Interrogation

The Elders took turns condemning Danzo. He stayed silent for most of it, but in his mind, he had already sentenced every member of the Elders Council to death.

Seeing the chaos before him, the Third Hokage stopped the Elders' accusations.

"Elder Ito has returned safely. It's time we reached a conclusion about Danzo. Elder Ito, do you have evidence that Danzo sent Root shinobi to assassinate you?" the Third Hokage asked.

Elder Ito had been staring at Danzo, his eyes blazing with anger. At the Third Hokage's question, he roared, "Would I accuse a member of the Konoha leadership without evidence? I've watched Danzo since he was a child, and he never struck me as a good man. He's ambitious. Today he tried to kill me; tomorrow he'll kill you to become Hokage.

"Third Hokage, if you shield Danzo over this, I'll give up my position as an Elder and dash my head against Hokage Rock. Let the First Hokage and Second Hokage see what Konoha has become."

The Third Hokage's chest tightened. If Ito killed himself at Hokage Rock, Konoha would become the laughingstock of the Shinobi World, and Hiruzen Sarutobi along with it. His reputation in the village would plummet if he drove an Elder who had contributed so much to his death.

The Elders' abilities had declined badly, but they still held some standing in the village.

"Elder Ito, why say that? Hiruzen was only asking a question," Koharu said, trying to smooth things over. "Danzo is a member of the Konoha leadership and commands Root. Without concrete evidence, punishing him would be difficult to justify."

"Hmph. We had the bodies of twelve Root members as evidence, but we were attacked twice more on the way back. They stole every body.

"They lost quite a few