Don't Come Over!!

"Fourth Hokage, I require a reasonable explanation! The ninjas of Root have dignity, too. I was diligently guarding Elder Danzo while waiting for the Third Hokage to come and preside over the situation! Why did you suddenly hit me with a Rasengan?" Aburame Zhixiang grimaced in pain.

"Huh? But the Third Hokage said you were holding Elder Danzo hostage and attempting a coup!" Namikaze Minato looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, bewildered.

"Hmm? It was Root Ninja A who told me that you, Zhixiang, called for me to come to Root to preside over the situation. He also claimed that Elder Danzo was attempting suicide. How could I possibly believe such an absurd thing? Therefore, I had reason to suspect your motives were impure, and for the sake of caution, I had Minato intervene!" Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, his brow furrowing even deeper.

"Then may I ask, was Elder Danzo's previous action a suicide attempt? Is the Third Hokage so arbitrary without even understanding the specific situation?" After all, Aburame Zhixiang was Danzo's subordinate and did not usually fall under the Third Hokage's jurisdiction. He had never felt the Third Hokage's authority, and thanks to Danzo's daily indoctrination, Root was loyal only to Danzo. In their eyes, the Third Hokage was not even as intimidating as the powerful Namikaze Minato.

"Jounin Zhixiang, I apologize for the grievance. The Third Hokage acted this way out of concern for Danzo's condition; everything is for the sake of Konoha. Please be understanding. Rest assured, this counts as a work-related injury; go to the infirmary to get bandaged immediately. I will mention your sick leave to Elder Danzo later!" Namikaze Minato smoothed things over, trying to win hearts.

Throughout the entire process, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent. Looking at Namikaze Minato before him, he felt as if he were seeing himself back when he first took office. However, Namikaze Minato was still a bit too green.

Upon hearing this, Aburame Zhixiang said no more, nodded, and retreated.

By this time, the medical ninjas had already stabilized Danzo's injuries, and Danzo had fully regained consciousness.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurried forward...

"Danzo, what on earth happened to you? Why would you lose your will to live and attempt suicide? Does this irresponsible behavior of yours do justice to the trust I placed in you? Does it do justice to the high expectations of our teacher, Tobirama?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his heart filled with grief.

"You? Don't come over here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Danzo Shimura's expression was now even more broken than Bu Jingyun's.

Terrified by the old face of Hiruzen Sarutobi before him, he scrambled backward, retching as he retreated.

The 72 hours in the world of Tsukuyomi had completely altered Danzo's outlook on life. In the past, he spent every day thinking about dealing with the evil Uchiha, securing funding, developing Root, overthrowing Hiruzen Sarutobi, becoming Hokage, and reaching the pinnacle of his life.

Now, scenes of himself being beaten down by twenty Hiruzen Sarutobis involuntarily popped into his mind at every moment! Seeing this old face of Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him a sharp, stinging pain in his rear.

"Danzo, what is wrong with you, Danzo! It's me, Hiruzen!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward and shook the retching Danzo.

"I know you're Hiruzen! I beg you, now, immediately, right this instant, disappear from my sight! Namikaze Minato, help! Come save me! I feel like I can't breathe!" Danzo clawed at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his features collapsing, his expression twisted, his limbs trembling, and his whole body writhing as he shrieked.

The scene was truly enough to make the listener break down and the viewer weep! Anyone who didn't know better would think Hiruzen Sarutobi was assaulting him.

What kind of terrifying thing did the Third Hokage do to Elder Danzo? Namikaze Minato couldn't help but wonder. After all, although Elder Danzo was wicked, he was a veteran tested by the battlefield. Having spent his whole life in war, what kind of major situation hadn't he seen? How could he break down so easily?

It must be that the Third Hokage did something unspeakable to Elder Danzo in secret! Namikaze Minato filled in the blanks himself. Elder Danzo was a teammate he had known for decades! How could the Third Hokage bring himself to do such a thing? At this thought, the way Namikaze Minato looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi changed.

"Namikaze Minato, why are you still standing there like a fool? Why don't you pull this pervert Hiruzen away? Do you only want me to die to be happy?" Danzo looked at Namikaze Minato with a twisted expression.

"Eh? The Third Hokage? A pervert?" Namikaze Minato seemed to instantly understand something; he stepped back until he was against the wall.

"Third Hokage, please let go of Elder Danzo first. You both need to calm down! After all, this is a public place, and there are so many Root colleagues watching!"

"Danzo, have you lost your mind? How can you slander my innocence out of thin air? My, Hiruzen Sarutobi's, conduct throughout my life has been upright and honorable; I have absolutely nothing to do with being a pervert! Get a grip on yourself!" Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded with a tense face.

"I am very clear-headed right now. Please stay away from me, thank you! If you stay away from me, I will be even clearer-headed," Danzo said, fighting back the urge to vomit.

"Danzo, you... sigh! I'm leaving first. You'd better behave yourself!" Seeing that Danzo was completely impossible to communicate with, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to leave. This matter was suspicious at every turn. With Danzo holding this attitude toward him, it seemed he could only rely on Minato to communicate.

He immediately gave Namikaze Minato a look, which made Minato shudder all over.

Under normal circumstances, the two of them worked well together, and Namikaze Minato wouldn't have let his mind wander. But given Danzo's breakdown just now, anyone would have jumped to conclusions. After all, he was still a pure-hearted young man with a wife and child waiting for him at home!

Although becoming Hokage was his dream, if he had to sell his body for it, then he would rather not be Hokage!

He had always thought Elder Danzo was the darkness of Konoha, but it turned out he had misunderstood him. He was the one silently bearing the burden and moving forward for Konoha all along!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, you hide things deeper than anyone!

"Minato, even you... I really didn't do anything to Danzo!" Seeing Namikaze Minato's expression and posture, Hiruzen Sarutobi was so angry he wanted to cough up blood.

"I understand! I understand everything. It's late, leave this to me. Third Hokage, you should go back and rest first!" Although he said this, Namikaze Minato's backside showed no intention of leaving the wall.

Seeing this, the ninjas of Root seemed to understand something as well and followed suit.

"You, you all! Sigh... Danzo has ruined me!" Hiruzen Sarutobi left Root in grief and indignation. Along the way, everyone he saw hugged the wall, and everyone who heard him coming retreated.

"Alright, Elder Danzo, it's fine now. The Third Hokage has left. Can you tell me what happened now?" Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi go, Namikaze Minato finally felt safe enough to step forward and ask.

"I... he... Koharu... sigh... it is too shameful to speak of!" Danzo wanted to say something, but lowered his head in humiliation.

"What? Elder Koharu was involved too?" Hiss—these old people, they play even wilder than us young ones! Namikaze Minato's mind uncontrollably conjured up a series of forbidden scenarios involving Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and Koharu Utatane.