Hiruzen Sarutobi Swallowed His Pride

Using the Mangekyō Sharingan to interrogate Danzo to this extent, making Danzo reveal so much, seems to have reached a point where things are about right. Anyone else might have stopped there.

After all, strictly speaking, the Hokage's office is just the negotiation venue, and there seems to be no need to involve things outside of today's negotiations.

But Yun Yan didn't care about that. He opened his Mangekyō Sharingan, calmly looked at Danzo, and asked a few questions that were on his mind:

"Danzo, you... I'm almost at a loss for words when it comes to you."

Well, there are still some things I want to ask you, or rather, I just want to confirm with you.

"Ever since I returned to Konoha, you've repeatedly caused me trouble, whether by attacking me directly or by targeting those around me. You've attacked me at least three times, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this question, Hiruzen Sarutobi a jolt in his heart, but ultimately said nothing, as the matter was practically out in the open.

The Kumogakure delegation remained in a similarly lively atmosphere, watching the spectacle with amusement. They couldn't help but think how bustling Konoha was, so bustling that they felt like applauding.

Especially Dodai, who just looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a look that seemed to say, "Lord Hokage, your Konoha is really amazing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored Dodai's gaze; he had already lost face today and didn't want to lose face any more.

After Yun Yan asked these questions, Danzo was still in a daze, and blurted out the truth:

"Yes... yes, it was all... it was all me."

Yun Yan then pressed on with another question:

Why did you target me? Do you dislike me that much?

Even in a Danzo state, Danzo suddenly became agitated, stammering angrily, "Aba aba!"

"The Uchiha Clan must be wiped out! Those Uchiha Clan with names and identities who might possibly stand in my way must be wiped out!"

Uchiha Yunyan has ruined my plans time and time again. He will definitely be a stumbling block on my path in the future... I must... no matter what... completely eliminate him."

Yun Yan was too lazy to pay attention to this guy, so he went on to give him his own reasons:

I think I understand.

Danzo, you are essentially an extremely selfish and dark person. You want to eliminate anything or anyone that doesn't go your way or that you can't stand, all for the sake of standing at your so-called pinnacle, isn't that right?"

Danzo didn't even bother with "Aba aba" this time; he just nodded vigorously to indicate that's how things were.

After shaking his head, Yun Yan began to think about what he should ask the commander next.

Is the question about the various human experiments conducted within Root? Or about Danzo's transplantation of Hashirama Cells and Sharingan? Or about his collaboration with Orochimaru? Or about his betrayal and leaking of village secrets? Or about his indifference Night of the Nine-Tails, where he stood by and watched the Fourth Hokage die? And what about his role in harming Hatake Sakumo?

Oh my god, thinking about it now, Danzo really did a lot of evil deeds.

He started asking whatever came to mind, so Yun Yan didn't think much and directly continued asking Danzo:

"There are still many things I want to ask. Let's take it one step at a time. First, there's Hatake back then..."

Finally, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been holding back his words the whole time, couldn't take it anymore.

Upon hearing the name Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Yun Yan wasn't asking about Kakashi Hatake, but rather about Kakashi Hatake's father Hatake Sakumo, a matter that was too painful to revisit!

It's likely that not only this matter, but as this incident unfolds, many hidden past events will gradually be unearthed by Yun Yan.

Just like a wound that appears to have healed, but beneath it lies rotten flesh and pus. Now, Yun Yan is going to turn this rotten flesh and pus over bit by bit and expose it to the sunlight.

But this process is so painful, so incredibly painful! So painful that Hiruzen Sarutobi can't breathe, can't bear to look at it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old guy, couldn't take it anymore, and he roared:

"That's enough! That's enough! Yun Yan, you already have enough questions, don't you? There's no need to keep asking, is there? Danzo is an elder of Konoha, after all!"

It would have been better if Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't tried to argue like that; the moment he Hiruzen Sarutobi, Yun Yan's anger was no less than his.

Yun Yan walked straight over, grabbed Danzo by the hair, and pulled him over, pressing his head down onto the desk in front of Danzo Hiruzen Sarutobi.

