Hiruzen, You Will Regret This. Everything I Did Was For Konoha

With this thought in mind, Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze shifted to the scroll Uchiha Fugaku had just set down, and he prepared to examine it.

The next moment, the office door was pushed open without ceremony.

Shimura Danzo walked in slowly, leaning on his cane.

His right arm was tightly wrapped in bandages, and his eyes were as hollow as a dried-up well.

"Hiruzen, what did Uchiha Fugaku say just now?"

Danzo addressed Sarutobi Hiruzen directly by his name, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped his hand from reaching for the scroll. Without looking up, he picked up the pipe on his desk and refilled it with tobacco.

Click!

The sound of the flint was exceptionally sharp in the silent office.

"The Anbu outside didn't stop you," Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly, his voice devoid of emotion. "Or should I say, have you already replaced them with your own people?"

Danzo ignored the question and walked straight to the seat opposite Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting down.

"Hiruzen, what did Uchiha Fugaku say?"

Danzo asked again.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Danzo. "Did you come to me wanting to hear me praise you for a job well done? Or did you come to confirm whether I would actually 'investigate' this?"

His voice was calm, but Danzo's brow furrowed slightly, for he could hear suppressed anger in Sarutobi Hiruzen's words.

Danzo's lips curled. "The Uchiha Police Force has become increasingly arrogant. I simply used this opportunity to teach them a lesson."

Bang!

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his pipe against the desk, sending ash scattering.

"That was human life! Four people from two squads were killed outright. They were Konoha ninja."

"They were Uchiha," Danzo corrected him in a cold voice. "Hiruzen, you are always like this—soft-hearted."

"Those four men merely died in an accident. If they hadn't died, who is to say they wouldn't have been standing on the front lines of an Uchiha rebellion one day?"

"What difference does it make if they die sooner or later?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up abruptly, slapping the desk. "Rebellion? Have they rebelled?"

"Fugaku came today to ask for an explanation, to seek dialogue, and you, using my name, are forcing them down that very path!"

"Dialogue?" Danzo scoffed.

"Hiruzen, you have lived so many years, how can you still be so naive? Fugaku came to talk today only because the Uchiha are not yet ready. If they were ready, it would be the Uchiha's Sharingan army that came instead!"

Danzo also stood up, leaning forward, his eyes locked onto Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"The night of the Nine-Tails—have you forgotten the Sharingan that appeared in the Nine-Tails' eyes? Who but the Uchiha clan could control the Nine-Tails?"

"That was a declaration of war! A declaration of war against Konoha. And you? As the Third Hokage of Konoha, what did you do? You acted as if nothing had happened, and you let them remain in their positions in the Police Force."

"You are giving them the time and space to sharpen their blades!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen froze, then sat back down in his chair, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "There is no evidence to prove that it was the Uchiha clan. I already stated that years ago."

"Hmph, no evidence?"

Danzo let out a cold snort. "Hiruzen, this is what I despise most about you. You are sitting in the seat of the Hokage! You must be responsible for Konoha, not for the Uchiha!"

"Some threats must be strangled in the cradle."

The air grew stagnant.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up at the now-manic Danzo. "So you forged my orders, reassigned the Police Force members, and then killed them, trying to muddy the waters."

Danzo raised an eyelid. He wasn't actually that bored; it was purely because Orochimaru's experiments required some newly awakened Sharingan.

Who could have guessed that out of those six people, four would die, and the remaining two would actually escape back?

However, if Hiruzen wanted to believe that, he could use it as another excuse. "Those men were all hawks within the Police Force. Since they died under mysterious circumstances, Fugaku was bound to investigate..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Danzo! Attacking Konoha ninja! That is considered treason against the village!"

Thud!

Danzo's cane slammed hard against the floor. "I did it for Konoha! Your mercy is the village's greatest hidden danger."

With that, Danzo turned and walked toward the door. "I will handle that written order. Root will have a traitor; you can tell Fugaku that the culprit has been brought to justice. As for whether he believes it..."

"That depends on how much he trusts you, the merciful Hokage."

"Enough! Danzo, I am the Hokage! You are challenging me right now!"

Hearing Danzo's tone of entitlement, Sarutobi Hiruzen roared in uncontrollable rage.

"Hiruzen, you will regret this. Everything I have done was for Konoha."

Bang!

Danzo slammed the door as he left, the impact shaking dust from the frame.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat there like a stone statue, his eyes filled with sorrow and exhaustion.

Because at this moment, he truly had no way to respond; Fugaku's attitude had clearly taken a wrong turn.

And Danzo's approach was the most suitable response right now; to this... he actually had no way to refute it.

Because he was also unsure who exactly the masked man from the night of the Nine-Tails was, and the only person to have faced the masked man head-on was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

But Minato was already dead, which was why he had allowed some of Danzo's actions over these years.

Just a moment ago, he had indeed harbored the thought of killing Danzo, but when he truly wanted to act, he understood that killing Danzo would not change a single thing.

On the contrary, the upper echelons would split because of it, the village would be thrown into turmoil, and those who were eyeing Konoha and the Uchiha with hostility would seize the opportunity to strike.

And if he killed Danzo, would the Uchiha be grateful?

Perhaps they would, but that kind of gratitude could not solve the problem.

If he did nothing, dragging things out and offering appeasement as he had in the past, hoping that there might be a turning point, the result would be that the Uchiha would become increasingly restless, eventually leading to either rebellion or annihilation.

Every word Danzo spoke was the truth; the Uchiha's problem was real, and the shadow of the Nine-Tails was the same.

As for himself, although he had not killed anyone, some actions had been carried out with his tacit approval, and day after day, he had gradually used ignorance as an excuse, employing the "greater good" as a placebo.

Benevolence was merely a cocoon he had woven for himself.

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was truly filled with regret, regretting his own cowardice.

A sense of clear-headed yet powerless despair permeated the Third Hokage's heart.

In the Hokage's office, the Third sat alone in silence, realizing for the first time with absolute clarity that he might truly not be a qualified Hokage.

Opening his eyes once more, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the scroll before him and muttered to himself, "I'm sorry..."