"Hiruzen, Mito-sama summoned us so late at night. Did something happen?"
Danzo walked beside Hiruzen, muttering in a low voice.
He looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky. Just a moment ago it had been bright, but now dark clouds had covered it.
A dark night with strong winds.
The perfect time for murder and arson.
For some reason, Danzo felt a chill.
And the looks the Senju clansmen cast at him as they passed made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
Danzo's mood was complicated.
Meanwhile, his good buddy Hiruzen looked calm and composed.
"If it's fortune, it won't be disaster. If it's disaster, you can't avoid it."
Hiruzen said it lightly.
The knife was already at their necks. They were the fish on the chopping block. At this point, what else could they do?
At worst, it was only death.
He, Hiruzen, was not afraid of dying.
His only regret would be failing to fulfill his teacher's dying wish.
Hiruzen quickened his pace, and Danzo quickly followed after him.
Inside the room, Koharu, Homura, Kagami, and Torifu had arrived slightly earlier than they had and were already in Mito's room.
Before even stepping through the door, Hiruzen saw two Senju jonin standing beside Mito.
Senju Kihana and Senju Kiharu.
They already knew these two. Both were jonin of the Senju Clan.
There were also two lines of Senju ninja standing inside the room, as if some grand inquisition were waiting for them.
That kind of scene made Hiruzen and Danzo's hearts pound wildly.
If they handled what came next badly, the trees planted in the Senju courtyard would probably grow even more lush in the future.
When Koharu, Homura, and the others saw that Hiruzen and Danzo had finally arrived, they gave them bitter smiles.
There was even a trace of relief in their eyes.
The two of them had been standing there earlier, surrounded by Senju ninja, and the feeling had been absolutely miserable.
Mito sat at the front without saying a single word.
Her face was completely expressionless.
Aside from looking Kagami over once when he first arrived, she had not glanced at any of them again.
She had simply remained seated in her chair, slowly drinking tea.
Homura and Koharu knew very well where they stood.
The two of them were like duckweed without roots, completely at the mercy of others.
The power of the clans behind them offered no intimidation whatsoever. Among Konoha's powerful bloodline clans and secret technique clans, their families were practically invisible.
No one cared about them.
And no one cared what their clans thought either.
If they died, then they died.
In a village as large as Konoha, who would dare say anything?
Torifu and Kagami were different.
One was the son of the Akimichi Clan head, part of the future Ino-Shika-Cho formation among the secret technique clans.
Kagami, meanwhile, was a genius of the Uchiha Clan.
Not only was he precious to the Uchiha, but the fact that he had become Tobirama's disciple was also deeply tied to maintaining the relationship between the Hokage and the Uchiha. It carried extraordinary political significance.
No matter what happened, those two at least should not have to worry about their lives.
Earlier, the Senju ninja had been staring at them the entire time.
Under the double burden of psychological pressure and the threat of death, Homura and Koharu kept feeling as though those gazes were fixed especially on them.
After all, they were the easiest to bully.
And Mito had said nothing, only drinking tea, clearly waiting for someone.
Waiting for Hiruzen and Danzo.
No.
She was waiting for Hiruzen.
Tobirama's personally designated Third Hokage.
Danzo was in the same situation as the two of them.
Just an extra.
Hiruzen and Danzo stood outside the door without stepping in.
Faced with such an extraordinary scene, it felt as though a string in their minds had suddenly snapped, leaving their heads buzzing.
Mito set down her teacup and looked at Hiruzen and Danzo outside the door.
"Since you're here, come in."
They were simple words, but they made Danzo's scalp go numb.
His feet felt rooted to the ground.
He turned to look at Hiruzen, waiting to see what he would do.
After being dazed for a brief moment, Hiruzen finally snapped back to his senses at Mito's words.
He took a deep breath and stepped through the door with calm, steady strides.
Danzo hurried after him, staying close behind.
The moment Hiruzen and Danzo entered, the Senju ninja standing by the door immediately shut it behind them.
Bang.
That single sound made Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, Homura, Torifu, and Kagami all tremble inwardly.
Terrifying.
Inside the room, the other five all looked toward Hiruzen in unison.
The meaning was obvious.
At a time like this, you should be the one speaking.
You're the future Third Hokage.
If you don't step forward, who will?
Feeling everyone's gaze on him, Hiruzen swallowed and forced himself to step up.
"Mito-sama, you called the six of us over so late. Has something happened in Konoha?"
Mito looked at Hiruzen.
Their eyes met for a few seconds, and Hiruzen's heartbeat accelerated.
"I remember telling all of you earlier."
"Tobirama's death was not to be revealed by any of you."
"But by this afternoon, the entire Konoha already knew about it!"
Mito slammed her hand on the table.
Her full-throated question made Hiruzen and the others panic. The six of them looked at each other, completely confused about what had happened.
That afternoon, all of them had stayed alone in the rooms prepared for them by the Senju Clan.
They had either been resting or receiving treatment from the Senju medical ninja.
"I need an explanation!"
Mito's eyes turned fierce as her gaze swept over Hiruzen and the others one by one.
The chakra around her began to rage out of control. Nine-Tails chakra started to leak through, and its chaotic, evil aura rolled over every person in the room.
We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!!!
Koharu, Homura, and Danzo screamed inwardly.
"I swear to the heavens, I stayed in my room the entire day and never went out at all. Aside from the Senju medical ninja sent to treat me, I didn't see a single other person."
"If I leaked the news of Tobirama-sama's death, then... then may I die a miserable death!"
"I swear on my clan, I absolutely did not leak the information. Otherwise, may my entire family die out!"
"Every last one of them die out!"
"..."
Koharu was the only woman among the group, and her will was relatively weaker.
Faced with Mito at full pressure, she lasted only a few seconds before completely breaking down and starting to blurt out oath after oath as if exposing her whole family line.
"I swear too! I swear too!"
"I swear too!!"
"..."
Koharu's emotional collapse dragged the other five into panic as well.
At once, they all turned into parrots repeating the same desperate vows.
"Hmph. You think swearing oaths is enough?"
"What I want is an explanation!"
Mito was not so easy to fool.
If these little brats could not spit out something useful, then she would not mind using some special methods.
Konoha's Anbu were quite skilled when it came to extracting information directly from an enemy's mind.
Just as the six were desperately swearing oaths to prove their innocence, the door suddenly opened.
Someone walked in from outside.
Senju Motoki.
The moment he stepped through the door, he spoke.
"Mito-sama, we've traced the source of the information. It all came from Uchiha-owned shops."
The moment those words fell, Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, Homura, and Torifu all turned to look at Kagami.
Kagami himself was completely stunned.
Me?
(End of Chapter)
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