Danzo stared coldly at the Hatake Brothers with both eyes and said without hesitation, "The Hokage may have made a mistake, but it isn't your place to question him. I will investigate later, but right now, we must deal with you first."
With that, he raised a hand, and a dozen masked shinobi landed on either side of him, watching the Uchiha and Sakumo Hatake warily.
Fugaku Uchiha: "..."
The Third had wanted to object from the moment Danzo started speaking.
That bastard Danzo could butt in if he wanted!
But he just had to call my decision a mistake, too.
What was that supposed to mean?
So you think I was wrong too, Danzo, but now isn't the time to remove me from office-we have to deal with these people first?
The Third wanted to refuse Danzo's involvement as he always had, but when he considered White Fang's and the Uchiha's strength, as well as Orochimaru's murky ties to them, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Only after a moment's thought did he wave a hand.
Forget it. Just in case, I'll deal with this incident first.
As for Danzo, I'll have a hundred ways to deal with him once this is over.
In other words, no one in the Leaf Village would entertain the idea of making Danzo Hokage.
As the Third waved his hand, a group of shinobi wearing animal masks moved to surround White Fang and Ling Tian.
The Third's expression was indifferent. "Sakumo, go home now, and I'll treat today as though nothing happened."
Danzo glared at him. "Third, do you know what you're saying?"
Wipe out White Fang and the Uchiha today, use the moral high ground to force the Third out of office, and become Hokage myself.
My lifelong dream, Shimura Danzō's dream, is about to come true, and you're telling White Fang to go home?
"Danzo, I know what I'm doing. Don't forget, I am still the Hokage."
Hiruzen wasn't an idiot, either. He wouldn't do something that benefited Danzo while sending himself into the abyss.
He knew full well that if he struck to kill the White Fang brothers now, the public support he had already lost would be gone for good.
Wouldn't that prove he had something to hide?
Then not only would he lose the Hokage position, but he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would also become a sinner in the village's eyes.
A glimmer returned to Jiraiya's previously vacant eyes when he heard those words, and he looked hopefully at White Fang.
"Senior White Fang, please go home for now. I believe the village will give you an explanation."
He couldn't deny White Fang's contributions, and he knew his teacher and the higher-ups were at fault this time. But Jiraiya simply couldn't step forward and question his own teacher.
Even Tsunade wanted to say something at that moment.
She wanted the village to keep improving, too, but whenever she thought of that fellow from the Uchiha Clan and what Ling Tian had just said, she couldn't open her mouth.
"Those two really aren't leaving me any dignity."
Tsunade smiled bitterly to herself. Did she not know that her teacher had spent these past few years erasing her two grandfathers' and the Senju Clan's influence in the village?
She knew. But if it helped the village improve, then losing the Senju's legacy didn't matter. The clan had already fully integrated into the village anyway.
For the village's future, it was fine for the Senju to suffer a little. But just as he had said, by allowing it, she had betrayed the Senju name. That was a fact Tsunade couldn't refute.
Seeing that White Fang remained unmoved, the Third spoke again. "Sakumo, you should understand what this will do to the village if it doesn't end now. We still have enemies. The Sunagakure Shinobi are trying to attack us on the battlefield. Do you want to plunge the village into the abyss?"
It had to be said that the Third's Talk no Jutsu was very effective.
Those words made the honest White Fang waver.
Unfortunately, White Fang had a younger brother beside him who understood everyone there inside out.
At that moment, Ling Tian let out a mocking laugh.
Only after he finished laughing did he say disdainfully, "Third, I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you."
Ling Tian raised his hand and pointed at the Third's face. "When you placed your own son beside my older brother, hoping he'd reap the credit for a major mission like that without lifting a finger."
"When you knew perfectly well that my older brother had done nothing wrong,
"yet allowed the other advisors to smear him because he was too powerful and had too many accomplishments." "When that beast of a son of yours, whom my brother had no choice but to rescue, was the first to condemn my brother upon returning, and you did nothing, you had already pushed the village into the abyss."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, just how shameless do you have to be to turn a blind eye to your own actions while demanding that others serve the greater good?"
After he finished, the scene fell utterly silent except for Ling Tian's scornful laughter.
Even Tsunade and Jiraiya looked ashamed now.
Danzo closed his eyes again.
Since Hiruzen won't let me attack you, and you can keep undermining his authority, I'll give you a little more time. Keep exposing facts that prove Hiruzen is no longer fit to be Hokage.
Don't worry. I guarantee we won't have to wait until tomorrow. All of this will spread throughout the village shortly.
"Only I am suited to the Hokage position. Teacher, do you see this? This is the Hokage you favored most. He's made a complete mess of the village."
Seeing everyone present looking at him with complicated expressions, the Third took a deep breath and said firmly, "Since becoming Hokage, I have never done anything detrimental to the village."
"This claim of yours that I allowed the higher-ups to smear White Fang-I know nothing about it, nor do I understand it."
"But I admit that I shouldn't have assigned Konohamaru to that mission. However, besides being Hokage, I am also a father. He shifted the blame for the mission's failure onto White Fang because I failed to discipline him as his father. Once this war ends, I will resign and take responsibility. Will that satisfy you?"
His words had barely fallen.
"Third, do you know what you're saying?"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Utatane Koharu came to her senses and hurriedly cried out in a shrill voice.
"Third, the village can't do without you. If you stop being Hokage, who else is qualified now?"
Mitokado Homura grew anxious as well.
Beside them, Danzo shot both of them fierce looks. Are you saying I'm not worthy?
It was no wonder the two advisors were anxious. They knew they weren't qualified themselves. Becoming advisors at all had already been an incredible stroke of ancestral luck.
As for Danzo, their old classmate was a warmonger. If he became Hokage, their comfortable days would be over.
Jiraiya had no interest in becoming Hokage.
What if Tsunade sought revenge on them after becoming Hokage?
After all, they had both taken part in every effort to suppress the Senju.
And Orochimaru, besides being a warmonger like Danzo, seemed to have suspiciously close ties with the Hatake Brothers and the Uchiha, judging by the situation.
With one candidate after another ruled out, were they supposed to make White Fang Hokage?
Or let an Uchiha or a Hyuga become Hokage?
None of those options was acceptable!
While they fretted over the Third stepping down, Ling Tian sneered again. "Third, do you think resigning and taking responsibility will erase what you've..."
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