Shimura Danzō: It's Over!

Buzz—!

A massive swarm of Kikaichū rose into the air and surged toward the Root shinobi holding the Aburame children captive.

Shibi Aburame, a man with an almost nonexistent presence but tremendous strength, was the first to act!

He had been unhappy with Shimura Danzō for forcibly taking children from his clan, so he had quietly followed them. But when he saw the children being treated so roughly, his anger nearly exploded.

When Yamanaka Chujiu exposed Shimura Danzō for falsely claiming to act on the Hokage's orders, Shibi Aburame could no longer hold back. He launched an attack.

Shibi Aburame was one of Konoha's strongest jonin and one of the few shinobi who had maintained an undefeated record to this day.

He attacked first because he was certain that striking the Root shinobi now wouldn't make the Third Hokage feel betrayed.

On the contrary, as long as he didn't attack Shimura Danzō directly, the Third Hokage wouldn't be angry, no matter how many Root shinobi he killed. He would trust the Aburame Clan even more.

After all, Shimura Danzō had surely fabricated the Hokage's orders, using Hiruzen Sarutobi's name to recruit people and seize benefits for Root.

So Danzō got all the benefits, while the Third Hokage took the blame.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi's famously mild temper couldn't tolerate that.

Once Shibi Aburame launched his decisive attack, Yamanaka Inoichi reacted quickly as well. He directed his clansmen to surround the Root shinobi, got all the children safely behind them, and stepped directly in front of Shimura Danzō.

His expression stern, he demanded, "Elder Danzō, show me the Hokage's written order!"

Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes. "Inoichi, you have no right to demand that I show you the order!"

"I do!" Yamanaka Inoichi shouted. "I'm the head of Konoha's Intelligence Department, and I'm also an operative in the Surveillance Department!"

"One of my duties is to verify the Hokage's orders and supervise their execution!"

"Elder Shimura Danzō, show me the Hokage's order! Or release all the children immediately and leave!"

"Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to send an emergency alert to the Anbu."

Shimura Danzō wasn't good at thinking on his feet. Ever since Yamanaka Chujiu had jumped out and challenged him, his mind had been in a fog.

It was just like when he had joined forces with Hanzo to attack Akatsuki. The sudden, unexpected appearance of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had left Shimura Danzō completely at a loss.

In the end, he had instinctively abandoned his subordinates and Hanzo and fled straight back to Konoha.

That just went to show that Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi really were old classmates and inseparable confidants. They both had the same instinct to retreat whenever trouble arose.

The situation before him was spiraling out of control. Shimura Danzō instinctively started looking for a way out and snapped, "Yamanaka Inoichi, you're being far too rude!"

"I'll tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that your Yamanaka Clan refuses to obey his orders and won't let your clansmen fight for Konoha!"

Yamanaka Inoichi answered calmly, "Elder Shimura Danzō, show me the Hokage's order first. Then you can accuse me of that."

"If you can't produce it, then you're the one who falsely claimed to speak for the Hokage. You're the one overstepping the Hokage's authority!"

Shimura Danzō knew he couldn't intimidate Yamanaka Inoichi, so he made up his mind to retreat. As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't catch him red-handed, he could always find a way to talk his way out of it.

He flung his sleeve in feigned anger. "Nonsense! I'm the Hokage's advisor and a Konoha elder. Everything I do is for Konoha!"

"A mere head of Intelligence has no right to question me!"

"Yamanaka Inoichi, just wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi to call you to account!"

"Root, we're leaving!"

Shimura Danzō had taken seven or eight steps when he realized something was wrong. The Root shinobi he'd brought with him hadn't followed.

Looking closer, he saw that they had all been restrained by different jutsu.

The Nara Clan's Shadow Possession Jutsu, the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu, and the Aburame Clan's Insect Control Jutsu had all deprived the Root shinobi of their ability to move in different ways.

Shimura Danzō roared, "You dare attack Konoha shinobi? Are you trying to betray the village?"

As the white smoke cleared, Shikaku Nara appeared on the scene, having used the Body Flicker Jutsu. He said lazily, "Elder Shimura Danzō, that's a serious accusation."

"We're carrying out the Hokage's orders—the orders of Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage!"

Before he'd finished speaking, a tall, burly figure appeared. It was Torifu Akimichi, who had stood his ground against the Nine-Tails ten days earlier.

The shinobi standing beside Torifu Akimichi wore a hat and had a grim expression. It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Seeing the chaotic scene—the Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Aburame, his most important supporters, facing off against Root, while Shimura Danzō stood against three clan heads—and more than twenty Yamanaka and Aburame children sobbing, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if his head were about to split.

Every last one of them is on my side!

No matter who won or lost, Hiruzen Sarutobi would suffer for it. Were they trying to undermine him?

Then he thought of how he'd swallowed his pride and gone to beg Uchiha Fugaku for support, while Shimura Danzō was busy poaching his own people.

That only made Hiruzen Sarutobi angrier!

The moment Shimura Danzō saw his old classmate, he knew things were bad!

And with Hiruzen Sarutobi having been summoned by Torifu Akimichi, things were even worse.

Shimura Danzō couldn't twist the facts to win an argument with Torifu Akimichi, couldn't use his status to pressure him, and couldn't even get away with making a scene.

Torifu Akimichi was their old classmate. He had voluntarily withdrawn from the center of power years ago and lived quietly at home, only stepping forward at crucial moments.

Not long ago, he had fought fiercely to protect Konoha and hadn't taken a single step back.

Torifu Akimichi's selflessness and bravery earned him far more of Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust than Shimura Danzō ever could.

Suppressing his anger, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked gravely, "What exactly is going on?"

Shimura Danzō's eyes flashed. He was about to ignore Torifu Akimichi and accuse Yamanaka Inoichi first, hoping to get the upper hand by blaming him before he could speak.

At that instant, Yamanaka Chujiu accurately sensed what he was thinking.

A thread of malice wound around him silently, pierced his mental defenses in an instant, and exerted a slight influence over him.

[Let's see whether Hiruzen will believe Ino-Shika-Cho!]

That really was Shimura Danzō's own thought, normally buried beneath his reason.

Under Yamanaka Chujiu's influence, the ill-timed thought swelled, replacing his original plan to muddy the waters and altering the judgment of the Darkness of the Shinobi.

The moment he finished controlling Danzō's mind, Yamanaka Chujiu didn't wait for Shikaku Nara or Yamanaka Inoichi to speak. He stepped forward himself, drawing Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention.

His older brother, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Shikaku Nara were still quite young, but he knew they both bore the weight of their clans. Inevitably, they tended to overthink and hesitate.

Those were admirable qualities in clan heads, but in this critical moment, he couldn't count on either of them to react in time.

So Yamanaka Chujiu stepped forward and burst into loud sobs. "Lord Third Hokage!"