Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

No matter who he was facing, Itachi Uchiha could talk at length about his twisted logic and firmly believe that anyone who did not believe him was a selfish fool.

It only fails when faced with still water.

This is not because Uchiha Shisui was his mentor, but because Shisui was absolutely upright and righteous.

In the belief that Shisui passed on to Itachi, protection is protection, and even if it means making a sacrifice, Shisui would only sacrifice himself.

Moreover, Uchiha Shisui truly lived up to his ideals with his life.

The decision Itachi Uchiha made, however, was to sacrifice others, to sacrifice the clansmen he was supposed to protect.

Moreover, his behavior was even more heinous; he colluded with enemies from other villages to massacre his own relatives and clansmen.

Uchiha Shisui was a steadfast person, a pure good person who only followed the righteous path. Uchiha Itachi could not distort him, so naturally he could not say to Uchiha Shisui, "This is how I protect my clan."

Itachi Uchiha couldn't explain, so he could only remain silent.

Having received no reply from Itachi Uchiha, Shisui nonchalantly turned to face the Root ninja on his right and loudly proclaimed, "Shimura Danzo!"

"You ambushed me and gouged out my eyes!"

"For the sake of Konoha's stability, and to prevent conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village, I choose to commit suicide!"

"But why are you still so relentless, deceiving Uchiha Itachi and colluding with the Mangekyou Sharingan ninja who killed the Fourth Hokage to massacre my Uchiha clan?"

This accusation was too serious for Shimura Danzo to hide any longer, so he jumped out to refute it: "Nonsense!"

"I never ambushed you, I didn't gouge out your eyes, and I certainly didn't collude with the enemy who killed the Fourth Hokage!"

"How dare you slander me! Slandering the Hokage's support character is a grave crime!"

"Root ninjas, seize this Uchiha traitor who's feigning death and interrogate him thoroughly to find out what kind of conspiracy he's plotting!"

The Root ninja silently lunged at Uchiha Shisui.

Seeing Uchiha Shisui's miserable state, hearing his agonizing accusations, hearing about the murderer of the Fourth Hokage, and hearing Shimura Danzo's weak and feeble rebuttals, the Konoha ninjas who had gathered around naturally made their own judgments.

It was Shimura Danzo who did it!

When the Root ninjas tried to use force without any reason, the Konoha ninjas could no longer hold back and caused a huge commotion.

"stop!"

"Stop, or we won't be polite!"

"Do not attack Shisui!"

Even the ANBU ninjas following behind the Third Hokage were in an uproar, with some whispering and calling out.

"The Third Hokage!"

"Third Hokage, please stop Danzo's outrageous behavior!"

"Hokage-sama, you must step forward!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a chill run down his spine. As a veteran Hokage, he instantly understood that the situation was beyond repair and there was no way to smooth things over.

When Uchiha Shisui stood before everyone in such a pitiful state, clearly and unmistakably identifying Shimura Danzo as the one who ambushed him, Shimura Danzo's act of betraying the village was sealed.

This is something the Third Hokage repeatedly emphasized: anyone who attacks Konoha ninjas is a rogue ninja; this is an ironclad rule of Konoha.

There were signs before.

Fugaku Uchiha accused Danzo of killing Uchiha ninjas countless times, but Danzo always firmly refuted his accusations, saying that Fugaku had no witnesses or evidence and was simply framing him.

The weak Fugaku always chose to back down, so Danzo became bolder and more ruthless, and today he finally went too far.

Uchiha Shisui, as the victim, personally testified against Danzo, yet Danzo, with a paltry excuse of slander, attempted to arrest and interrogate Uchiha Shisui.

So, right and wrong are determined entirely by his words?

Such arrogant and unreasonable behavior cemented his image in the minds of the Konoha ninjas.

Indirectly, they also believe that Danzo was behind the massacre of the Uchiha clan, colluding with the enemy who killed the Fourth Hokage, and inciting Itachi Uchiha to betray the village.

Yes, the Konoha ninjas are convinced that Shimura Danzo has betrayed the village!

Hiruzen Sarutobi still wanted to protect Danzo Shimura, who was his closest friend and classmate for 20 years, and the man he had known for over a decade.

It's really hard to just throw it away like that.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly sensed the anger emanating from the ANBU ninja behind him, and the intense rage also emanating from the Konoha Jonin on his left.

Although the anger wasn't directly directed at him, the Third Hokage, it made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel as if flames were scorching his back.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly: "Alas, Danzo Shimura went too far this time. He's been caught doing something dishonest, and he's probably going to suffer."

In fact, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very angry. He had guessed before that Danzo was the one who caused Shisui's disappearance, but he didn't have direct evidence to prove it.

When Uchiha Shisui appeared before him in such a pitiful state, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sharp pain in his heart upon seeing those bloodshot eye sockets.

This is the ninja who best embodies the Will of Fire, Danzo, how could you do this?

And you actually swallowed Shisui's eyes! That's outrageous! I'll teach you a lesson this time.

Driven by practical considerations, coupled with emotional disgust and anger, the Third Hokage made his decision.

He stepped forward and shouted, "In the name of the Third Hokage, I command: Root ninjas, cease your attack!"

However, not a single Root ninja stopped; they didn't even glance at the Third Hokage, continuing their charge towards Uchiha Shisui.

The Root ninjas drew their weapons, including dangerous items like explosive tags.

Clearly, they didn't intend to capture him alive, but rather to kill him to silence him.

The Konoha ninjas were utterly enraged. They drew their weapons and faced Root and Danzo Shimura, but their gazes were fixed on the Third Hokage, awaiting his order to kill the traitor.

The Third Hokage was stunned. He had never imagined that Danzo Shimura would openly defy orders and even attempt to kill Shisui Uchiha in front of him.

Danzo Shimura was actually going to kill him right in front of him, to kill this ninja who had narrowly escaped a Root ambush.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was in turmoil. He couldn't understand Danzo Shimura's thoughts, and he couldn't believe that the dog leash he had tied around Danzo's neck couldn't hold him back.

The shocked Third Hokage did nothing but stare blankly as the Root ninja charged toward Uchiha Shisui.

As Itachi Uchiha watched the ninjas rush past him, he twitched his fingers as if to kill them, but a hand that reached out from the vortex grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

Obito Uchiha sneered, "What do you want to do?"

"Foolish junior, all you have to do now is retreat."

"All 300 Jonin from Konoha are almost gathered. Do you think you have the overwhelming advantage against them as you do against the Uchiha Jonin?"

"They don't have Sharingan, so they won't be completely countered by your targeted genjutsu."

"If you're really surrounded by Konoha Jonin, you're dead."

Upon hearing Obito's words, Itachi Uchiha's tense body softened and disappeared as the vortex spun.

Xia Zuo watched them disappear without immediately stepping forward to stop them, because he knew he didn't have the right ninjutsu to do so.

Itachi Uchiha's eyes were not yet blind, and he could still activate Susanoo. As long as Sasuke could not break through Susanoo's defenses in one blow, he would be unable to stop Obito Uchiha from entering the Kamui dimension.

But Xia Zuo sensed the beacon planted in Uchiha Itachi's soul, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.