Hiruzen's eyes were cold as ice.
If not for the constraints of reality, he would have already cut Danzo down.
Unlike in the past, he was now giving him no face whatsoever.
Danzo's expression turned pitch black.
He locked his gaze on Hiruzen, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"Enough, Danzo." Koharu quickly cut in.
"Anbu is under the Hokage's command. Hiruzen has the right to appoint whomever he chooses."
Homura stood at once as well, forcibly pressing Danzo back into his seat before breathing a long sigh of relief.
Yes.
Even he couldn't fathom what was going through Danzo's head.
They had just killed the man's beloved son last night.
And today he still expected Hiruzen to show his face?
Utter madness.
"Hmph. Fine." Danzo drew a long breath, arms folding across his chest.
"I'll leave it. Continue."
Of course, he was still bitter.
Root and the Uchiha were mortal enemies.
Now with an Uchiha holding the deputy commander's post in Anbu, he could already picture how much harder Root's life would become.
But there was nothing he could do.
His strike last night had sealed everything.
He just hadn't been ready to accept it yet.
"Good. Let's move on."
"It's time to vote.
Do you support Konoha convening a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron?"
Hiruzen's voice was low and steady.
Yes.
Seeing Danzo retreat, he lost interest in pressing further.
Now was not the time to fight them openly.
No rush. Slowly, in time.
There would be plenty of chances later.
At once, the room fell into dead silence.
Of course.
No one here was a fool.
All could see the discord between Hokage and the elders.
But that wasn't something they could meddle in.
At most, it was gossip fodder.
What mattered was the vote.
Should they support or not?
In the past, there would have been no question: support the Hokage without hesitation.
But now, things are different.
The Hokage and the elders were split.
Whichever way one voted, someone would be offended.
No one wanted to be the bird that stuck its head out.
And so the room remained hushed.
Uchiha Kai's eyes narrowed.
Others might sense the strangeness, but he noticed it even more keenly.
Weren't the "Konoha F4" supposed to be a united front?
What was going on here?
Wait…
Sarutobi Shinnosuke had died last night?
Could this be Danzo's doing?
In the original story, Shinnosuke's death had been mentioned early on, but never explained.
Judging from the current situation, it seemed very likely that Danzo had been behind it.
After all—
Who else but that iron-headed fool would pull such a stunt?
But why?
What did he gain from it?
It was a headache.
Even as clever as he was, without key clues, he couldn't deduce the full picture.
"Kai-kun, what should we do?" Fugaku asked urgently.
"Do we support, or oppose?"
"The Aburame will follow Kai-kun," Shibi added immediately.
"The Inuzuka as well," said Inuzuka Ichiro.
And one by one, the minor clans echoed the same.
Clearly, they were no fools.
Having chosen to align with the Uchiha, they would follow the clan's lead without question.
"Good."
"Our stance is opposition."
"Konoha clearly holds the advantage, yet Hiruzen proposes retreat.
Obviously, he wants to end the war early—so he can free his hands to deal with us.
We cannot support this.
More importantly, his proposal will draw scorn across the shinobi world.
But once he retires, all that censure will conveniently pass him by.
If we support, then walking down the street in the future, who knows how others will despise us?
So regardless of whether we can stop it, we must vote against.
Let everyone see where we stand.
But—don't rush.
Wait until others have voted.
There's no need for us to be the first."
Kai's voice was calm, deliberate.
Yes.
From Hiruzen's words, he could already see his true intent.
End the war early, then turn his focus on the Uchiha.
Even if they couldn't stop him, they would never cooperate.
And indeed—
When Hiruzen swept his eyes across the room, he signaled Nara Shikaku.
Shikaku immediately raised his hand in agreement.
Then the rest of the Ino–Shika–Cho followed, and even Koharu and Homura raised their hands.
Yes.
They wanted to teach Hiruzen a lesson, true.
But when it came to destroying the Uchiha, they were in full accord.
Next, the Hyuga clan raised their hands as well.
They weren't about to provoke Hiruzen over something this minor.
One after another, the smaller clans and the civilian Jounin followed suit.
Of course.
None of them dared defy the Hokage directly.
Going with the flow was the safest choice.
At that moment, Kai finally spoke:
"The Uchiha… oppose!"
"How can we, while Konoha holds the advantage, be the ones to flinch?
Do we have the right to surrender?
Think of the price we've paid for this war.
Waves upon waves of shinobi, even fifth- and sixth-year students from the Academy, nearly all perished on the battlefield.
Why did they fight?
Was it not for Konoha?
Was it not so that the children yet to come could grow in peace?
The edge we now hold was bought with the blood of countless comrades.
We have no right to forgive the enemy on their behalf.
Peace must be fought for!
We must inherit the will of the fallen, make our foes feel pain and fear.
Even if our generation must be sacrificed, it will be to buy a century of peace for our descendants!
Why was Konoha founded in the first place?
To ensure that children need not go to war, that they might enjoy hard-won peace.
But three shinobi world wars have shown us one truth:
peace is not begged for.
The enemy will never grant it.
They believe only in strength.
'With struggle, peace endures.
With compromise, peace dies.'
If the enemy fights a hundred years, then we will fight a hundred years.
Until we achieve complete victory!"
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