Chapter 125: The Desperate and Overwhelmed Hokage's Office
For ten straight days, all was quiet in Konoha.
It reached the point where Akiyama Makoto began to think the bounty stations had realized they'd been tricked and had simply destroyed his intelligence.
But ten days later, large numbers of Konoha ninja were suddenly mobilized. Many of their leaves were directly canceled. This commotion was so great that it wasn't just him; even the civilians of Konoha sensed that something was wrong. They even began to whisper, wondering if another war was coming.
Makoto, meanwhile, got some inside information from Tenten and Anko. The Hokage had issued an order for all of Konoha's ninja to begin a special search within the Land of Fire. As for what they were searching for, those not on the mission didn't know.
But he realized from this that Hiruzen Sarutobi was trying to stop the intelligence from leaking out of the bounty stations. This effort was doomed to fail, because he had sold the intel outside the Land of Fire from the very beginning.
"Bang!"
Inside the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was ashen. He struck the desk hard with his pipe, even cracking the wood.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also had expressions of shock and anger. They were passing around a piece of intelligence that had just been intercepted by Konoha's ninja. It recorded several of Konoha's most tragic "black history" incidents, all of which starred Danzō as the main character.
This forced them to glare at Danzō with undisguised fury.
"Danzō, this is all your mess. You solve it!" Hiruzen's words were merciless. It felt as if he was already prepared to abandon Danzō at any moment.
In fact, he was.
If he didn't abandon Danzō, then who was it that had indulged his dark past? As the Hokage, was Hiruzen aware of it? Did Danzō act on behalf of the Hokage's faction?
Hiruzen knew that if he claimed he knew nothing, no one would believe him. The only thing he could do was admit that he had been "soft-hearted" and forgiven Danzō for the assassination attempt, but he had to pin everything else on him. Otherwise, it wouldn't just be Danzō whose reputation was ruined, but his entire generation of Konoha's leadership. Even the Will of Fire, which he had been chanting for years, would become a complete joke.
If the situation became any more severe, the Cloud and Rock villages might use this as an excuse to declare war on Konoha again. The current Konoha could not withstand another war!
Shimura Danzō remained expressionless. He stared at Hiruzen and said, "Sarutobi, I don't believe you can't see that this intelligence is half-truths and half-fabrications. Many parts are just made up."
"Are you going to kill me as a sacrifice just because of some fake intel? That's not like you, Sarutobi. In the old days, you were a man who would sacrifice himself for his comrades."
"Danzō, I can sacrifice myself to protect the village. But I cannot sacrifice the village to protect you!"
This time, Koharu and Homura also stood firmly on Hiruzen's side.
Koharu angrily rebuked him. "Danzō, this intelligence is clearly aimed at you. At this critical moment, we cannot let the entire Hokage faction be buried with you."
Homura also said, "Danzō, it may be time for you to make a sacrifice."
Danzō sneered. "You are right. This is indeed intel aimed at me. But the more this is the case, the more problematic it is."
His gaze swept over the three of them. "Many of these secrets are known only to a very few people. Who could have pieced together such a report?"
"What is his goal? Is it really to target me? Perhaps their target is you, Hiruzen—or perhaps, their target is all of Konoha!"
"First, they use this to disrupt the morale of our forces, and then, after we are torn apart, they will wipe us all out."
His words were undoubtedly powerful. The most crucial point was: who could have pieced together and recorded these things? The three of them certainly had the qualifications. And the clan heads of the other great families could also do it if they secretly communicated.
At this thought, Homura and Koharu revealed looks of panic. Could it be that a force opposing them had already formed within Konoha, right under their noses?
Hiruzen also frowned, considering this possibility. Although he didn't want to believe it, he couldn't think of any other explanation. He looked at his old comrades. He didn't believe they would use this method to attack Danzō at a time like this. In that case, the answer could only be those other people...
"It seems you've figured it out, Sarutobi."
"The most urgent task now is to launch an internal investigation and suppress all rebellious elements, just like with the Uchiha clan back then."
This remark provoked Hiruzen, who snorted coldly. "We can't just find a second Shisui Uchiha or Itachi Uchiha."
"If you want to conduct an internal purge now, are you trying to make Konoha erupt in a civil war?"
Danzō still wanted to argue. "As long as we move quickly—"
"Enough!" Hiruzen cut him off gruffly. "The most important thing right now is unity, not more internal division!"
"Today, I will meet with the heads of the clans and test their loyalty."
He sighed, as if he had aged ten years. "Koharu, Homura, do you have any way to alleviate the external pressure on Konoha?"
Koharu thought for a moment. "Since this is half-true intelligence, let's have the Anbu spread intelligence about the other villages. Make it half-true as well, and write even more scandals."
"When the time comes, all the villages will be forced to conduct their own internal investigations. That way, the pressure on our shoulders will be reduced."
Hiruzen's eyes lit up. That was a good idea.
"Danzō, you will handle this matter. This is for your own life and for the safety of Konoha. You can do this, can't you?"
For a rare change, Danzō didn't snort, but just nodded silently. He wasn't as calm as he appeared on the surface. Although he didn't think Hiruzen would have the heart to punish him, a coalition of all the people he had offended seeking revenge was an enormous threat.
Fortunately, this intelligence didn't mention the Akatsuki or his ongoing collusion with Orochimaru. Otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to explain himself.
Hiruzen put on his hat, left the office, and headed towards the Ino-Shika-Chō compound. He needed to ask his old comrades and subordinates to help him analyze just whose handiwork this was.
Koharu and Homura, meanwhile, surrounded Danzō. What they said next almost made him cough up blood.
"Danzō, if this matter can be resolved, you should still retire to the second line."
"Yes, Danzō. This is for your own good. You have shouldered too much. If you continue like this, you will suffer a backlash."
Danzō looked at the two of them as if they were fools. If he relinquished his post and no longer had the loyalty of the Root ninja, that's when he would suffer a backlash. At that time, forget about enemies from other villages; the next leader of Root wouldn't even let him live.
He could only give them a perfunctory reply, then chose to leave the Hokage's Office. He returned to the deepest part of Root headquarters and protected himself with sealing jutsu.
At the same time, he did not give up on investigating who had done this. It was just a pity that he was severely short-handed right now.
However, he was not completely without options.
He summoned his confidant and said slowly, "Tell Orochimaru the plan is still on, and that he needs to speed up his actions."
Since Hiruzen was already thinking of throwing him under the bus and using his death to end the grudge, then he, Danzō, could naturally have his own thoughts of becoming Hokage and ending Hiruzen's dark and bloody reign.
This is what you call "bonds."
On Makoto's end, he continued his normal training life.
In the past few days, even Anko, Kurenai, and Team Guy had been mobilized. The only people who came to see him now were the few girls who had not yet graduated from the Academy. They were all uneasy about the situation in Konoha, their expressions grave, and the previous cheerful atmosphere was gone. They had even started training harder, as if preparing for a possible war.
He could have comforted them and told them not to be nervous, but seeing them work so hard, he let them be. People always needed a certain amount of pressure to grow. And right now, Ino and Sakura were clearly in a state of insufficient pressure.
He had thought these days would last for a while, but he unexpectedly received an invitation from Hyūga Hiashi.
Why would Hiashi be looking for me at a time like this?
Could it be... His eyes lit up slightly. Was it because he suspects me?
He realized that this was indeed possible. Even if Hiashi had no proof, he knew that he had the motive to do all this. Not because he knew he would be attacked by Danzō, but because he knew he wanted to "revitalize the Senju clan" with Tsunade.
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