Afterwards, cause me a little more trouble, alright?

"Give me a detailed account of the entire abduction process," Shimura Danzō urged.

Kinoe replied with a blank expression, "I was training in the base when two people suddenly approached me and said that Lord Danzō wanted to see me."

"I didn't suspect anything at the time, so I followed them directly."

"As soon as we left the base, the two of them knocked me unconscious. I was woken up once midway, and I immediately used Wood Release to try and trap them so I could find an opportunity to escape."

"I was no match for them, and they knocked me out again."

"They didn't communicate with me at all during the process."

"Finally, I woke up in the hospital. That is everything that happened."

His narration from start to finish was devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as if the events had nothing to do with him.

Root truly does not treat its members like human beings.

A child of only ten years old, trained to be like this.

Utterly inhumane.

Shimura Danzō truly deserves to die!

Minato Namikaze stared at Shimura Danzō with a hostile gaze.

If looks could kill, Shimura Danzō would have been killed countless times over by now.

Not to mention other ninja villages, even within Konoha, there are plenty of people who want Shimura Danzō dead.

Utatane Koharu then spoke up, "Among these two people, do you recall anyone who looked similar?"

Shimura Danzō gave Kinoe a look, and Kinoe immediately responded, "I don't recall anyone. I usually eat and sleep at the base, and I rarely go outside."

Mitokado Homura began to summarize, "In other words, these two people found a way to swagger into the Root training base, then took you away directly."

"Finally, they made you intentionally release Wood Release, knocked you out again, and dumped you at the entrance of the Hokage Building."

After saying this, he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, "I don't understand why the other party would do this. Hiruzen, have you discovered anything?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe and said, "I suspect this still has to do with the Uchiha Clan. Based on the suspicious points Danzō discovered, this matter is inseparable from the Uchiha."

"In the absence of new evidence, I suggest we talk to the Uchiha."

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen say this, Minato Namikaze disagreed.

"I believe that without concrete evidence, we cannot casually suspect any partner within the village."

"Especially the Uchiha Clan, which is like a powder keg."

"Regardless of who did this, they will certainly have follow-up moves."

"The most important thing is that since Kinoe has been found, we should wait until there are further developments before investigating slowly."

Minato Namikaze's decision sounded like a final gavel, directly announcing the result.

The others thought about it and realized he was right; since they couldn't understand the opponent's strategy, they would just have to wait and see if they left any clues behind.

But Shimura Danzō didn't think so. He wanted to cast a wide net; regardless of whether the Uchiha Clan did it or not, he wanted to pin this matter on them.

So, upon hearing Minato Namikaze say this, he immediately objected, "No, we must make the Uchiha Clan give an explanation. How can we let them off so easily?"

"Do you have evidence to prove they did it?" Minato Namikaze countered.

"I..." Shimura Danzō was momentarily speechless.

"That's enough, the matter is decided." Minato Namikaze no longer wanted to waste his breath on Shimura Danzō.

Seeing that none of his old comrades were speaking up for him, Shimura Danzō felt a surge of anger and said to Minato Namikaze:

"You will regret this, Fourth Hokage!"

"Hmph, I am the Hokage, Danzō!"

Minato Namikaze had completely lost patience with Shimura Danzō's habit of pinning blame on others, and he retorted without any courtesy.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want his old comrade and his grand-student to fall into conflict, so he immediately stepped in to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, stop arguing."

"It's all for the sake of Konoha. Danzō, Kinoe will remain in the Anbu from now on. I will arrange for someone to handle the transfer procedures with Root."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's words directly killed the last shred of hope Shimura Danzō held.

Although he had been mentally prepared, he still wanted to struggle, "Hiruzen, Kinoe can only be effective if he stays in Root."

"He can be just as effective in the Anbu." Minato Namikaze spoke first, stifling the rest of what Shimura Danzō wanted to say.

"Now, let's talk about how to deal with you."

"Although these Wood Release experiments were not conducted during my tenure, as the Hokage, now that I know, I cannot ignore them."

"Considering that you have also contributed to Konoha for so many years, let the Third Hokage handle you."

Hearing that Minato Namikaze had still left him some face, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in agreement.

The other two elders had wanted to say something, but seeing the Third Hokage nod, they remained silent.

It was another 'painful' day for Shimura Danzō.

"Alright, I'm going back to work. Kakashi, you stay here and guard Kinoe. Once he has recovered, bring him to see me."

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God and departed.

"Let's go as well. We shall head to my home to discuss this further. Danzō, you come with me too." The unquestionable tone of that final sentence made Shimura Danzō's heart skip a beat.

Sarutobi Hiruzen led the others out of the hospital room.

Inside the room, only the two children remained, staring at each other in silent, wide-eyed confusion.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's home.

The study.

"Sit down first." Sarutobi Hiruzen gestured for everyone to take their seats before beginning to brew tea, remaining silent all the while.

The atmosphere in the room gradually began to solidify.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, unsure of what Sarutobi Hiruzen was planning, had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask.

"Hiruzen, is there something you need to tell us?"

To their surprise, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even look at them, keeping his gaze fixed solely on Shimura Danzō.

Shimura Danzō felt a chill run down his spine under that stare and said, "Hiruzen, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Give me an honest account. How much more have you been keeping from me?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, his tone unfriendly.

"There is nothing else. Just this one matter," Shimura Danzō said, forcing himself to remain calm.

There was no helping it; there were simply too many things he had done behind Sarutobi Hiruzen's back.

Not to mention external matters, such as the discovery of the Rinnegan.

Even just within the village, things like "abducting Konoha ninjas for experiments" could never be exposed.

If he confessed everything, he might as well head straight to prison now.

"Are you certain? If there are other things I don't know about, and they are discovered by others, I won't be able to protect you!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone grew increasingly stern.

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen put it that way, Shimura Danzō had no choice but to honestly confess to the slightly less damaging matter of "forcibly recruiting the orphanage director as a spy."

"Hiruzen, at the time, only Yakushi Nonō had the capability to steal that intelligence. I did this for the sake of Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was long accustomed to Shimura Danzō's sophistry.

After calming his emotions, he said, "In the future, if you cause any more trouble for me, just you wait."