The moment the Shadow Clone was swallowed by the explosion, Naruto, standing by the window, immediately learned what had happened in the Forest of Death. Watching the distant flash, he suddenly sensed two streams of Chakra vanish one after the other.
The ones who had disappeared were the Third Hokage and his own Summoning Beast, Enma. It seemed they had used Reverse Summoning to leave.
Orochimaru's Chakra was still there, but Naruto sensed that he had burrowed deep underground and was moving incredibly fast. He was already close to slipping past the barrier at the edge of the Forest of Death.
Those two truly deserved to be called master and disciple.
But Naruto also knew very well that although the Great Spiraling Ring released by his clone had exploded quickly, its range had not been very wide.
The Chakra he had given that Shadow Clone was not much to begin with. Against people as strong as Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, the Chakra sphere it formed was only moderately powerful—as long as they ran fast enough.
Still, he had never expected Orochimaru to be the one who had appeared in the Forest of Death.
Wasn't that guy supposed to be a member of the Akatsuki Organization now? Why had he suddenly returned to Konoha?
Could he also be a spy Konoha had sent to infiltrate Akatsuki?
Naruto immediately decided he was overthinking it. Someone pursuing immortality and the secrets of the world would not waste time on such boring matters.
Even when Pain had threatened him into joining the Akatsuki Organization, Orochimaru had only wanted to find a chance to seize the Rinnegan.
Then what was his purpose in returning to Konoha? It definitely was not to find the Third Hokage, or the Third Hokage would not have brought people to capture him.
The moment he thought of the Third Hokage, a figure flashed through Naruto's mind.
Danzo!
Orochimaru had definitely returned to find Danzo. Naruto remembered Danzo's Sharingan arm; the connection between those two had remained unbroken all the way into the Hayate storyline of the anime.
But the timing was wrong. Wasn't the Uchiha Clan still some time away from the day of its massacre?
After one final sweep of the Konoha ninja rushing about everywhere, Naruto looked up at the tightly shut window. It was time to rest.
In the dead of night, the entire Hokage Office Building was still brightly lit. A man leaning on a cane, his long shadow trailing behind him, entered the Hokage's Office.
"Hiruzen, I'm here."
"Is there something you need to explain to me, Advisor Danzo?"
The speaker in the office was none other than the Third Hokage. At some point, he had already returned to Konoha. He was seated at the head of the conference table, though he was still dressed in combat gear.
Two more people sat along one side of the table: Konoha's current advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The man with the cane was Danzo. Facing the Third Hokage's questioning, he did not answer immediately. He glanced at the other two advisors, then silently walked to the other side of the table and sat down.
"There is nothing to explain regarding Orochimaru." The moment he sat down, Danzo spoke in an even tone. "And in my opinion, there is no need for an explanation. What I did was no different from what you did. It was all for Konoha."
The Third Hokage's face darkened. "Then as of this moment, you are removed from your post as an advisor assisting the Hokage. Root must also be disbanded from this day onward!"
To his surprise, the other two advisors, who had been silently lowering their heads, immediately spoke in opposition as soon as he finished.
"Third Hokage, this matter still requires further discussion."
"Lord Hokage, Advisor Danzo's Root cannot be disbanded yet. Their current work is extremely important to the village, and Root has made immense contributions to Konoha."
The Third Hokage's gaze sharpened. "You oppose this?"
Mitokado Homura slightly shook his head and directly pulled a scroll from his sleeve, placing it before the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage opened it, and his expression abruptly changed. "Are you certain this is true?"
"My intelligence cannot be wrong." Danzo opened his eyes and spoke without changing expression. "This is detailed intelligence personally recorded by Shisui Uchiha. After you left the village, his clan began summoning its members for frequent secret meetings."
After carefully reading through the scroll, the Third Hokage's expression eased slightly. He said solemnly, "I understand the matter now. But you still need to explain why you contacted Orochimaru."
