Konoha's Pot King

Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi kept puffing on his pipe, but even the thick white smoke could not hide his furrowed brow.

As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen did know part of the truth about the Nine-Tails Incident.

But what worried him most now was the Canopy Screen overhead, which was broadcasting information of uncertain truth.

If certain truths were exposed, they would throw all his plans into disarray.

Hiruzen immediately ordered ANBU to remain on the highest alert and investigate the Canopy Screen's origin at any cost.

But he knew the most troublesome problem had likely already begun: unrest among the people.

So Hiruzen sent ANBU to summon Konoha's three other leaders to discuss how to handle the crisis.

Danzo, meanwhile, was utterly baffled. He did not know the young man speaking to him on the Canopy Screen at all!

Could my memories have been altered? Danzo quickly examined them and formed a Ninjutsu technique to detect memory searches.

In the end, Danzo confirmed that his memories had neither been altered nor manipulated by Genjutsu. That left only one explanation: the Canopy Screen's information was false!

Yet the Canopy Screen kept playing.

[Onscreen, a sharp glint flashed in Shimura Danzō's remaining eye. He sneered. "Madara Uchiha? Hmph. Absurd! Still, the timing is perfect."]

[Mahito tilted his head, his grin widening. "You need this chaos, don't you? You need that big fox out of its current vessel, and you need the Hokage they call the 'Yellow Flash' gone. Right?"]

[Danzo rapped his cane with an air of righteousness. "Minato Namikaze stands in the way of Konoha's true strength. His sunshine has illuminated too many shadows. And chaos is the perfect catalyst for order to be reborn!]

["But what can Nine Nether do for me?"]

[Mahito tapped his chin. "Hmm? That Masked Man doesn't look easy to deal with either. Let's let him and the Fourth Hokage fight it out first."]

["Once they've worn each other down and the best part is over!" Mahito's hand suddenly transformed into a twisted Bone Knife.]

["I'll help you get rid of that nuisance. I've been dying to taste a soul—especially the soul of a powerful ninja! Hahaha!"]

[Danzo: "Fine. But remember: leave no trace linking this to Root."]

["No problem! But..." Mahito held out his hand to Danzo, plainly asking for payment.]

[Danzo pulled a small hexagonal stone marked with a snake from his pocket and tossed it to Mahito with a disdainful look.]

["I have no idea what Nine Nether wants with these little trinkets. All they do is make people invisible! They can't even fool the Perception Barrier!"]

[Mahito gave an elegant bow and smiled mysteriously. "The shadowed snake can put you everywhere at once!"]

["Please keep finding these stones for us, Lord Danzo. Nine Nether will reward you handsomely!"]

The Canopy Screen's broadcast ended there, but its impact was only beginning.

"Danzo!" Hiruzen roared his name like an enraged lion.

"Absurd!" Inside the Hokage's Office, Shimura Danzō slammed his cane against the floor, his lone eye blazing with anger.

"I don't know this Mahito, and I've never heard of Nine Nether! Everything that Canopy Screen showed is nonsense!"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also tried to persuade him. "Exactly, Hiruzen! We don't know where this Canopy Screen came from, and none of its claims have been verified. We can't trust it!"

Hiruzen had come to the same realization: whether the broadcast was true or false, he had to call it false. Otherwise, the situation would spiral out of control.

After issuing the order to refute the broadcast, Hiruzen looked again at his old friend's face, at once familiar and strangely foreign.

Deep down, he already believed most of what the Canopy Screen had shown. He knew the man before him too well.

Danzo was exactly the sort of person who might arrange Minato's assassination.

Elsewhere, in an unknown underground cavern, Black Zetsu seeped from a wall's shadow like melting tar and spoke in his distinctive low, raspy voice. "What a surprising turn of events!"

"One of the White Zetsu I sent to scout had its memories read? And I didn't notice a thing!"

"If the Canopy Screen is telling the truth, then Mahito and Nine Nether need to be reassessed and watched closely!"

The other ninja villages chose to wait and see. They still needed to compare the sudden broadcast against the intelligence they had.

Hyuga Xiu, the instigator behind it all, watched the Belief Points on his system interface soar. Choosing Shimura Danzō to take the blame had clearly been the right move.

After all, Danzo had a nickname: the Ninja World's Pot King!

From the time Hiruzen became Hokage until Danzo's death at the Five Kage Summit, you could pin ninety percent of everything that happened in the Shinobi World on Danzo, or at least say he had a hand in it.

Even in the Boruto era, some events still carried the legacy of Danzo's misdeeds.

Konoha's staff had all been mobilized to post notices and tell people not to believe what appeared on the Canopy Screen.

Even Hyuga Xiu, an ordinary Chunin, had been temporarily drafted. He would be paid the equivalent of a D-rank mission.

But Xiu did not mind. As the Canopy Screen continued, more and more people would surely believe everything it said.

The Third Hokage's attempts to deny it were nothing but a clown show.

The next day, the screen suddenly began broadcasting again. Almost everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to watch.

Hiruzen and the leaders of the other ninja villages were no exception.

[The image opened on Minato Namikaze's face carved into Hokage Rock. Then the view pulled back and moved toward a delivery room in Konoha.]

[Pop. A strange sound came from outside the delivery room. Space suddenly warped, and a figure wearing a mask and black robe slowly appeared on the grass outside.]

[One Sharingan beneath the mask stared coldly at the delivery room.]

[As before, a line of small text appeared above his head: Obito Uchiha of the Akatsuki Organization!]