Chapter 73: Exposing Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hypocrisy — Naruto, the Hero's Son!
"That can't be wrong, right? Those are Sharingan—his whole arm is covered in them!"
"Ten of them! And they're all three-tomoe Sharingan!"
"A bloodline thief... As an advisor to the Hokage, he actually stole the Uchiha clan's kekkei genkai!"
"Danzō, how could you!?"
At that moment, not just the Uchiha, but even other clans present wanted to kill Danzō for transplanting the bloodlines of other clans.
They may have had conflicts of interest with the Uchiha, but that was just politics. What Danzō did was far worse—he directly harvested their bloodlines.
Whether kekkei genkai or secret techniques, these were the foundations upon which every shinobi clan stood. What Danzō did was trample on those foundations.
Even the clans that opposed the Uchiha fell silent. Some were already starting to side with them.
This wasn't a joke—whoever supported Danzō now would be torn apart by every other bloodline or secret technique clan.
"The third one's closed!"
Danzō's Izanagi could only last one minute. As the third Sharingan on his arm closed, his previously severed right arm regenerated completely.
He unwrapped the bandages. Now that he had been exposed, there was no longer any point in hiding it.
"Danzō, do you have anything to say for yourself? And Hokage-sama, how do you plan to deal with this?" Renji asked coldly, staring at both Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Now that Danzō's arm had been revealed to everyone, Renji was eager to see how Hiruzen would explain his way out.
"This is my own doing. It has nothing to do with Sarutobi. He didn't know."
A trace of darkness passed through Danzō's eyes. He didn't want to take the fall, but at this point, he had no choice.
Everything had already come to light.
"Danzō..."
Hiruzen looked surprised but quickly fell silent.
He had known about Danzō's experiments. He knew this scandal would affect him too, but hadn't expected Danzō to accept all the blame so readily.
"What a loyal teammate—just takes the fall like that. Then let's start by executing this bloodline thief!" Renji raised his blade.
"Stop, Renji!!" Hiruzen shouted. "No matter what he's done, Danzō should be judged by Konoha! I'll pretend this never happened today. But I promise you—the Uchiha will get justice!"
He had no choice but to admit some failure.
With Danzō's arm exposed, no other clans would stand with him anymore. They were all waiting to see how he handled it.
Ironically, Uchiha was now no longer the real threat—Renji was. Hiruzen had underestimated him... even the secrets of Danzō's arm were known to Renji.
His message was clear: let's trade justice for peace—at least temporarily.
But Renji wasn't about to let him off so easily.
"You think you're someone who can order me around? Tell me to stop, and I'll just obey?"
With a swift strike, Renji slashed toward Danzō.
Danzō couldn't react in time. His Sharingan eyes were running out fast.
Hiruzen hesitated, watching as other shinobi clans observed in silence. He knew Renji wouldn't let Danzō die just yet. The Sharingan would keep reviving him—until they ran out.
"Clan Head, kill Danzō!!"
The Uchiha's morale soared. They had Renji on their side, pressing Danzō down while even Hiruzen didn't dare make a move.
"Danzō... What good is it to take what was never yours? The Hokage's title, the Sharingan, Wood Release... none of them belong to you. What power is truly yours? Why can't you accept your own weakness?"
"You're not even using your summoning beast. If you don't, you're going to die here."
Renji smiled coldly, then slashed Danzō's throat in one clean strike. Blood from a severed artery splashed across the ground.
Another Sharingan closed.
Danzō glanced at his remaining Sharingan eyes. He knew that if he didn't use his trump card now, he was finished.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
He tried to weave hand seals—but Renji slashed off his arm before he could finish.
"Fooled you. You think I'd give you a chance to use jutsu? Since when is an enemy supposed to show mercy?"
Danzō cursed Renji silently.
But before he could react, Renji grabbed him by the throat.
Their eyes locked. Renji's Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed with a sinister glow. Danzō's eyes flickered with greed—if only he could steal those eyes…
Before he could make a move, Renji slammed him into the ground and stomped on his head.
Dozens of kunai flew through the air, avoiding his vital points, pinning Danzō in place.
"I've waited for this moment a long time," Renji growled. "I've always hated you. You envied the Uchiha's power, feared it, and yet you always tried to take it for yourself. You're pathetic."
