Hiruzen Sarutobi's Explanation

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave off a completely different impression from before.

The Hiruzen Sarutobi from moments ago had seemed like a Hokage who held great power and would never compromise.

But now, Hiruzen Sarutobi had become a pitiful old man who had devoted his entire life to Konoha, only to encounter all kinds of helplessness in his old age.

After letting out that helpless sigh, the aged Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke to Yun Yan in a low, utterly earnest voice:

"Yun Yan.

Without a doubt, Root is in the wrong here. This is their responsibility.

I never imagined those people would have the audacity to attack comrades from the same village. I will give you an explanation.

But this matter absolutely cannot get out. If it does, it will cause unrest in Konoha.

Konoha is currently lacking new talent, while the other ninja villages are eyeing us like tigers. The ninja world may look peaceful, but undercurrents run beneath the surface. Konoha may seem stable, but it is not truly safe.

At such a critical juncture, we really cannot afford any more complications. Do you understand, Yun Yan?"

The hell I do.

Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi put on this act, Yun Yan really wanted to say exactly that.

The old man saw that he could not control Yun Yan, so he started playing the victim. At the same time, he was using this so-called greater good to pressure him, forcing him to swallow his grievances for the so-called bigger picture and let the matter fade away.

Heh. How many times had he used this trick? And now he was using it on Yun Yan.

Yun Yan saw through Hiruzen Sarutobi's tactics and sneered inwardly. He was not buying any of it.

So Yun Yan became even less polite. He took two steps forward and planted one hand on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.

That gesture was already somewhat disrespectful toward the Hokage.

Yet what Yun Yan said next was seemingly even more disrespectful:

"Lord Hokage, your concern for Konoha is truly admirable.

The situation in the ninja world is unstable. That does indeed seem to be the case.

But if I may speak frankly, when has the ninja world ever been stable? In peacetime, people squabble and clash. In wartime, they fight all-out. It has always been the same.

We cannot lose our so-called principles because of that.

Those who commit wrongs must be punished. That is the most basic rule, isn't it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was left somewhat speechless.

He opened his mouth, intending to say something more, but Yun Yan spoke first with astonishing momentum:

"On the contrary, it is precisely because the ninja world is unstable, and precisely because Konoha lacks new talent internally, that we need to handle this matter impartially, so that Konoha's ninja, especially its younger ninja, can feel at ease.

Only fairness and justice can make our younger generation willing to give themselves for Konoha, willing to protect Konoha, right?

Rather than making them endure every grievance for the Will of Fire, for Konoha, and allowing Root's grave crimes to go unpunished, right?

At the end of the day, people need reason, don't they?"

Yun Yan threw out three consecutive "right?"s, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi utterly at a loss.

Forgive Hiruzen Sarutobi for his lack of experience, but he had truly never encountered a ninja like this.

Whenever he had faced similar situations in the past, he would invoke the Will of Fire or doing it for Konoha, using such grand ideals to pressure the other party. More or less, they would always submit.

But this guy did not. This guy was actually talking to him about fairness and justice, actually explaining that crimes must be punished!

This... makes so much fucking sense! I almost feel convinced!

After taking several breaths, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer bear to keep looking Yun Yan in the eye.

He lowered his head slightly, picked up the pipe in his hand, and began puffing away, hoping smoking would ease the turmoil in his heart.

Wasn't he in turmoil?

The methods he had always been proud of and accustomed to had suddenly become completely ineffective.

Instead, the arguments presented by the person across from him seemed rather correct.

What was going on? How could this work? How could this possibly be acceptable?

After a brief period of confusion, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally calmed down. With a headache brewing, he began considering how this matter should be brought to a close and how it should be handled.

Yes, what Hiruzen Sarutobi was considering was how to wrap things up, not how to resolve it completely through fair punishment.

It was clear that the old man was still rotten to the core, clinging to the same old ways. He was beyond saving.

After smoking for quite some time, until the visibility in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi had grown somewhat poor, he finally made a decision.

First, those two Root ninja were dead, and they were not important figures anyway.

