Shimura Danzō narrowed his single eye as he stared at the "righteously indignant" Hiruzen Sarutobi, a chill rising in his heart.
Hiruzen wasn't merely trying to strip him of the right to compete for the Fourth Hokage.
He was trying to destroy him completely.
Hiruzen himself felt conflicted.
At first, his plan had only been to use his authority as Acting Hokage and the heavy losses at the Battle of Kikyō Mountain Fortress to eliminate Danzō's chances of becoming Hokage.
But things had changed.
Yesterday, Uchiha Ren's sudden move had caught him completely off guard.
And it made Hiruzen realize an extremely serious problem.
According to information obtained from Tenzo, Danzō had promised the Uchiha Clan and the Hyūga Clan positions as Konoha Elders.
The Uchiha had even participated in an attempt to assassinate him.
The assassin Kakuzu had been hired by the Uchiha.
In other words—
Danzō had already formed a deep alliance with both the Uchiha Clan and the Hyūga Clan.
And Hiruzen, having lost the authority of Hokage, had also lost the moral high ground.
Under such circumstances, the candidate he supported—Minato Namikaze—might not actually be able to defeat Danzō.
After all, Danzō had the backing of Konoha's two most powerful clans.
Even if Minato managed to win the Jōnin confidence vote and became the Fourth Hokage—
there was still a problem.
The Uchiha Clan had already formed a partnership with the Fire Daimyō.
If the Daimyō refused to officially approve the appointment, Minato's title as Hokage would lack legitimacy.
He would be unable to properly exercise the authority of the Hokage.
If the Daimyō deliberately delayed recognition—
then with Danzō's methods and the vast intelligence network controlled by Root, it wouldn't be difficult for him to topple Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane .
Afterward, if the positions of Konoha Elders were replaced by members of the Uchiha Clan and the Hyūga Clan—
then from top to bottom, the entire power structure would belong to Danzō's faction.
At that point—
even if Minato became Hokage, he would merely be a figurehead, sitting in the Hokage office signing documents and stamping seals.
And Hiruzen?
As the Principal of the Ninja Academy, someone already expelled from the village's core decision-making circle—
he would have no power to resist.
All he could do was wait for Danzō to purge him, stripping away his remaining positions one by one and throwing him aside like garbage.
Thus Hiruzen understood.
He could no longer show any mercy toward his former comrade.
This Jōnin Council meeting was his final opportunity.
He had to nail Danzō down once and for all.
Danzō looked at Koharu Utatane , a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.
Other than Hiruzen Sarutobi, everyone in Konoha's leadership is useless trash, he thought coldly.
Koharu cleared her throat.
"Danzō."
"The losses Konoha suffered at Kikyō Mountain Fortress were extremely severe."
"You must give the village an explanation."
Danzō glanced at her indifferently.
"What explanation do you want?"
"War always results in casualties."
"Our losses were heavy—do you think the other villages suffered less?"
He continued coldly.
"Iwagakure lost over four thousand ninja."
"The son of the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was seriously injured. Several jinchūriki were killed."
"Do you think their losses were small?"
"Sunagakure lost around three thousand ninja. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was seriously wounded."
"With their foundation, it may take ten years for them to recover."
"And Kumogakure lost roughly three thousand troops."
"The Fourth Raikage, A, was gravely injured. One of their jinchūriki died."
"Even their Nine-Tails jinchūriki was captured by us."
"Were their losses small?"
Danzō slammed the table.
"Konoha sacrificed two thousand ninja to achieve such results!"
"That victory has secured at least twelve years of peace!"
"This was clearly a great victory!"
"So why should I give the village an explanation?"
The hall fell silent.
Danzō then shifted from defense to attack.
"The ninja who died in this war made tremendous contributions to the village."
"They are heroes."
"They died with honor."
"But the ninja who died during the Third Shinobi World War were different."
His voice turned cold.
"Konoha was clearly a victorious nation, yet because of the cowardice of certain people in the leadership, we compromised with other villages."
"As a result, the village gained nothing it deserved."
"The treasury fell into deficit."
"We can't even pay the compensation to fallen shinobi."
"And now you're threatening the village's clans to clean up your mess."
"You are the ones who let our ninja bleed and cry!"
"You are the true sinners of this village!"
"People like you, who occupy positions without accomplishing anything, should smash your heads against the Hokage Monument to apologize—"
"instead of standing here pretending to investigate responsibility!"
Danzō's sudden outburst completely overwhelmed Koharu.
For years, Danzō's attacks had always been directed at Hiruzen.
And Hiruzen would suppress him with a single sentence:
"I am the Hokage."
But now—
Hiruzen was no longer Hokage.
And Koharu had never faced Danzō's full force before.
She was completely stunned.
Hiruzen's face turned dark with anger.
He pointed toward the portraits of the previous Hokage hanging on the wall.
"Before the Hokage, there is no distinction of rank or status!"
Danzō snorted coldly.
"But there must be respect for hierarchy."
He slammed the table.
"High-level decisions must consider the overall situation!"
He looked down at Hiruzen with contempt.
"And what position do you hold now?"
"You're merely the Principal of the Ninja Academy."
"Just manage the academy properly."
"I have no obligation to explain anything to you."
"And you have no right to demand an explanation from me."
Hiruzen's face turned pale with fury.
He had expected Danzō might use his status to suppress him.
But when that moment truly arrived—
the anger and humiliation still surged uncontrollably within him.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ren watched the entire scene unfold with great interest.
If he had known the meeting would become this entertaining, he would have brought peanuts and snacks with him.
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