Danzo's face suddenly turned cold. He looked at the two silent advisors opposite him and had no choice but to speak. "I merely made a deal with Orochimaru and obtained some intelligence from outside Konoha."
The Third Hokage's expression was equally stern as he continued, "What deal? What intelligence?"
Danzo shifted his gaze. A trace of mockery flashed through his eyes as he stared directly into the Third Hokage's. "He is your disciple. You should know what the deal involved, so there is no need for me to say it. The intelligence, however, is quite valuable. It concerns the Akatsuki Organization in the Land of Rain from years ago."
Anger rose in the Third Hokage's heart. He had guessed what Orochimaru had traded, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued asking, "Didn't you say that Hanzō had already wiped out that Akatsuki Organization back then?"
Danzo shook his head. "It was not completely wiped out. Moreover, the entire Land of Rain is now under the Akatsuki Organization's control. The members of that organization are all S-rank rogue ninja now. Orochimaru is one of them."
The Third Hokage stared at Danzo with a grave gaze. "Do you have detailed intelligence?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Danzo shook his head. "No!"
Hearing that, the Third Hokage immediately rose and walked to his desk. He took a blank small scroll and quickly wrote down the contents. Then he beckoned toward the windowsill, and an Anbu immediately appeared.
"Use a Ninja Crow to send this intelligence to Jiraiya."
After taking the scroll, the Anbu moved and vanished into the shadows.
The Third Hokage returned to the conference table and sat down, his expression grave. "Now, let us discuss the Uchiha Clan's unusual movements."
At those words, a barely perceptible trace of delight finally appeared on Danzo's gloomy face.
Early the next morning, just as the sun rose, Naruto was already on the road to the Hokage Office Building. He would be there soon.
"Naruto, are you sure you want to see the Third Hokage now?"
"Father, is there a problem with that?"
"There is no problem. It's just that, Naruto, didn't you see the Third Hokage and Orochimaru in the Forest of Death last night?"
Minato Namikaze in the Sealed Space did not understand why Naruto was going to see the Third Hokage at this time.
"Mm." Naruto paused slightly. "I just want to put him at ease, and keep him busy while I'm at it."
The village streets were rather deserted today. It seemed everyone had become jumpy because of last night's events. Naruto hardly saw anyone along the way, though he sensed quite a few ninja hiding around the streets.
Just two more streets, and he would be there.
"Sir! Please spare me! I swear I've only stolen once!"
"Hmph! You still dare to lie? Do you think my Sharingan would be wrong? You clearly stole from several households!"
"You dared to take advantage of the chaos to steal things? Come back to the Police Department with us!"
"I've been wronged, sir! My children at home need those things, please!"
"Sir, he looks so pitiful. Let him go."
"Yeah."
Following the voices around a corner, Naruto saw several Uchiha members in Police Department uniforms. With their heads held high, they escorted a terrified man toward the other end of the street.
"Hmph! What's so great about the Uchiha Clan? They just caught a thief."
"I think they're just abusing their Police Department authority to arrest people at random."
"Exactly. Didn't that man just say he was innocent?"
"Look at the way they carry themselves. They walk around like they're staring up at the sky."
Naruto ignored their words, turned back in the direction he had been heading, and continued toward his destination.
"Sigh."
After only a few steps, Minato Namikaze sighed inside the Sealed Space.
"What is it, Father? Do you have some thoughts about this? Do you sympathize with that thief too?"
Minato Namikaze shook his head.
"No. I simply feel that the villagers were speaking too harshly. The Police Department's main duty is to maintain internal security and stability in the village. In this matter, those Uchiha did nothing wrong."
"They should not have elevated their emotions into an issue with an entire clan."
Naruto had already caught sight of the Hokage Office Building. After asking Kurama for a favor, he said, "Whether those people went too far with their words isn't important. At most, they were merely judging without putting themselves in someone else's place."
"You surely understand that the greatest difference between doing something and not doing it is that the latter has the right to judge the former."
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