Danzo Shimura's Shattered Convictions

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu tried to reason with him, but Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed not to hear them. His gaze remained fixed on Shimura Danzō's face.

Seeing him still trying to deny everything and shift all responsibility away, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly raised his pipe and took a deep drag. White smoke drifted upward, blurring the disappointment churning in his eyes.

"You truly... haven't changed at all, Danzo."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, then... aimed directly at the most vulnerable scar buried deep within Shimura Danzō's heart—the one he was least willing to touch.

"Just like back then... when Teacher needed someone to step forward alone and face the Kinkaku and Ginkaku Force's pursuit, buying the others a chance to survive."

"Whenever someone needs to step up, bear the burden, or even sacrifice themselves, you... never... dare to be the first... to stand forward!"

The moment those words fell—

"Bang!"

Shimura Danzō jolted as if struck by lightning. His entire body shook violently, and his cane slipped from his hand, smashing against the floor.

His single eye instantly turned bloodshot, terrifying veins filling it as his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Back then... back then..."

A hoarse, rasping growl escaped Shimura Danzō's throat, and his face turned white as paper.

That memory, long buried and regarded by him as the greatest shame and regret of his life, had been ruthlessly torn from the deepest recesses of his soul by Sarutobi Hiruzen and exposed beneath the open sky!

That moment of hesitation, that moment of retreat, had caused Hiruzen to be named Hokage, while he himself could only live forever in the shadows, trapped in endless regret of if only I had...!

It was the thorn that would forever remain in his heart, the root of all his obsession and madness!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's seemingly casual words were more lethal than any rebuke, completely shattering every one of his psychological defenses.

"Shut up!! Hiruzen!! Shut up!!!"

Shimura Danzō abruptly raised his head and roared out of control, his voice filled with the frantic fury of having his deepest wound exposed.

"Yes! I did it! So what?!"

He howled his admission, his chest heaving violently and his face twisted in fury.

This sudden development left Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu staring in stunned disbelief.

They looked at the nearly crazed Danzo, then at Sarutobi Hiruzen's face, hard and cold as iron. The words of persuasion at their lips were forcibly swallowed back down, and in the end, they could only shake their heads helplessly.

After decades together, they understood Danzo all too well—his obsessions, his ambitions, and even more so, the regret and resentment that had followed him throughout his life because of that choice.

And because they understood, they knew just how fatal Sarutobi Hiruzen's casual words had been to Shimura Danzō.

Things had come to this, so there was nothing left to do but let it unfold!

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the completely unhinged Shimura Danzō, disappointment filling his eyes.

That gaze once again pierced deeply into Shimura Danzō's heart, twisted by regret and obsession.

"Everything I've done was for Konoha!"

Shimura Danzō roared, trying to conceal the turmoil and wavering in his heart with sheer volume.

"Look at that Tejima Shinichi! Is that the strength a normal Genin should possess?! That monstrous Chakra, those endless high-level ninjutsu! Shouldn't such uncontrollable power be guided... controlled?!"

He took a sharp step forward and threw out what he believed to be his most convincing trump card.

"Besides, I told you long ago! He possesses the Senju Bloodline, has immense Chakra and a powerful physique. He is a naturally perfect Jinchuriki vessel! Give him the backup plan for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and if that unstable factor, Uzumaki Naruto, ever loses control, we can immediately transfer the Tailed Beast and ensure the absolute stability of the village's ultimate military power! Isn't that the most responsible course of action for the village?!"

"But what about you?! You rejected my proposal time and again! You brushed me off with that weak Will of Fire of yours! Saying we should respect the children's futures! Letting such power grow wildly in the sunlight is the greatest irresponsibility toward the village! Hand him over to me. Let Root guide him, control him, and he will ultimately become Konoha's strongest and most reliable weapon! What's wrong with that?!"

"Weapon?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's suppressed fury finally erupted completely. He stepped forward as well, refusing to yield as he stared Danzo directly in the eyes, his gaze scorching.

"You keep saying it's for Konoha, but all you have ever seen are not living people, but 'weapons' and 'vessels' for you to manipulate as you please!"

He pointed at Danzo, every word ringing like a hammer strike.

"Tejima Shinichi is a Konoha ninja with parents, companions, his own will, and his own future! He is not some 'backup plan' for you to define as you please! Much less a cold tool for you to realize that dark ideology of rule!"

"Branding the village's children as 'vessels' before they can even bloom, strangling every possibility they possess and dragging them into eternal darkness—is this what you call 'for Konoha'?! Danzo, your madness and obsession have long made you forget the original purpose of protection! Your so-called Root does not draw nourishment to nurture the earth. It draws poison that corrodes the village's future!"

"Hiruzen!!!"

Danzo let out a beast-like growl. Chakra surged uncontrollably around him, and a terrifying killing intent spread through the room.

"You don't understand at all! Without absolute control and power, it is impossible to take even a single step in the Ninja World! Your naive ideas will destroy Konoha sooner or later!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shot back directly.

"What will truly destroy Konoha is a beast like you, blinded by power and darkness!"

In an instant, their argument reached a fever pitch. Decades of ideological conflict erupted without restraint, their fierce words colliding throughout the meeting room until Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu turned pale, completely unable to intervene.

Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the fury and pain churning within him.

Words were meaningless now. In that case... it was time to make a final break!

"Your madness ends here, Danzo!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted, drowning out Danzo's roar.

"The Root under your command has long since strayed from the purpose for which it was created. It is no longer Konoha's shadowy guardian, but a malignant tumor breeding corruption and destroying the future."

At last, amid Danzo's suddenly constricting pupils and Homura and Koharu's undisguised shock, Sarutobi Hiruzen announced with absolute finality.

"Now, in the name of the Third Hokage, I order this: effective immediately, Root's independent organization shall be disbanded! All personnel lists, equipment, and records are to be transferred to the Anbu within twenty-four hours! After review, all members will be incorporated into the Anbu under unified command!"

As he spoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze stabbed directly into Shimura Danzō's pale face.

"Shimura Danzō, you are stripped of your authority as an elder advisor! From this moment onward, you are forbidden from interfering in any village affairs in any form!"

This was no longer merely a stripping of power. It was complete exile!

"Hiruzen!!! You dare—!!!"

Shimura Danzō let out a hoarse roar. Rage consumed his eyes as Chakra surged wildly around him, nearly spiraling out of control!

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also rose to their feet in shock.

"Hiruzen! You cannot!"

"Such severe punishment may cause a grave upheaval!"

"My decision is final!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not yield in the slightest. Under Shimura Danzō's murderous gaze, he spoke five words that pierced straight through his heart.

"I... am the Hokage!"

As those words fell, the office sank into deathly silence.

The Chakra and killing intent surging around Shimura Danzō receded, and he fell directly into a dazed stupor.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu slumped back into their seats.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the frozen scene before him and said nothing more.

He reached out, picked up the conical hat that had been resting on the desk—the symbol of the Hokage's authority—and placed it on his head. Its broad brim cast a shadow that concealed his eyes.

Without giving the three of them another glance, he turned and strode toward the meeting room door.

"Creak—"

The door opened.

The next moment—

"Bang!"

The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him without mercy, its dull boom echoing through the silent room.

That dull boom also struck fiercely against Shimura Danzō's chest.

His entire body jolted as though awakened from a nightmare. His vacant single eye trembled violently, focus returning to it before it was instantly consumed by boundless humiliation and fury.