Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu tried to intercede, but Hiruzen Sarutobi acted as though he hadn't heard them; his gaze stayed fixed on Danzo Shimura's face.
Watching the other man still try to deny everything and shift the blame, Hiruzen slowly lifted his pipe, took a long draw, and let the white smoke curl upward, veiling the disappointment churning in his eyes.
"As always… you haven't changed, Danzo."
Hiruzen paused, then aimed straight for the most fragile, most carefully hidden scar in Danzo's heart.
"Just like back then —when our teacher needed someone to step forward"
"…you never dared to be the first to stand up when duty, even death, was demanded."
The instant those words landed—
Boom!
Danzo reeled as though struck by lightning; his cane slipped from his grasp and clattered to the floor.
Bloodshot veins flooded his single eye, and his body shook uncontrollably.
"Back then… back then…"
A hoarse rasp scraped from Danzo's throat, his face turning paper-white.
The memory he had buried as his life's greatest shame was ripped into the light by Hiruzen without mercy.
That moment of hesitation, that moment of retreat, had made Hiruzen the chosen Hokage while he himself was condemned to everlasting shadow and the endless "if only I had…"
It was the thorn forever in his heart, the source of every obsession and madness that followed.
Those seemingly weightless words shattered every last barrier in his mind more brutally than any accusation could.
"Silence!! Hiruzen —shut your mouth!!"
Danzo jerked his head up, roaring in a fury of exposed pain and hysteria.
"Yes! I did it —so what?!"
He screamed the admission, chest heaving, features twisted.
The sudden outburst left Homura and Koharu dumbstruck.
They looked from the raving Danzo to the iron-faced Hiruzen, swallowed the words of comfort they had been about to offer, and shook their heads in resignation.
Decades together had taught them Danzo's obsessions, his ambitions, and the lifelong regret that gnawed at him.
Because they understood, they knew how deadly Hiruzen's calm sentence had been.
Now that the pot was broken, let the pieces fall where they would.
Hiruzen regarded the completely unmasked Danzo, disappointment naked in his eyes.
That look stabbed again at Danzo's heart, already warped by regret and fixation.
"Everything I did was for Konoha!"
Danzo howled, trying to drown his own shame with volume.
"Look at Tejima Shinichi! Does a normal Genin possess Chakra like that, those endless high-level Jutsu? Such uncontrollable power must be guided—controlled!"
He stepped forward, brandishing what he believed his trump argument.
"I told you long ago: he carries the Senju bloodline, vast Chakra, a resilient body —the perfect Jinchuriki vessel! Assign him as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki backup. Should Uzumaki Naruto ever lose control, we transfer the Tailed Beast instantly and keep the Village's ultimate weapon stable. Is that not the responsible choice?!"
"Yet you refused, again and again, hiding behind your soft Will of Fire, prating about respecting the child's future! Letting such power run wild is true irresponsibility! Hand him to Root —shape and control him —and he will become Konoha's strongest, most reliable weapon! Where is the fault in that?!"
"Weapon?!"
Hiruzen's pent-up rage detonated; he stepped forward as well, meeting Danzo glare for glare.
"You claim to act for Konoha, but you see no living person —only tools and containers to be arranged at will."
He pointed at Danzo, every word ringing like struck metal.
"Tejima Shinichi is a Konoha Ninja with parents, comrades, his own will and future —not your disposable backup plan, not a cold implement for your dark rule!"
"Brand Village children as 'containers' before they can bloom, strip away every possibility and drag them into eternal darkness —that is your 'Konoha first'? Danzo, your madness has made you forget the very meaning of protection. Your so-called Root drinks not nourishment but poison that rots the Village's future."
"Hiruzen!!!"
Danzo snarled like a beast, Chakra surging uncontrollably, killing intent thickening the air.
"You understand nothing! Without absolute control and power the Ninja World will crush us! Your naïveté will destroy Konoha!"
Hiruzen shot back.
"The one who will destroy Konoha is you —a beast blinded by power and darkness!"
In moments their clash blazed white-hot, decades of conflicting convictions exploding across the chamber, leaving Homura and Koharu pale and speechless.
Seeing the situation about to spiral, Hiruzen drew a deep breath and forced down his fury and grief.
Words were pointless; the final reckoning had come.
"Your madness ends here, Danzo!"
Hiruzen's roar overrode Danzo's bellow.
"The Root you command has long strayed from its purpose. It is no longer the Village's hidden shield but a cancer that breeds corruption and devours the future."
Then, under Danzo's suddenly narrowed pupil and the counselors' stricken eyes, Hiruzen spoke the verdict without wavering.
"By the authority of the Third Hokage, I hereby dissolve Root's independent structure. All personnel, equipment and records are to be transferred to the Anbu within twenty-four hours. After review, every member will be placed under unified Anbu command."
As he spoke, Hiruzen's gaze bored into the ashen Danzo.
"Danzo Shimura is stripped of his position as elder advisor and will not interfere in Village affairs in any form from this moment on."
It was more than removal of power —it was total banishment.
"Hiruzen!!! How dare you—!!"
Danzo shrieked, fury flooding his eyes, Chakra whipping around him on the verge of eruption.
Homura and Koharu sprang to their feet in alarm.
"Hiruzen, you can't!"
"A punishment this severe may tear the Village apart!"
"My decision stands."
Unflinching beneath Danzo's murderous stare, Hiruzen drove home the searing words:
"I… am the Hokage!"
Silence fell like a tomb-lid over the office.
The Chakra and killing aura around Danzo receded; he stood petrified.
Homura and Koharu slumped back into their seats.
Hiruzen surveyed the frozen table and spoke no more.
He reached out, lifted the Hokage's hat from the desk and set it on his head; its wide brim cast shadow across his eyes.
Without another glance at the three he turned and walked toward the door.
Creak—
The door swung open.
Then—
Boom!
The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him, the dull thud echoing through the hushed room.
That sound crashed into Danzo's chest like a physical blow.
He jerked as though waking from a nightmare; his vacant eye quivered, refocused, and was swallowed by boundless humiliation and rage.