Now that he had made up his mind, Shimura Danzō no longer hesitated. With resolute movements, he tore off the bandages that veiled the right side of his face and arm. First revealed was the Mangekyō Sharingan embedded in his right eye socket—an eye that once belonged to Uchiha Shisui, stolen after Danzō orchestrated the fall of one of the most loyal Uchiha to Konoha. Then, with another motion, he unraveled the wrappings from his right arm, exposing a grotesque limb grafted with a dozen blood-colored, fully formed Three Tomoe Sharingan, set into grayish, corpse-like skin—an arm stolen and engineered through the assistance of the defector Orochimaru.
At that moment, Danzō's expression remained calm, even proud. Yet the sight of his arm caused even the most hardened shinobi to flinch in disgust.
"Hahaha! Shimura Danzō! You not only robbed Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō, but you even turned an entire limb into a cursed tapestry of Sharingan! And this is the man who stands beside the Hokage? This is the so-called 'pillar' of Konoha?"
A mocking voice rang out as Uchiha Yue stepped forward from the shadows, his voice laced with contempt. His sudden appearance silenced the chaos of the battlefield like a sudden gust snuffing out fire. Even the clashing of kunai and jutsu ceased as shinobi on both sides turned to witness the scene unfold.
Uchiha Yue's eyes burned as they locked with Sarutobi Hiruzen's. "And you, Hiruzen… are you blind, or just complicit? How long have you ignored the rot festering beneath your own office?"
The battle had drawn in many of Konoha's shinobi—some loyal Anbu under direct command of the Hokage, but many were ordinary shinobi pulled in after the sudden attack on the Hokage Tower. These men and women, while obedient, were not all blind followers. And now, watching the truth emerge, they paused. Their loyalty wavered—not to Konoha, but to the men claiming to lead it.
Danzo's arm was proof enough. The countless Sharingan embedded into his flesh told stories of slaughtered clansmen, of secret experiments, and a perversion of what it meant to be a shinobi. Whispers passed among the ranks. The Uchiha were once Konoha's strongest clan—was this betrayal the reason for their persecution? Even those who had accepted the Uchiha's branding as traitors now felt the weight of doubt.
Hiruzen's reputation—once shining as the "Professor" and "God of Shinobi"—had been enough to suppress those doubts. But now, even that was crumbling. He had vouched for Danzo. Now Danzo stood exposed.
The battle halted. The air crackled with tension, yet no jutsu flew. Eyes turned toward the aging Hokage, awaiting his judgment. And Hiruzen, standing tall despite the heaviness in his heart, could no longer mask the storm raging behind his weary gaze.
He had long known Danzo's ambitions. He had suspected his involvement in Shisui's death, but never imagined such blatant desecration. At the time, Hiruzen believed Kakashi's Sharingan—granted by a dying friend—was the exception. But this… a whole arm fused with eyes harvested from dead comrades? It mirrored Orochimaru's crimes—crimes that had once forced Hiruzen to sever all ties with his own student.
Now, it seemed Danzo had crossed the same line. And unlike Orochimaru, he had done so from within the walls of power.
"Third Hokage," Uchiha Yue's voice rang out again, colder than before, "are you still hesitating? Shimura Danzō murdered comrades, stole bloodline limits, and used human experimentation to further his ambition. You once exiled Orochimaru for this. What excuses do you have now?"
Hiruzen's fingers trembled. His gaze pierced Danzo, who opened his mouth, perhaps to plead, perhaps to deflect blame.
But the Hokage would hear none of it.
"Shimura Danzō," Hiruzen's voice cracked like thunder, silencing even the wind, "former head of Root, and assistant to the Hokage. You stand accused of murder, of manipulating the Will of Fire for personal gain, of the illegal harvesting and grafting of Sharingan from fallen Uchiha. You incited a civil war under false pretenses, and fooled your Hokage with deception and lies."
"The evidence is conclusive. The crime is heinous. In the name of the Third Hokage, you are hereby stripped of all rank, imprisoned, and will face execution following a tribunal."
A silence heavier than death fell over the battlefield.
Danzo's breath caught. For all his manipulations, for all his power, he had finally fallen from grace.
He had been abandoned.
And in that moment, Danzo laughed.
"Hahaha… Sarutobi Hiruzen, I see now. You've always worn the mask of peace, but your blade is the sharpest of all. You let me carry the darkness so your hands could remain clean."
"But I regret nothing!" Danzo roared. "I am Konoha's shadow! I did what was necessary! The Uchiha's ambitions would have torn the village apart—if I had not acted, Konoha would have burned!"
His Sharingan glared at Uchiha Yue.
"You," he spat, "you wear the face of peace while seeding rebellion. But Konoha will one day thank me. I will not die a prisoner… not as a traitor. I am the foundation beneath the leaf!"
His chakra surged. Danzo knew he was finished—but he would choose how it ended.
Uchiha Yue stood firm, eyes locked with the fallen elder.
Shimura Danzo had lost—everything. But he would not allow history to brand him a criminal. No, he would make himself a martyr, a 'hero' who died for Konoha's future.
Even in defeat, he would nourish the Leaf one last time—with his own blood.