Confused Third Hokage

"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

The black mist had already dissipated. Shiraishi stood with his hands behind his back, holding the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, while Danzo and the other two lay unconscious at his feet.

Shiraishi paced over to the side of the Third Hokage. He extended his right hand from behind his back, and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in his palm flew into the air without a breeze. An invisible suction force targeting the soul emanated from the banner, and the souls of the Third Hokage and Danzo transformed into two glowing blue orbs, landing in Shiraishi's palm.

A smile appeared on Shiraishi's face. He flicked his right hand forward, sending the two souls flying; Danzo's soul descended into the body of the Third Hokage, while the Third Hokage's soul fell into the body of Danzo.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner hovering in the air lashed out, and under Shiraishi's control, two wisps of cold, ghostly energy flew out to shroud the two souls that had just swapped bodies, ensuring the soul-transfer process went off without a hitch.

With this done, Shiraishi's initial scheme was complete. He walked over to the unconscious Minato Namikaze with a leisurely air and crouched down.

"Lord Minato, Lord Minato..."

Following Shiraishi's call, Minato slowly opened his eyes, though his consciousness had yet to clear and he remained in a daze.

The vision in Minato's eyes gradually sharpened, and a face that was heroic yet still held a hint of youth came into view.

"You..." Minato's voice was slightly hoarse.

"I am Shiraishi. It was I who informed you, Lord Minato, about tonight's events earlier this afternoon." Shiraishi looked at Minato with a friendly smile.

Minato's memories churned in his mind, and he instantly snapped to full alertness, hurriedly pushing himself up to a sitting position.

"The Hokage, he..."

"The Third Hokage and Lord Danzo fought to a standstill and both fell into a coma." Shiraishi helped Minato stand up and explained the situation.

Once on his feet, Minato saw the Third Hokage and Danzo lying on the ground. A look of concern appeared on his face, and he walked quickly to the Third Hokage's side to check his condition.

After a brief examination, seeing that the Third Hokage's condition was stable and that he had only suffered a few external injuries, Minato breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head toward Danzo not far away.

"Lord Danzo is also unharmed." Shiraishi, who was now crouching beside Danzo, said to Minato.

Hearing this, Minato finally let out a complete sigh of relief. The war had not yet fully ended; if the village's two most important leaders were to suffer an accident at this time, there was no telling what kind of turmoil might erupt from the other ninja villages.

"Lord Minato, I will trouble you to take the Third Hokage to the hospital for treatment." Shiraishi reached out to support Danzo's unconscious body.

"And Elder Danzo?" Minato asked with concern as he hoisted the Third Hokage onto his back.

"I will take Lord Danzo back to Root for treatment. What happened tonight must not be leaked," Shiraishi replied.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shiraishi!" Minato said sincerely.

Shiraishi smiled and nodded, leaving with Danzo's body, while Minato followed closely behind, carrying the body of the Third Hokage away.

The next morning, the sun rose slowly from behind the Hokage Rock, golden rays piercing the sky and spilling the first light of dawn onto Konoha.

Deep within the underground Root base, in a windowless lounge illuminated only by artificial light, the body of Danzo lying on the wooden bed suddenly opened its eyes.

Dizziness—a violent, spinning dizziness. It felt as if his brain had been churned into paste by an electric drill. In all his decades of life, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never felt so miserable.

"Wa... water..." Hiruzen Sarutobi called out in a dry, raspy voice.

Shiraishi, who had been waiting on the side and secretly helping Hiruzen Sarutobi regain consciousness as quickly as possible, wore a Root mask as he picked up a cup of cool water prepared earlier and handed it over.

In his confusion, Hiruzen Sarutobi tremblingly took the cup, slowly raised it to his parched lips, and poured the cool water into his mouth.

"Lord Danzo, are you alright?" Shiraishi said deliberately.

Hiruzen Sarutobi froze instantly, his muddled brain jolted into a state of alarm. He turned his head to look at Shiraishi and asked uncertainly, "What did you call me?"

"Lord Danzo?" Shiraishi asked again, his tone filled with confusion.

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard it clearly. He widened his eyes, staring at the masked ninja before him, then looked at the surrounding environment.

"What did you call me?"

"Lord Danzo!" Shiraishi replied once more.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's body shuddered, and the cup in his hand dropped onto the bed. Suspecting he had fallen under a genjutsu, he hurriedly raised his hands to perform hand seals.

"Lord Danzo, are you alright?" Shiraishi asked with feigned concern again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi performed the hand seals repeatedly, but found no abnormalities. His gaze fell upon his own hands, and his pupils dilated sharply.

These were not his hands!

As a seasoned powerhouse, Hiruzen Sarutobi was familiar with every part of his own body; he was absolutely certain that this was not his own physique.

Could it be that he had truly turned into Danzo?

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer sit still. Forcing himself through the physical discomfort, he rolled out of bed and sat on the edge.

"Bring me a mirror," Hiruzen Sarutobi commanded.

"Quickly!" At this moment, with his mind already in a state of confusion, Hiruzen Sarutobi had completely lost his usual composure and urged him urgently.

"Yes." Shiraishi replied as he exited the room, walked to the next chamber, and picked up a small, single-handled mirror that had been prepared in advance.

Shiraishi waited for about a minute before returning to the room and handing over the mirror.

Unable to wait any longer, Hiruzen Sarutobi impatiently reached out, took the mirror, and held it up before his face.

In an instant, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind went blank.

In the mirror held by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the face reflected back was none other than that of Danzo.

Had he truly become Danzo? Could this be some scheme of Danzo's? What on earth happened last night?

"Dan... where is the Third Hokage now?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked urgently.

"The Third Hokage was attacked last night and is currently receiving treatment at the hospital," Shiraishi replied.

"Attacked?" Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice a notch.

"Yes! The Third Hokage was attacked last night, but fortunately, he was spotted by the village Jonin Minato Namikaze. Minato Namikaze repelled the attacker and saved the Third Hokage," Shiraishi answered.

This was the explanation he and Minato had deliberately concocted when they left the secret passage last night, intended to cover up the infighting between the Third Hokage and Danzo.

"Minato Namikaze..." Hiruzen Sarutobi felt even more confused. He remembered meeting Danzo in the secret passage last night, their conversation failing, Danzo attacking, the two of them dueling, and then...

He could not recall the events that followed clearly; he only remembered a black mist suddenly appearing before he lost consciousness.

Minato had nothing to do with any of this, so how did it turn into him being attacked and Minato saving him?

"I want to go to the hospital. I want to see the Third Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, rising to his feet.

"Lord Danzo, but your body..." Shiraishi said, feigning concern.

"I am fine. I want to go to the hospital to visit the Third Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, struggling to suppress the turbulent emotions in his heart as he played the part of Danzo's usual persona.

"Yes!" Shiraishi lowered his head in a show of respect, then suggested, "Lord Danzo, please allow me to accompany you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Shiraishi a deep look. "Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Shiraishi replied, following Hiruzen Sarutobi out of the room.