Is This Such Obvious Frame-Up?

This dealt a heavy blow to Sarutobi Hiruzen's prestige within Konoha.

If Senju Nawaki truly led the Senju Clan back to Konoha, then Sarutobi Hiruzen's position as Hokage would inevitably be shaken.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke was likewise an insurmountable hurdle.

The Senju Clan had already taken a stand in opposition to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

This was the reason he wanted to take a gamble; he had coveted that position for a long time.

Even if there was only a sliver of hope, he wanted to fight for it.

If the Senju Clan returned, he would be able to sit upon the Hokage throne he had dreamed of for so long.

BOOM...

Just as he was deep in thought, an explosion rang out. A large hole appeared in the roof of the embassy, and a tattered corpse landed on the table before him.

"Protect Lord Danzo!"

The guards beside Shimura Danzo stepped in front of him, looking up at the hole in the roof.

Another man stepped forward to inspect it.

"Whose corpse is this?"

Their attention was focused on the body.

The corpse lay splayed on the table, face up. There were several large holes in its body, and the blood had long since dried into patches, emitting a foul, fishy stench.

"He has been dead for over five hours. There are six puncture wounds on his body, each thirty centimeters in diameter."

The ninja who had stepped forward to investigate was filled with confusion as he turned back to speak to Shimura Danzo.

He searched his mind for what kind of weapon could have caused such wounds, but he could not recall anything from his memories.

Shimura Danzo's brows furrowed tightly.

What was going on? Why would this corpse appear here?

"Lord Danzo, this is Senju Sakuragi of the Senju Clan."

The guard beside him carefully identified the face of the corpse, his tone filled with surprise.

"Damn it!"

Shimura Danzo cursed under his breath, simultaneously sensing other ninjas closing in from the surroundings.

A corpse from the Senju Clan!

Framing!

As the dark side of Konoha, he instantly thought of one possibility.

This was also the reason Senju Nawaki had made no attempt to hide it.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Shimura Danzo formed hand seals, held them before his mouth, and his chest swelled outward.

WHOOSH...

He blew a powerful blade of wind from his mouth, targeting the corpse and the building in front of him.

RUMBLE...

The corpse was blown against the wall like a rag doll. Strangely, while the wall crumbled into dust, the corpse remained relatively intact as it fell to the ground.

"How is this possible?"

Shimura Danzo's pupils constricted as he looked toward where the corpse had fallen.

Given the power of his Wind Release ninjutsu, even if this corpse were made of solid stone, it should have been reduced to powder, allowing him to destroy the evidence.

Yet, during the attack just now, small saplings had sprouted from Senju Sakuragi's body, absorbing the power of the Wind Release and maintaining the integrity of the corpse.

His plan had failed.

Could it be Wood Release?

STEP...

STEP...

A series of footsteps echoed.

"Elder Danzo, long time no see."

Senju Nawaki led the ninjas of the Senju Clan to the embassy, arriving just in time to see Shimura Danzo using Wind Release in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

Fortunately, they had prepared a contingency plan early on, using Wood Release to protect the corpse.

He and Shimura Danzo had met a few times before. Because of his predecessor's boisterous personality, he had never hidden his disgust for Shimura Danzo.

Shimura Danzo, however, had always been extremely polite to him.

"Senju Nawaki?"

Shimura Danzo's face wore a strange expression, his heart filled with a touch of surprise.

The Senju Nawaki before him had not changed much in appearance, yet the feeling he gave off was no longer the warm, sunny disposition of the past.

In Senju Nawaki, he saw the shadow of Sarutobi Hiruzen: someone who appeared to smile at everyone on the surface, while secretly plotting against everything they possessed.

Could the once simple-minded Senju Nawaki really be capable of such framing and underhanded schemes?

The situation was worsening; he seemed to have fallen into a trap.

Such a turn of events drew the attention of many. Representatives from other ninja villages staying nearby had been awakened by the massive commotion and emerged one after another to watch the spectacle.

They recalled their own missions: to gather intelligence on the Senju Clan, especially regarding their stance toward Konoha.

The incident unfolding before them was exactly what they had hoped to see, and they were all thoroughly intrigued.

"The Konoha delegation lacks even the slightest sincerity. Killing an elder of the Senju Clan in our new home is a provocation against the Senju Clan; there is no need for them to continue existing!"

Senju Nawaki's expression remained calm, yet the words he spoke shocked everyone present.

What did he mean?

Was he going to destroy the Konoha delegation?

Even between two hostile factions, a delegation sent into the other's embassy was typically afforded protection.

And the justification was nothing more than a corpse of unknown origin.

Experienced ninjas on the scene could see that the body had been dead for a long time, and they realized something was amiss.

The excuse Senju Nawaki had chosen was far too perfunctory and riddled with flaws.

The clever observers stepped back a few paces, having already arrived at their own conclusions.

This was Senju Nawaki making the Senju Clan's position clear to them.

As the rumors in the Ninja World suggested, an irreconcilable conflict had emerged between the Senju Clan and Konoha.

Stepping back from the battlefield, they continued to monitor the shifting situation.

As the side being slandered, the Konoha party felt a complex mix of emotions—filled with frustration and resentment—as they looked toward their leader, Shimura Danzo.

Someone could no longer hold back.

"Senju Nawaki, do you not even know the most basic common sense? Given the level of decomposition of this corpse, how could we have had the time to kill him just a few hours ago? This is someone else framing us!"

The Anbu member, planted by Sarutobi Hiruzen to monitor Shimura Danzo, spoke up in rebuttal, his tone laced with disdain.

Even as an inexperienced Anbu, he could spot the flaws in the accusation.

"Is that so? Framing? Isn't that exactly what Konoha, and indeed your Anbu, loves to do?"

Senju Nawaki nodded and countered with a question.

Wasn't the slander Konoha had directed at him also full of holes and flaws? Yet, there were still people who believed it.

Could he really have commanded the jonin of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans? And was it really because of his own greed and rashness that he had stepped into the enemy's trap?

Senju Nawaki recalled the scene when he had been slandered, much like the Anbu before him, wanting to question those who had maligned him.

Only those who wrong you know just how wronged you truly are.

Some people know you are being wronged but refuse to explain for you, either because they lack the ability or because it serves their own interests.

By doing this, he was simply learning from Konoha.

Shimura Danzo looked at the Anbu member monitoring him, unable to fathom why Sarutobi Hiruzen would send such an idiot to watch him.

He had felt a bit fortunate before, but now, it seemed like a disaster.