Post-Incident Resolution

Danzo might not be good at much else, but he was certainly no slouch when it came to slapping labels on people.

The many ninja gathered around the scene had already begun to look wary.

"Oh? And who are you? Why are you spouting such nonsense here?" Uchiha Yushu asked, though he already knew the answer.

"I am Danzo Shimura." Danzo did not grow angry at the disrespectful words of a junior. Instead, he replied leisurely.

"So it's Lord Danzo, one of Konoha's higher-ups, they say. I hear you've made tremendous contributions to Konoha."

"Contributions? Tell me, what contributions have I made?"

"There are so many. For example... uh, why are you asking so much? Lord Danzo has made tremendous contributions to Konoha, or how else would he have become one of its higher-ups?"

Ignoring the murmurs around him, Uchiha Yushu continued, "So it's Elder Danzo. Though I, Uchiha Yushu, am merely a squad captain in the Konoha Military Police Force, I have heard of your reputation. May I ask what position Lord Danzo specifically holds in the village? It seems only the Hokage has the authority to determine whether a ninja has betrayed the village. When I heard you questioning me just now, I thought the Hokage himself had arrived."

"Hmph! You have a silver tongue, but no matter how you argue, these corpses cannot be faked. They were Konoha ninja."

"So whether someone is a Konoha ninja or not can be decided by nothing more than a person's mouth? May I ask what position Lord Danzo holds in Konoha? An elder has no authority to decide whether someone is a Konoha ninja."

"Besides, as far as I know, these ninja were spies from another country. Disguised as Anbu ninja, they attempted to abduct the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. I deliberately led them away and, with three members of the Military Police Force, successfully killed them."

"Is there anyone from the archives present? I dare guarantee that there are absolutely no records of these people in any of Konoha's archives."

Of course, records existed, but the files on Root ninja were top-secret even within Root. Apart from Danzo, only a handful of people had the authority to access them.

There was no way Konoha's archives would have files on them.

"You..." Danzo opened his mouth, then shut it again. Root's existence was not something most of the ninja present should know about.

Danzo was finally angered. A mere Uchiha brat had rendered him speechless.

Then he thought to himself, For Konoha, there is nothing I cannot endure. Only the vast roots silently supporting Konoha from the darkness can protect it.

Hiruzen, do you know how much I have sacrificed for Konoha? Only by becoming Hokage can I lead Konoha to greatness once more.

After moving himself with his own thoughts for a while, Danzo's anger toward Uchiha Yushu vanished.

That evil Uchiha Clan had to be destroyed. Uchiha Yushu was merely one of them. What he wanted was the complete annihilation of the Uchiha Clan.

He stopped paying attention to Uchiha Yushu. Danzo believed that Fugaku would definitely come under these circumstances, so there was no need to argue with a greenhorn.

Before long, Fugaku Uchiha, head of the Uchiha Clan and chief of the Konoha Military Police Force, arrived at the scene with a group of people.

"Elder Danzo is here as well. What happened to bring you all the way here?"

"Hmph! I saw something streak across Konoha's sky and thought enemies had invaded. But after arriving, I found your Uchiha Clan slaughtering ninja from the same village. What is it, Fugaku? Is the Uchiha Clan planning a rebellion?"

"Ah, I believe Elder Danzo has misunderstood. We have confirmed that these three were spies from the Hidden Cloud Village. Their six accomplices have already nearly escaped Konoha."

"After Captain Uchiha Yushu killed those six, he was likely worried about his subordinates' safety and hurried back. That must be why Elder Danzo mistook it for an enemy invasion."

"Oh, right. This operation was reported to the Hokage in advance. If Elder Danzo has any further questions, you are welcome to visit the Military Police Force at any time."

Fugaku Uchiha knew that the clan's honor still had to be protected in front of outsiders. It seemed he had met with the Hokage beforehand, Uchiha Yushu thought.

Danzo had no patience for arguing with Fugaku Uchiha, but when he heard that Fugaku had reported it to the Hokage, he knew Hiruzen had reached an agreement with Fugaku.

Hiruzen, you gave up such a perfect opportunity. As expected, your indecisiveness means you are no longer fit to be Hokage. Only I am the proper choice for Hokage.

Realizing he had been sold out by his ally, Danzo was furious inside, but did not show it.

"So that is how it is. I understand. Then I shall take my leave."

Seeing that the matter had reached a conclusion, the other onlookers also dispersed in small groups.

Bang! The Hokage's office door was shoved open violently, and Danzo strode inside.

"Hiruzen! Why did you give up such a wonderful opportunity?" Danzo demanded directly.

"This was the perfect chance to resolve the Uchiha problem. They still dared approach the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki after the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice. The Uchiha Clan clearly has evil intentions."

"Fugaku has already explained it to me. It was probably just normal interaction between children. Here is Uchiha Natsuri's file. Take a look first."

As he spoke, he handed Danzo a document. Danzo took it and saw that it recorded Uchiha Natsuri's various experiences, large and small, from birth until now.

Danzo merely glanced at it twice before tossing it back. "Hiruzen, you do not actually believe this childish trick, do you? Uchiha Natsuri is Uchiha Yushu's sister and Uchiha Yan's granddaughter. How could someone like her possibly be as described here?"

"Just from how Uchiha Yushu killed Root ninja without the slightest hesitation today, it is obvious that if Anbu ninja had gone instead, he would have killed them just the same. He is a clan ninja through and through and must be eliminated immediately!"

"Oh." Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "Your concerns are not without reason. In exchange for not pursuing this incident, I required Fugaku to transfer Uchiha Yushu out of the Military Police Force and into the border garrison. Since he likes killing so much, let him kill enemies at the border."

"Hiruzen, you are always so hypocritical. Do not worry. I will make sure he never reaches the border. He killed Root's people, so there is no way he can be allowed to live."

Danzo saw through Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions, but he did not refuse. After all, every Root ninja required enormous resources to train, and he had painstakingly scraped those resources together from Konoha.

"Danzo, you misunderstand what I mean. Uchiha Yushu is an outstanding jonin of the village. He made tremendous contributions in Konoha's battles against the Hidden Mist Village."

Danzo sneered as he watched Hiruzen Sarutobi continue his performance. So you want me to disguise it as the Hidden Mist Village's doing? An outstanding ninja of the village caused the Hidden Mist Village enormous losses because he was too outstanding, so the Hidden Mist Village assassinated him after he left the village. Sure enough, when it comes to schemes and conspiracies, it has to be you, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Someone as dark-hearted as you is no longer worthy of being Hokage. Do not worry, Hiruzen. Once I become Hokage, if you are still alive, I will make you Root's leader. Right now, someone whose heart is so filled with darkness is better suited than me to hide in the dark.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had stopped speaking, Danzo continued, "To prevent the jinchuriki from being controlled by the Uchiha Clan, I lost nine Root members. To compensate for my losses, hand the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki over to Root."

"Hiruzen, I will certainly train the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki into the village's most powerful weapon."

"Danzo, you must believe in the power of bonds. Naruto will find his bonds with the village at the Ninja Academy."

"Hmph! Hiruzen, it is that weak rhetoric of yours again. Bonds? Bonds with the Uchiha Clan?"

"You need not concern yourself with that. Uchiha Natsuri will soon leave the academy. Danzo, I warn you again: your Root is absolutely not permitted to interfere in matters concerning the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki."

"As for Root's losses, the Uchiha Clan will compensate you."

"Hiruzen! Konoha will sooner or later be destroyed by your indecisiveness."

"That is enough, Danzo. I am the Hokage!"

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"