While pressing down on his old face, Yun Yan confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi head-on.

"Lord Hokage, there's a saying that goes, 'Speaking it out prevents harm.' Don't you know that?"

Danzo has committed so many evil deeds, and his mind is so selfish and ruthless—do you still want to protect him?

What? He's an elder of Konoha, after all? Is this what Konoha elders are like? If Konoha elders are truly like this and remain incorrigible, then in my opinion, Konoha might as well be wiped out!

"Yun Yan, you..."

"What do you mean, 'Lord Hokage -sama'? Never mind... I don't want to call you Lord Hokage anymore. I don't think any respectful address is necessary. I'll just call you Sarutobi- sama."

Sarutobi, you old man, Danzo has done so many evil deeds in secret. As the Hokage, don't you bear any responsibility? Or rather, I don't believe you knew nothing about Danzo's actions.

Or is it that you used your power to cover up all the evil deeds he committed?

As the Hokage, you turned a blind eye to this matter and even helped cover it up, ignoring the damage suffered by Konoha. What is your punishment?

I even have reason to suspect that you tacitly approved or even encouraged many of Danzo's actions, don't you think?"

This was practically a complete falling out. Looking at Yun Yan's pair of scarlet Mangekyou Mangekyō Sharingan and feeling the oppressive force brought by its terrifying aura, Hiruzen Sarutobi staggered back two steps and almost fell into his seat.

However, Yun Yan didn't seem to have any intention of letting Hiruzen Sarutobi. He pressed Danzo's face down and continued speaking to Hiruzen Sarutobi:

"Old man Sarutobi, I suggest that Danzo tell us everything he has done, and we can go over the accounts here, point by point, to see which crimes are his, which are yours, and which are the crimes of those other two lazy old men."

So, how about we do a final accounting?

How about we start with the matter of Hatake Sakumo?

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally couldn't hold back any longer. He was almost collapsing, his spine completely crumbling, and his old legs were weak. He looked at Yun Yan with a helpless, pleading gaze, even with tears welling up in his eyes, and his voice was trembling with sobs:

"Yun Yan, I'm begging you... that's enough, please stop making a scene, okay?"

Yun Yan was somewhat surprised to find that Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost in tears, and that he was actually begging him in front of outsiders.

Has this old guy become so weak and corrupt? Faced with this situation, instead of thinking about how to deal with me or how to subdue me, he's begging me to stop?

That old guy is hopeless.

Heh, Yun Yan doesn't even realize that ever since he revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, the aura he exudes has been stronger than anyone else present, including Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After weighing the options in his mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized with despair that he was no match for Yun Yan; he truly had no way to Yun Yan.

Therefore, the matter of tearing off the mask is something he, who has retreated again and again to the extreme of corruption, truly cannot and dare not do. He is genuinely afraid that something bad might happen to Konoha, and that it might be destroyed by Yun Yan in a fit of rage.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi's best option, or rather his only choice, was to tear off his already shattered facade and humbly beg a junior.

From this perspective, we can also see the biggest difference between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi bears many responsibilities and has made many mistakes, and the root cause of Konoha's current weakness and decay may lie with him, ultimately, everything he did was truly for Konoha's sake.

Well, most of it was for Konoha's sake. At least his position as Hokage and his dedication to Konoha were somewhat acceptable. Of course, the final result was not good for Konoha.

Danzo is different. His claim that everything he did was for Konoha was just an excuse, a way to comfort himself. In reality, what he did was for... he just said it out loud.

Continuing to look at Yun Yan with those almost tearful, pleading eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi pleaded again:

"Yun Yan, our Konoha is currently beset by internal and external troubles. There are some things we must face. Can we temporarily put aside our prejudices and unite against external threats? I'm begging you."

After a moment of silence, Yun Yan continued to press his hand on Danzo:

There's a saying, "To fight external threats, one must first pacify internal strife."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply, glancing at the Kumogakure delegation.

"Let's address the most pressing issue first, and I'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer, okay?"

Grabbing Danzo's hair, Yun Yan ruthlessly slammed his face against the desk again.

"Then what about him?"