Danzo: Hanzo is dead? What's it to me!

A ninja dog appeared outside Konohagakure, carrying a scroll in its mouth.

The seal on the scroll was unmistakably the special pattern belonging to 'Root,' one of the Anbu.

A Root member, observing the outskirts of Konoha, realized something major must have happened upon seeing this. He quickly took the scroll from the ninja dog.

"It's a message from Lord Terai!"

Recognizing the marking on the scroll, he prepared to deliver the intelligence to Danzo.

Just then, a figure appeared. After glancing at the scroll, he asked in a deep voice, "Shikyuu, what happened?"

"Lord Ryoma?"

Shikyuu blinked in surprise, then respectfully replied, "It's an urgent communication from Lord Terai. Something might have happened in the Land of Rain. I was just about to deliver it to Lord Danzo."

"Land of Rain..."

Ryoma muttered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"This is an emergency, please forgive my rudeness, Lord Ryoma."

Shikyuu hid the scroll and stepped past Ryoma, intending to see Danzo.

However, after only a couple of steps, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Pfft!

Shikyuu looked down and saw a hand piercing directly through his heart.

"Lord. Ryoma?"

Shikyuu's pupils dilated as his heart was impaled by a single punch. He slowly turned his head, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Why. Why did you betray. Lord Danzo?"

"You don't need to know."

Ryoma smoothly withdrew his hand, coldly dropping the words before turning his gaze to the ninja dog.

Betrayal?

No, he had merely been blinded for a time. Now, he had finally seen the true light.

"Woof woof... bark!"

The ninja dog sensed danger and tried to escape.

But alas, a large mass of Kikaichū burst forth, devouring it down to the bone.

After finishing everything, Ryoma leisurely wiped the blood from his hands, retrieved the scroll from Shikyuu's corpse, and scanned it with a cold smirk. "Hmph, just as Lord Sōgetsu said. The rats in the sewers can only resort to such tricks."

Although he was unsure of the situation with that Uchiha girl, he would clean up the loose ends for Lord Sōgetsu.

The next moment, the scroll was completely devoured by the Kikaichū.

"Lord Sōgetsu, with me, Ryoma, here, no one can harm you!"

Ryoma meticulously cleaned the scene, erasing all traces, and then vanished as if he had never been there.

Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage was currently overwhelmed with paperwork.

The political fallout from White Fang's death, coupled with the probing actions of various ninja villages recently, left him utterly exhausted.

Just then, an urgent intelligence report from Tsunade was delivered to his office by an Anbu.

Upon opening the scroll and glancing at it, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his blood pressure surge, nearly causing him to black out.

"Danzo!!!"

Veins bulged on Hiruzen's forehead as he slammed his hand on the desk, roaring with bloodshot eyes, "Go! Summon Danzo for me! Hurry!"

"Yes! Lord Hokage!"

The Anbu outside, hearing the enraged roar from within, exchanged bewildered glances, all of them freezing in fear.

The usually gentle Third Hokage was terrifying when he was angry!

Soon, Danzo entered the Hokage's office with a look of confusion.

Slam!

The moment he stepped inside, before Danzo could utter a word, a scroll was thrown at his face.

"Hiruzen, are you insane?!" Danzo's eyes turned sinister, his facial muscles contorting as he ripped the scroll away and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

"What am I doing?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a cold, insincere laugh. "Look at what you've done, Danzo!"

Danzo's eyelids twitched violently. A bad premonition filled him. He bent down, picked up the scroll from the floor, and quickly scanned it.

Before he could read a few lines, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You have some nerve, Danzo!" Hiruzen's anger hadn't subsided as he glared at him fiercely. "You secretly colluded with Hanzo to assassinate our village's Jonin, and then, using Root's power, you joined forces with the rebel organization Akatsuki to assassinate the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo. Such skillful maneuvering, Danzo!"

Slander! He's slandering me!

