The entire top floor of Konoha Hospital had been cleared out, with only Anbu Ninja guarding the corridors.
In a room at the end of the corridor, Hiruzen Sarutobi lay unconscious in bed, having already received treatment.
Minato Namikaze stood to the right of the bed. Across from him, the two Hokage Advisors stood on the other side.
At the foot of the bed, an elite medical ninja from Konoha Hospital was reporting on the Third Hokage's condition.
"Based on our examination, the Third Hokage only suffered some external injuries. We've treated and bandaged him properly."
Hokage Advisor Mitokado Homura turned to the medical ninja. "Then why hasn't the Third Hokage woken up?"
"Well... under normal circumstances, Lord Hokage should have woken up by now, but... we don't know what's causing this." The medical ninja was equally puzzled.
Seeing this, Mitokado Homura said nothing. He withdrew his gaze and looked at Utatane Koharu beside him.
Before Tsunade made her name, this elite ninja from the Second Hokage's Guard Platoon had been Konoha's finest practitioner of Medical Ninjutsu.
"They're right. Hiruzen only suffered some external injuries. There's nothing else wrong with him." Utatane Koharu had examined Hiruzen Sarutobi herself.
"But Hiruzen..." Mitokado Homura looked worried.
With the village in its current state, it couldn't afford for Hiruzen, the Hokage, to be incapacitated. Otherwise, Iwagakure might make even more unreasonable demands during peace negotiations.
"You may leave," Mitokado Homura told the medical ninja. Then he turned to Minato.
"Minato, tell us again what happened last night."
After bringing the Third Hokage to the hospital, Minato had notified the two advisors. He had then told them what happened that night, leaving out Shiraishi's involvement but otherwise recounting everything truthfully.
When they first heard about it, the two advisors had merely complained that Danzo had failed to see the bigger picture and had caused trouble at such a time.
They had also been grateful that Minato had been there to prevent a tragedy.
But now, after a whole night of treatment, Hiruzen Sarutobi still hadn't woken up, despite having suffered only external injuries. He showed no reaction to outside stimuli, either.
The two advisors were growing increasingly anxious.
In response to their questions, Minato recounted the previous night's events in detail once more.
"How did things get this bad?" Utatane Koharu was anxious and worried, but she had no choice but to remain calm.
"Koharu, what do you think Danzo's condition is now?" Mitokado Homura pondered for a few seconds before turning to her.
"You mean... you suspect Danzo had something to do with this?" Utatane Koharu said, doing her best to stay composed.
"Hard to say, but Danzo went too far this time!" The thought of Konoha's predicament if the Third Hokage remained unconscious only made Mitokado Homura hate Danzo's actions all the more.
Utatane Koharu nodded in agreement. She also felt Danzo had gone too far this time. To put it bluntly, this was practically a rebellion.
Just as they finished speaking, footsteps sounded outside the hospital room. A figure appeared at the door.
"Lord Homura, Lady Koharu, Elder Danzo has come to visit Lord Hokage," the Anbu Ninja outside reported.
Hearing this, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, their eyes betraying their unease.
So Danzo really was behind this!
The same thought arose in both their minds.
"Let him in," Minato ordered.
"Yes!" The Anbu Ninja outside replied and left.
A little while later, footsteps sounded again. The hospital room door opened, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, in Danzo's body, walked in.
As his guard, Shiraishi naturally followed Hiruzen Sarutobi into the room. He swept his gaze around, then settled it on Minato.
Minato looked back at Shiraishi. Their eyes met, and he quickly recognized the masked man.
Shiraishi winked at Minato, then walked over to the wall in Minato's direction and settled in to watch.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu kept their eyes on "Danzo." They knew his personality well; his guard wouldn't have come in unless he had ordered him to.
"Danzo, what are you trying to do? What did you do to Hiruzen?" Mitokado Homura demanded, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Danzo" stepped forward and went to the bedside. Looking down at his own body, lying unconscious in the bed, he was filled with confusion.
What had happened last night? Why had he woken up in Danzo's body?
"H-Hiruzen... how is he now?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with concern, feeling deeply uncomfortable.
"Hiruzen's unconscious. Wasn't that your scheme?" Mitokado Homura demanded sternly.
"I..." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the two advisors. He had a thousand things he wanted to tell them, but what he'd experienced was too bizarre. He was certain they would only dismiss his explanation as nonsense.
"Danzo, don't you have anything to explain?" Mitokado Homura walked right up to Hiruzen Sarutobi and fixed "Danzo" with a piercing stare.
At the accusation from his old friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only suffer in silence. He carefully recalled what had happened the previous night, then began to explain.
Mitokado Homura had already listened closely to Minato recount the events twice. Now that he'd heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's account as well, he compared the two. There was only one thing he could suspect: the sudden appearance of the mysterious Black Mist.
"Did you cause that Black Mist to appear?" Mitokado Homura asked.
"No," Hiruzen Sarutobi denied. "After it appeared, I also fell unconscious."
Mitokado Homura looked at Minato.
Minato nodded. "That checks out. When I went into the Black Mist last night, I also passed out. When I woke up, Lord Hokage and Elder Danzo were both still unconscious. After I carried them out of the passage, Root Ninja came and took Elder Danzo away."
"I was the one who took Lord Danzo away last night," Shiraishi, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
Shiraishi's sudden words drew everyone's attention to him.
"Did Danzo give you any instructions last night?" Mitokado Homura asked Shiraishi. His imposing presence alone was enough to make people feel the pressure.
Shiraishi didn't answer. Instead, he looked at "Danzo."
"Tell them," Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered.
"When Lord Danzo went into the passage, he ordered me to hide outside it. If he didn't come out within an hour, I was to... I was to..." Shiraishi deliberately paused.
Mitokado Homura urged him on. "You were to do what?"
Shiraishi gritted his teeth and replied, "He told me to enter the passage and collect his body."
The moment he said this, a dead silence fell over the room. Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Minato Namikaze all turned to look at "Danzo."
Mitokado Homura asked in anguish, "Danzo, I know you and Hiruzen have disagreed over your principles, but have things really become so bad that one of you has to die?"
"Have you forgotten what Teacher Tobirama entrusted to us back then?"
"Have you forgotten the ideals we once shared?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his grief-stricken friend and parted his lips. He was just as shocked. He hadn't expected Danzo to have already been prepared to die before meeting him.
Danzo! Couldn't you have talked things through? Couldn't you understand what I was going through?
"Danzo! Couldn't you have talked things through? Couldn't you understand what Hiruzen was going through?" Mitokado Homura demanded indignantly.
"I..." Hiruzen Sarutobi was struck speechless.
Before you continue