Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have all his strength taken away in an instant, and fell down on the Hokage seat.
In fact, deep down in his heart, he had no hunch that Danzo might be carrying out some dark deeds behind the scenes. But when these speculations are presented in such a conclusive and shocking way, the impact is still devastating.
Each and every one of the crimes recorded on the scroll... placed in any ninja village, these crimes would be enough to execute Danzo dozens of times!
Although just now, the heart-stopping Nine-Tails Chakra in the distance had quietly subsided, and it seemed that the crisis was temporarily lifted, Third Hokage could not feel any relief at all. The huge feeling of exhaustion and guilt swallowed him up like a landslide and tsunami. He collapsed in his chair, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to get deeper.
"Ha..." Menma's sneer sounded again, "How should I put it, old man. You may not be directly involved in these dirty deeds, but your connivance, your indecisiveness, and your so-called 'taking the overall situation into consideration' undoubtedly provide the most fertile ground for this bastard's rampage."
"I just remembered... You know, this guy actually planned to assassinate you for Hokage's position."
"In that case, you could actually choose to 'forgive' him... Now it seems strange to expect you to thoroughly investigate and liquidate his crimes, isn't it?"
Menma's ridicule left Third Hokage unable to even argue.
"... I still have a few conditions. Of course, this should be a matter of course for you and me. However, with your usual style, I'm really not sure whether you will do it."
Third Hokage raised his head with difficulty. He didn't understand what other "reasonable" conditions needed to be put forward to him.
"Konoha has a tradition... all the names of those who died in the execution of missions or wars will be engraved on that Memorial Stone for future generations to pay homage to, right?"
Third Hokage was silent and nodded.
Menma's voice suddenly became colder, "So - Danzō Shimura's name... you're not going to engrave that name on it, are you?"
Third Hokage's body shook violently uncontrollably, and juxtaposed Danzo's name with those heroes who shed their last drop of blood for Konoha? This slip is the greatest blasphemy against the dead! It's a complete betrayal of Fire's will!
However... the decision to deny Danzo and completely erase him from the history of Konoha is an extremely painful and painful decision.
After a suffocating silence, Third Hokage nodded extremely slowly and deeply.
He agreed with Menma's conditions.
"Very good." Menma was not surprised by Third Hokage's submission, "Then, the second condition. I need you to take the initiative to spread the 'truth' with the authority of Hokage."
"The truth?" Third Hokage raised his head.
"That's right. I'm looking forward to it when everyone in the village knows that the Konoha High Command they trust - your close friend Danzō Shimura, in order to control First Hokage's 'god of patience' Wood Release."
"He did not hesitate to kidnap friends in the village and conduct inhumane human experiments. He secretly colluded with the notorious S-rank missing-nin Orochimaru to continue the taboo research, even in order to seize The power of Sharingan has repeatedly attacked the Uchiha people who have endured for Konoha, and even other people who possess Sharingan..."
"I remember, that guy seemed to have even thought about Sharingan, Hatake Kakashi, right?"
Every time Menma mentioned a crime, Third Hokage's face turned pale, and the fingers holding the armrest turned white from the force.
"Except that the entire truth about Uchiha Massacre needs to be suppressed temporarily and will be released a few years later,"
Menma finally concluded, "Spread these 'truths' clearly. Let everyone see what kind of evil the so-called 'roots' nourish in the darkness. Do you understand?"
"..."
Third Hokage fell into a long silence, which was tantamount to asking him to uncover the ugliest scar of Konoha with his own hands, completely exposing the internal rot to the sun.
But he knew very well that what the other party gave was not a choice, but an order. He tightly grasped the armrests of the chair with both hands, and finally, weakly and slowly let go.
"... I'm sorry." His voice was hoarse, and he almost squeezed out these words through his teeth. Once again, he agreed to the other party's request with humiliation and difficulty.
"... Well, I'm glad that we finally reached an agreement." Menma Shimi nodded with satisfaction.
Immediately, his tone suddenly became somewhat meaningful. It no longer sounded like a condition, but more like a casual piece of advice, "And... Old man, you have been sitting in this position for too long. It's time to consider retirement."
He said something that made people confused. "If you don't leave anymore... maybe you will attract a guy who makes you feel even more 'scary'."
After saying this specious warning, Menma stopped staying, turned around, and took Shisui, who had always been silent, straight towards the door of Hokage Office, and the figure quickly disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was the only one left in the office. He stood up from the chair slowly and staggeringly, feeling unprecedented fatigue sweeping over his body.
He knew that what the other party said might be right. He had indeed been in office for too long, and had allowed too much darkness to grow under his nose. But... his disciples... all...
Next time! Next time Jiraiya If that bastard comes back to the village... no matter what! Even if he is strong, he must stay!
He shook his head violently, temporarily suppressing the chaotic thoughts. Third Hokage knows very well that now is definitely not the time to be immersed in sadness and self-blame. There are mountains of mess waiting for him to deal with.
He forced himself to cheer up and immediately strode out of the office.
Menma and Shisui have long disappeared outside the door. His most important task at the moment is to immediately summon all the possible Anbu and rush to Uchiha Clan Compound - no matter how slim the hope is, he must personally confirm whether there are any survivors!
(There is another update, which will be posted in an hour. The next chapter of Genocide Yoye is finally finished)
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