"Danzo, what brings you to my Root?" Danzo's hoarse voice broke the silence.
The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.
Seeing Danzo appear, Hiruzen immediately grew anxious. "Danzo, you can do whatever you want with other matters, but you must not mess around with the Nine-Tails! One misstep, and it could spell disaster for the entire village of Konoha!"
Hiruzen's tone was firm, even to the point of disregarding basic decorum by bringing the ANBU to forcefully enter the Root.
Seeing his old friend so agitated, Danzo narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Are you talking about this danger?"
Danzo stepped aside, revealing the training ground behind him.
Hiruzen followed his gaze and saw a vast training ground surrounded by numerous candles.
Dense arrays of sealing formulas were inscribed on the ground, forming a massive seal.
A crimson glow emanated from the center of the seal, and a terrifying aura surged outward like a tidal wave, causing the entire Root to tremble.
Hiruzen immediately recognized the figure in the center as Kushina.
The Nine-Tails' chakra radiating from her body was a clear sign of a tailed beast's rampage!
"This is madness!" Hiruzen could no longer hold back. He angrily pushed past Danzo and rushed toward the training ground.
The Earth Branch team, who had been ready to intervene, stopped at Danzo's signal.
Hiruzen charged up to Kushina, intending to use a sealing technique, but then he met her puzzled gaze.
"Lord Third, what are you doing here?" Kushina sat calmly, her body enveloped in a crimson cloak of Nine-Tails chakra, looking quite imposing.
Seeing this, Hiruzen was completely stunned. There was no trace of the Nine-Tails' malevolence in Kushina's eyes.
Why was this happening?
As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen quickly thought of an almost impossible possibility. His throat dry, he asked, "You...?"
Before he could finish, Minato, standing nearby, gently placed a hand on Kushina's shoulder and said, "Lord Third, Kushina has successfully mastered the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"Huh?" Hiruzen's expression turned blank.
That was the Nine-Tails, the strongest of the tailed beasts!
For decades, Konoha had been on high alert, fearing its rampage.
And now, you've just tamed it like it was nothing?
Facing Hiruzen's disbelief, Kushina nodded without hesitation. "Thanks to Lord Danzo's help, we might not have been able to defeat the Nine-Tails without him."
"Huh?" Hearing Kushina's gratitude, Hiruzen was even more dumbfounded.
You defeated the Nine-Tails with Danzo's help? That old fox, Danzo, is this powerful?
And with all those experts who had just stepped forward to stop him earlier, how many more secrets was Danzo hiding?
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the colder he felt inside.
Just how much power had Danzo been hiding all these years? What was he secretly planning?
Seeing the changing expressions on Hiruzen's face, Kushina thought he still didn't believe she had mastered the Nine-Tails' power.
She immediately manipulated the Nine-Tails' chakra, forming a massive claw that slammed into the ground beside her.
"Boom!!"
The sheer force caused the entire Root to tremble, and the ground beneath Kushina's hand caved in completely.
Feeling the immense power radiating from Kushina, Hiruzen was speechless for a long time.
Finally, he managed to say, "That's... that's good. It's good that you've mastered the Nine-Tails' power."
---
Meanwhile, the chaotic scene at the Root's entrance had fallen into dead silence.
The reason? Danzo had walked out.
"If you have any grievances with the Root, you can discuss them with me directly," Danzo said, leaning on his cane as he stood at the entrance.
The previously bold ANBU ninja now fell silent, wishing they could bury their heads in the ground.
Seeing no one speak up, Danzo narrowed his eyes and said, "If you don't have any grievances with the Root, then you must be here to cause trouble, right?"
His words froze the entire scene.
Finally, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the ANBU Commander, mustered the courage to speak. "Lord Danzo, our intention was to assist the Root in controlling the Nine-Tails. We didn't expect..."
Before he could finish, Danzo interrupted him. "Did I ask you to speak?"
As soon as Danzo spoke, the burly Kakuzu appeared in front of Shinnosuke. His iron-like fist struck Shinnosuke's abdomen like lightning!
Shinnosuke grunted and was sent flying over ten meters.
Seeing this, the two advisors quickly stepped forward to mediate. "Danzo, Hiruzen was only acting in the best interest of the village. Please calm down."
After all, Shinnosuke was Hiruzen's son. It wasn't appropriate to humiliate him like this in public.
Unfortunately, Danzo wasn't in the mood to give them face this time.
"Anyone who forcibly enters the Root must be dealt with according to our rules. Arrest everyone who took action here. If the two elders have any objections, I can detain you as well," Danzo said coldly, clearly furious.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado knew this well. They immediately shut their mouths. Otherwise, as elders, being thrown into prison would be too humiliating.
At Danzo's command, all the Root ninja quickly moved in, tying up the ANBU members with ropes.
Some tried to resist, but under Danzo's icy gaze, they eventually surrendered.
By the time Hiruzen emerged, he saw all his subordinates captured.
"Shimura Danzo, what are you doing?!" Hiruzen's eyes seemed to spit fire.
Having so many of his men captured was like trampling on his pride.
But Danzo didn't care about Hiruzen's face. He sneered, "What am I doing? That's what I should be asking you, Hiruzen. While Minato and I were subduing the Nine-Tails, you led a group of ANBU to forcefully enter the Root. What were you planning?"
Danzo's question was a direct hit.
After all, the current Hokage was Minato. Yet, the former Hokage had mobilized the ANBU without the current Hokage's presence.
What was he trying to do? Stage a comeback rebellion?
Hearing this, Hiruzen's expression turned grim. He could only argue, "I was just worried that something might go wrong while you were subduing the Nine-Tails..."
As he spoke, Hiruzen glanced cautiously at Minato, who had just walked out of the Root. Seeing the chaotic scene, Minato's face instantly darkened.
Although Minato was usually easygoing, he was still the current Hokage.
Hiruzen's actions today were a direct challenge to his authority.
Minato had explicitly ordered the ANBU not to interfere, yet his orders were overridden by the former Hokage's commands. This was hard to ignore.
Seeing Minato's expression, Hiruzen knew things had taken a turn for the worse.
"This matter was my mistake," Hiruzen said through gritted teeth. "I take full responsibility for today. These ANBU were acting under my orders. I hope you can forgive them, Minato."
Seeing Hiruzen take the blame, Minato, though still angry, couldn't outright sever ties. He said coldly, "Since they defied the Hokage's orders and disrupted the Root, let Lord Danzo handle them."
Hearing this, Hiruzen's heart sank.
The worst outcome had come to pass.
But there was nothing Hiruzen could do. One misstep had led to another.
Regardless of his intentions, his miscalculation of Danzo and the Root's strength had directly led to this failure.
Now, he could only face the consequences.
____
Patreon.com/rashta