"Someone! Go bring Danzo to me—immediately!"
The next moment, the Third Hokage gave the order in a deep voice.
"Yes!"
A hidden ANBU ninja acknowledged the command and vanished in an instant.
Before even five minutes had passed, Sakumo arrived at the Hokage's office first and met with the Third Hokage.
Seeing Sakumo, although the Third Hokage suspected that this recent wave of public opinion had Sakumo's involvement, he chose not to ask. Instead, he smiled and said, "Ah, Sakumo. What brings you here? Is there something you need?"
"As for the discussions in the village over the past couple of days, I apologize. I didn't expect things to escalate this much. I should have stepped in earlier to stop it."
At this point, the smile on his face faded, and his expression gradually turned serious.
"However, your failure in this mission was indeed inappropriate."
"As a ninja, the mission should come first."
"Because of the mission's failure, the village has suffered considerable losses."
He immediately seized the initiative, afraid that Sakumo might say something he didn't want to hear.
At the same time, it was a warning—a reminder that Sakumo was currently bearing guilt.
Sakumo felt a chill in his heart.
He had finally seen through the Third Hokage's true nature.
Without hesitation, he spoke directly, "None of that matters anymore. I am willing to bear responsibility for the failure of this mission. Therefore, I would like to voluntarily resign from my position as the head of ANBU."
"I believe I am no longer qualified to hold such an important role. I request that you grant my resignation, Lord Hokage."
The Third Hokage: "...???"
He stared blankly at Sakumo.
Something was off.
This wasn't the reaction he had expected.
However, seeing Sakumo willing to take responsibility and resign on his own, the Third Hokage felt a sense of satisfaction and delight.
With this, Sakumo's chances of becoming Hokage were essentially gone.
He would lose his authority and carry a stain on his record.
This time, the Third Hokage didn't even bother with false attempts to persuade him to stay. He was afraid Sakumo might react unpredictably again, so he immediately agreed while putting on a regretful expression.
"If that's the case… then very well. I accept."
"For the next few months, you should rest well in the village."
"Don't worry, the village will not mistreat those who have contributed greatly. Although this mission caused losses, compared to your past achievements, it's not something that cannot be overlooked."
"Trust me—once this matter passes, the village will still entrust you with important responsibilities. The village cannot afford to lose a talent like you."
All the good words were spoken by the Third Hokage.
Now that his goal of suppressing Sakumo had been achieved, he had no problem offering comforting words.
It only made Sakumo feel even colder inside.
Won't mistreat me?
Wasn't it you and Danzo who plotted against me?
Now you want to play the good guy? Too late.
At the same time, Sakumo thought to himself, You admit that this loss doesn't compare to my past achievements—then why did you allow Danzo to manipulate public opinion to smear me?
Earlier, when Shiro Akira suggested that the mission failure might have been a trap orchestrated by Danzo, Sakumo had still had doubts.
Now, he was certain.
This matter absolutely could not be separated from those two old men.
On the surface, however, Sakumo remained calm. "We'll talk about that later. I've been working hard for many years without rest. This time, I plan to take a proper break and focus on training Kakashi and Shiro Akira at home."
"That's all. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
With that, Sakumo turned to leave.
"That's fine. Rest well."
The Third Hokage nodded and watched as Sakumo left the office.
He then stood up, packed tobacco into his pipe, lit it, and took a puff before walking to the window.
From there, he could see Sakumo leaving the Hokage building.
Sakumo seemed to let out a long breath of relief before walking away briskly.
The Third Hokage fell into deep thought.
Nearly ten minutes later, the office door was pushed open.
Danzo walked in.
Seeing the Third Hokage standing by the window, he spoke with an unpleasant expression, "Why did you call me here?"
He had been furious over the reversal of public opinion and the destruction of his reputation over the past two days.
Only then did the Third Hokage turn around. He waved away the hidden ANBU before frowning at Danzo.
"The public opinion attack against White Fang a few days ago—that was you, wasn't it? You went too far, Danzo!"
Danzo immediately became displeased. "Wasn't this what we agreed on? How is it too far? And haven't you seen what's happened these past two days? White Fang has taken control of public opinion and turned it against me!"
"I'm very busy right now. Can you stop causing me trouble?"
He was eager to strike back.
He, Danzo, had never suffered such a loss before. No matter what, he would get his revenge.
"I'm causing trouble?"
The Third Hokage slammed his pipe against the table in anger and glared at Danzo.
"Do you know that today, dozens of clan representatives—led by the Yamanaka clan—came here to file complaints?"
"They accuse you of harming their clan's talents, taking them away and brainwashing them into tools for your own use!"
"They even claim that you and I have been deliberately suppressing the clans through such means!"
"I never told you to do any of that! And you never once reported to me about gathering these talents!"
At this point, the Third Hokage stared coldly at Danzo.
"Danzo, you've overreached! This has gone too far! You must give me—and the clans—an explanation!"
"I hereby remove you from your position as Hokage's advisor. Reflect on your actions!"
"Additionally, all those people you took from the clans must be returned within two days."
"As for the public opinion issue, I will handle it myself. For now, stay out of trouble!"
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