Ch-54 Hiruzen's surprise.

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...

As they witnessed many of their clan members falling one by one, other Shimura clan members also joined the fight against the Uchiha Clan ninjas. In this manner, the slaughter continued, resulting in the deaths of nearly 80% of the Shimura clan's ninjas.

Only those ninjas remained who had completely surrendered out of fear. This made it impossible for the Uchiha Clan ninjas to attack them, as even if they attempted to use genjutsu, these individuals had resigned themselves to their fate.

Once everything had concluded, Uchiha Karan instructed Nakamura, "Gather data on the Shimura Clan, including the number killed and the number present in Konoha, as well as those who have surrendered."

After an hour of collecting and organizing information, Uchiha Karan nodded and said, "Clear the Shimura Clan area, remove all the bodies, and send them for autopsy and investigation to the Konoha Intelligence Department. I will inform the Hokage."

Saying this, Karan vanished and reappeared in front of Hiruzen, stating, "Hokage, here is the report summarizing today's events."

Hiruzen received the reports, read them, and was shocked, asking, "600 ninjas were killed?"

"Yes, they continued to attack us, and since we were outnumbered, I had no choice but to swiftly reduce their numbers. Those who surrendered and let go of their weapons are still alive, and if they are not found guilty after the investigation, they will be released in accordance with the rules of the Konoha Police Force," replied Uchiha Karan.

"You intentionally targeted the Shimura Clan and caused the deaths of so many of their ninjas," accused Shimura Danzo.

"If I had deliberately targeted your Shimura Clan, I could have wiped out the entire Shimura Clan. Following this incident, the Shimura Clan harbors prejudices against our Uchiha Clan and Konoha. In the name of Konoha, I could easily annihilate them. However, I'm not like someone who indiscriminately kills women, children, and the elderly in the name of Konoha," Uchiha Karan retorted to Shimura Danzo.

"And Danzo is also a suspect because how did all those Sunagakure ninjas end up in Konoha without setting off any alarms? This suggests that their chakra signatures were registered in Konoha's registry, and only someone with high authority could make such changes to the Sensory Barrier," Uchiha Karan added.

"Don't worry, Uchiha Karan. I will investigate this matter, and we will convene a meeting to address it tomorrow," assured Hiruzen.

"Very well, I have other tasks to attend to. Please excuse me," Karan said before disappearing.

"Are you going to let him leave like this?" Danzo questioned.

"What would you have me do? From the very beginning, he declared that resistance would be treated as treason and met with immediate execution. Your clan members continued to attack Uchiha Clan members, resulting in their deaths. In this matter, I have no further comments," replied Hiruzen.

"If it were your clan, you wouldn't be reacting this way. You would use all your power to protect your fellow clan members," Danzo retorted angrily.

"Hmph. If it were my clan, this situation would never have arisen. They would never betray Konoha. It was the Shimura Clan head who initiated the attack on Karan's subordinates, leading to these events, and Karan ordered their deaths," explained Hiruzen.

At that moment, a six-year-old boy named Shisui arrived, holding out a scroll. He said, "Hokage-Sama, this is the report on the Sunagakure ninjas who attacked our Konoha Police Force prison. They were stopped by the Clan Head and the Uchiha Clan ninjas. The Clan Head asked me to deliver this report to you."

Hiruzen read the scroll and responded, "Alright, I will look into this matter. Thank you for your hard work."

Shisui nodded and left the area.

Hiruzen then turned to Danzo and said, "And until your involvement in all this is investigated, your Root ninjas will be suspended from all duties."

"What!?" exclaimed Danzo.

However, Hiruzen paid no heed to Danzo's anger and departed with his Anbu ninja.

---

The following morning, the entire Konoha learned about the defection of many Shimura clansmen, who were apprehended by the Konoha Police Force.

Meanwhile, in Uchiha Karan's house, a group of individuals had gathered, including Fugaku, Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza, and Karan's subordinates.

"Congratulations to all of you for our success today," Uchiha Karan said with a smile.

The others also smiled, but Ino-Shika-Cho had an embarrassed expression as they couldn't help but recall...

Fifteen days ago,

On the night after Danzo's departure, Inoichi spoke to Shikaku, "He's clearly threatening us, and they're not telling us anything about how they plan to protect us from Uchiha Karan. They just expect us to do what they want."

"What do you think we should do, Shikaku?" Choza asked.

"I believe we should speak with Uchiha Karan. He's not a fool to make such a move. He must know that we support the Hokage and won't betray him," Shikaku replied.

"And what are we going to discuss with Uchiha Karan?" Inoichi inquired.

"I'll ask him directly about his plans after we've shown our support for the Hokage. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Shikaku asserted.

"We trust you, Shikaku. After all, you're the one who does the thinking; we're the ones who put it into action," Choza replied.

"Yes, we trust you, Shikaku," Inoichi added.

"Alright, then. After discussing this with our fathers, we should act on it immediately," Shikaku suggested.

Inoichi and Choza nodded and went to speak with their respective fathers. As expected by all three of them, their fathers agreed that they were now clan heads and had the freedom to make decisions as they saw fit.

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