His Mind Was a Mess
Hearing someone call his name, hearing that voice, Danzo turned his head in disbelief and resentment to look at Morino Ibiki:
"You are... Morino Ibiki, the captain of the Judgment Department? How dare you speak to me like that? I am an elder of Konoha and the leader of Root. How dare you, a mere captain, treat me like this?"
Morino Ibiki is now both patient and impatient with Danzo, and he said with a chilling expression:
"Danzo, you are no longer an elder of Konoha, nor the leader of Root. All your positions have been revoked, and all your rights have been stripped away. Your current status is that of a prisoner!"
When Danzo clearly heard from Morino Ibiki that he was a prisoner, he was completely stunned. Despite being restrained by so many Anbu Ninja around him, he struggled violently, his body stiffening and throbbing.
"Impossible! How could I be a criminal?! I refuse to accept this! I have worked so diligently for Konoha! I cannot be a criminal! What you are doing is unfair!"
Hearing this, Yun Yan, sitting in the back, couldn't help but look at Danzo with an absurd expression, shaking his head as he glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him:
"Sarutobi, did I hear that right? Danzo actually uttered the word 'fairness'? When did he start pursuing that concept too?"
Oh, I see. He probably only started pursuing those two words when he felt he had been treated unfairly. How ridiculous.
After venting his frustrations, Yun Yan shook his head with amusement, refusing to say anything more and temporarily ceasing his rant.
The presiding judge Morino Ibiki not at all surprised by Danzo's current arrogance and irritability.
As the captain of the Konoha Judgment Department, he had tried so many prisoners, each with a different attitude; some were tough, some were lenient. He had seen Danzo's behavior many times before.
So, Morino Ibiki, with a cold face, rebuked him sternly:
"Danzo Shimura Danzō, you mortal! Calm down! Confront reality! Take a good look at your current situation!"
As expected of Morino Ibiki, he was indeed an expert in this field. His stern rebuke startled Danzo, who was in a weaker position, and he was understandably frightened.
After being startled, a silence fell involuntarily. Danzo seemed to be forced to accept reality, looking around at his surroundings with a mixture of confusion and fear, especially at the many people watching him below.
Stared at by so many eyes, eyes Danzo with curiosity, disgust, and all sorts of expressions, Danzo's earlier rage and anger vanished, replaced by the fear of being exposed to the sunlight once more.
Seeing that Danzo had quieted down, Morino Ibiki's expression remained unchanged. He coldly said to Danzo:
"Danzo, although you are a prisoner now, you still have some right to know. I want to tell you about your current environment and specific situation."
In short, this is a public trial held by Konoha for all the people of Konoha. You are now on the trial platform, and your identity is that of a prisoner being tried!
Upon realizing that he was now in the midst of a public trial, and that he, a so-called prisoner, was not an ordinary prisoner but someone to be tried in a public trial, Danzo could no longer bear it. His body suddenly struggled and arched again.
"How could this be!? How could I, an old man, be subjected to a public trial!? I am..."
"Shimura Danzō!"
Morino Ibiki's eyes widened, and a dense, murderous aura erupted from his entire body. This terrifying aura directly confronted Danzo, shaking his very soul.
"You'd better understand your current situation. You're no longer an elder of Konoha or the leader of Root. You've done so many heinous things; you're now a criminal on public trial! You're about to be publicly tried by all the people of Konoha! Publicly tried! Publicly tried!"
Danzo with rage, and he roared in despair:
"By what right do you judge me? You have no right to judge me! And a public trial? By what right do you have to try me? By these lowly ordinary citizens of Konoha!"
When Danzo uttered the word "lowly," he was stunned. He didn't realize that he had inadvertently revealed some of the truth in his heart.
Upon hearing the word "lowly," the vast and surging crowd of Konoha people below were stunned for a moment, and then they all erupted in anger, an anger that was directly directed at Danzo above!
This prisoner, who was being publicly tried, actually said that the people of Konoha called so many of them despicable—that's outrageous! Is this really the so-called elder of Konoha and leader of Root? How could Konoha have such a person!
Although it's unclear what wrong this old man did to deserve being judged, his very thought and mentality prove that he's not a good person and should be judged here!
As a result, the many Konoha citizens below angrily accused and even insulted Danzo.
As for Danzo himself, he was standing there, completely bewildered. He couldn't believe that he had just blurted out those words without thinking.
Am I out of my mind? Even if that's what I truly think, and I genuinely look down on ordinary people who are like ants, I can't just shout it out like that!
Not only was Danzo in self-doubt, but Yun Yan, sitting behind him, was also somewhat bewildered by the scene. He couldn't help but turn to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him:
"Old man Sarutobi, has Danzo lost his mind? Why is he saying such things without thinking? In the past, even if he had such thoughts in his heart, he wouldn't have said them out loud. Why is he being so careless today?"
After thinking for a while with a grim expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi offered a reasonably reasonable explanation:
"Having been sealed like that for more than ten days, Danzo's will was already weak, so it's not surprising that his mind was clouded by the seal."
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's explanation, Yun Yan surprisingly found it reasonable and nodded in agreement.
"That makes sense, that makes sense. After all, being sealed like that for more than ten days is something that ordinary people can't endure. It's already quite remarkable that Danzo was able to recover so quickly. We can't expect him to still be thinking straight."
While Yun Yan and Hiruzen Sarutobi were making sarcastic remarks, the public trial in front of them continued, still open to the ordinary people of Konoha.
After the agitated crowd of ordinary people below the judge's bench quieted down slightly, and after the surrounding Anbu Ninja restored order, Morino Ibiki, standing to the side, coldly spoke again:
"Danzo, whether you like it or not, your only choice now is to accept reality."
The reality is that you are no longer an elder of Konoha or the leader of Root. You are now a prisoner being publicly tried, whether you like it or not.
You are about to be judged by the people of Konoha, whether you like it or not.
The heinous and unspeakable things you've done will soon be exposed and revealed to the world, whether you like it or not.
As he spoke, Morino Ibiki pulled out a thick stack of documents from somewhere, showed them to Danzo and the audience, and gave a brief explanation:
"Gentlemen, this is what we have discovered about Danzo's evil deeds and wrongdoings from beginning to end, as well as the various heinous crimes he committed."
I need to try Danzo for these crimes one by one. The process will be long and the content will be complicated. Please listen patiently. If Danzo committed involve yourself, please remain calm and refrain from any violent actions.
The crowd below the judge's bench stared in disbelief at the thick stack of documents in Morino Ibiki's hands.
What exactly did Danzo do? His crimes are truly countless! What kind of person is this?
Amidst the buzz of discussion, whispers, and lingering fear and confusion, the massive public trial continued.
Morino Ibiki picked up the thick stack of documents and calmly turned to the first page.
Because Morino Ibiki had already reviewed this thick stack of documents, which resembled a book, countless times, he wasn't surprised at all when he saw the contents of the first page. He then coldly and formally questioned Danzo:
"Since this is a public trial, then Danzo, all your sins and crimes will be judged."
Therefore, from the outset, I will be questioning you about your initial crime, namely...
During the Second Shinobi World War, you followed the Second Hokage to fight against Kumogakure, but when you realized the situation was dire and the Second Hokage wanted to sacrifice himself, you were too scared to fight!