You're Going to Be the Fourth Hokage, No Matter What!

The Third gritted his teeth and tried one last time to fight back:

"Lord Daimyo, Danzo has, after all, rendered great service to Konoha and made many significant contributions. Sending him to Konoha Prison for life without parole... isn't that a bit too harsh?"

The Third chose his words carefully, afraid the Daimyo might lose his temper. "How about stripping Danzo of all his positions and ordering him to return home and reflect on his actions, with my Anbu ninja monitoring his every move? What do you think?"

"Oh? Danzo has made great contributions, too? Did he earn them on the battlefield that just ended?"

The Daimyo waved his gunbai, covering half his face and revealing only his smiling, narrowed eyes.

"Even Hatake... what was his name?"

"Hatake Sakumo."

"Right. Even a great hero like Hatake Sakumo could be criticized by people in the village. Are Danzo's contributions supposed to be greater than Hatake Sakumo's? Speaking of Hatake Sakumo, I recall that the Third promised last time to investigate the matter as soon as possible and find the person behind the rumors, didn't he?"

"After all this time, have you found the person behind them?"

At that, Ye Ning couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

Well, wasn't that a coincidence!

Guess what?

The person behind those rumors was none other than Lord Advisor, who was being criticized right now!

Of course, Ye Ning wasn't going to say any more about it.

After all, there wasn't a shred of evidence.

"My son, what are you laughing at?"

Ye Ning barely managed to suppress his grin and quickly waved his hand. "Nothing, nothing. I just suddenly thought of something funny."

You little brat!

Danzo gritted his teeth, naturally taking Ye Ning's laughter as gloating.

The Third still hadn't announced his decision, but Danzo knew in his heart that he was finished.

The best-case scenario was losing all his positions, disbanding Root, which he had worked so hard to build, and returning home to "enjoy his retirement."

The worst-case scenario was being thrown straight into Konoha Prison!

Seeing the Daimyo bring up Sakumo again, the Third managed to force a faint smile. "Lord Daimyo, the matter is still under investigation. We haven't caught the person behind the rumors."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Third, your abilities are nowhere near the Second's."

After a sarcastic remark, the Daimyo brought the conversation back to Danzo.

"Since you say Danzo has made considerable contributions, then it would indeed be too harsh to treat him this way. We'll do as you suggest: strip him of his positions and let him return home to retire."

"But, Third, you'll have to vouch for Danzo."

"Vouch for him...?"

"You say he doesn't need to be sent to Konoha Prison and that your Anbu will monitor him. That means you're certain Danzo won't plot anything in secret or take revenge on my son, right?"

"...That's right."

"Then you can vouch for him. If he pulls any more stunts in the future, I don't think you should remain Hokage either. It would be a blessing for Konoha to replace you with someone younger and more capable. Don't you agree, Third?"

The Third glanced back at Danzo, gritted his teeth, and agreed.

Being monitored at home was still better than suffering in Konoha Prison.

Besides, after this incident, Danzo shouldn't be foolish enough to try any more stunts.

Once the Daimyo gradually forgot about this, Danzo might even have a chance to regain his position.

If he went to Konoha Prison, there'd be no hope left at all.

"So this was your plan? You only wanted Danzo stripped of his position and sent home to reflect on his actions?"

Tsunade couldn't quite understand.

Ye Ning had gone to so much trouble—using this chance to frame Danzo, sending the Daimyo a letter in the middle of the night to summon him, and even using genjutsu to force the Root ninja to change their testimony. After all that effort, the punishment had turned out to be so mild?

For Danzo, this punishment was far too light.

If Danzo found an opportunity later, he could still get his position back.

Ye Ning shrugged and said nothing.

He had never expected this incident to bring Danzo down for good.

Everyone involved—himself, Danzo, and the Third—knew perfectly well that it had all been a frame-up.

Danzo and the Third had simply taken a hard fall because they had no evidence.

It wasn't realistic to think such a crude ploy could get Danzo killed.

Even if he were locked up in Konoha Prison, did Tsunade really think Danzo would be powerless?

How naive.

Ye Ning was simply waiting.

Waiting for Danzo to make another mistake.

That was also the main reason the Daimyo had forced the Third to vouch for Danzo.

If Danzo pulled another stunt and Ye Ning caught him at it, Ye Ning could bring down the Third along with him and force them both out.

That was why the next clash would be the most important one.

This time had only been an appetizer.

What Ye Ning hadn't expected was that he hadn't told his cheap old man about this in advance.

He hadn't expected them to be so in sync.

To put it simply, before this, he had no deep-seated hatred for the Third or Danzo. At most, he was annoyed by the things they had done in the original story.

The real reason he'd resorted to this was his bet with Tsunade.

He hadn't forgotten his plan to push Tsunade step by step toward the Hokage Position.

Only if Tsunade succeeded the Fourth Hokage could he live freely in Konoha.

With the Third and Danzo in power, it was already lucky if they didn't make trouble for him. How could they let him enjoy himself in Konoha?

Besides, it was far better to get the Third and Danzo out of the way early than to leave Tsunade with a huge mess to clean up when she took over.

So, Tsunade, you're going to be the Fourth Hokage, no matter what!

"Well, little Tsunade! Long time no see!"

At last, the Daimyo managed to get away from the two elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, and catch up with them. He'd only run a couple of steps, but he was already panting heavily—a clear sign of just how badly years of indulgence had worn down his body.

"I told you not to call me little Tsunade!"

Tsunade was getting a headache.

She was already in her twenties! She wasn't a child anymore!

But every time the Daimyo saw her, he called her little Tsunade, and his tone always gave her goosebumps.

The trouble was, he really was her elder. She couldn't even find a reason to vent her frustration, so all she could do was weakly protest.

"Sure, I get it, little Tsunade."

The Daimyo beamed, having completely lost the imposing air he'd shown while losing his temper in the Hokage's office. "So, little Ning, how did I do just now? Wasn't I pretty impressive?"

In an ordinary family, children were the ones who asked their parents for praise.

In the Daimyo's family, things were the other way around. The Daimyo looked like a child, eagerly fishing for compliments.

"Yes, yes. Dad's the coolest."

"What's that? You sound so insincere."

"My dad's the coolest. Is that good enough?"

"That's more like it..."