Danzo's attempt to use Kotoamatsukami to alter everyone's will was discovered, completely eroding any remaining goodwill the other clans held for him.
Even Danzo's former teammates, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, chose to remain silent.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Danzo had been abandoned by Konoha. He was now merely a scapegoat, meant to placate the villagers' anger and take the fall for the events surrounding the Uchiha.
Seeing the disgusted looks in everyone's eyes, a wry, almost indescribable smile touched Danzo's lips. He spread his hands calmly.
"Fine," he said. "Hiruzen... I could never become Hokage. I could never surpass you. You are the leaves basking in the sun, while I am the roots hidden deep in the darkness of the earth.
But tell me, Hiruzen... in your eyes, what am I?"
Seeing Danzo's wretched state, Hiruzen Sarutobi responded seriously, "Danzo, while your intentions may have been for the good of the village, you were too ruthless, too hasty. Some actions require more careful consideration!"
"So be it..." Danzo murmured, closing his eyes as the Anbu under the Hokage's direct command took him away.
Then, the scene shifted again, perhaps offering a conclusion to Danzo's arrest or providing closure. The image focused once more on Uchiha Shisui.
[On a cliff overlooking the Naka River stood two figures: Uchiha Shisui, missing his right eye, and Uchiha Itachi.]
["Itachi, the Uchiha coup cannot be stopped now. If civil war breaks out in Konoha, the other villages will surely take advantage. I intended to use Kotoamatsukami to halt the coup, butDanzo stole my right eye. He intends to protect the village in his own twisted way." Shisui paused. "So that no one else can take my left eye... I entrust it to you. Please, my friend... protect the village... and the Uchiha name!"]
[With those words, Shisui removed his remaining eye and held it out to Itachi.]
["What will you do now?" Itachi asked.]
["My death should change things. I've already written the note." Shisui took a step back towards the cliff's edge.]
["Wait! Shisui!" Itachi reached out desperately, trying to stop him.]
["Don't try to stop me, Itachi."]
[In the next instant, with a faint smile, Shisui fell backward off the cliff, ending his tragic life.]
"Uchiha Shisui... a man worthy of admiration," Onoki couldn't help but state.
"It's a shame his own village couldn't accept him! Had he been from our Kumogakure ( Hidden Cloud Village), he would have been my right hand. To end up driven to suicide..." the Fourth Raikage sighed.
"Is Konoha a graveyard for geniuses, then? I recall Konoha's White Fang also met a similar end," Terumi Mei added smoothly, twisting the knife.
Though the cynicism from the other villages clearly made Konoha's leadership uncomfortable, they couldn't deny the truth of the events.
Meanwhile, in Iwagakure:
"So the Uchiha clan truly planned a coup!"
"Are you blind? Didn't you see how Konoha's leadership treated them? It drove them to it!"
"Constantly surveilled, pushed to the village outskirts, their greatest genius hounded to death... Could you endure that?"
"Well... when you put it that way..."
And in Kumogakure:
"That Danzo is despicable!"
"No wonder they call him the Darkness of Shinobi!"
...
In a hidden base within the Land of Rice Fields (Tanokuni), Orochimaru observed the unfolding scenes. A sinister smile spread across his face.
"So that's why Shisui's body was never found," he mused. "If only I could have acquired his DNA for the Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei)... Konoha wouldn't have stood a chance. A pity."
He turned to Kabuto.
"How is Kimimaro faring?"
Kabuto paused his work, replying respectfully, "Lord Orochimaru, his condition is critical. It's uncertain if he will survive this mission."
"He will succeed," Orochimaru stated confidently.
Finding the boy from the Kaguya clan had been fortunate. Kimimaro had proven surprisingly useful, helping accomplish many things – subduing Jūgo to aid in curse mark research, even assassinating the Fourth Kazekage to set the stage for the Konoha Crush plan. If not for his debilitating illness, Kimimaro would have been the ideal next vessel. And now, the loyal boy was risking what little life he had left to retrieve Sasuke, the perfect container.
'Such a useful pawn,' Orochimaru thought.
Just then, Orochimaru was wracked by a violent cough. His current body's rejection was worsening; the time for reincarnation was fast approaching. He desperately needed Sasuke to arrive soon.
Kabuto quickly moved to support him, hesitating before speaking.
"Speak."
Kabuto began hesitantly, "Lord Orochimaru... based on those future glimpses, it appears... Sasuke is not successfully taken as your vessel. Furthermore, Suigetsu, Jūgo, and Karin seem to be allied with him."
Orochimaru held up a hand, cutting him off. "The future is mutable, Kabuto. Do not concern yourself with such possibilities! Your only task now is to ensure all preparations are complete for Sasuke's arrival!"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto affirmed
...
T/N : →Orochimaru had many hideouts. However, his established hidden village, Otogakure (Village Hidden in Sound), which he founded after leaving Konoha and where he planned for Sasuke's arrival, was located in the Land of Rice Fields (Ta no Kuni). He actually usurped the daimyō of that land to establish his base. While he certainly had operations and temporary bases in other places (potentially including the Land of Grass - Kusagakure), the Land of Rice Fields became his territory and the center of his power during that time period. So, "Land of Rice Fields" is the most accurate location for his main base where he'd be awaiting Sasuke.
→Naka River Location: Naka River (Naka no Kawa) flows near the edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha. The Naka Shrine (Naka no Jinja), which held the Uchiha stone tablet, was located secretly beneath the main meeting hall of the compound. Therefore, the cliffs overlooking the Naka River where Shisui met Itachi are indeed very near the historical Uchiha territory and the location of the shrine.