Chapter 73: Iizumi, You Must Understand This Hokage's Pain

Pain! Grief! Despair! Loneliness… An endless torrent of negative emotions surged violently into Danzō, overwhelming him like a storm. Every agony ever endured was pressed upon his soul, threatening to tear it apart.

This was the power of Eyes of Hell’s Judgment—a cursed ability that forced its victim to relive, in excruciating detail, the suffering and despair of every person they had wronged. And not just the pain—its weight was magnified a hundredfold.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!” Danzō’s agonized scream echoed endlessly through the air. With each passing second of real time, he felt as though he had endured a full year of torment within the endless, spiraling nightmare of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Every moment of physical agony, every spark of despair experienced by those who had died—directly or indirectly—because of him, was replayed over and over again inside his mind.

The heavier his sins, the deeper the torment. The longer the suffering.

In the sheer agony, Danzō lost control—his body betrayed him. Filth seeped from his trousers, staining the ground beneath him. The stench that filled the air was unbearable, forcing even the strongest among the onlookers to clamp their noses in disgust.

It was the first time anyone had ever seen the revered leader of Root—Shimura Danzō—reduced to such a state of utter humiliation and collapse.

And that only deepened their dread.

After all… even Danzō—so powerful, so feared—had been brought down in an instant by Shun.

They couldn’t even begin to understand the nature of this ability. Was it an unbreakable genjutsu? Or a physical eye technique that inflicted unbearable pain on the body itself?

Regardless, the sight of Danzō writhing in such agony left even Root’s elite incapable of analyzing the true power of Uchiha Iizumi’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

“Danzō-sama!!”

A group of Root ninja finally arrived—masked, but with visages distinct from the Anbu’s standard design.

These few were among the last surviving elite of Root. Most had fallen in today’s merciless hunt orchestrated by Uchiha Iizumi.

The Anbu didn’t stop them. They stood aside, allowing the Root ninja to enter the ring of containment.

…

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally snapped out of his shock.

Staring at Danzō—now kneeling, clutching his head and trembling uncontrollably—he felt an odd, unsettling kinship. A fleeting sense of “the fox dies, and the rabbit mourns.”

The Hokage’s face remained stern, but when he saw Uchiha Iizumi take a step forward toward the broken Danzō, his eyes widened in alarm.

With a subtle gesture, Hiruzen signaled the Anbu. Instantly, they moved into position, blocking Iizumi’s path—so much so that even the Hokage himself stepped forward, standing directly in his way.

Times had changed.

The last time, Uchiha Iizumi was powerful—but still unrefined. Back then, Hiruzen had believed he could contain the situation with just a few Anbu.

Now?

Now he knew only the full force of the Anbu could possibly stop a man who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Iizumi’s growth had been… terrifyingly fast.

It had been less than a month.

And yet, the sheer scale of his power now was undeniable.

Hiruzen turned sharply to the late-arriving Root ninja.

“Take this Leaf Village criminal away! I will personally judge his crimes!”

The Root nin glanced at the Anbu blocking Uchiha Iizumi—then back at the Hokage.

Hiruzen’s face darkened instantly.

Almost laughed.

“I said Danzō!” he snapped.

If they didn’t remove him now, Danzō would surely die at Iizumi’s hands.

Hiruzen himself wanted Danzō dead.

After everything Danzō had done came to light, the cleanest solution was execution—necessary to stabilize the village’s fractured factions.

But in a split second, Hiruzen weighed the risks.

Danzō was cunning. He’d left behind hidden safeguards—contingencies to prevent the village from turning on him once he was no longer useful.

And those traps? They could be catastrophic.

The danger posed by Iizumi was visible. It was clear. It threatened only a few.

But Danzō’s threat? It was invisible.

And with Danzō’s twisted, secretive nature, Hiruzen couldn’t be sure what kind of hidden mechanisms he’d planted—mechanisms that might destroy the entire village if triggered.

The hesitation lasted less than half a second.

Hiruzen grimaced, pinched his nose, and made his decision: Keep Danzō alive—for now.

He shot a sharp glare at the Root ninja.

“Move!”

Without another word, they seized the trembling Danzō and dragged him away—fleeing the scene of chaos.

…

“Iizumi!”

Fugaku abandoned all pretense. His Mangekyō Sharingan flared open, the tomoe coalescing into jagged, razor-edged patterns—like blades forged in shadow.

“The Uchiha Clan must not clash with the village’s Root. We must not fall into the fate you speak of.”

Fugaku gritted his teeth. Chakra surged around him, building within his Sharingan eyes.

Two Mangekyō Sharingan locked in silent, deadly confrontation.

“Iizumi… Danzō has been taken. There’s no reason to continue this. I have my own way of enforcing the village’s justice. I have the authority to decide who carries it out.”

Hiruzen, surprised, glanced at Fugaku—then quickly masked his unease.

He spoke again, voice low and solemn:

“The power you now wield should not be turned against your own village’s shinobi.”

He made a promise.

“I will handle Danzō. I will give you a resolution—perfect, just, and complete.”

“Iizumi…”

Hiruzen took a deep breath.

The Anbu were tense. Fugaku stood ready. The other ninja from outside the Uchiha clan hesitated, uncertain.

Then Hiruzen spoke, voice solemn, reverent—almost pleading:

“I will not hold you accountable. No… you did not commit a crime. You were simply carrying out your own justice. But I, too, am executing my own.”

“The village needs stability. It needs balance. I hope one day, you’ll see this from my perspective. Only then will you understand what I’ve done today.”

He tried to teach, to guide—his tone heavy with years of wisdom.

But when he saw the cold, hollow stare in Uchiha Iizumi’s eyes…

Hiruzen knew.

His words would fall on deaf ears.

“Iizumi… I—”

Just then, Hiruzen froze.

His blood ran cold.

Because he saw it.

The right eye of Uchiha Iizumi—slowly, deliberately—began to bleed.

A single, crimson line trickled down his cheek.

Hiruzen recoiled violently.

“IIZUMI!!”

Fugaku’s face twisted in horror. He slammed his hands together in a rapid seal—trying to stop Iizumi.

The other Anbu drew their blades and lunged.

The fuse had been lit.

The firestorm was about to erupt.

“Wait!!”

Hiruzen’s sudden shout silenced the entire battlefield.

The explosion… stopped.

“…I’m fine,” Hiruzen said, voice unsteady, his expression strange.

He could tell Iizumi had activated the other eye’s Mangekyō.

But he felt nothing.

So… where was the technique directed?

Or… was it even just now activated?

Then—

A flash of realization struck him like lightning.

“DANZŌ!!”

…

…

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(End of Chapter)

Chapter end