Back when Renji had become a jōnin, the Root had constantly monitored him.
He had long since grown sick of Danzō—and of the way the village treated the Uchiha like criminals.
"You bastard—ugh!"
Before Danzō could finish speaking, a kunai pierced his heart. A seventh Sharingan closed.
Even the onlookers felt Renji was being just a bit cruel.
Killing Danzō was starting to look as easy as killing a chicken.
Four Sharingan had lasted four minutes. After that time passed, Hiruzen finally stepped in, placing himself between Renji and Danzō.
Looking at his miserable old comrade, Hiruzen felt a rare pang of sorrow.
"Renji, isn't this enough? You've killed Danzō eleven times. All the Sharingan in his arm are useless now. Isn't it time to stop?"
To Hiruzen, this should've been enough. Eleven deaths. Surely that was enough punishment?
Renji chuckled. "I'm feeling much better, I'll admit. But if you want me to stop entirely… I have one more condition."
"Name it," Hiruzen replied quickly. If he could stabilize the Uchiha for now, that was good enough. He needed time to deal with the Mangekyō Sharingan threat.
"I want to kill Danzō one more time. Just once more. If you let me do that—I'll let him go."
You what?!
How the hell do you "let him go" after killing him again?
"Damn it, Hiruzen! Let me finish him myself!"
Danzō rasped, eyes burning with defiance. He still had one final jutsu. One that could take Renji down with him.
"Going to use the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing? Do it, then."
He even knows that?!
He knows even that secret technique?
Danzō looked around. His Root forces had already been wiped out by the Uchiha.
He had planned to drag Renji down with him, but now... everything was crumbling.
His dream of becoming Hokage was a joke now.
His life's work was gone.
Root was finished. He would be remembered as a traitor to Konoha.
All those years of scheming—for this.
"Renji… what do you want?"
Hiruzen scowled. Everyone was watching now. He couldn't protect Danzō openly.
But he also couldn't just watch Renji kill him again.
"You hypocrite, Hiruzen," Renji sneered. "Even now you defend him. What would your teacher, the Second Hokage, say about this? Look at that arm—those faces. You don't need me to act. Danzō's going to die on his own. He won't be able to suppress the First Hokage's cells for much longer."
A cold grin spread across Renji's face.
Even if he didn't strike again—Danzō was already finished.
The First Hokage's cells weren't something just anyone could suppress. Over the years, the only reason things remained stable was because the Sharingan balanced out the Hashirama cells inside Danzō.
That was the only reason he could use them at all. Without that balance, the cells would eventually devour him.
"And Hiruzen Sarutobi," Renji said coldly, "Konoha is not your personal dictatorship. It's time your rule came to an end."
To Renji, Hiruzen was the most hypocritical man he had ever seen. Who had he originally intended to make the Fifth Hokage?
Asuma Sarutobi.
You could tell just from how the teams were assigned among the Twelve Young Ninja.
Kurenai's team had Hinata, Shino, and Kiba—representatives of the Hyūga, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans. The Hyūga were Konoha's most prestigious clan. The Aburame were low-key but powerful. The Inuzuka were solid too.
Why assign Kurenai?
Because Asuma was pursuing her. If they ended up together, it would pave the way for Asuma.
Who did Asuma lead?
The Ino-Shika-Chō trio—Konoha's core political lineage. If Asuma became Hokage, he'd have the support of six clans.
And who did Gai get?
Tenten and Lee, who came from no significant clans. Neji, though strong, was from the Hyūga branch family.
As for Kakashi—he fit his team the best. With a Sharingan and ties to Minato, he was the best mentor for Sasuke and Naruto, while Sakura provided the emotional link between them.
But let's be honest—Sakura was a civilian. Naruto was a hated Jinchūriki. The Uchiha clan was already destroyed. What could they offer Kakashi politically?
Hiruzen's intent was clear as day.
"Renji-dono, he's here," someone reported.
Fugaku?
Everyone turned to see Fugaku arrive, surprised. Many hadn't even noticed his absence until now.
But when they saw who he had brought with him, they were all stunned.
"Where's Shisui?"
"There was trouble on the way. He and Itachi..."
A trace of pain flashed in Fugaku's eyes. He hadn't expected them to become enemies. Shisui had told him to deliver the person first—he'd deal with Itachi.
