Panic.
Nara Shikaku's forehead was slick with sweat. Embarrassed, he finally fell silent.
Everyone knew about the history of grievances between the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance and Konoha's upper leadership, but this was not something to voice openly.
It was maddening.
This Uchiha Jin could he really be an Uchiha?
Meanwhile, with Shikaku silent, Konoha's so-called F4 council also sank into quiet.
Two minutes passed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe and spoke evenly.
"Shikaku, you may leave."
"This… understood," Shikaku stammered, startled, and left without another word.
His retreat was hurried, betraying his inner unease.
Once the door closed behind him, Hiruzen's expression darkened.
"Now that we are alone, let's speak plainly. Uchiha Jin, what is it that you intend to do?"
In an instant, the F4's masks fell away. Their eyes now shone with disdain, anger, and even cold, lethal intent.
They had seen Jin clearly now. He was a die-hard radical, utterly beyond persuasion.
Pretenses were meaningless.
Jin spoke sharply, his words cutting.
"An eye for an eye. A life for a life."
The room seemed to shiver at his declaration.
Koharu slammed her hand on the table. "How dare you! Are you plotting rebellion?"
"I would, if I had the ability," Jin shrugged. "But I must admit, all of you are formidable."
"The Uchiha have long been sullied in reputation. Our clan is fractured and mismanaged. Your standing in Konoha, though diminished, still surpasses anything a disgraced Uchiha could hope for."
His tone remained calm.
Even though his clan's position was weak, he appeared utterly unconcerned.
Homura glanced at him, stunned. "If you understand Konoha's politics so clearly, why join the radicals and take this all-or-nothing stance?"
The others shared his curiosity.
If Jin were like other Uchiha, such behavior could be explained. But he knew the truth and yet acted this way?
Jin smiled faintly.
"Exactly because I see everything clearly, I know I have no choice but to fight."
"Oh, this is interesting," Hiruzen said with a thin smile. "Elaborate."
"I see clearly what you are planning," Jin said without hiding anything.
"Your patience now is only a tactic to cut down the wings before wiping out the Uchiha entirely."
"Hashirama never valued Uchiha strength, Tobirama controlled the clan through strategy. You have neither, yet you expect eternal control of Konoha."
"Your only real choice is to erase the Uchiha, leaving at most one or two bloodlines."
Hiruzen exhaled, a complex expression in his eyes. "You really don't act like an Uchiha."
"Jiraiya, we cannot let him live," Danzo said coldly, his eyes glittering with murder. "We must kill him today. Later we will claim he attacked the Hokage in a fit of rage."
"A radical Uchiha's actions can always find believers."
Hiruzen said nothing. He lowered the brim of his Hokage hat and picked up his pipe again.
Danzo understood immediately.
The silence meant tacit approval.
He unclasped the seal on his right arm, eyes cold as he glared at Jin.
"I admit, you are clever and capable, but in this world, strength rules."
"You are too arrogant."
"Do you really believe awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan makes you invincible?"
Bang.
The seal on his arm dropped. He lifted his eyepatch, revealing the scarlet Mangekyo.
"Tsukuyomi."
In an instant, Jin was engulfed in a vast blue landscape, lush and serene as if paradise.
Strangely, countless familiar faces appeared friends he deeply trusted, all beckoning him toward this heavenly vision.
"This… is the Uchiha Mirror's genjutsu?" Jin murmured.
Unlike Itachi's Tsukuyomi, which reflected hellish torment, the Mirror's genjutsu resembled paradise.
Understandably so.
Itachi was trapped in suffering, his Mangekyo naturally reflecting it. Jin, however, had lived among friends and mentors like Sarutobi and others his life near-perfect.
The Mangekyo mirrors the heart. Even within the same genjutsu, paradise or hell depends on the mind within.
"Such a shame," Jin whispered.
"Though it is beautiful, it is still an illusion."
"Susanoo!"
With those words, his eyes became the Mangekyo Sharingan, forming the six-pointed scarlet star.
Like Sasuke, his was a straight Mangekyo.
In an instant, the paradise shattered. The office returned, plain and real.
"Wood Release: Exploding Tree!"
Jin had barely broken the illusion when Danzo's roar filled the air.
A massive tree sprouted from his right arm, lightning-fast, charging toward Jin.
Danzo had feared the unknown power of Jin's Mangekyo. There would be no testing this time. After ensnaring him in an illusion, Danzo struck with his strongest Wood Release technique.
"Susanoo!"
Jin retaliated fully with his own strongest technique.
Blood streamed from his left eye. His Mangekyo spun violently, consuming immense ocular chakra.
Danzo's Wood Release shattered instantly. His right Mangekyo arm, even his entire body, crumbled piece by piece.
A scream echoed as Danzo fell, dead in an instant.
Hiruzen and the others' scalps tingled. They instinctively rose, eyes wide with terror.
Could Danzo really be dead?
The next moment, his body vanished. Jin tensed, recognizing the illusion.
"Izanagi."
Of course he knew this was the ultimate Uchiha genjutsu.
Whoosh.
Danzo reappeared behind him, a kunai piercing Jin's chest.
"Hahaha!"
"Uchiha Jin, die!"
Danzo's voice rang with fury and mockery.
But Jin vanished in an instant, leaving Danzo confused.
"Shadow clone?" he muttered.
"Impossible. When did he ?"
Before he could finish, Jin reappeared behind Danzo, thrusting a kunai into the same point in his heart.