Nara Shikata raised his eyes, his tone even:
"We've investigated for so many days and still haven't found a clue. Now that the Third has been laid to rest, we can't keep putting off telling the public why he was killed."
"Rather than letting the villagers grow suspicious, it would be better to..." He paused, as if struggling to find the right words:
"Give them someone they can hate, so they have somewhere to direct the fear in their hearts."
"The things Lord Danzo has done in the shadows all these years really weren't honorable."
He lowered his head, his words tinged with resignation:
"Doing this would certainly be unfair to Lord Danzo's reputation... but right now, keeping the village stable is more important than anything."
His words made him sound neither like a bootlicker nor like anything but someone sincerely weighing the greater good.
As Hatake Sakumo listened, he couldn't help giving the Nara Clan head a mental thumbs-up.
As expected of the current head of the Nara Clan, his mind worked faster than anyone's.
The two advisors also stepped forward at just the right moment.
Mitokado Homura turned his head and exchanged a glance with Utatane Koharu. She said nothing, only giving a slight nod.
And just like that, the two advisors began playing off each other.
The two spoke "with the bigger picture in mind," but they were clearly "very supportive" of Hatake Sakumo's idea.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had been doing quite well these past few days.
They had found that Hatake Sakumo was indeed just as he had said at the time:
He only wanted them to help him become the Fourth Hokage and placed no restrictions on anything else.
The two were still advisors, second in command in the village. Hatake Sakumo hadn't come to see them again, either.
Now that it was "time to do their part" again, the two naturally had a little more motivation.
Seeing this, the other clan heads also thought the idea was a good one.
To be honest, they wanted to nod in agreement too. After all, they had investigated for so long and found jack shit. If this dragged on, none of them would be able to save face.
But one glance from the corners of their eyes made them swallow it all back.
Tsunade, Sarutobi Ken, and Orochimaru were still standing nearby.
The clan heads exchanged glances, then each looked away again. None of them spoke first.
There was no helping it. Tsunade's status was too special: she was a princess of the Land of Fire. If Sarutobi Ken and Tsunade didn't agree, this would be hard to handle.
So the other clan heads held off on "seconding" the proposal for the moment, waiting to see the reactions of Sarutobi Ken, the Third's son, and Tsunade, the Third's disciple.
Hatake Sakumo noticed where everyone was looking and immediately understood their concerns. But he didn't point them out, merely following their gazes to Tsunade.
"Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Ken." He asked, "What do you think?"
Orochimaru didn't answer immediately.
He stood by the window with his eyes lowered to the papers in his hands, as though he were weighing something.
Something's wrong.
Those two old geezers, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, usually can't be bothered to say an extra word at meetings. Yet today they're playing off each other, falling over themselves to smooth things over for Hatake Sakumo.
This isn't "agreement."
They're "buttering him up."
And that Nara Shikata has clearly already acknowledged this Fourth Hokage.
Orochimaru's slit-pupiled eyes remained fixed on the papers.
He had a suspicion of his own.
My teacher, Danzo, and that entire Root hideout that collapsed underground... the man sitting in the seat of honor did it all.
Unfortunately...
There's no evidence.
Orochimaru had investigated in private over the past few days, but unfortunately, he hadn't found anything.
Since you want to pin the blame on Shimura Danzō, Hatake Sakumo, I'll... make sure you don't get your way.
I'll trip you up and see what you do.
Before Orochimaru could figure out how to trip him up, the "stupid woman" beside him spoke first.
"Fine." Tsunade folded her arms, her voice decisive. "I agree."
She raised her eyes to Hatake Sakumo, and the diamond-shaped mark on her forehead moved slightly.
"At a critical moment like this, the people in the village are unsettled. By now, the other shinobi villages have probably learned of our teacher's murder through their spies. At a time like this, it's all the more important to keep the village stable."
"Compared to an unknown enemy, letting the villagers direct their hatred at Danzo really is the best choice right now."
She paused there before continuing:
"But the investigation can't stop. We have to find out how our teacher died. Whoever did it, anyone who dares assassinate the Third Hokage won't be let off by the village or the Land of Fire."
Sarutobi Ken didn't say a word.
He stood among the crowd, his back ramrod straight, but the hand at his side quietly clenched the hem of his clothes.
His father's era had passed.
Now it was the Fourth's era.
Even Lady Tsunade had made her position clear. What could he, the sixteen-year-old head of the Sarutobi Clan, say?
He knew what bothered him.
If they really went through with this plan, the search for the killer would likely be shelved bit by bit.
Today they would give the villagers an answer, tomorrow they would be "investigating," and the day after... the case would become old news that nobody mentioned anymore...
He couldn't accept it.
But in the end, he still couldn't argue against it.
He was just a sixteen-year-old boy, Sarutobi Ken, who had only just taken over his clan.
Not the Third Hokage.
"...All right." Sarutobi Ken raised his head, his voice a little hoarse. "Then we'll do as Lord Fourth suggests."
Orochimaru's face twisted as if he had bitten into a fly, but he quickly suppressed the expression.
He lowered his eyelids and added casually, "I don't have any objections either."
Hatake Sakumo watched the scene, very pleased.
His own handiwork had been too clean and efficient, leaving not the slightest evidence behind.
That, combined with the original owner's selfless contributions to the village and its people, had made the present situation possible.
And so it was settled that Shimura Danzō would take the blame.
After the small meeting of the leadership ended, everyone left the office one after another, leaving only Nara Shikata.
Hatake Sakumo patted him on the shoulder. "Shikata, thanks for your hard work. I'll leave announcing the news to the public to you."
Nara Shikata nodded. "I understand."
With that, he didn't linger. He bowed, then turned and left.
The office fell quiet, leaving Hatake Sakumo alone.
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
The Third had been laid to rest, the blame had been passed off, and the leadership had all agreed.
Next came his formal "ascension to the throne."
Once he had time on his hands, he couldn't keep his mind from wandering.
Hatake Sakumo suddenly began to wonder: Isn't it almost time for the Third Shinobi World War?
Once news of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō's deaths gets out, will it hasten the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War?
He thought about it, then smiled indifferently.
Who cares?
With my current strength, why should I fear them starting the Third Shinobi World War?
"Wait."
At that thought, Hatake Sakumo suddenly froze.
Since the system mistook Hiruzen Sarutobi for "Sengoku the Buddha" from One Piece and Shimura Danzō for "Whitebeard"...
Does that mean the system will also mistake other enemies or certain other people I run into in the future?
Then I can defeat them and draw another reward?
The more Hatake Sakumo thought about it, the more excited he became. He even began looking forward to the Third Shinobi World War coming sooner.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya was still some distance from Konoha.