Hokage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

He could not react, for even now he had yet to grasp how things had developed to this point, or who had directed it all.

What he found most inconceivable was that Aburame Tatsuma had actually rebelled!

His very first thought was that the entire Aburame Clan was rebelling and trying to drag him down with them!

But a moment's reflection told him that was impossible.

If one were to say the powerful Hyuga Clan wanted to rebel, that might hold some water, but the Aburame Clan? Compared to the total strength of the Leaf Village, their clan's power was far too meager; they simply lacked the capital to revolt.

Unless they had defected to Sunagakure, intending to act as guides for an invasion.

But that made no sense either; Sunagakure was so impoverished, what could they possibly hope to gain from them?

Was the rice in the Leaf Village not fragrant enough?

Why would they insist on running off to a desolate wasteland to eat sand?

Moreover, if that were truly the case, they would not have left themselves without a retreat; the elderly, women, and children of the clan should have been prepared, ready to evacuate to Sunagakure at the first sign of trouble.

Yet, in reality, the Aburame Clan had shown no reaction at all, clearly indicating this was not a clan-wide action.

That meant it could only be the personal act of Aburame Tatsuma, which left Danzo even more baffled.

Being someone he relied upon heavily, he was naturally trusted; in the matter of judging character, he could not possibly have been wrong.

Furthermore, this man had the Cursed Tongue Seal he himself had planted; if he wanted him dead, it would take mere seconds. He had no reason to gamble with his own life.

Yet, an unreasonable thing had happened, catching him completely off guard.

If even the Cursed Tongue Seal could not be trusted, who else was there to believe?

So, who exactly was using Tatsuma to manipulate all of this?

To strike with such precision at his vital points the moment it began—such sharp methods were not something an ordinary person could achieve.

Thus, he wondered what goal the person pulling the strings behind the scenes intended to achieve.

Judging by the actions taken, the first step had been to drag his Root organization into this; at the very least, he had never issued such an order.

The crux of the matter was that while Tatsuma was only an officer of Root, he was deeply valued, and the subordinates under his command accounted for one-third of the entire organization.

He feared that before launching this, Tatsuma had told his subordinates that this was his own intent; Danzo now had no way to clear his name.

What was even more infuriating was that, having been by his side and influenced by his ways, Tatsuma had learned many underhanded tricks, even knowing how to launch a war of public opinion, spreading all sorts of rumors in his name, making it look as if he, Danzo, were about to revolt.

Damn it, even if I wanted to revolt, I wouldn't choose this time, nor would I ever collude with Sunagakure!

Bah, and is that even a revolt? That is called purging the wicked and cleansing the side of the ruler!

I, Danzo, love the Leaf Village deeply!

There must be some critical intelligence he was unaware of; perhaps it had been intercepted by Tatsuma...

At this moment, the most logical thing for Danzo to do was undoubtedly to dispatch his other subordinates to quickly extinguish this rebellious force led by Tatsuma, and show Hiruzen that he had no intention of rebelling.

But just as he thought to do so, he remembered something, and could only heave a deep sigh, sinking powerlessly back into his seat.

He still remembered that a month ago, Hiruzen had sought him out, but had also mobilized the Nara Clan's Shadow Unit; clearly, he had already harbored suspicions.

Now that Root had rebelled, it would likely only solidify the belief that he truly intended to revolt.

Even if he began to correct his "mistakes" now, would Hiruzen still believe him?

Furthermore, the rumors had already spread; at this point, anyone with a shred of intelligence would assume he, Danzo, wanted to revolt. Could he truly ever be cleared of suspicion?

Only when the weapon of rumor was turned against him did he realize how terrifying it was, leaving him almost completely besieged and unable to defend himself.

So this was what it felt like to be framed?

He suddenly understood a little.

Someone had once told him that manipulating public opinion was a boomerang; while it killed the enemy, one day it would inevitably wound oneself.

He had not cared before, but now he realized that what that person said indeed held some truth.

