Dodai Needs an Explanation
Damn it, considering Hiruzen Sarutobi's change in mentality, if you say he's not old, not weak, or not corrupt, you're doing himself a disservice!
He truly embodied the phrase "bullying the weak and fearing the strong" to the fullest extent. He could do whatever he wanted with the Konoha Ninja he could control, but he was helpless against the more difficult Yun Yan, and he simply gave up on Dodai, who was even more uncontrollable.
Forget it! What a ridiculous "forget it"! With Hokage like this, Konoha is doomed!
Composing himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Dodai where the guest had walked in and offered a friendly smile, hoping to make the guest feel comfortable and at ease.
"Oh, isn't this the Dodai envoy? What brings you here to see me today?"
Dodai stood before Sarutobi Third Hokage with a cold expression and an unpleasant aura.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also sensed something was wrong. Why did it feel like this guy was about to turn hostile? The negotiations hadn't reached that point yet, had they?
Thus, amidst Hiruzen Sarutobi's confusion, Dodai, with a cold and serious expression, finally revealed the purpose of his visit:
"Third Lord Hokage, I demand an explanation."
Hiruzen Sarutobi completely bewildered; he genuinely had no idea what had happened.
"Huh? The Dodai envoy? What instructions? What happened?"
After seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's subconscious reaction, Dodai actually had some doubts in his mind.
He was pretty sure that Morui had been killed, but he had great faith in the quality of the Kumogakure ninjas. He was certain that Morui would not have been captured alive, and that he would have destroyed his brain before he died, preventing the Konoha Village ninjas from reading his memories.
In this way, even if Morui has been killed, they will not leave any evidence for Konoha. Instead, they can use this as a reason to attack Konoha.
But judging from the bewildered expression on the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, he seemed genuinely unaware of this matter.
Could it be... that Morui hasn't been killed yet? Or... that Morui has been killed, but not by Konoha Ninja? Or perhaps...
Alternatively, it is possible that Morui was discovered by the Hyūga Clan ninjas while trying to seize the Byakugan, and was subsequently killed by the Hyūga Clan.
The Hyūga Clan knew this person was from their Kumogakure delegation, and they also knew this matter couldn't be blown out of proportion, so they kept quiet, to the point that Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware of it until now.
It must be said that Dodai is quite intelligent; he actually guessed the general truth of the matter unintentionally.
Although the facts did differ somewhat from his guess, that was because of Yun Yan's presence.
If it weren't for the unexpected turn of events involving Yun Yan, and if things had unfolded exactly as described in the original story, Dodai's prediction would indeed have been entirely correct.
Regardless, after having these speculations, Dodai felt like the heavens were on his side.
Taking advantage of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's ignorance, a sudden attack and pressure on him will surely achieve better results than expected.
Dodai's expression changed, and he directly expressed his extreme anger, showing no politeness towards the Third Hokage, almost like the villain accusing the enemy first.
Dodai slammed his fist on the table and roared angrily:
"Third Lord Hokage, stop pretending!? This is Konoha, your territory. You must have a lot of control here."
Therefore, I don't believe that you didn't know about the missing person from our Kumogakure delegation!
Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was truly dumbfounded, and inexplicably so:
What? One member of the Kumogakure delegation has gone missing? When did this happen? How come I had no idea?
And judging from Dodai's behavior, should I be expected to know about this? Or... does Dodai think I'm the one who did it? Do they think it's their fault, and that's why they're demanding an explanation!?
Oh no, this is bad!
As expected of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, after a brief moment of thought, his relatively quick mind came to its senses, and he had a bad premonition about what was to come.
His face was somewhat grim. Clutching his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously began to stall for time, trying to figure out a way to appease the Dodai in front of him:
"Dodai Tutai, please calm down."
I swear on the name of the Hokage and the Will of Fire that I truly knew nothing about this matter, and I had no idea that a member of the Kumogakure delegation had gone missing.
So please explain things clearly. Only when things are clear can we continue to resolve them, right?
To be fair, Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude does give the impression that he has energy but nowhere to use it; he truly lives up to his reputation as a seasoned politician.
At the very least, Dodai was somewhat at a loss when faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude, and he was temporarily unable to exert the dominance he desired.
He frowned, still maintaining an angry expression and a relatively domineering stance, but his expression softened somewhat.
Staring intently into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, Dodai said seriously:
"Alright, Third Lord Hokage, I'll explain what happened to you clearly."
Just yesterday, one of our companions from the Kumogakure delegation, an Anbu Ninja sent by the Fourth Raikage to protect us, Morui, went missing and we lost contact with him.
When we first lost contact with him, we were a little worried, but not anxious. We just suspected that he might be held up by something and that he should be able to come back.
But a day has passed, and there is still no news from Morui, nor has he contacted us. This is absolutely impossible for an excellent ninja like him.
Therefore, I can only guess in the worst-case scenario: that Morui's life and freedom are in danger, or that he is even dead now!
These words were like a thunderbolt from the blue.
After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still holding his pipe, remained silent. He was in a terrible mood and made no attempt to express himself.
He didn't say it was okay, but Dodai continued his aggressive attack, slamming his hand on Hiruzen Sarutobi's table again, showing him absolutely no respect.
"Lord Hokage, this is Konoha! It's known as the most prosperous and safest ninja village! And this is how it is? Our Kumogakure delegation has disappeared and even been killed here?"
"It couldn't be someone from Konoha who disliked our Kumogakure delegation and attacked us Kumogakure, could it?"
Seeing the hidden meaning in Dodai's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer pretend to be deaf and dumb. He immediately shook his head, his expression righteous and indignant:
"No, Dodai Tsuchitai, such a thing would never happen. Our Konoha is a village that loves peace and tranquility, and everyone in the Shinobi World knows that. We would never do something like stabbing someone in the back!"
Dodai's expression was obviously unbelieving:
"Oh? Is that really true?"
However, Third Lord Hokage, this is just wishful thinking on your part, Konoha's love of peace is only on the surface.
The truth is, three Shinobi World Wars have broken out so far, Konoha Shinobi World participated in each of them, and Konoha has been the victor in each one!
Given this premise, Third Lord Hokage, how dare you tell me that Konoha is a peace-loving country? Then why do you always wage war, and always win in the end?
"This..."
For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know how to answer the question posed by Dodai, since what he said was true.
In his haste, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only reply in this way:
"Although Konoha has indeed participated in every Shinobi World War, it was never initiated by Konoha Shinobi World. Konoha were always forced to defend and counterattack."
As for the fact that we were among the victors in every Shinobi World War, that was entirely because we put in enough effort. We are a righteous nation and a ninja village, and that's why we were able to achieve final victory."
That's such a high-sounding phrase, it's so high-sounding it makes even Dodai roll its eyes.
You claim to be a righteous ninja village and nation, and that's how you achieve final victory in the war. How disgusting and hypocritical!
Who defines justice and evil? We've all grown up to this age, there's no need for this nonsense anymore. Justice and evil are irrelevant; the winner is justice! You win, so say whatever you want!
Dodai didn't want to talk about these high-sounding things with Hiruzen Sarutobi. If they continued, Hiruzen Sarutobi could argue with him for a month or two, believe it or not.