Danzo, I'm the True Hokage!

"Lord Danzo, Lord Hokage wants to see you."

At the Root Base, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just returned and hadn't even had time to sit down when he heard the report from one of his subordinates.

A flash of anger crossed Hiruzen Sarutobi's face. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

That bastard Danzo had gone way too far!

"Where is he?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a low voice.

"Right outside the base."

Dissatisfaction flickered in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, but he quickly reined in his temper and calmly said, "Bring him here."

"Yes!"

The Root shinobi replied, then backed out of the room.

A few minutes later, Danzo entered the room alone. He closed the stone door and looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose expression was as calm as still water.

"Hiruzen, what else do you want?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, keeping his voice controlled.

Danzo stepped forward until he stood before Hiruzen Sarutobi, then lowered his voice. "Biwako just came to the Hokage Building and made a scene. Now she wants a divorce."

"A divorce?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened. "What have you done?"

Danzo gave a bitter smile. "That's the thing—I haven't done anything. You know me. My heart belongs only to Konoha, only to its great ambition. Ever since I recovered from my injuries some time ago, I've spent most of my time living in the Hokage Building."

Hiruzen Sarutobi studied Danzo. He had known Danzo for decades, and he knew how little Danzo indulged himself.

"What did you say to her?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"I didn't even get a chance to speak before she left," Danzo replied with a bitter smile.

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent. He slowly walked around the desk and stopped beside Danzo, his gaze roaming the room as he pondered something.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "Knowing Biwako, she wouldn't say something like that lightly."

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo. His expression was unreadable. Several seconds passed before he finally made up his mind and said, "I'm going to tell Biwako the truth."

"No!" Danzo reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo coldly. "You can't stop me."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't spent this time dutifully helping Danzo handle intelligence matters. He had secretly carved out plenty of time to train.

By now, he had gradually grown accustomed to Danzo's body and recovered most of his strength. He was confident he could take Danzo on.

"Danzo, have you gone mad? This is the crucial moment when we're about to defeat the Hidden Cloud. Do you want to cause trouble now?" Danzo's face darkened.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sneered. "When you schemed against me, it was the crucial moment when we were negotiating with Iwagakure. Did you care then whether you caused trouble?"

Danzo's mouth fell open, but no words came out. Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, he once again regretted having hesitated before making his move.

"Do you really think anyone will believe you?" Danzo continued, trying to intimidate him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked away and walked back behind the desk. He turned to face Danzo.

"Danzo, you and I grew up together. The two of us know nearly everything about each other. Thanks to that, you can play my part in front of outsiders—and even in front of Homura and Koharu."

"But how much do you know about what's happened between Biwako and me, between Shinnosuke and me, or between Asuma and me? I've never told anyone about those private family matters."

"Let me tell you something, Danzo! I've put up with you all this time for the sake of the village. I didn't want to clash with you and plunge the village into chaos before our external enemies were driven back."

With every sentence Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, Danzo's expression grew more unpleasant.

Glaring at Hiruzen Sarutobi, he gritted his teeth. "You've been planning this all along?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and sighed. Then, with a hint of sincerity, he said, "Danzo, I know what you're fixated on. As long as you don't harm the village's interests, I'm willing to let you live your dream for a while."

"But your thinking is too extreme, and your ambition is too great. Konoha can't sustain your ambitions in its current state."

"You want to stop me from leading Konoha back to greatness?"

"With you leading it, Konoha will only decline because of your warmongering!"

For a moment, Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at daggers drawn, the atmosphere in the room seemingly frozen.

Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with icy eyes and sneered.

"Fine! Let's see which of us comes out on top!"

After leaving those threatening words behind, Danzo turned and stormed out.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood where he was, watching Danzo's retreating back, his gaze growing sharper.

"Danzo, I'm the true Hokage!"

Danzo had reached the doorway. Hearing those words, he stopped with his right hand suspended in midair, murderous intent filling his eyes.

He slowly turned around. As if changing faces, Danzo put on a smile. "Hiruzen, are you getting senile? Don't forget who you are now."

Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his composure too. "The truth can't be made false, and a lie can't be made true."

At those words, Danzo's smile gradually faded. He gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a long look, then turned and opened the door.

Hiruzen, you've forced my hand!

Danzo made up his mind as he crossed the dim underground passage and reached the platform leading from the base to the surface.

Standing at the passage entrance, Danzo looked toward a Root shinobi guarding its right side and slowly walked over.

The Root shinobi stood still. Faced with the approaching "Third Hokage," he showed no reaction at all, like a lifeless puppet.

"Take out your kunai," Danzo ordered.

The Root shinobi looked at Danzo but didn't move.

"I'm ordering you to take out your kunai," Danzo said, his voice growing sterner.

The Root shinobi hesitated briefly, then reached into his pouch, took out a kunai, and held it out to Danzo in his palm.

Danzo looked at the kunai in the shinobi's hand, then at the Root shinobi. He continued, "Grip it."

The Root shinobi didn't understand what Danzo was trying to do, but he clenched his fingers around the kunai anyway.

In that instant, Danzo suddenly struck. He grabbed the Root shinobi's right hand around the kunai and yanked it forward, leaning into the movement.

Squish!

The sharp kunai sank halfway into Danzo's chest.

Danzo didn't make a sound. While the Root shinobi stared at him in shock, Danzo's hand shot out like a striking viper and pierced the shinobi's throat.

The Root shinobi guarding the other side was also stunned by the sudden turn of events. He turned toward Danzo, but before he could react, Danzo used the Body Flicker Technique to close in and behead him with the kunai he'd just plunged into his own chest.

After finishing, Danzo cast an icy glance at the two Root shinobi corpses on the ground, tossed the kunai from his hand, and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.