And just as Danzo was pacing in anxiety, the latest news reached him: Hiruzen, having returned to the Hokage Building, had fallen into a trap; the building had been bombed, though Hiruzen had taken precautions in advance and suffered only minor injuries.

After escaping the danger, Hiruzen clearly stated that he wished to see him, and was willing to give him one final chance to explain.

Explain?

What was there to explain?

It wasn't me who did it!

Even if I cleared your suspicions of me, would others not suspect me?

When the major ninja clans, having suffered heavy losses, all turned against me, could you, Hiruzen, still shoulder the pressure for me again?

Perhaps I should just go all the way, follow through with Aburame Tatsuma's plan; there might even be a sliver of a chance for success!

Of course, this thought was merely a fleeting one; that would only bring division to the Leaf Village, and that was absolutely not the result he wanted.

What he wanted most was not even the position of Hokage, but to prove to others that he was more suited to be Hokage than Hiruzen.

He simply refused to lose to Hiruzen!

The only way to break this deadlock was...

Danzo considered a method to reverse his current predicament, yet he hesitated, for he could not guarantee the probability of its success.

After all, even he could not be certain if a genjutsu like Kotoamatsukami would be effective against a Kage-level powerhouse, as those at such a level possessed formidable resistance to illusions.

Yes, Danzo intended to meet Hiruzen in person, not to persuade him, but to cast Kotoamatsukami upon him.

In this way, he could manipulate Hiruzen from the shadows and thereby escape this disaster.

Old friend...

Forgive me, but I have no choice now; I must do this!

Stepping out of his office, he found his subordinates standing outside the door, silently awaiting his orders.

"Aburame Tatsuma has betrayed me; this rebellion was not of my doing."

"Root is currently facing issues, but there is no need for outsiders to intervene; we shall complete the purification ourselves."

"All of you, depart at once. Eliminate the rebels led by Aburame Tatsuma and all enemies causing chaos in Konoha until the rebellion is quelled!"

"Remember, this operation is not to purge dissenters, but to protect Konoha. Do not expand the scope!"

Having spoken, all his subordinates vanished before him in unison to begin their mission.

Root never deigned to explain anything; they would prove everything through their actions.

Walking along the winding corridor, Danzo leaned on his cane and ascended step by step. He was about to begin a new high-stakes gamble, and this time, he was placing his own life on the table.

"Lord Kazekage, with this, our cooperation is complete."

In a small grove outside Konoha, dozens of giant snakes emerged from holes in the ground, then opened their maws in unison to spit out the Sunagakure ninja they had been carrying—there were over a hundred of them.

To bypass Konoha's patrols and hide the entry of this group, the Kazekage had finally agreed to the conditions proposed by Orochimaru.

And the other party had proven trustworthy, arriving at the agreed-upon location right on time.

"Orochimaru, does your Sound Village not intend to get involved?" The Kazekage was still somewhat unwilling to let it go.

"My lord, you jest. We are merely a small ninja village; how much impact could we possibly have on the grand scheme?" Orochimaru chuckled lightly.

The Kazekage nodded, acknowledging the point.

Indeed, the Land of Fields was only a small nation; it was impressive enough that they had managed to scrape together a ninja village. How could one expect them to possess any significant combat power?

Thus, it was just talk; if it didn't work out, so be it.

Taking a scroll from the Kazekage's hand, Orochimaru unfurled it to see the four large characters for 'One's Own Life Reincarnation' written upon it.

It was indeed the item he desired, and so he departed the area, fully satisfied.

Watching Orochimaru leave, the Kazekage snorted coldly. This fellow would betray his own birth village for a pittance; if he were a ninja of Sunagakure, he would have been executed long ago!

Because of Hiruzen's misplaced mercy, he had let a snake return to the forest, and now it had brewed such a catastrophe.

"Move out! Create as much chaos and destruction in Konoha as possible. It would be best if they couldn't recover for years!"

Yes, beyond the plan to abduct the Feudal Lord of Fire, he had another objective: to eliminate Konoha's military potential as much as possible, ideally reducing it to a level that would tempt other great nations.