"Go help Shisui," Renji said.
"What about here?" Fugaku asked quietly. The situation here wasn't exactly peaceful.
"I'll handle it. Be careful—Shisui might be in danger. Go!" Renji urged.
Though hesitant, Fugaku trusted Renji's judgment and departed.
Watching Fugaku's back, Renji sighed.
'Obito… did you come or not?'
Things were already diverging from the original timeline, but surely he'd show up.
"Renji, what are you trying to do?!" Hiruzen shouted, panicking as he looked at the confused Naruto and stunned Sasuke.
Was he trying to recreate the Nine-Tails attack?
"Grandpa Third..." Naruto muttered. He was nervous. All the ninja around him stared intently. There was no way he wasn't scared.
"Naruto, it's been a while."
"You're Sasuke's teacher?!" Naruto said, recognizing Renji. Then he asked innocently, "Are you going to take me as your student too?"
But… if that were the case, why was there such a big crowd? Why was Grandpa Third here?
"No," Renji replied. "I brought you here today to reveal the truth."
"The truth?"
Naruto looked puzzled.
But Hiruzen froze.
It was like plunging into an icy abyss.
Even Danzō finally understood what Renji was doing.
He was strong—but he wasn't planning to kill them outright.
He was going to destroy their reputations first.
For some reason, as Danzō lay dying, a trace of schadenfreude flickered in his heart. His own reputation had always been terrible. But Hiruzen?
He had built his whole life on a lie.
'So, Hiruzen, how does it feel now that your carefully maintained legacy is about to collapse?'
Danzō suppressed the Hashirama cells still devouring him—he wanted to watch how it all ended.
"Naruto, do you know why the villagers call you a demon fox?"
"Why?" Naruto asked quickly. He had always wondered. He was clearly a human—why did everyone treat him like a monster?
"Your father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Your mother was from the Uzumaki clan. When the Nine-Tails attacked, they gave their lives to seal it away—into you. But you are not a demon. You are the son of a hero. And yet… because certain people in the village wanted to control you, they spread lies to brand you a monster."
Renji turned to Hiruzen. "Tell me, when you see Minato and Kushina in the afterlife… can you honestly face them? Oh, wait—Minato's still trapped by the Reaper Death Seal. Still, I'm curious. What exactly did you promise him?"
"You claimed revealing Naruto's identity was too dangerous, so you hid it. Fine. But wasn't it dangerous to let him be branded as a demon fox instead? Everyone knew the Nine-Tails was sealed. So you stole Minato and Kushina's assets, used the excuse of protecting him, fed him expired instant noodles, had sand mixed into his rice, manipulated his friendships at the academy to better control him."
"Honestly, Hiruzen Sarutobi—you make me sick."
The crowd fell silent.
Many eyes turned to Hiruzen.
But the Third Hokage, known for his eloquence, couldn't say a single word.
Renji didn't think proclaiming Naruto a hero would solve everything. After all, Jinchūriki like Gaara—despite being the son of a Kage—still suffered.
But in Naruto's case, Minato had many loyal friends and subordinates.
Even if not everyone could accept him, surely he wouldn't be eating moldy food?
Surely villagers who had been saved by Minato wouldn't treat his son like trash?
"Yes! You could blame Danzō. Just like you blamed Sakumo Hatake. He was too powerful, so you spread rumors that he abandoned the mission for his comrades. The pressure drove him to suicide."
Renji turned to Kakashi.
"So, Kakashi… are you still loyal to Hiruzen Sarutobi? Loyal to the man who got your father killed? You really are pathetic."
Kakashi fell silent.
He had never truly let go of the past.
He had his suspicions. But he never had proof. And back then, it was impossible to investigate.
"Lord Hokage," Kakashi said slowly, turning to Hiruzen. "I've always wanted to know… what really happened to my father?"
He wanted the truth.
Even if, deep down, he already knew it.
Beside him, Naruto had finally processed Renji's words.
He looked at Hiruzen, eyes full of disbelief.
"Grandpa Third… this isn't true, right?"
He pointed to the Fourth Hokage's face on the mountain.
"That's my dad? I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage? I'm a hero's child—not a demon fox?!"
(End of Chapter)
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