The domineering Uchiha drove the Third Hokage mad!

Chapter 555 Kushina: Minato, you liar!

Danzo Shimura froze abruptly, his body momentarily pausing involuntarily.

His eyes became empty and lifeless, just like Koharu Utatane, trapped in the Sharingan's genjutsu control, reduced to a puppet answering questions.

With an undeniable force, Uchiha Mitsunaka asked, "When the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, the Uzumaki clan was exterminated. What role did you play in this? Did you orchestrate this tragedy?"

Under the control of the illusion, Shimura Danzo made no attempt to conceal anything and slowly revealed that long-buried dark secret: "Back then, the Senju clan wanted to reclaim the Hokage position and had been secretly plotting all along."

"As the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and the wife of the First Hokage, Mito Uzumaki held immense prestige in Konoha. She put a lot of pressure on us."

He paused, his tone growing increasingly sinister, as if he had returned to the moment when he plotted the conspiracy.

"Later, the Root's intelligence network gathered a piece of information... In order to create Jinchuriki and control the power of the Tailed Beasts, many ninjas from Kumogakure died."

"Therefore, I personally ordered the core members of Root to secretly leak information to Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure."

"Tell them that the Uzumaki clan possesses a sealing technique that perfectly seals the tailed beasts. If they destroy the Uzumaki clan and steal the sealing technique, they can control the tailed beasts and enhance the strength of their own ninja village."

"As a result, those ninja villages joined forces to besiege the Land of Whirlpools in order to obtain the sealing technique. In the end, the Land of Whirlpools was reduced to ruins, and the surviving Uzumaki clan members could only flee and wander from place to place."

"Thump..."

A muffled thud sounded from the crowd below as Kushina Uzumaki suddenly knelt down.

She covered her face with both hands, her body trembling violently, and suppressed sobs escaped from between her fingers, growing louder and louder, tears streaming down her face.

Beside her, Uzumaki Megumi and the other surviving members of the Uzumaki clan also had red eyes, tears streaming down their faces, their expressions filled with grief and despair.

They always thought that the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools was just a victim of the ninja world's conflicts, caused by the greed of the three great ninja villages. Little did they know that behind all of this was a conspiracy by Danzo Shimura!

"It was the higher-ups of Konoha who personally destroyed their homeland, personally killed their people, and personally pushed them into the abyss of despair!"

Uchiha Mitsunori looked down at the heartbroken Uzumaki clansmen below, a faint pity flashing in his eyes.

He looked at Shimura Danzo again, pressing him for another long-buried secret.

"In Konoha year 39, Kushina Uzumaki was kidnapped and eventually rescued by Minato Namikaze. Were you from Root and Hiruzen Sarutobi involved in this? Did you orchestrate this kidnapping?"

Danzo Shimura's eyes remained vacant as he mechanically uttered the secret: "After Mito Uzumaki died, Kushina Uzumaki became the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. I originally intended to take this opportunity to select a suitable candidate to replace Kushina Uzumaki, so that Root could control the Nine-Tails' power and thereby strengthen Root's power."

"But Hiruzen Sarutobi disagreed. He said that becoming a perfect Jinchuriki is extremely difficult and risky. If he fails, the Nine-Tails will go out of control and wreak havoc on Konoha. This could trigger a new Shinobi World War. We cannot risk the safety of the village."

"Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi came up with a plan... to secretly kidnap Kushina Uzumaki, and then arrange for Minato Namikaze to 'rescue the damsel in distress' and win Kushina's heart, so that she would willingly stay in Konoha."

"boom......"

These words struck Kushina Uzumaki like a thunderbolt, shattering all her illusions in an instant.

She abruptly raised her head, her face streaked with tears, her body stiff as a statue, filled with disbelief: "No...it can't be...Minato...how could Minato...could all of this be fake? Was it all a scheme?"

She always believed that their love was pure and beautiful, without any ulterior motives or calculations.

She always believed that Minato Namikaze's rescue back then was accidental, destined, and a salvation bestowed upon her by God.

But now, Danzo Shimura's words were like a sharp knife, piercing her heart and shattering all her illusions...

It turns out that Minato Namikaze's approach to her was merely a carefully orchestrated scheme by Hiruzen Sarutobi. From beginning to end, she was just a pawn being used, a tool to control the Nine-Tails.

As Kushina's heart wavered and her emotions collapsed, the Nine-Tails within her also lost control.

"I'm finally free, Kushina... Destroy as you please... Wreak havoc... Hahaha!"

A surge of violent red chakra continuously overflowed from Kushina Uzumaki's body, corroding everything around her.

Because her entire body was corroded by the Nine-Tails' chakra, Kushina Uzumaki's expression became twisted and ferocious.

The red chakra around her grew increasingly dense, gradually condensing into a fine tailed beast cloak that tightly wrapped around her body, and four red tails appeared.

Uchiha Sanfeng, standing atop the platform, narrowed his eyes and unleashed an extremely concentrated burst of ocular power, invading Kushina Uzumaki's mental world.

In her mental world, the Nine-Tails was rampaging and baring its fangs, constantly attacking the barrier of the seal, while Kushina's consciousness was gradually sinking under the Nine-Tails' violent will.

Seeing this, Uchiha Mitsunori forcibly suppressed Kurama's berserk consciousness with just a glance.

"Kushina Uzumaki, wake up!"

With that shout, his mental power erupted once more, forcefully suppressing the Nine-Tails' final agitation. He also completely expelled the remaining Nine-Tails chakra from Kushina's body.

In the real world, Kushina Uzumaki shuddered, her red tailed beast cloak vanished instantly, her crimson eyes gradually returned to their original black, and her twisted and ferocious expression softened.

Her body went limp and she almost collapsed to the ground, but her reason returned.

Just then, Minato Namikaze suddenly appeared and landed next to Kushina Uzumaki.

He looked flustered, wanting to touch Kushina, but afraid of upsetting her, he stopped. "Kushina, let me explain. Although the kidnapping back then was indeed on the Hokage's orders, my love for you has never been fake!"

Kushina Uzumaki slowly raised her head, looking at Minato Namikaze's anxious face, which was full of pain.

She didn't angrily rebuke him, nor did she break down in tears. She simply shook her head gently: "Minato, let me calm down first... Right now, I really don't know what to believe anymore."