In this way, Konoha would be too preoccupied with the other great powers eyeing them like tigers to focus on anything else, and his Sunagakure could take the opportunity to develop and make up for the deficits of the past decade.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The elite troops of Sunagakure leaped onto the outer walls of Konoha, looking down at the prosperous and beautiful village with eyes filled with bloodthirsty intent.

The debt for the Third Kazekage would be repaid today!

Just then, a white-haired man wearing wooden sandals walked toward them in a leisurely manner, yawning as he walked, showing not a hint of tension.

Very well, the people of Konoha have truly grown accustomed to days of peace. Then, the bloodbath of Konoha shall begin with you!

"I never expected it to be you, Jonin Baki." Kakashi suddenly appeared before the Feudal Lord of Fire and seized Baki's wrist.

The Feudal Lord, having escaped a brush with death, scrambled away from this terrifying Sunagakure ninja, and the others, as if jolted awake, began to flee in the direction away from Konoha, showing no sign of the exhaustion they had complained about earlier.

Too terrifying!

Was a ninja truly such a frightening existence?

At this moment, Naruto and Sakura also appeared on either side of Baki, looking particularly nervous.

Kakashi had just said this man was a Jonin!

Images of Zabuza flashed through their minds; they had almost come to use him as the standard unit of measurement for a Jonin's combat power.

"The Copy Ninja, Kakashi? I didn't expect you to appear here..." Baki sighed; it seemed his mission would be difficult to complete.

He reached into his robe, pulled out a cylindrical object, removed the cap, and a signal flare was immediately launched high into the sky.

Presumably, that lord would receive his message and take remedial measures.

At this moment, the young Leaf Village ninjas who had originally been protecting the team gathered around. Their eyes were filled with awe toward Baki, for it was this very man who had just beaten them to a pulp, leaving them unable to protect their escort target.

They had finally witnessed the overwhelming suppression a Jonin could exert over Genin.

Fortunately, Kakashi had appeared in time to prevent the worst from happening, and now they had a backbone to rely on.

"Those assigned to the escort, continue your mission!" Kakashi glanced at them and issued the order.

"Yes!" Without asking for reasons, as professional ninjas, obeying the orders of a superior was their duty; they immediately turned and chased after the fleeing crowd.

"Sakura and Naruto, go help Sasuke and the others. This is not a battlefield for you."

"Understood!" The two turned and left. Having experienced that previous mission, they knew that battles between Jonin were not something they could easily interfere with; they would only become a burden rather than an asset.

"A wise choice. They are the seeds of Leaf Village's future prosperity. Protecting them is far more important than letting a major enemy like me go." Baki grinned, revealing a terrifying smile.

"Who said anything about letting you go? I will finish you off right here!" Kakashi adjusted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan.

"Heh heh, what a pity. Your two... no, three students are all going to die. It was you who sent them into hell with your own hands." Baki let out a series of cold laughs and then assumed a combat stance.

Even if the situation developed into the worst-case scenario and Gaara lost control, having so many Leaf Village elites as company in death wouldn't be a loss...

For the sake of the village, anyone could be sacrificed!

Humming and Chidori's Resonance

Half an hour had already passed. Keiichi stood there panting, staring at the expressionless Gaara, a sense of powerlessness rising within him.

When this guy's sand hardened, it was rock-solid; when it softened, it was as fluid as water. This level of control made every one of his moves lethal, forcing Keiichi to dodge blindly, not daring to turn back and counterattack.

Moreover, he couldn't counterattack even if he wanted to; the closer he got to Gaara, the greater the force of the opponent's retaliation. If he forced his way in, he might not even be able to get back out.

If it weren't for the Uzumaki Bloodline constantly taking effect, granting him stamina far beyond that of an ordinary person, he would have collapsed long ago.

Sasuke was a typical example of a fighter lacking stamina, but fortunately, he and Neji were taking turns attacking, which managed to keep Gaara occupied and prevented him from focusing entirely on dealing with Keiichi.