The Arrogant Danzo

Danzo slowly raised his eyelids, fixing Ye Fan with a fierce glare. His aura turned icy in an instant.

Killing intent filled the entire Hokage's Office, making everyone feel deeply uncomfortable.

Even the Land of Fire's marginalized representative felt the intense pressure. He couldn't imagine what kind of pressure Ye Fan, at the center of the maelstrom, was facing.

After giving Ye Fan a long, hard look, Danzo slowly reined in the Chakra that had spilled out with his anger. The killing intent in the Hokage's Office vanished with it.

"Third Hokage, I'm leaving. Now that I've been dismissed, there's no point in staying here any longer."

For a moment, Danzo had nearly lost control and attacked, but in the end, he held back.

Ye Fan had displayed undeniable Kage Level strength, and now Jiraiya was at his side as well. A fight would put Danzo at a serious disadvantage.

One on one, Danzo feared neither of them. But facing both at once would put him under far greater pressure.

Danzo had considered many possibilities. If he really fought them, he would inevitably suffer severe losses.

Seeing Danzo about to leave, the Third Hokage grew flustered and helpless.

Things had already come to this. If he let Danzo walk away, it would be like releasing a tiger into the mountains, inviting disaster.

But stopping Danzo would inevitably lead to a serious confrontation.

Now that he knew Danzo's true strength, the situation had become exceptionally tricky.

If they actually fought, he had no confidence he could keep Danzo here.

"Third Hokage!" Nara Shikaku called out, watching Danzo's retreating figure.

He signaled to the Third Hokage that they absolutely couldn't let Danzo leave. If they did, all of Konoha would be thrown into turmoil!

The Third Hokage's brows knitted together. His indecisive nature was plain to see, and he couldn't bring himself to make a decision.

Nara Shikaku urged him again, pointing out that Jiraiya and Ye Fan were present. No matter how powerful Danzo was, he couldn't cause much trouble.

But the Third Hokage had far too much on his mind. The more he considered, the more clouded his judgment became, and he still couldn't make up his mind.

Danzo had almost reached the door. One more step and he would be out of sight, yet the Third Hokage still hadn't made a decision.

Everyone present was on tenterhooks.

They all knew that if Danzo left, he would recruit allies and forcibly seize the Hokage's position.

And yet, they couldn't stop him.

As they watched Danzo about to step out the door, despair filled their hearts.

What it meant for him to cross that threshold was obvious.

"Shimura Danzo, I don't think you can leave just yet."

Just as the Konoha officials were giving in to despair, Ye Fan's voice rang in their ears, like a beam of light forcing its way into the endless darkness.

Ye Fan had thought that, with Jiraiya present, he should at least show the Third Hokage some respect and not steal his thunder. He'd wait for the Third Hokage to say those words.

But waiting had nearly let Danzo walk right out. From this incident, Ye Fan had gained a fairly clear understanding of the Third Hokage's true nature.

With someone so indecisive, always worrying about what lay ahead and behind, serving as Hokage, it was no wonder the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out!

Danzo and the two senior advisors were all troublemakers. With those three stirring things up, Ye Fan could imagine all sorts of things happening.

"Shimura Danzo, your actions give me reason to suspect that you've become a serious threat to Konoha's peace."

"Now, on behalf of Konoha, I formally place you under arrest!"

As he spoke, Jiraiya struck decisively, using the Summoning Technique to call forth the stomach of the Great Toad of Mount Myōboku's Iwagama, sealing off the entire Hokage's Office.

In an instant, red walls of flesh enclosed the entire office. The area around Danzo was especially corrosive.

Seeing this, Nara Shikaku and the Land of Fire's representative breathed a sigh of relief.

They couldn't accept simply watching Danzo walk away.

The Third Hokage watched the scene unfold and passively accepted the outcome.

Ye Fan glanced at Jiraiya, who had acted decisively without the slightest hesitation, and thought, In this era, someone like Jiraiya would actually make a better Hokage.

If you're too indecisive, people will only think you're easy to bully. Sometimes, taking a firmer stance is better.

In truth, Danzo had been right about one thing: Konoha was indeed in a difficult position and needed a powerful Hokage to lead it.

The situation had come to this because the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out.

After the Uchiha Clan fell, Konoha Village lost a great many powerful shinobi. Its standing among the great nations had plummeted from first place to last.

"Jiraiya, since when did you get to make decisions for Konoha? The Hokage hasn't even spoken, and you're already giving orders?"

Danzo stood inside the Toad Mouth Binding Technique, speaking calmly, as if he didn't take the barrier seriously at all.

"Danzo, Jiraiya speaks for me. Stay here for now. Once the matter has been investigated, I'll give you an answer."

With the matter beyond any possibility of turning back, the Third Hokage spoke up.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, what crime have I committed? Everything I've done has been for the sake of Konoha's peace!"

By now, Danzo seemed to have completely forgotten that when Sunagakure and Kusagakure invaded, he'd done nothing but watch porn. He even felt a little aggrieved.

"It's not up to you to decide what crimes you've committed. Someone else will determine that."

Jiraiya brought his hands together and formed seals to control the Toad Mouth Binding Technique.

The instant he completed the seals, the walls of flesh around Danzo began to writhe, surging toward him with overwhelming force.

Danzo realized the danger and hurriedly dodged, drawing a kunai to fend them off.

"Danzo, don't bother. You won't escape."

The highly corrosive walls of flesh rushed toward Danzo, and he could feel their power.

He knew he absolutely couldn't let those walls grab him. If they did, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I have to get out of here first. Fighting in this place puts me at too much of a disadvantage!"

Danzo glanced around. Walls of flesh surrounded him on every side, leaving him nowhere to dodge.

After a backflip to avoid several strikes from the walls, Danzo quickly formed hand seals. "Wind Style: Shuriken!"

A dozen shuriken infused with Wind Style Chakra shot toward one of the walls of flesh.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

All a dozen shuriken struck the same spot.

Infused with Wind Style Chakra, the shuriken were incredibly sharp. In an instant, they shredded part of the wall of flesh and tore a hole through it.

Watching the hole in the wall grow larger, Danzo laughed. "Jiraiya, your barrier-type jutsu is nothing special."

Instead of panicking, Jiraiya merely curled his lips into a smile.