Second, Root could not be touched. Root had to exist. There were many things he could not conveniently handle himself and could only leave to Root. Without Root, Hiruzen Sarutobi... no, Konoha would be placed in a very passive position.

Finally...

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped smoking. He looked up at Yun Yan, whose face was full of impatience, his expression deeply conflicted.

Where had this Uchiha brat come from? His way of doing things and his thoughts were vastly different from ordinary people. In all his years, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never encountered someone this difficult to handle.

There was no other choice. He could only pay a price and make a slight concession to get this brat to settle down.

At last, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke and gave his proposed resolution:

"These two Root ninja acted without receiving any relevant orders from me and attacked comrades from the same village. Their crimes were truly heinous.

Such crimes should have warranted immediate execution, but since Yun Yan killed them in self-defense, they received what they deserved."

Upon hearing those opening words, Yun Yan nearly rolled his eyes on the spot.

Those words were far too empty. This was not even muddying the waters anymore; he had turned them into porridge.

The two Root ninja had already been killed by Yun Yan, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi was still desperately dumping dirt, blame, and charges onto their heads.

What a guy, Hiruzen Sarutobi. After all, dead men could not protest, right?

But he should not think he could fob Yun Yan off with two corpses. This matter could not be resolved just by pinning the blame on two dead men.

Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Yun Yan continued listening to what Hiruzen Sarutobi had to say:

"For such a major lapse and oversight to occur, Root's leader, Danzō, clearly bears an inescapable responsibility..."

Yun Yan truly could not hold back anymore. Frowning, he raised a hand and interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi:

"Hold on, Lord Hokage.

I'm glad that I can finally hear you mention Danzō, the key figure in this matter.

But you cannot put it that way.

From what you are saying, it seems you have defined this as an oversight or lapse within Root.

But if I may speak frankly, the Tongue Eradication Seal is still on those Root ninja's tongues. Even after their deaths, the curse seal was not lifted.

That shows just how powerful the seal is, and how absolute Danzō's control over Root ninja is.

So this was clearly not an oversight.

I can say with near certainty that those Root ninja came to assassinate me in the middle of the night under Danzō's direction, under Danzō's orders!"

Yun Yan pointed the spearhead directly at Danzō, directly at the true culprit and instigator! His purpose was crystal clear!

Looking at Yun Yan like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took another puff from his pipe.

It was unknown whether the pipe had some special therapeutic effect on Hiruzen Sarutobi, but after that puff, he suddenly became calm and resolute.

And what followed—the old man's attitude and conduct—somewhat exceeded Yun Yan's expectations.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke to Yun Yan with great seriousness and even sincerity:

"Yun Yan, it is only natural that you would suspect such a thing.

However, Root belongs to Konoha. It does not belong to Danzō alone. He is not so deranged as to do something like this.

Therefore, there must have been some lapse or misunderstanding within Root that led to you being accidentally attacked and brought matters to this point.

I can guarantee that this is the truth. I can even guarantee it in the name of the Hokage!"

At that moment, Yun Yan could barely maintain his expression!

After exhaling slowly and smoothing over his complicated emotions, Yun Yan swiftly understood what was happening.

Seeing that Yun Yan would not yield to either carrot or stick, the old man Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually started shamelessly stonewalling him! He simply refused to admit it! He was simply dressing it up in lofty words!

What could one do when the dignified Hokage began acting without shame?

The answer was that there really was no particularly good solution.

Yun Yan could not exactly kill the old man Hiruzen Sarutobi right here. Though he did indeed feel the faintest impulse to do so at that moment, it was only the faintest impulse, dear.

Seeing Yun Yan's expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed worried that Yun Yan might fly into a rage from humiliation. He immediately offered a few more conciliatory words:

"Of course, wrong is wrong.

Root made such a grave error this time, and its leader, Danzō, must bear responsibility.

I have decided to immediately remove Danzō from his post and order him to stay home and reflect on his mistakes! During this period, I will personally take command of Root and carry out reforms!"