ll eat you alive.”

Kurama, who was lying on Yujiro’s shoulder, suddenly bared his teeth after sensing Danzō’s murderous intent.

Yujiro felt Kurama’s ferocity and could not help but smile faintly.

It seemed the fox had already started taking his role as a bodyguard seriously.

In the distance, Danzō was stared down by Kurama and unconsciously looked away. But at the same time, a new plan formed in his mind.

Facing the suspicion of the villagers and the surrounding shinobi, Danzō slowly stepped to the edge of the trial platform.

He lowered his head, looked over the crowd, and spoke in a heavy voice.

“Perhaps all of you still do not know.”

“The creature sitting on Yujiro’s shoulder is the Nine-Tails!”

“The cruel tailed beast that was sealed away inside Konoha!”

“And now, the Nine-Tails is under Yujiro’s control!”

“In other words, he can use the Nine-Tails to slaughter every one of you at any time!”

Sure enough, the moment Danzō said that, the expressions of many villagers and several shinobi below changed.

A trace of pride appeared on Danzō’s face.

So what if he had plotted last night’s operation?

Yujiro had the Nine-Tails.

That alone was a living threat.

As long as fear was stirred up, the flow of public opinion would turn back in his favor.

For one brief moment, Shimura Danzō even felt that he had never been so clever.

Kurama, who was lying on Yujiro’s shoulder, heard Danzō’s words and nearly exploded with anger.

He snapped, “You one-eyed old fool over there, speak clearly!”

“I may be the Nine-Tails, but did I kill anyone yesterday?”

The moment those words came out, Danzō fell silent.

He did not know whether the Nine-Tails had actually killed anyone.

But in his mind, the Nine-Tails had been sealed for so many years. Once it was released, destruction and slaughter should have followed naturally.

Was that not only reasonable?

“That’s right… now that I think about it, after the Nine-Tails came out, it didn’t head toward the village at all.”

“Yeah, I was there last night. After the Nine-Tails appeared, it only sat on the grass. It didn’t kill anyone.”

“And I heard Lord Yujiro tamed the Nine-Tails!”

Naturally, among the crowd, there were shinobi who had witnessed what happened the previous night.

“Wrong!”

The proud Kurama immediately became dissatisfied.

“Yujiro and I are partners!”

“And another thing! I really haven’t killed anyone in Konoha! Damn it, this feels like a terrible loss!”

Kurama suddenly thought back to his past and began grumbling.

“You humans are such a headache.”

“I used to live peacefully in a hidden valley. I never once thought of entering the world of humans.”

“But then, one day, a man with long, messy hair came looking for me. He kept talking about dancing or something.”

“And without saying another word, he controlled me!”

“After that, he fought a man named Hashirama. In the end, I finally broke free from his control.”

“But then! That Wood Release user sealed me away!”

“And after that, you Konoha people passed me around left and right!”

“I’ve been sealed by Konoha for decades!”

After hearing Kurama’s complaints, everyone gradually realized something.

That was true.

The Nine-Tails had never truly killed anyone in Konoha.

After all, it had been sealed since the time of the First Hokage.

Kurama stroked his whiskers, lifted his head, and said proudly, “But if you call me Kyūbi-sama, I won’t bother holding this matter against you.”

“Then… you won’t take revenge?” someone below asked hesitantly.

“Why would I take revenge?”

Kurama looked puzzled.

“If I killed all of you, who would play with me… Ahem, no.”

He quickly cleared his throat and continued.

“It’s not like I lost a piece of flesh, and I don’t have some deep hatred that requires killing every last one of you. Why would I go that far?”

Kurama was also quite helpless.

He had been sealed ever since the era of the First Hokage.

But through the eyes of his Jinchūriki, he had still watched the village develop over the years.

As long as these people called him Kyūbi-sama, he could let the matter pass.

After all, he had not exactly been abused inside his Jinchūriki.

At most, he had been played with and tied up.

Faced with Kurama’s question, the people below were all stunned.

But after thinking about it carefully, it did seem to make sense.

“Everyone, do not be deceived by the Nine-Tails!” Danzō shouted the moment he saw the situation turning against him.

“You must understand! Tailed beasts possess the power to confuse people!”

“I now have serious doubts that Minato and Yujiro are both being controlled by the Nine-Tails!”

The moment those words left his mouth, Kurama was completely enraged.

“You bandaged old man over there!”

“You stubborn old relic, since when can I control people?”

“If you want to talk about controlling others, then tell me—what is going on with the Sharingan in your right eye?”

“Hmph. Don’t think I can’t sense it.”

Kurama glared fiercely at Danzō.

“Do you want me to count how many you have?”

Kurama could easily sense that malicious chakra.

And at that moment, the Sharingan hidden on Danzō were all releasing a powerful, sinister presence.

When Danzō heard Kurama’s words, his face immediately darkened.

That was his greatest secret.

It absolutely could not be exposed.

If the villagers and the shinobi here learned the truth, then he would truly have no way to defend himself.

“Kurama, you can sense it?”

Yujiro was also somewhat surprised.

“Of course.”

Kurama nodded.

“Not only those Sharingan. I can even sense the chakra of Wood Release.”

“This man called Danzō is probably not weak.”

“Of course, since I agreed to be your bodyguard, I’ll protect you properly.”

Yujiro shrugged helplessly.

“Danzō.”

At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku slowly walked toward Shimura Danzō. His brows were furrowed, and his voice was cold.

“What is going on with the Sharingan in your right eye?”

“Tch. Forget his right eye. There are ten Sharingan on his entire right arm,” Kurama added.

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present was shocked.

The clan heads and members of the great families were no exception.

The Sharingan of the Uchiha clan had never been something allowed to spread outside the clan.

How could they appear on Shimura Danzō?

And not just one.

Eleven of them in total.

“Nonsense!”

Cold sweat appeared on Danzō’s forehead as he shouted angrily.

“I do not have any Sharingan! This is merely the Nine-Tails trying to confuse everyone!”

“Danzō, whether you are trying to twist the truth or not can be proven easily.”

Uchiha Fugaku’s expression darkened.

“Remove the bandages from your body.”

“If there is no Sharingan, then naturally, I will say no more.”

His eyes grew colder.

“But if there is…”

Uchiha Fugaku’s voice sank, carrying a sharp killing intent.

“Then I would like to ask you exactly where those Sharingan came from!!!”