Reincarnated as Itachi Uchiha at the Start

Under the guise of "investigating," Kakashi—who secretly seeded the protests—now stood dumbfounded. He hadn't expected the wanted posters and media blitz to explode into such a flashpoint. Emotions were running so high that the villagers and clan leaders might storm the Root base, unearth Danzo's buried secrets, and end him bone and skull.

"My goodness… this kind of spectacle is almost unprecedented!" The Konoha Military Police, struggling to maintain order, watched the roaring crowds with a mix of shocked amusement and shared fury. One officer called out:

"Fellow citizens of Konoha: rest assured. The Konoha Military Police will strictly enforce the law—no wrongdoer will escape, and no innocent will be punished! We have forwarded your demands to the Hokage and invited Lord Danzo to assist in the investigation. If he is truly a suspect, he will face impartial justice. We promise you fairness and righteousness!"

Though Itachi Uchiha had warned them this would be a battle, the sight of banners, protests, and a tidal wave of angry villagers still stunned them.

Were Danzo's deeds as abhorrent as the crowd claimed? It soon came to light—among Danzo and Orochimaru's forbidden experiments were Konoha's own ninja, civilians, and even infants. These atrocities had offended the collective conscience of Konoha and beyond.

Now that the veil had been torn away, Danzo's crimes were indefensible. Combine that with the Nine-Tails' attack that killed countless families, and there was no redemption left—even divine intervention couldn't save him now.

At the Root base…

"Lord Danzo, the Hokage requests your presence," a Root shinobi stammered softly.

"Go? How do I go? Hiruzen is messing everything up! Instead of solving anything, he's aiding the enemy!" Danzo slammed down and snapped, "Tell him: I stand firm. I won't bow to evil forces! This is clearly a ploy—planting evidence. Does the Hokage not see through it?"

He realized showing up might as well be signing his death warrant.

What would he do?

Remove his Mangekyō Sharingan and replace it with a normal eye—and chop off the Hashirama-cell arm? Then beg seminarians at the Hokage Tower for mercy?

Prove his innocence to manipulated peasants? Did they even deserve it?

Reinstall an arm post-removal—if the next graft was rejected, he'd die. Yamato nearly lost his life after his bone graft ordeal.

If he mutilated himself and still faced public vengeance— he'd be at the mercy of the masses.

Answer: He would never show.

But what if Hiruzen personally came calling? He could hide for a while—but he couldn't hide forever.

"This is humiliating…" Danzo slammed a fist onto the table in regret. "If I'd taken down Hiruzen last night…"

Now, the slime's out there—no hiding it.

He was furious and wronged. The Nine-Tails was not his doing—why defame him just because of an eye and an arm?

Was there still justice? Law?

"Has Root… gone to waste?"

He seethed in rage.

"Lord Danzo, the Konoha Military Police are once again formally inviting you to assist in the investigation," a Root shinobi knelt and requested.

"No. If they want me, they can come to me," Danzo hissed through clenched teeth.

The Uchiha must be to blame. Especially Itachi—where is he? As clan head, he still hadn't shown.

Root is Root—once inside, you never leave.

"Fetch me every dirty deed Itachi has done in Root. Let's post them all. If he's clan head, let's see how he cleans that up."

Itachi—traitor, spy—should pay forever.

"My lord… Itachi's file is missing," the kneeling shinobi nearly suffocated with fear.

"Missing? Impossible! Who's been in archive? Myself… and you few. Who else?" Danzo roared, standing.

"Last night… Lord Orochimaru was there. He accessed the archives, labs—gathered materials and data, saying it was your order. And… you gave permission."

"Orochimaru?" Danzo slumped. He remembered Orochimaru had requested wind-release scrolls, toxins, and sealing information "for Hiruzen." Given he'd donated 100 million ryo, it seemed trivial.

"Anything else he took?" Danzo asked darkly.

"He also took data on Yamato, First Hokage's sealing scrolls, the Second Hokage's forbidden techniques—ordained by you at the time."

"Because he said 'know thy enemy'… and you agreed."

Danzo fell silent.

Had Orochimaru betrayed him?

No, Orochimaru wouldn't.

Then the Uchiha? A setup?

"No—they'd just go berserk at the moment, no devious plotting."

Was his legacy going down due to this smear? He stared blankly at air—felt the world was collapsing around him.

Should he flee, like Orochimaru? No—the taint of desertion would bar him from becoming Hokage forever.

Another option: frame the Uchiha.

Say Uchiha sparked the Nine-Tails,

Then kill Hiruzen,

Claim today's protests are part of an Uchiha conspiracy to seize Hokage, evil exposed by him.

When Uchiha retaliate, Hiruzen dies. Danzō heroically quells the Uchiha Coup and ascends as king-maker.

The more he thought, the more plausible it became.

Last night, conferring with Orochimaru, he wasn't sure—it would cost heavy casualties for Konoha.

But now, Itachi is clan head—and radical Uchiha may already be defeated or dead.

If true, the Uchiha are weak. Now is the moment. Chances went from 60% to 90%.

Opportunity waits for no man.

"Hiruzen—you forced my hand. Tonight—I kill you." Danzo clenched his fist.