Danzo felt incredibly wronged, his old face flushing crimson, veins throbbing on his forehead. "You're spouting bullshit, Hiruzen! Stop framing me!"

"I slandered you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi became even angrier. He slammed his hand on the table and glared at him, "Look for yourself. Of all the things written here, is there a single one that wrongly accuses you?"

Danzo's mouth twitched, but he still put on a brave face and argued, "I admit, I did have Hanzo kill that Uchiha brat, but I never intended to kill Hanzo!"

"You didn't kill Hanzo? Fine, fine, fine. Then tell me, who did kill him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi crossed his arms, looking at him as if expecting him to make excuses. "Was it Tsunade? Or Uchiha Sōgetsu? Or was it just those few brats from Akatsuki?"

"I..."

Danzo choked on his words, nearly suffocating himself.

He wanted to defend himself, but the problem was... he was fundamentally unclean in this matter.

He had originally just wanted to kill that Uchiha brat, take his Sharingan, and research that so-called Genjutsu.

But now look at the situation. Hanzo was dead, and this blame was inexplicably pinned on him.

This was truly like mud smeared on his crotch – whether it was shit or not, it looked like shit!

"It wasn't me, anyway."

At this point, Danzo could only put on a rogue-like demeanor and refuse to admit anything. "I did this for the good of Konoha. Your methods are too naive, Hiruzen!"

"Danzo, don't forget, I am the Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi also slammed the table in anger, his voice suddenly rising eighteen octaves, nearly spitting on Danzo's face. "Look at what you've done! You dared to extend your hand into Amegakure. Do you want to start a war? Do you still have me, the Hokage, in your eyes!"

"Hiruzen, this matter isn't that simple."

Danzo took a deep breath, knowing that now was not the time to argue. He calmed down and said, "Give me some time, and I will investigate this matter thoroughly and give you an explanation."

"You don't need to give me an explanation!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, still furious, sneered repeatedly. "You should consider how to give Tsunade an explanation."

"Tsunade?"

Danzo frowned, not particularly concerned in his heart. "What explanation do I need to give her?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat back down in his chair, lit his pipe, and took a deep drag before slowly exhaling. "Just half an hour ago, Tsunade officially notified Konoha Hospital and all medical ninjas within the medical system that from now on, they are not allowed to treat any member of 'Root.' Otherwise, their medical qualifications will be revoked."

Danzo, who had not been concerned about the threat before, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat the size of beans. "Hiruzen... you, she's openly targeting Konoha's Anbu!"

Konoha could afford to be without Anbu, but it absolutely could not afford to be without medical ninjas.

And in Konoha Village today, about ninety percent of medical ninjas had received Tsunade's teachings.

Although there were still some who knew medical ninjutsu besides Tsunade's faction, they were ultimately a minority, barely enough to make a dent!

Seeing his flustered expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

Serves you right for being so arrogant!

"Hiruzen, are you just going to stand by and watch?"

Danzo gritted his teeth, trying to salvage the situation. "Regardless, Root is for Konoha. Tsunade doing this is weakening our own strength!"

"Heh, you're asking me now?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled smoke and said calmly, "I can't interfere in this matter. After all, Tsunade single-handedly established and perfected Konoha's entire medical system. Before, she was unwilling to leverage this power, but now you have completely angered her. Even I am not as important to those people as she is."

Perhaps it was his usual casual demeanor that made many people subconsciously overlook Tsunade's hidden political power.

Just like Danzo, he had forgotten the most important principle.

That is, no matter who you offend, never offend a doctor, or you will suffer greatly!

Cold sweat streamed down Danzo's face. He finally realized how vast and terrifying this power he had previously ignored was once mobilized.

December 20th, Sunny

My recommendation slot was a one-round tour, tragic, truly tragic, so tragic... it's unbearable to look at. I beg all my esteemed readers for your support~ I have nothing to repay you with, except perhaps a scratch-off ticket (if I win, I'll open a hard-core surprise for you, my patrons~).