Fortunes Turn; Today, It Was Danzo's Turn

As for whose suggestion it had been, there was no point discussing that now.

The most important thing was to steady the daimyo.

"So the Uchiha people know about this too?" Koharu Utatane seized on the key point.

The Third Hokage knew what she meant and let out a heavy sigh:

"I originally intended to test Uchiha Yan, so I took him into the palace to meet the daimyo. So... he knows everything."

Koharu Utatane: "..."

Homura Mitokado beat his chest in frustration:

"What were you thinking, Hiruzen? How could you take him along?

What are we waiting for?

Send people to seal off the Uchiha clan compound immediately! No Uchiha are to leave without authorization, lest the news get out. Where would Konoha's dignity be then?"

"I've already informed the Anbu."

The Third Hokage said with a headache:

"The moment any related news appears in the village, lock it down immediately. I'll speak to Shisui. For now, let's deal with Root."

"Root will not be disbanded, and I will not accept this..."

Root had only just developed to its current state. If it were suddenly disbanded, what would Danzo have left?

For all he knew, he might even have to go home and retire, becoming an idle old man.

Danzo could not accept that outcome.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage. I have the authority to disband any department in Konoha, including Root."

I gave you that authority. If I take it back, you cannot stop me.

Discussing it with you was giving you face, leaving you some room to maneuver. If you refuse to cooperate, you will not get to keep anything.

The room fell silent.

Danzo sat with a grim face and said nothing. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado could not find anything to say either.

Because they knew that the Third Hokage had made up his mind to disband Root. At the very least, Root could not continue to exist until they had steadied the daimyo.

As for Danzo, not only might he fail to keep Root, he might not even be able to keep his position as the Hokage's advisor.

Danzo was in deep trouble.

The Third Hokage wore a dark expression as he smoked continuously. Whenever Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado saw this scene, they knew the Third Hokage was weighing his options.

Which meant his decision would soon be made.

"Danzo, everything I do is for the village. Disband Root."

Sure enough, the moment the Third Hokage set down his pipe, the verdict was delivered.

The Third Hokage had ultimately abandoned Danzo and Root.

He chose to stand with the daimyo, because this concerned the development and peace of the village and the Land of Fire. The Third Hokage could not afford to hesitate.

Danzo was important to him. Otherwise, after doing so many utterly immoral things, Danzo would have long since been killed in any other village.

But under the Third Hokage's protection, Danzo had lived quite well and had even prospered.

Yet compared to all of Konoha, even the Land of Fire, he was no longer that important.

At least, the Third Hokage would abandon his old companion and choose the village.

Everything I do is for the village.

Danzo never could have imagined that the words he had once loved using to fool others and defend himself would now become the Third Hokage's reason for convincing himself.

Those words were painfully grating.

They were like sharp spikes, stabbing deep into Danzo's heart.

At this moment, the two elder advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, did not dare utter another word.

They chose silence, because they knew that nothing they said could possibly shake the Third Hokage's resolve.

"Root will be disbanded. I will allow you to retain a small number of people as subordinates.

Furthermore, you need to go home and retire for a while. I will still keep the position of Hokage's advisor open for you."

Not only was the Third Hokage disbanding Root, he was also removing Danzo from his post.

Sending him home to obediently retire.

He had laid everything out for Danzo in one decisive move.

The Hokage Office Building was in uproar, but Yan could not witness that wonderful drama. At that moment, he had just arrived at Shisui's home.

"Caw! Caw!"

The moment Yan approached, piercing cries rang out, especially harsh in the night.

Looking at the yard full of crows, Yan could not help complaining:

"What bad luck!"

Why raise anything else when you could raise these pitch-black crows?

Shisui, startled awake from his sleep, draped a robe over himself and leaped onto the windowsill.

Seeing Yan standing in the yard, shooing away the crows, the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Quit squawking. Keep it up, and I'll roast every last one of you."

Crows had once been considered auspicious birds, but as time passed, and because crows always appeared wherever there were dead people, more and more people came to dislike them.

Their piercing, shrill cries made them even harder to tolerate.

Of course, roasting the crows was merely a threat, meant to scare these fairly intelligent birds.

Yan would not actually roast them. In the Naruto world, where people died everywhere every day, only a fool would eat a bird like a crow.

You would not even know whether its last meal had been taken from a corpse.

"Yan, you came over in the middle of the night. Don't tell me it was just to scare the crows I raise?"

"Raise fewer crows!"

After grumbling, Yan jumped onto the windowsill and sat down.

"I came to see you about something. It concerns Konoha and the Uchiha. It's important."

"Go on."

The exasperated look on Shisui's face quickly turned serious. He waved his hand, telling the crows around him to disperse and go rest.

Having received their master's order, the intelligent crows quickly scattered, flying into the night sky and vanishing.

After entering Shisui's house, Yan sat on the sofa and said to Shisui, who was pouring water:

"I accompanied Lord Hokage to the Daimyo's Mansion on business, and we met the daimyo together. The daimyo received intelligence claiming that our Hokage's advisor wanted to assassinate him and install someone else in his place."

Crash!

Shisui's hand trembled, and the cup shattered, scattering glass fragments across the floor.

"How is that possible?!"

His eyes wide, Shisui turned around in stunned disbelief. He thought Yan was joking with him, or trying to smear Danzo.

I knew you'd react like this.

Among the higher-ups, the people Shisui trusted most were the Third Hokage and Danzo.

Yan curled his lip and leaned back.

"I'm not joking. It's true. The daimyo is furious and directly withheld the development funds that were supposed to be allocated to Konoha. Lord Hokage went to the Daimyo's Mansion because of this."

"The daimyo even refuses to trust anyone from Konoha. He wants to seek protection from the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village because he fears Danzo will assassinate him."

"To steady the daimyo, I recommended you to him. You will go to the Daimyo's Mansion and protect him.

You must ensure his safety. Only by steadying the daimyo can we properly handle this matter.

Otherwise, if the news gets out, Danzo—and even Konoha—will become the laughingstock of the entire shinobi world."

Under Yan's alarmist framing, the severity of the situation immediately rose several levels.