"Hokage-sama, you're finally here," Seiryu, silent until now, spoke.
"Seiryu, what happened?" Hiruzen looked at Danzo's half-corpse before questioning Seiryu.
"This morning, we received a mission from the village, but were ambushed en route," Seiryu answered calmly. "We killed the attackers and found Danzo's body among them."
"Lies! Danzo would never attack you!" Homura shouted.
"In any case, that's the truth," Seiryu replied, still calm. "During the fight, he revealed his Sharingan-implanted arm. We killed him as a thief of our bloodline, then realized he was Elder Danzo."
"Hiruzen, don't believe him! The Uchiha are framing Danzo after murdering him!" Koharu interjected.
"The Uchiha would never desecrate their kin!" the Uchiha elder behind Seiryu yelled.
"We found more than just Sharingan." Seiryu, unfazed by the accusations, calmly removed the Sharingan from Danzo's arm and released the seals. Unrestrained, the Hashirama cells devoured Danzo's remains, turning them into a twisted stump.
"Is that… Wood Style?" Some elder ninjas recognized it. Seiryu gestured for Inaho to drop the Wood Style ninja Yamato.
"We found this during the battle—a ninja who can use Wood Style. I think the implications are clear," Seiryu said, locking eyes with Hiruzen.
"You dare desecrate the First Hokage's remains?!" Even the pacifist Uchiha elders, who revered Hashirama, were furious.
The Hokage's ninjas were shaken. Danzo's actions were sacrilege.
Hiruzen realized he couldn't remain silent any longer. "Everyone, I'll have this thoroughly investigated and give you an explanation. Please, give me some time!"
"We can't trust them! Seiryu, lead us in revolt! You awakened Madara's eyes; you can lead the Uchiha to greatness!" Radical Uchiha shouted.
Shisui and Itachi, in the crowd, were desperate, but the clan was lost to fanaticism.
Just then, Seiryu spun around and barked, "Enough!"
The Uchiha, about to rebel, froze. The militant elders stared at Seiryu in disbelief.
Seiryu's three-tomoe had become Mangekyō. He sternly rebuked them, "What are you yelling for?! Konoha was founded by the First Hokage and Lord Madara. We were born and raised here—this is our home! We drink the same Naka River water, and eat the same rice—we are part of this village!"
Shisui and Itachi were stunned—did Seiryu not want to rebel after all?
"Isn't that right, clan head?" Seiryu looked at Fugaku, who had been silent.
Fugaku regarded Seiryu deeply, then stepped forward and bowed to Hiruzen. "Seiryu is right. My clansmen were too agitated. I apologize for the disturbance, Hokage-sama."
Some radicals wanted to speak, but seeing Seiryu's Mangekyō, they wisely shut up.
"It's understandable," Hiruzen said, seizing the chance to deescalate. "Even I would be upset if my kin's remains were treated so. Fugaku, please have your people return. I promise a full investigation and a satisfactory answer."
"But, Hokage-sama, we do need an explanation," Seiryu said, pulling out the mission scroll from that morning. "Was this scroll, bearing your seal, issued by you?"
"Seiryu, I didn't give you any such mission, and there's no record in the mission office." Hiruzen, eager to distance himself from Danzo, barely glanced at the now-wooden corpse.
"So, this was all Elder Danzo's personal doing?" Seiryu asked.
Forgive me, Danzo, Hiruzen thought, but he had to cut ties.
"That's right," Hiruzen said.
"How despicable!" Seiryu instantly displayed righteous indignation. "Hokage-sama works tirelessly for the village, but someone close to him does such harm for selfish reasons! There are villains beside the Hokage!"
As he said this, Seiryu glanced pointedly at Homura and Koharu.
"I understand your feelings, Seiryu. Rest assured, I will get to the bottom of this," Hiruzen said, forced to repeat himself by Seiryu's loyal display.
"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha are willing to share your burden."
"I appreciate it…" Hiruzen began, but as he looked up, he saw Seiryu's Mangekyō slowly spinning.
Sweat trickled down Hiruzen's brow. Only now did he realize this was Seiryu's true goal. He remembered Shisui warning him about the dangerous dojutsu now in Seiryu's possession. Even if, as he'd told Shisui, using it on him would change nothing for Konoha, that didn't mean he wanted to be controlled. His willingness to let Danzo act was partly to let Danzo take the fall.
Only now did Hiruzen realize that Seiryu was more difficult than any Uchiha he'd ever faced.
With a long sigh, Hiruzen finally said, "Since you have this heart, I'll leave this matter to you."
As he finished, Seiryu's Mangekyō faded. Seiryu bowed slightly.