Inside the Hokage Office, the atmosphere had frozen to the extreme.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stood up, blocking Tobirama Uchiha, who lay there like a dead dog.
"Tobirama! We can pay compensation! We can give money! Even the shops are negotiable!"
"But disbanding Root? Making a public apology?"
"That is absolutely impossible!"
The old man was panicking.
Root might have been rotten, but it was Konoha's dirty glove. Many intelligence networks that could not see the light of day were in Danzo's hands. If it was disbanded, Konoha's intelligence system would immediately be paralyzed.
More importantly, there was the public apology.
Danzo was the Hokage's aide. He represented the face of Konoha's upper echelon.
Making him admit before the entire village that he had framed the Uchiha Clan? Wouldn't that be admitting that Konoha's higher-ups had always been carrying out political persecution?
What would the villagers think?
What would the other clans think?
Once people's hearts scattered, how could they lead the village?
"Tobirama! Are you trying to destroy Konoha?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared fixedly at Tobirama, his tone nearly pleading yet carrying a threat.
"It is wartime! Once the higher-ups lose their prestige, Konoha will fall into chaos!"
"You don't want to see the village fall apart either, do you?"
This was the face of a politician.
Using righteousness to suppress others, using the greater good as a shield.
Tobirama laughed.
He sat in his chair with one leg crossed over the other, watching Hiruzen Sarutobi as if he were watching a monkey show.
"Old man, have you gotten something wrong?"
"I'm not discussing this with you."
"I'm informing you."
Tobirama stretched lazily, his tone indolent yet carrying bone-chilling coldness.
"You won't disband Root? Fine."
"Then keep Root, but its establishment, personnel, and command authority will all be handed over to me."
"As for the name... you can keep it as a memento."
"And the apology."
Tobirama's eyes sharpened, and his voice rose several pitches.
"There must be an apology!"
"How many scapegoats has the Uchiha Clan been forced to be over the years? The villagers' cold stares and exclusion—what part of that wasn't stirred up by this old dog behind the scenes?"
"Today, the Uchiha Clan must be cleared! Everyone must be told that all that filth was thrown on them by Danzo!"
"Otherwise..."
Tobirama gripped his sword hilt and flicked his thumb.
Crack.
The blade slid an inch from its sheath.
"I'll kill him, then hang his corpse from the Hokage Building with a placard. I'll help him preserve his dignity myself."
"You dare?!"
Danzo, lying on the ground, had finally caught his breath. Hearing that Tobirama wanted to seize Root and ruin his reputation, he practically exploded.
"Tobirama Uchiha! You ambitious beast!"
Danzo struggled to crawl up, his single eye so venomous it seemed ready to devour someone.
"Root belongs to this old man! It exists for Konoha!"
"Hand it over to you? Are you worthy?!"
"You want this old man to apologize? Dream on!"
"Even if this old man dies, I will never bow my head to the evil Uchiha Clan!"
Danzo was truly seeing red.
For an ambitious man like him, power and reputation mattered more than life itself.
If Root was gone and his reputation ruined, what difference was there between living and dying?
"Hiruzen! Don't listen to him!"
"Kill him! Mobilize the entire village!"
"Today, either he dies, or Konoha falls!"
Danzo was still roaring madly like a rabid dog.
Tobirama sighed and shook his head.
"Really... noisy."
He slowly rose to his feet.
His aura erupted instantly. The crimson ribs of Susanoo materialized directly, shattering all the surrounding tables and chairs.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit, huh?"
Tobirama walked toward the two of them step by step.
With every step, another section of the floor crumbled.
That almost tangible killing intent made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel as if someone had clutched his throat, leaving him unable to breathe.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, I'm giving you three seconds for the last time."
"Either agree to my conditions."
"Or I'll send you two old fools on your way right now."
"Then I'll make myself Hokage. Let's see who dares object!"
Overbearing!
Unreasonably overbearing!
With a blade in hand, there was nothing to fear.
Tobirama now had the strength to crush Konoha head-on. What the hell did he have to fear?
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked into those cold Mangekyo eyes, and the last line of defense in his heart collapsed.
He could not afford to gamble.
Nor could he win.
If they truly fought, Konoha would inevitably be severely weakened. When foreign enemies invaded, Konoha would truly be finished.
"...Fine."
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, as though all his vitality had been drained away in an instant.
"Root's personnel and establishment... are yours."
"The Shimura Clan's shops... are yours."
"The money... is yours too."
Hearing this, Danzo abruptly turned his head and looked at his old friend in disbelief.
"Hiruzen! You..."
"Shut up!" Hiruzen Sarutobi barked. "Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?!"
Then he looked at Tobirama, his voice dry.
"But a public apology... no."
"Danzo is, after all, the Hokage's aide. His dignity is Konoha's dignity."
"Everything else can be agreed to, but Danzo cannot be pushed out."
"This is the bottom line."
"Tobirama, if you keep pushing, then even if I have to risk this old life, I'll die with you!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally shown some backbone this time.
Though not much.
After hearing him out, Tobirama rubbed his chin as if weighing the pros and cons.
In truth, he knew perfectly well.
There was no benefit in forcing Danzo to death. Keeping this old dog around to torment slowly, using him as an ATM and scapegoat, would be far more entertaining.
Besides, Root was in his hands, and so was the money. He had already gotten enough tangible benefits.
As for the apology...
"Fine."
Tobirama shrugged and withdrew the killing intent that filled the room.
"Since Lord Hokage has put it that way, I'm not an unreasonable person."
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo both let out a sigh of relief.
Danzo especially. Although it pained him to lose Root, at least he had preserved his reputation and his dog life. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood...
However.
Before that breath could fully leave him.
A cruel curve suddenly appeared on Tobirama's lips.
"However..."
"The death penalty is waived, and the apology is waived."
"But this old dog was having quite a good time insulting me just now."
"He even wanted to kill me?"
"I'm a petty person. If I have a grudge, I usually settle it on the spot."
"Since there's no apology..."
Tobirama suddenly raised his hand.
Without any warning!
Susanoo: Totsuka Blade!
Boom!
A massive crimson skeletal arm appeared out of thin air, gripping a longsword burning with spiritual flames.
It was as fast as lightning!
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no time to react at all.
Danzo only saw a flash of red before his eyes.
Splat!!
Crack!!
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Miserable screams once again rang through the Hokage Building.
Blood sprayed everywhere!
Danzo's right arm and both legs had been severed at the same time!
And no severed limbs flew away.
Because at the instant they were cut off, the Totsuka Blade's sealing power activated, directly drawing those three limbs into its sake gourd and sealing them in the Drunken Dream World!
This meant—
Unless Tobirama released the seal, Danzo would never be able to reattach his legs for the rest of his life!
Even if he found the best medical ninja, he could only get prosthetics and live as a cripple!
"My arm!! My legs!!"
Danzo collapsed in a pool of blood. Looking at his bare torso, he completely lost his mind.
"Tobirama Uchiha!! I'll kill you!!"
"Shut up."
Tobirama dismissed Susanoo and planted a foot on Danzo's face, stomping what remained of his body into the ground.
He looked down at him, his eyes indifferent.
"This is the price."
"Danzo, remember this."
"I'm sparing your dog life."
"From today onward, be an obedient cripple."
"If you dare reach out again, I'll chop off your head."
With that, Tobirama turned around.
He did not even glance at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been scared senseless beside him.
He took Konan, who stood in the corner with a face full of admiration, by the hand.
"Come on, good disciple."
"We got the money, and we got the power."
"Let's go home and have a feast."
The tall and small figures swaggered out of the ruined Hokage Office.
Leaving only devastation behind.
Before you continue