As those words fell, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression stiffened slightly.
He understood.
This was aimed at him.
Everyone in the meeting room looked at Hyuga Hiashi in surprise.
As Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly could not escape responsibility for such a grave mistake by Danzo.
Yet Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage, after all.
A mistake by the Hokage was not the same as a mistake by anyone else.
Everyone had tacitly chosen to turn a blind eye.
Even the Uchiha, who had gained enough benefits, had taken a step back.
No one had expected Hyuga Hiashi to launch an attack at this critical moment and impeach the Hokage.
Could it be because...
A bitter smile touched Shikaku Nara's lips.
Hyuga Hiashi's sudden attack, aimed directly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, was actually easy enough to understand.
The blame lay with the Third's mishandling of Hizashi's death two years ago.
Two years ago, the Kumogakure delegation had abducted Hinata Hyuga under the pretext of signing a peace treaty, and Hyuga Hiashi had killed the perpetrator on the spot.
Kumogakure had then turned the accusation back on Hyuga Hiashi, claiming he had murdered their envoy and violated the peace treaty, and pressured Konoha to hand over Hyuga Hiashi's corpse.
In the end, Hizashi Hyuga had taken his own life, dying in his older brother's place.
It was no longer clear what role Hiruzen Sarutobi had played in Hizashi's death, but whether he had brought it about himself or merely gone along with it, trading Hizashi Hyuga's life and the Hyuga Clan's dignity for peace had undoubtedly broken Hyuga Hiashi's heart.
Anyone with a shred of spirit could not have remained unmoved.
Moreover, the brothers Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga had been very close.
Even the gulf between the Main Family and the Branch Family could not sever their brotherly bond.
Had Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to make no mistakes, Hyuga Hiashi would probably have kept enduring in silence, but Uchiha Itachi's death had shown him an opportunity.
After a moment's thought, everyone present reached the same conclusion as Shikaku Nara.
Although the incident two years ago had disgraced the Hyuga Clan, and the Third had handled it very poorly, in all fairness, it had been an enormous boon to the other shinobi clans.
Because apart from the Uchiha, no one liked fighting.
They had supported trading Hizashi Hyuga's life for peace, and even within the Hyuga Clan, there had been some dissenting voices at the time.
Otherwise, no matter how much power Hiruzen Sarutobi held, if more than half the village had stood up in opposition, he could only have followed the will of the majority.
At this moment, however, no one stepped forward to speak for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Whatever Hyuga Hiashi's motives might be.
At the very least, no one could refute his accusations.
As both the leader of Root and the Hokage's aide, Danzo had made such a grave mistake that, no matter what anyone said, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not escape responsibility as Hokage.
That was the first reason.
The second was that Hiruzen Sarutobi had grown old and was losing more and more support.
Things had gone poorly for the village over the years: first Orochimaru's defection, then Hizashi's death, and now this affair with the Uchiha.
Everyone harbored some degree of dissatisfaction with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
They usually said nothing, but whenever trouble arose, they tacitly expressed their stance through silence.
"Clan Head Hyuga, what happened back then wasn't what you think. It was... Danzo's proposal."
Utatane Koharu steeled herself and once again shifted the blame onto Danzo.
Only moments ago, she had been inwardly cursing Hiruzen Sarutobi for being too heartless.
But now circumstances forced her to step forward and speak on Hiruzen Sarutobi's behalf.
Because once Hiruzen Sarutobi was driven from office, her comfortable days would be over too.
"Shifting all the responsibility onto Danzo-are you trying to fool me as though I'm an idiot, Advisor Utatane?"
Hyuga Hiashi looked at Utatane Koharu and sneered.
At his words, Utatane Koharu fell silent, her face dark.
Seeing this, Mitokado Homura, who had intended to say a few words for Hiruzen Sarutobi, choked back his words and kept his mouth shut.
Making Danzo take the blame was their usual trick, but it no longer worked.
Hiruzen Sarutobi swept his keen gaze across the entire meeting room, finding that the heads of the major shinobi clans all avoided his eyes, and he could not help feeling a little desolate.
The scene reminded him of the day after the Third Shinobi World War ended when he had been impeached and resigned to take responsibility.
That time, Danzo had led the charge.
This time, it was Hyuga Hiashi.
He let out a heavy breath and said, "Failing to properly oversee Danzo and allowing him to make such a grave mistake was my responsibility. For that, I am willing to... resign from the Hokage position."
After saying those words, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed drained of strength and slumped in his chair.
This was already his second time resigning to take responsibility.
Everyone froze at those words.
Even Uchiha Douyang's eyes showed a trace of speechless surprise.
No one could deny the Third's past contributions to Konoha; they were facts that could not be disparaged.
But he had grown old and muddleheaded, and was no longer suited to being Hokage. Stepping down now would benefit the village, the Uchiha, and even himself.
He had used Uchiha Itachi's death not only to force Hiruzen Sarutobi to abandon Danzo.
His greatest objective had been to create an opportunity for Hyuga Hiashi to step forward and impeach Hiruzen Sarutobi, forcing him to step down.
He simply had not expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to voluntarily resign from the Hokage position.
Had Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized his mistakes and suddenly come to his senses?
Mitokado Homura rose to his feet at this moment and said solemnly, "Lord Hokage, although you were at fault, resigning from the Hokage position is too severe a punishment. Please reconsider."
Hiruzen Sarutobi wavered. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Since Elder Mitokado says so, I will atone through service and carry on for a few more years."
At those words, the corner of Uchiha Douyang's mouth twitched slightly.
He thought to himself that he had underestimated Hiruzen Sarutobi's shamelessness.
A naive person might become Hokage, but once they became Hokage, they could not remain naive.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could not bear to relinquish the power in his hands and refused to step down.
"What do you mean, too severe a punishment? This punishment is exactly right."
Hyuga Hiashi spoke with forceful conviction.
"Everyone still remembers, don't they? After the Nine-Tails' Attack ended, the village had no leader, and Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward to take charge.
Under the rules set at the time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was to step down once a new Hokage was chosen. Yet five years have passed, and Hiruzen Sarutobi still holds all the power. That was already against the rules. Now we're setting things right."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face stiffened slightly.
Setting things right, setting things right.
Had he become what was 'wrong'?
Mitokado Homura's expression changed slightly.
What Hyuga Hiashi had said was true.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's return to office had been forced by circumstances.
At the time, Orochimaru had been the best candidate for Fifth Hokage, but someone had reported him for capturing the village's shinobi with kekkei genkai to conduct forbidden experiments.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been forced to step forward to arrest Orochimaru.
The matter of the Fifth Hokage had thus been shelved.
Mitokado Homura spoke again. "Clan Head Hyuga, the village currently has no one ready to succeed the older generation. Aside from the Third, who else is qualified to serve as Hokage? If anything goes wrong, can you bear the responsibility?"
Hyuga Hiashi looked coldly at Mitokado Homura. "What do you mean, no one ready to succeed the older generation? Why can't I understand what you're saying? Have you forgotten Tsunade and Jiraiya, Elder Mitokado, or do you simply not consider them people of this village?"
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