You Didn't Stop It Either, Did You?

"Danzo!"

"How dare you?"

Furious roars filled the entire Hokage's office.

If a soundproof barrier had not been set up in advance, the residents of the entire Konoha district would probably have felt the Third Hoshikage's fury!

"Calm down, Hiruzen."

"What kind of Hokage do you look like right now?"

Utatane Koharu frowned slightly.

Aside from the Uchiha Clan, things were relatively peaceful at the moment, and nothing major should have happened recently.

Besides, even if an outside clan had attacked, the Shadow, as the highest authority of a village, had to maintain at least basic composure!

"Ask him!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth.

His nearly tangible fury was on the verge of turning into Fire Release and burning that old man with his eyes closed to ashes.

"What happened?"

"I did nothing wrong. Everything I did was for the village."

Before Utatane Koharu could finish asking, Shimura Danzō denied it immediately, his voice calm and level.

Such an explanation naturally could not satisfy Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even the two Councilors frowned.

Danzo's intentions had undoubtedly been for Konoha. They were certain of that without needing an explanation.

But what consequences the end of this matter would bring remained uncertain.

Presumably, that final outcome was why Hiruzen was angry.

"What exactly did you do, Danzo?"

Mitokado Homura could not help asking as well.

"He secretly sent people to collude with Iwagakure and sent two jonin to their deaths!"

Before the instigator could answer,

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had long been unable to suppress his fury, roared!

Colluding with an enemy nation!

Betraying comrades!

Those two phrases instantly surfaced in the minds of the two Councilors.

Either one was a crime deserving death a thousand times over!!

Utatane Koharu fell silent.

On this point, she could no longer speak for Danzo.

Colluding with an enemy nation could be understood.

After all, planting spies in one another's ranks was commonplace in the Ninja World, especially in contests between great nations.

Sometimes, intelligence that seemed precise and immensely profitable was likely flesh the opponent had painfully cut from their own body!

And that was precisely the sort of trick Danzo excelled at!

But betraying comrades—two powerful jonin at that!

Such losses were something no faction could possibly abandon with a clear conscience. And from Hiruzen's tone, it was clear that those two ninja belonged to the village, not the Uchiha Clan.

"Have you seen what the Uchiha are like now?"

"Have you heard the calls of ordinary residents for the Uchiha?"

"Or have you also been blinded by that brief victory in the east?"

Shimura Danzō answered with a question.

Yet every word struck at the heart of the issue.

That was right. The Uchiha had changed.

The Uchiha, who should have been drowning in the pain of losing Shisui, had reversed their previous decline because of one boy's actions!

With the strength of one clan, they had pushed into the heartland of the Land of Water. None could stop them wherever they passed, and they had even forced the Kaguya Clan to retreat.

One had to know, that was a clan that had carved the word battle into their bones!

There had only ever been fighting to the death for them. There had never been a second option.

But facing the Uchiha who had gone mad with slaughter, facing those eyes that could so easily cast people into Purgatory, they had feared, trembled, and retreated!

With their supreme combat power absent, no one could stop the Uchiha!

No.

There had once been someone.

But that clan no longer existed.

This achievement, which drove Konoha's ninja wild with pride, had also left that boy's name on Kirigakure's border.

Arata Uchiha!

Arata, the Blood Asura!

Alone, facing the pursuit of hundreds of Kirigakure elites, he had still managed to kill a jonin in return.

Not even Kakashi Hatake, famed for his cold-bloodedness, had accomplished such a feat!

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refute him.

The Uchiha had indeed been far too active lately, and the reason for that activity was merely a ten-year-old boy!

Therefore, when Danzo secretly issued the A-rank mission, he had not stopped him.

But what had happened to Kirigakure, the village known as the Bloody Mist?

Where were the Seven Swords?

Where was the Tail-less Tailed Beast?

Where was Mei Terumi, the dual Kekkei Genkai wielder once as famous as Kakashi?

How could they not even eliminate a child!

Instead, they had made the Uchiha's anger and strength even clearer, even raising that clan's morale in reverse!

How could Konoha's upper ranks not be alarmed by this?

"Hiruzen, Danzo did nothing wrong."

Utatane Koharu said in a low voice.

Although their conversation had not revealed every detail, the two Councilors were not fools. After working together for so many years, they could already guess the whole story.

Danzo had colluded with Iwagakure and betrayed his comrades because he wanted to use their hands to erase Arata Uchiha once more, leaving that clan with no hope at all!

However, the price was the loss of two jonin.

"If it is only two jonin, Konoha can still bear it."

Mitokado Homura said through clenched teeth.

Though he also knew what kind of tangible combat strength two jonin represented to Konoha in its current state.

And it was not merely combat strength, but also their abundant experience and their ability to lead newcomers.

"But it was Hayama Shirakumo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was filled with grief.

This was genuine sorrow.

Otherwise, he would not have revealed it before these three old companions who knew him so well.

At those words, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura both stiffened. They exchanged a glance and saw the shock in each other's eyes. Only Shimura Danzō remained unmoved, still silent.

Hayama Shirakumo.

An elite jonin of Konoha, one of the village's pillars.

After Hatake Sakumo's death, he had become Konoha's undisputed foremost swordsmanship master.

But what truly made him valuable was not his combat strength, but his temperament, unmatched by few, his experienced command ability, and the blazing fire of Konoha within him!

Every Genin and Chunin who had followed him had undergone qualitative improvements in every aspect, especially in team unity and their inheritance of the Will of Fire.

Of course, there was another crucial point.

Hayama Shirakumo was powerful and held considerable prestige among ninja, but he had never involved himself in political affairs!

That was why, when the two Councilors learned that he was the one who had been betrayed, they lost their initial certainty.

Such a price was truly too great!

"Necessary sacrifices are worth it."

"Besides, if it were not him, would that old man from Iwagakure make any worthwhile response?"

Shimura Danzō finally spoke.

He had always believed that Arata's survival was not because Kirigakure was incompetent, but because they had not taken him seriously!

A ten-year-old child—even if he came from the Uchiha—was sending nearly a hundred elites not enough?

More than enough!

But those fools had overlooked the Body Flicker Technique, and they had also overlooked how highly the Uchiha valued this clansman.

That was why they had been caught off guard by the counterattack.

So this time, he had chosen the more cautious Iwagakure, even offering an elite jonin and a jonin as bait to be buried alongside him!

"But you still cannot—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to say something more.

In truth, this old man who had held power for half his life clearly understood that Danzo was not merely trying to eliminate Arata. He also wanted to remove everyone who could contend with him for power. After all these years, he still had not let go of his obsession with Hiruzen's position!

Never mind that Hayama Shirakumo had no such intentions.

Hatake Sakumo had been the same.

But before the Hokage could finish, Danzo's voice followed.

"You didn't stop it either, did you?" His gaze was full of disdain.