Disposal

Koharu Utatane's pupils suddenly contracted.

Mitokado Homura swayed and almost lost his balance, quickly reaching out to steady himself on the table.

The two looked at Sakura Haruno; there was not a trace of a smile in the girl's eyes, and her cold gaze sent chills down one's spine.

She crossed her arms over her chest, a blue water snake swaying gently beside her, seemingly restless, awaiting their response.

Spring simply couldn't answer that question.

Using rhetoric to brush it off? The old woman thought Danzo would probably be her role model. Clearly, she wouldn't give up until she got a satisfactory answer from Sakura Haruno. The only difference in the outcome was whether Sakura would force her to speak or Sakura would stand up for herself.

Koharu Utatane felt his lips and teeth grow cold, and he couldn't utter a single word.

She turned and looked around the room, but no one dared to make eye contact with her.

He then looked at the Third Hokage, who had somehow walked to the window and was silently smoking. He stared out the window without turning his head, as if something outside had drawn his gaze to him.

She took a deep breath, and finally... looked with difficulty at the Fifth Hokage.

The latter leaned back leisurely in his chair, motionless, with only a slight, playful smirk playing on his lips.

"This old woman—" Koharu Utatane finally slumped down, muttering, "It was a moment of confusion on my part, that made Menyan and Homura..."

Mitokado Homura paused for a moment, glanced at his companion beside him, and sat down with a wry smile, "That's right, we were old and blind, and were deceived by that old scoundrel Shimura Danzō, which led us to mistakenly believe... cough cough... Fortunately, the truth has come to light now, and Sakura Haruno was not Jonin. It's truly a great blessing."

She did, however, wash herself very clean.

"Hmph! Nonsense!" Danzo, Danzo had been as still as a dead tree, suddenly opened his eyes upon hearing this. One of his cloudy old eyes coldly glanced at Homura, and he said in a deep voice, "It was clearly the two of you who came to me of your own accord, trying to set me up—"

"--Shut up, you old scoundrel!" Koharu Utatane quickly interrupted Danzo, "You wicked bastard, are you still trying to sow discord?!"

Seeing that the group was about to start arguing without any regard for their dignity, Tsunade couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Enough! You lot! Aren't you embarrassed enough? Show some respect!" the blonde woman said sternly.

After calming the three arguing individuals down, Tsunade scanned the room several times before slowly saying, "Sakura, sit down first. Let Shimura Danzō down."

Then, she stood up high and said loudly—

"Shimura Danzō, your record of misdeeds is long and you show no remorse. This time, you once again dispatched Root ninjas to attack our village's Jonin, Sakura Haruno, attempting to force her to join Root and serve you. This has distorted our consistent Konoha spirit and harmed a large number of Konoha Ninja!"

"I, Fifth Hokage Princess Tsunade, hereby announce the removal of Shimura Danzō all his positions, demoting him to a regular ninja and temporarily imprisoning him in Konoha Prison, pending investigation of his past misdeeds and crimes before trial! As for Root, disband immediately, and all personnel shall remain on standby, awaiting reorganization!"

The conference room was completely silent.

Danzo was sitting in the chair next to Sakura, suddenly slumped down upon hearing this.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." He seemed to have aged many years in an instant, replying weakly.

"Take him away."

Tsunade saw that he didn't even glance at him, and waved for several Anbu to Danzo and take Danzo away before turning her gaze to Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura.

"My two Hokage Advisor," Tsunade suddenly softened her voice, "You must both be too concerned about village affairs, to the point of overworking yourselves, which is why you 'caught off guard' and caused this misunderstanding."

"I failed to notice in time that you two gentlemen were no longer able to handle such a heavy workload. This was my dereliction of duty as Hokage, and I am deeply sorry. Since you both mentioned that you are old and your eyesight is failing, and you are truly exhausted, then for the sake of your health, as Hokage, it is my duty to take over the burden from your shoulders, so as not to damage your physical and mental well-being."

"What do you two think?"

Tsunade said with a fake smile.

"This, this..." Mitokado Homura hesitated, thinking about something but not daring to, so he could only mutter and repeat the word over and over again.

Koharu Utatane's voice trembled slightly as she mustered all her strength and courage to say, "Thank you for your concern and arrangements, Lord Hokage. However, my heart is with Konoha. Although I am old and frail, I can still contribute in some way."

"To continue contributing?" Tsunade's eyes gleamed, and she smiled. "Alright, then let's change the Hokage Advisor from a real one to a nominal one. From now on, you won't handle any practical matters; you'll only be responsible for giving me advice. We'll also let bygones be bygones regarding today's incident. How about that?"

The last shred of hope in Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura's hearts vanished completely, and the color drained from their faces, turning them deathly pale.

"Thank you for the arrangements Lord Hokage." Koharu Utatane stood up with difficulty. "I am feeling unwell and must take my leave for now. Please forgive me."

"I'm also... feeling a bit unwell, please forgive me." Mitokado Homura awkwardly followed her away.

The atmosphere in the meeting room only relaxed abruptly after the two consultants had left.

"The battle of the gods is finally over." Shikaku Nara secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just now, he really wished he could use his Transformation Technique to become a piece of furniture or decoration in this room!

Shikaku exchanged a glance with the ninjas on either side of him and gave a wry smile.

Sakura Haruno, however, looked relaxed, head held high, leaning back in her chair, revealing her delicate chin, exuding an air of smugness.

Tsunade gave her a disapproving look, then suddenly said, "As for you, Sakura Haruno, Jonin!"

"Disregarding meeting discipline and disrupting meeting order! Go back and copy the Ninja Code of Conduct and hand it in!"

"Break down the meeting room door! The repair costs are due by today!"

"What? This counts too?" Sakura Haruno's eyes widened.

"Nonsense!" Tsunade glared at her and added, "Late payments will be doubled!"

Hotaru Hyuga almost burst out laughing.

After exchanging a few pleasantries to appease the ninjas, Tsunade adjourned the meeting.

On the way back to the Hokage Building after leaving the conference room.

"Master, do I really have to hand it in?" Sakura Haruno asked pitifully, following behind Tsunade.

"And you?" Tsunade back at her, her heart softening. "Alright, I won't punish you with copying, but you absolutely have to pay the fine for damaging the gate! It's made of precious solid wood, century-old ebony, and it's been there since the village was founded!"

"Even if it's precious wood, it can't be that expensive, right? Besides, I remember that all the wood used when the village was built was cultivated by the First Wood Release. Not to mention Ebony, there's plenty of more precious woods like Rosewood and Sandalwood everywhere..." Sakura muttered behind him, "I hope Master didn't use the fine for gambling and drinking?"

"What are you saying?"

"Ah, no, no, it's nothing!"

"I always feel like you're talking behind my back?"

[Second update.]