Remember to Knock! (Please Keep Reading!)

After Sarutobi Hiruzen finished dealing with the loose ends,

a figure with long hair and a red-and-white fan-patterned robe appeared.

"Lord Third..."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a complicated expression, then glanced at Danzo's corpse with disgust.

He, too, found it hard to understand the Third Hokage, who had always been so mild-mannered.

The day before, Sarutobi Hiruzen had found him and asked him to deploy the Uchiha Clan around the Hokage Building.

He had also told him about Danzo's plan to assassinate him.

Uchiha Fugaku still clearly remembered how Sarutobi Hiruzen had warned him with a meaningful look:

If Danzo escaped, he had to stop him with all his might. Otherwise, he would bear the consequences.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had emphasized the words "all his might," as if hinting at something.

For a moment, the Uchiha Clan Head had felt a chill run down his spine, as if the Third Hokage had seen through the secret he was hiding.

Fortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen had just displayed astonishing strength. He had killed Danzo in only a few moves, leaving Uchiha Fugaku no chance to act.

Otherwise, Uchiha Fugaku truly didn't know whether he would have had to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Fugaku."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded when he saw him arrive.

"Though your preparations weren't needed..."

"That's all right. My promise from yesterday still stands!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't really expected much from Uchiha Fugaku. He didn't believe that old dog Danzo could escape him.

Still, to be safe, Sarutobi Hiruzen had brought in Konoha's strongest fighter after himself.

Uchiha Fugaku, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Really, Lord Third?!"

Uchiha Fugaku hadn't expected anything, but when he heard Sarutobi Hiruzen say that, he couldn't help getting excited.

The day before, Sarutobi Hiruzen had promised that if Fugaku could stop and kill Danzo,

he would free the Uchiha from the constraints of the Capital Guard, allowing them to take missions freely and even join the upper ranks of the Anbu.

For the Uchiha, beset by conflicts both within and outside the clan, this was undoubtedly good news.

"The Hokage doesn't go back on his word."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled faintly.

This had been his plan for the Uchiha all along. Having experienced the story, he wasn't about to pass up such a powerful ally.

The appearance of three generations of Mangekyō users in a row could also resolve Konoha's current shortage of capable young shinobi.

"Konoha will be very different from now on."

Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Uchiha Fugaku on the shoulder, looking kind and familiar.

"As the Uchiha Clan Head, you need to be ready."

Uchiha Fugaku felt uncomfortable with Sarutobi Hiruzen acting this way.

The Third Hokage had always been kind, but he had never been this close to the Uchiha.

Truthfully, Sarutobi Hiruzen neither approved of nor liked Uchiha Fugaku.

In his eyes, Fugaku's weakness and wavering convictions were flaws in a clan head.

But from Sarutobi Hiruzen's own perspective, there was no one more suited to lead the Uchiha Clan.

All Sarutobi Hiruzen had to do was offer Uchiha Fugaku a small favor, and Fugaku would loyally do as he was asked, without holding anything back.

Before long, news that Danzo had failed to assassinate the Third Hokage and had died on the spot spread throughout Konoha.

The various clans and the Konoha High Command immediately sensed something was amiss.

In a way, Danzo represented the Third Hokage's old approach to handling matters.

As long as something didn't cross the line, the Third Hokage would tolerate it.

But Danzo's death clearly showed that Sarutobi Hiruzen's attitude had changed. He had become like the Ninja Hero of old—or perhaps even more ruthless.

He had even left Danzo's corpse hanging at the village entrance. That was something the old Third Hokage would never have done.

The clan heads and senior officials were unsettled, but they tacitly kept quiet, waiting for someone else to speak up first.

"Enma!"

"Why didn't you tell us about Danzo first?!"

That someone had finally arrived. He was right here in the Hokage Office.

As soon as Sarutobi Hiruzen entered the office, he was confronted.

Mitokado Homura's voice rang through the room, and he spoke as if he himself were the Hokage.

"Shouldn't we have discussed Danzo's matter before making a decision?!"

Mitokado Homura demanded of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"So what?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brow, anger flaring inside him. Even the good mood he'd had after killing that old dog Danzo was gone.

It seemed like every kind of creature could just waltz into his Hokage Office.

"So you wanted to wait until Danzo killed me!"

"Then sit in this seat and let you question me just the same?!"

"Why didn't I consult with you, you old bastard, about his attempt to assassinate the Hokage and seize power?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened. A tangible pressure surged from him, cracking the floor tiles and threatening to blow the roof off the Hokage Office.

The office had yet to be repaired, and the traces of Danzo's intrusion were still visible.

In an instant, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu felt a chill. They looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen's frenzied, murderous expression.

Only then did they remember that just moments ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen had beaten a fellow elder to death, blow after blow, with a staff.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu suddenly felt that their longtime friend and colleague had become a complete stranger.

"But..."

"But you shouldn't have put Danzo's corpse on public display in front of the villagers."

Mitokado Homura's voice had grown much quieter, but he was still arguing.

What Danzo had done was vile and shameful, sure, but the Konoha High Command shouldn't be stripped of every last scrap of dignity.

"What's the crime for assassinating the Hokage?!"

"And what's the crime for secretly researching First Hokage Cells and transplanting a fellow villager's Sharingan?!"

"You can't make those crimes public?!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was cold as ice.

"Or did you take part in those crimes too?!"

"Are you trying to cover them up?!"

Mitokado Homura fell completely silent. It wasn't because Sarutobi Hiruzen had the stronger argument, but because his resolve was firm and he was radiating killing intent.

He no longer seemed like the steady, seasoned Third Hokage. He seemed more like an impulsive, irritable Raikage.

Mitokado Homura had fought on the battlefield too. He knew that if he kept talking, he might be the next one hanging at the village entrance.

The room fell silent. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sat as quietly as mice.

They felt the tangible pressure coming from Sarutobi Hiruzen and were certain his body could wield the Third Hokage's full power.

Compared to Danzo, their frailer, more decrepit bodies wouldn't last two strikes against the Adamantine Staff.

"Get out..."

Seeing that they had backed down, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want to look at the two old bastards any longer. He waved them away.

"Remember..."

"Next time you come to the Hokage Office, knock!"