"Everything I did was for Konoha!" Danzo opened with what Shiki would call one of his classics had he been there.
"And you have conducted an illegal operation, killed several Konoha shinobi and attacked locations unrelated to your list of accusations." He claimed in his defense.
Clearly, the bandaged man was aware of the attacks before Mito, Tsunade and Fukutsu even arrived at the Hokage's Office and he already had some lines well rehearsed.
'Even if I cannot fully avoid punishment, I can soften it while redirecting some of the heat onto you fools.' Danzo cunningly thought.
Little did he know, that was all part of the plan.
It was not the man's fault however, by all reasonable perspectives, there was simply no benefit to taking a partial loss in exchange for a non-decisive blow against Danzo.
In the Hokage Faction's considerations, Mito's group had the main objective of hitting those facilities which was already accomplished.
'What came next after their actions was nothing but an afterthought.' Was what Hiruzen and Danzo personally believed.
At least, with the information currently available to them, that was their best guess.
A gap in information, truly the most dangerous disadvantage be it into the shinobi battlefield or the political battlefield.
"We simply did not know which facilities exactly held what we were looking for so, considering the time sensitivity of the matter, we simply decided to hit all locations we knew of." Mito explained.
'Bullshit!' X4
The three advisors and the Hokage did not believe it for a second.
'They knew exactly what they were doing and where to strike, they are also probably aware of other Root locations but didn't want to tear down everything.' Hiruzen thought.
That was good.
For all its issues, Root did have its uses and undertook many critical tasks for the village's sake, destroying too much of its infrastructure would definitely harm Konoha's interests and not just a little.
'Mito-sama still has the village in her mind so her actions will have a degree of propriety. She will not do anything she considers to be "going too far".' The Hokage concluded.
"Not a word regarding the Konoha shinobi you killed?" Danzo pointed out the part that the Uzumaki matriarch deliberately skipped over.
All he got from the redhead was a cold smile.
"Based on some records we have obtained, we still haven't killed as many as you and your tools." Mito countered.
"And if they were actually Konoha shinobi . . . Then were their actions sanctioned by the Hokage and thus official Konoha operations?" The Uzumaki matriarch sharply questioned.
'Damn you Danzo!' The Hokage internally cursed once more.
'If you drag me down into the fiery pit, there will be no one to fish you out!' He glared in his old friend's direction.
Danzo, of course, noticed his mistake.
'Damn old woman is still sharp. I can't let that accusation stick.' He thought to himself.
For all his issues with Hiruzen, Danzo knew that he could not afford internal conflict for the time being.
"Hiruzen lacks the decisiveness required to make the necessary decisions. It is why Root must take on this burden for Konoha's protection and prosperity." He declared with disdain.
His words might seem insulting towards the Hokage and they actually were but Hiruzen was more than used to such talk from his old friend.
More importantly, they absolved him from direct involvement.
But he was not out of the woods yet.
"So Root managed to establish such wide ranging illegal operations with ample funding and personnel, all without Konooha's Hokage ever catching wind of it?" Mito mockingly questioned.
Hiruzen and Danzo, this pair of old foxes, internally winced.
'This old woman truly knows to strike where it hurts.' The Darkness of Shinobi, still bound up in the Uzumaki matriarch's chains, thought to himself.
With a single question, Mito had deepened Danzo's crimes and pointed out the Hokage's incompetence for not catching him, just by highlighting that scale at which the man operated.
'In the end, though we might have overstepped with our independent operation, that is far from comparable to that brat's crimes. You can't save him without abusing your power and authority so act like the corrupt little Monkey I know you are.' The Uzumaki matriarch venomously thought.
It had been going slightly under the radar but she had been growing meaner, more ruthless and sadistic later.
'I need to manage this . . .' The redhead internally restrained herself, refocusing before anyone even noticed something was wrong.
"Considering the urgency and critical nature of this unsanctioned operation, its illegalities can be overlooked . . ." Hiruzen began.
Tsunade immediately cringed internally.
She recognized all too well what her sensei was doing and it was not going to lead to the upholding of justice she wanted to see.
'I don't even know what is justice, what is right and what is wrong anymore . . .' The Senju princess despondently thought, already sure the Hokage would be disappointing her, just like her grandmother had predicted he would.
". . . However . . . Root's matter is more complex." Hiruzen continued from his previous sentence, speaking in a slow and deliberate yet firm manner.
"It is clear that Advisor Danzo exceeded his authority as the head of Root and went beyond the bounds of acceptable research, even if he was working for Konoha's sake . . ." The Hokage continued.
Mito did not even bother hiding the contempt in her gaze while Fukutsu's eyes were growing colder and colder as ominous Yin Power welled up in response to his emotions.
Tsunade slightly trembled as she kept looking down, as if a part of her heart had been mercilessly gouged out.
"That said, punishment is unavoidable, regardless of his many contributions." Hiruzen's speech continued to drag.
'Really laying it on thick huh, Monkey?' Mito thought with dark amusement.
"Advisor Danzo will be removed from both his role as head of Root and his Advisor position, effective immediately. Additionally he will be confined to his house."
"Needless to say, due to the precarious state of the world, this matter must be kept confidential to avoid damaging internal unity." The Hokage handed out his judgement.
"Are you mocking us!?" Uchiha Fukutsu's outrage was far from being a simple part of the plan.
The Uzumaki matriarch herself was shocked.
'Shiki and I thought Monkey would meet out some half assed punishment but this can't even be considered a slap on the wrist . . .' Mito was genuinely bamboozled by the sheer shamelessness.
Even if Danzo was removed from his position as head of Root, its operatives were trained to die for his commands so what did it matter if the position was official or not?
He would be in charge regardless.
As for being removed from the Advisor role it was even worse.
This was not the future of the original timeline in which Danzo and the other two became entrenched Elders.
The original Advisor position was just a way to give a name to the Hokage's closest associates. So long as the Hokage continued to favor him, being Advisor or not was a meaningless distinction.
"Monkey . . . Think long and hard about the judgment you just delivered . . . And make sure it is worth listening to . . ."
Bloody killing intent seemed to flow out of Mito's thin frame like a tangible, crimson aura.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -