I Arrived Just in Time!

Should they suddenly strike and take the chance to flee, or obediently cooperate with the Third Hokage and return to the village to face punishment? Once these matters were exposed, they would be utterly disgraced. Becoming rogue ninja would have been a comparatively better outcome.

Being arrested and subjected to severe punishment was the most tragic possibility.

"Hmph!!!!"

In the end, Danzo chose not to resist. He knew that against the fully armed Third Hokage and a large number of Anbu ninja, he stood almost no chance. Resisting would only make his crimes more serious, so he might as well cooperate with the Third Hokage.

He believed the Third Hokage would not easily hand down severe punishment, even if he had committed deeds condemned by both gods and men. Of course, if he could shift the blame onto Danzo during the process, that would be even better.

Danzo had harbored such thoughts from the moment he recruited Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, that plan was destined to fail. From the beginning, Hikaru had made Orochimaru prepare for every possibility, specifically to prevent Danzo from shifting the blame onto him when things were exposed. That sinister old bastard Danzo was exceptionally skilled at dumping responsibility on others.

Thus, Danzo and Orochimaru cooperated with the Third Hokage without resisting. After some precautionary measures were taken, the two were brought back to the village and placed under strict Anbu guard to await judgment.

The Third Hokage did not spread the news immediately. Instead, he arranged for the laboratory to be destroyed first and gathered every piece of intelligence that might prove useful. This concerned the convictions of Orochimaru and Danzo. The dead needed to be buried, while the living needed care.

Yamato, the sole successful test subject, was deliberately kept by the Third Hokage and, as