Flip the Table, Then Let's Not Talk Anymore

The talks broke down, no surprise there.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had indeed heard what he wanted to hear, but Danzō's words were so grating that they filled him with guilt and a hint of fear.

He vanished with a Body Flicker Technique.

Danzō didn't follow. He sat back down on the recliner to rest.

He wouldn't be like the original Danzō, wholeheartedly taking the blame for Sarutobi Hiruzen for the sake of Konoha.

Home.

Honestly, Sarutobi Hiruzen's words had stirred something in Danzō.

Since he'd decided to live here steadily from now on, it seemed he ought to do something for this home.

And he had no intention of being a silently devoted good guy. He needed to step out of the shadows and let the people of Konoha, basking in the sunlight, know he existed.

Lying down, Danzō watched the sky gradually brighten. When the first ray of sunlight touched his face, he couldn't help but curl his lips into a gentle smile.

First, rebuild his reputation, then go teach at the Ninja School.

"Ryoma."

"Here."

"Arrange some people. Send a few letters in my name to the Feudal Lord's Mansion of the Land of Fire and the Feudal Lord's Mansion of the Land of Lightning, as well as the other hidden villages."

"Yes."

Back at the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen had barely rested for an hour before he got up to prepare for the meeting.

The Kumogakure delegation was still in Konoha, waiting for an explanation.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage had already gathered his army at the border, ready at any moment to step from the Land of Lightning into the Land of Fire.

They were waiting for a pretext.

A pretext to convince the Feudal Lord of the Land of Lightning to approve their war.

There was no more time to delay this matter.

The clan heads had already arrived at the Hokage Building early in the morning to wait. Sarutobi Hiruzen was the last to show up.

Taking his seat at the head, Sarutobi Hiruzen declared the meeting open.

"Where's Danzō?" Utatane Koharu frowned, looking at the empty seat beside Hiruzen.

"He's not coming. We'll decide on our own." Hiruzen said helplessly, realizing he could no longer understand his old friend.

"That old man is getting more and more willful." Utatane Koharu snorted coldly.

The clan heads all had their own thoughts upon hearing Hiruzen's words.

Among them, Uchiha Fugaku furrowed his brow, disappointment in his eyes.

Shimura Danzō carried on the Second Hokage's cold ideology and had always held a grudge against the Uchiha Clan.

Logically, Fugaku should have been happy that Danzō wasn't attending the meeting.

But Fugaku couldn't muster any joy.

"By now, you should all know about Kumogakure's kidnapping of the Hyuga Clan."

"Now Kumogakure is using the death of their delegation in Konoha as a reason to start a war. We old folks have discussed it and plan to seek peace, but we still want to hear your thoughts." Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly.

"I agree with seeking peace. Konoha needs time to recover." Nara Shikaku was the first to voice his opinion, and beside him, the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans seconded it.

The Ino-Shika-Cho families agreed, followed by the Inuzuka and Sarutobi clans.

The other major and minor families in the village also echoed this decision.

The remaining invisible clan in the village, the neutral Aburame Clan, abstained.

The Uchiha and Hyuga, as Konoha's two great clans, made no statement, but the outcome already seemed clear.

"Since we've decided to seek peace, let me lay out the other side's terms." Hiruzen said calmly, seeing the one-sided result.

"Kumogakure demands we hand over the murderer, meaning the Hyuga Clan Head."

"Impossible!"

Hyuga Hiashi refused without hesitation, his face dark. "The Byakugan is the foundation of the Hyuga Clan. I won't hand it over to outsiders."

Moreover, as the clan head, if he were taken captive over this, the Hyuga Clan's standing in Konoha would plummet.

Hiruzen's expression also soured. This condition had been proposed by Kumogakure that morning.

Their goal was undoubtedly the Byakugan.

"Kumogakure's aim might just be the Byakugan. The war is probably just a smokescreen." Uchiha Fugaku said.

"But we can't afford to gamble." Utatane Koharu looked at Hyuga Hiashi. "Konoha can't withstand war right now, but it goes without saying that we can't agree to something as shameful as exchanging a clan head."

"We'll try to negotiate with Kumogakure. If their goal is the Byakugan, handing over one Hyuga member should suffice."

"Hiashi, I recall your younger brother Hizashi looks a lot like you, doesn't he?" Utatane Koharu said, looking at Hyuga Hiashi. Her meaning was clear.

When she'd gotten this news that morning, she'd breathed a sigh of relief.

If they came for the Byakugan, the price demanded in the peace talks would be much smaller.

The Caged Bird curse mark was a secret of the Hyuga Clan; only a handful of people in the village knew about it, let alone outsiders.

When those fellows carried a Hyuga branch family member back to the village, they would find it impossible to obtain the Byakugan from this Hyuga clansman.

Just thinking about it made Utatane Koharu find it somewhat amusing.

If this was the price.

The few people at the long table who had been somewhat dissatisfied with the peace talks gradually calmed down.

Being able to achieve peace at such a small cost—and especially since it wasn't someone from their own family—they set aside their discontent.

"Hiashi, the cost of this decision is already very small. You need to consider the bigger picture." Seeing Hyuga Hiashi still hesitating, Mitokado Homura urged him.

Facing the gazes cast at him from around the long table, Hyuga Hiashi sighed inwardly and finally nodded.

"Bang!"

Just then, an Anbu wearing an animal mask suddenly appeared in the room.

"What is it?" Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and asked with a frown. Under normal circumstances, the Anbu wouldn't appear so abruptly to interrupt a meeting.

"Lord Danzo has sent men to kill all the delegation members still in Konoha," the Anbu reported the news immediately.

"What?!"

Utatane Koharu slammed the table and stood up.

The others were also shocked.

Wasn't that guy supposed to be skipping the meeting?

Was he planning to stir up trouble on his own?

"Everyone's here."

A somewhat gentle voice sounded by the window, interrupting their astonishment.

When everyone turned to look, a palanquin had stopped by the window at some unknown time.

Danzo lifted the curtain, stepped out of the palanquin, and entered the conference room through the window.

"Perfect timing, everyone's here." Danzo pulled a smile onto his face and said to the group, "Let me explain simply—I accidentally killed all those Kumogakure fellows, so it seems the meeting is no longer necessary."

"Let's just go to war directly."

"What the hell are you doing!" Sarutobi Hiruzen roared. Hadn't this guy looked like he'd seen through the mortal world this morning? Now he was causing trouble again.

And on top of that, he'd thrown a bomb all at once, flipping the table over.

"Is... is this Danzo?" Uchiha Fugaku looked at Danzo in surprise.

The other clan heads were equally stunned.

They were all amazed by Danzo's now youthful face, and was that guy actually smiling?

Could Danzo even smile?

Cracking his mouth wide, Danzo revealed two rows of gleaming white teeth as he explained to the people before him, "It might be because this monkey is too weak. Even the Second Hokage couldn't stand it anymore, so he made me younger to help him fight this war."

Since he had decided to define Konoha as his home, Danzo naturally had to protect that home well.

And wasn't this the perfect opportunity to show his face in front of the villagers of Konoha?

Danzo could already imagine how many Skill Points he would harvest once he returned victorious.