Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well what state his reputation was in right now.
It could already be described as hanging by a thread.
Under such circumstances, he absolutely could not adopt overly brutal methods. Otherwise, he would definitely provoke public anger. That would be equivalent to personally pushing the neutral faction over to the other side.
That was not what Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to see.
Therefore, even though Hiruzen knew perfectly well that those people leaving the village intended to defect to Tsunade, he still had not taken excessively extreme measures. He had merely stopped them.
At most, he had them detained.
Once killing began, the nature of the matter would be completely different.
But now, what had Hiruzen heard?
That he had followed the Senju clan genealogy, searching one by one, intending to exterminate the Senju clan?
How could he possibly do something like that?
"Rumors! They're all rumors!"
But the people who had left Konoha and been killed, as reported by the ANBU shinobi, were real.
Those people truly had been killed.
And the one who had acted was a masked ANBU shinobi.
There were quite a few eyewitnesses.
With evidence this solid, no matter how Hiruzen tried to wash himself clean, it would be impossible.
What would those who knew Senju blood flowed through their bodies do?
What would the rest of the village do?
Hiruzen Sarutobi scarcely dared to imagine it.
The situation had become terrible to the extreme.
For a moment, Hiruzen's mind was a complete mess.
Even though he guessed immediately that Danzo was the one behind the killings, Hiruzen temporarily had no energy to pursue Danzo's guilt.
"Danzo, that bastard, he definitely did this on purpose!"
"Not just this time. He must have done it on purpose before too!"
"Shameless scoundrel!"
"And I trusted you so much!"
"And I valued you so highly!"
Suddenly, a shinobi from the Sarutobi clan rushed in.
"Hokage-sama, something terrible has happened!"
"Young Master Shinnosuke has been killed! The killer was an old man claiming to be from the Senju clan. He said he killed Young Master Shinnosuke to avenge those murdered members of the Senju clan!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened again.
"What?"
Rage struck Hiruzen straight in the heart. He felt as if his entire body was about to explode.
"Pfft!"
A large mouthful of blood sprayed out.
The next instant, Hiruzen felt the world spin around him.
Darkness fell before his eyes.
His entire body collapsed out of his control.
Bang!
In the final moment before his consciousness vanished, Hiruzen seemed to hear someone shouting his name.
The ANBU shinobi and Sarutobi shinobi were horrified and hurried forward.
As they checked Hiruzen's condition, they shouted loudly.
"Medical-nin! Medical-nin!"
Before long, Hiruzen Sarutobi was sent back to the Sarutobi clan. Two veteran medical-nin rushed over at the fastest possible speed.
Outside, the elders of the Sarutobi clan waited anxiously.
"How is he?"
The medical-nin looked at Sarutobi Kozo, sighed, and shook his head.
"We have already done everything we can, but Hokage-sama's condition is truly terrible."
"Hokage-sama was already advanced in age. He has also been overworked for a long time. After suddenly suffering such an enormous shock, his blood and chakra surged violently into his heart. His injuries are very serious."
"In the short term, Hokage-sama likely has no possibility of waking up."
Sarutobi Kozo's face turned pale.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was the backbone of the Sarutobi clan.
Now that Hiruzen had fallen into this state, what should the Sarutobi clan do?
A middle-aged man suggested, "Father, why don't we control those two medical-nin and release news to the outside world saying that the clan head merely needs rest and cannot meet visitors?"
"We can create the illusion that the clan head is still conscious. That way, the impact on our Sarutobi clan can be reduced to the minimum."
Sarutobi Kozo glanced at the middle-aged man.
"If the clan head had fallen unconscious inside our clan compound, perhaps that could truly work. But now, the news has already spread to who knows how many ears."
"Who knows how many people are watching our Sarutobi clan?"
"To create such an illusion without letting the clan head show himself, and still make others believe it, is simply impossible."
Just as Sarutobi Kozo expected.
Very soon, three figures arrived together at the Sarutobi clan.
Homura Mitokado.
Koharu Utatane.
Danzo Shimura.
With their status in Konoha, if these three wanted to force their way in, the Sarutobi clan simply could not stop them.
Moreover, they must have arranged methods long ago to secretly observe the Sarutobi clan's situation.
Lying would be meaningless.
"How is Hiruzen?"
The moment Danzo entered, he asked impatiently.
Sarutobi Kozo sighed.
"Hokage-sama has fallen into a coma. The medical-nin said he will need some time to recover before he can awaken."
Danzo revealed a deliberately worried expression.
"I didn't expect what those two medical-nin said to be true. Hiruzen is actually injured this badly. What happened? He wasn't even attacked, so how did he collapse on his own?"
Sarutobi Kozo looked at Danzo.
He knew in his heart that Danzo was definitely not as saddened as he appeared. Who knew how happy Danzo was inside?
But Sarutobi Kozo did not dare express his dissatisfaction.
Danzo was ruthless, vicious, and powerful. Sarutobi Kozo understood that very well.
Now that Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen unconscious, the Sarutobi clan could not afford conflict with anyone else.
"Danzo-sama, the medical-nin said Hokage-sama was overworked."
Danzo shook his head.
"Hiruzen too. He is clearly old, yet refuses to accept age. He wants to handle everything personally. Perhaps this incident may even be a good thing for him."
"He should seize this chance and rest properly."
"Koharu, Homura."
Danzo looked toward Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
"With such a major incident occurring, we must convene a village meeting. You think the same, don't you?"
The two exchanged a glance and nodded.
Homura Mitokado's relationship with Danzo was terrible, but with the village's current situation, a meeting was indeed necessary to stabilize the village.
However, what Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane did not know was that Danzo's main goal was not to stabilize the village's internal situation.
The village's higher-ups and the clan heads of the major shinobi clans arrived at the Hokage Building as quickly as possible.
Inside the meeting room.
Danzo spoke first.
"I believe everyone has heard something about Hiruzen's situation. He has fallen into a coma and will not wake up in the short term. For Konoha right now, this is an extremely terrible piece of news."
"After all, the village's situation is already very poor."
"Under these circumstances, the village absolutely cannot exist without a Kage."
"Therefore, this old man volunteers to shoulder this responsibility."
"Let this old man assume the position of Fourth Hokage."
"Who agrees? Who objects?"
Danzo swept his gaze around the room, his eyes pressing down on everyone.
For this day, Danzo had waited far too long.
He had also prepared for far too long.
Opportunities were reserved for those who were prepared.
Therefore, the moment he heard that Hiruzen Sarutobi had met with trouble, Danzo immediately took action.
He had contacted people early.
All for this moment.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane's expressions changed fiercely.