Chapter 127: Danzo, Your Secret Is Out!
"Danzo, what exactly is going on? Where is Hiruzen?"
Koharu Utatane entered the meeting room, her brow furrowing deeply. She didn't bother hiding the displeasure in her voice as she stared at Danzo, who was already ensconced in the head seat.
That seat belonged to the Hokage. Whether it was the Senju brothers in the past or Hiruzen Sarutobi later on, no one else was permitted to overstep, even if the Hokage was away from the village. Konoha was one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, not some makeshift roadside theater; its hierarchy and regulations were absolute.
As a former teammate and old friend, she didn't want to outright demand why he dared sit there, so she chose a more indirect line of questioning.
Facing her thinly veiled disapproval, Danzo acted as if he couldn't be bothered to answer. He simply waved a hand at her, signaling that they would talk once everyone had arrived.
Koharu's face flushed with anger, but she ultimately bit her tongue. After shooting Danzo a sharp glare, she took her own seat. An eerie, heavy silence began to spread throughout the room.
Fortunately, given recent events, all of Konoha was already on high alert. The village's shinobi had been waiting for the high command to return and take charge. Upon receiving the summons, the Jonin and clan heads arrived as quickly as possible, filling the room in short order.
Like Koharu, every Jonin and clan head who entered was taken aback by the sight of Danzo sitting so brazenly in the Hokage's seat. However, unlike the visibly incensed Koharu, most chose to remain silent, their minds racing as they considered the implications of such a scene.
"Since everyone is here, let us begin today's meeting."
Seeing his subordinate signal that the attendance was complete, Danzo gestured for the doors to be closed. He finally rose from the chair, his expression carefully schooled into one of somber gravity.
"First, I have two announcements to make."
Danzo noted with inward satisfaction that while the crowd of Jonin and clan heads looked skeptical, no one spoke up to challenge his authority.
"First: On his way back to the village, the Third Hokage was ambushed by a joint force from the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Rain. He... has met an unfortunate end."
The room fell into a brief, localized vacuum of stunned disbelief before instantly exploding into a cacophony of voices.
"Second!"
Danzo raised his voice, cutting through the chaos to deliver the killing blow. "In light of the crisis currently facing our village, we require a strong, decisive leader to guide us. Therefore, I will be assuming the position of Acting Hokage!"
The previously rowdy room went silent, as if someone had hit a pause button. Everyone froze, staring dumbfounded at Danzo as he sat back down with practiced poise.
"Heh. Just as I thought."
Outside the walls of Konoha, Hatani—who had been sprinting at full tilt—finally caught sight of the village gates just as the moon began to rise. From a distance, he spotted the two "new gatekeepers" wearing the distinctive masks of Root. A cold sneer curled his lips.
"Sakumo-sama, after seeing this, do you still believe Danzo had nothing to do with the ambush?"
Sakumo Hatake, staring at the abstract, starkly colored masks that differed so greatly from the standard Anbu design, looked grim. A wave of profound fury flickered in the depths of his eyes.
As a shinobi who would abandon a mission for the sake of his comrades, Sakumo could not tolerate someone who would strike down a teammate for the sake of ambition—let alone someone who would target the Hokage.
"Hatani, what should we do now?"
Sarutobi Yuki asked urgently. Ever since Hatani had been the first to correctly predict Danzo's movements, Yuki had decided the boy was the most trustworthy person to follow. He looked at the Root ninjas clearly stationed there to block their entry, his heart racing.
"A ninja who conspires to assassinate the Hokage is, by definition, a rogue ninja."
Hatani narrowed his eyes, his voice turning ice-cold. A dangerous light flashed in his gaze as he recalled how Hiruzen would eventually handle similar situations in the original timeline.
"And against rogue ninjas, the only rule is execution on sight!"
Even Sarutobi Yuki was taken aback by the sheer lethality of Hatani's suggestion. He stared at the boy with a mix of shock and uncertainty, his mind spinning.
Sakumo, meanwhile, was momentarily struck dumb. No matter how angry he was, the thought of completely eradicating Root—much less eliminating Danzo—had never crossed his mind.
"Hatani, that's going a bit too far. We don't have enough concrete evidence yet," Sakumo urged, trying to be the voice of reason. "We should focus on controlling the situation and wait for the Lord Third to return before deciding on a punishment."
Bang!
Back in the Hokage Building's meeting room, the suffocating silence was finally broken by Koharu Utatane slamming her hand onto the table.
"That's impossible! Danzo, how could Hiruzen possibly..."
As a former classmate and a partner of many years, Koharu refused to believe that Hiruzen Sarutobi could fall in an ambush.
"It was an ambush led personally by Chiyo of the Sand and Hanzo of the Rain, supported by over a dozen Jonin," Danzo interrupted before she could finish.
Hearing those names and the scale of the attack, even Koharu fell silent. She slumped back into her chair, looking utterly dejected. Chiyo and Hanzo might not be Hiruzen's equals individually, but the gap wasn't immense. Combined with a dozen elite Jonin, the odds were catastrophic. Koharu couldn't help but think of their master, Tobirama Senju, who had died in a similar fashion—fighting the Gold and Silver Brothers and twenty elite Cloud ninjas to cover their retreat.
"In truth, the reason the Third Hokage met with such disaster was entirely due to the incompetence and indecision of his escort, Sakumo Hatake."
Sakumo Hatake, the man who was currently trying to plead for Danzo's life outside the gates, had no idea that his kindness was being repaid with malice Danzo had plotted long ago.
"Had he not been lured away by the enemy's ruse, and then further delayed by trying to rescue a mere Genin from his squad, Hiruzen might have escaped under his protection!"
"Sakumo Hatake!" Koharu hissed through gritted teeth.
Boom!
Just as the crowd began to murmur in suspicion and Koharu seethed with rage, the doors to the meeting room were blown off their hinges by a massive force.
The shinobi inside rose as one, drawing chakra and preparing for combat. But as the smoke cleared, the man Koharu had just been cursing—Sakumo Hatake—was the first to step inside. The entire room froze in shock.
But when they saw the figure walking calmly behind Sakumo, they were left utterly speechless.
The boy—the young genius most of them had heard of—was dragging two bodies behind him like they were nothing more than dead dogs.
"Danzo, the jig is up."
Hatani tossed the two unconscious Root ninjas onto the floor. He looked at Danzo—whose face was now as pale and twisted as if he were attending his own father's funeral—and let out a sharp, cold laugh.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
+150 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls