Danzo's expression changed drastically the instant he saw Orochimaru's abnormal behavior. Furious and alarmed, he demanded, "What are you doing? Orochimaru, who are you talking to?"
"Danzo, you've truly disappointed me!"
Before Orochimaru could respond, a familiar voice rang out inside the office.
Danzo's entire body stiffened at the sound. He slowly turned toward it, and upon seeing the newcomer's face, he shrieked as though he had seen a ghost. "Hiruzen!"
The one who had spoken was Sarutobi, who had supposedly been dead for days. More than a dozen of Konoha's key higher-ups had appeared alongside him, instantly making the once-spacious room feel crowded.
"What, are you disappointed to see that I'm still alive?" Sarutobi mockingly asked the panicked Danzo.
"That's impossible! It's fake! You must be an impostor!" Danzo sprang up from his seat and pointed at Sarutobi, crying out in disbelief. Then he looked at Nawaki beside him. "It was you! You brat must be behind this, right?! You think you can frame me just by finding an impostor?"
Nawaki calmly shook his head as he looked at the flustered Danzo. "Teacher Sarutobi never died.
That corpse from three days ago was the fake created to expose your conspiracy."
"Impossible! I personally examined the body that day. Its blood type, build, and appearance were all identical, with no trace of artificial modification. It absolutely couldn't have been fake!" Danzo immediately retorted.
"Hehehe..." Orochimaru smiled smugly. "Naturally, it had to be convincing enough to fool you and Root. I specially cultivated that corpse as a clone. Other than its strength, every single characteristic was identical to the original!"
"Cloning technology!" Danzo glared furiously at Orochimaru. "So you defected to Nawaki and helped him set me up! You turncoat traitor!"
"You're wrong! From the very beginning, I deliberately approached you