"Human experimentation was done by me, and had nothing to do with Orochimaru?"
"I even toyed with the First Hokage's corpse?"
"Bullshit! Complete bullshit!"
Danzo was furious at such slander, at this filth being poured onto his head.
"It was clearly all Orochimaru's doing."
"What does it have to do with me?"
"Hiruzen already laid out the evidence so clearly."
"Who would believe this?"
But according to the information Root ninja had gathered inside Konoha, even within the village, quite a few people had begun to believe that version and grow suspicious of Danzo.
The main reason was that Danzo's reputation had never been good to begin with. His baseline prestige could not compare with Hiruzen Sarutobi's at all.
And Orochimaru, by comparison, still had a far better reputation than Danzo.
No matter what, he had the foundation of being one of the Sannin.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had expelled Orochimaru under the charge of conducting human experiments.
But not everyone believed the evidence Hiruzen Sarutobi had presented.
Furthermore, during the Third Great Ninja War, Orochimaru had at least led Konoha ninja to defeat Iwagakure's army.
After Minato Namikaze died, when Konoha clashed against Sunagakure, the frontline had also been held mostly by Orochimaru.
Some people in Konoha could not help thinking—
"If Orochimaru-sama were still in Konoha, that would have been wonderful. After the Third Hokage fell unconscious, Orochimaru-sama could have taken over as Hokage. Then even if the Third Hokage never woke up, it wouldn't matter."
Danzo's expression turned extremely ugly.
"Foolish rabble! All of them are foolish rabble!"
"A group of brainless fools who believe whatever others say?"
"Can't they use their own heads and think for once?"
However, it was not as if there were no people who believed Danzo was innocent.
"I believe Danzo-sama!"
"Something like human experimentation is extremely difficult. It must have been Orochimaru's doing. Danzo-sama… couldn't do something like that. Danzo-sama is innocent."
But that reason for believing him did not make Danzo happy at all.
So they were not trusting his character.
They simply thought he lacked the ability?
"This old man merely did not want to. In terms of ability, I am inferior to no one, including Orochimaru. Without the assistance I provided, would Orochimaru's experiments have gone so smoothly?"
Thinking up to this point, Danzo's expression suddenly became strange.
Because by that logic, he did not seem entirely innocent after all.
"But the main culprit was Orochimaru. The main crime was also Orochimaru's!"
Danzo's thoughts were in chaos, and his irritation grew heavier.
On one hand, after this rumor appeared, it was filled with countless voices of distrust toward Danzo, even curses. Some people had already begun saying that Danzo should step down from the position of Acting Hokage.
On the other hand, Danzo understood very clearly—
The moment this rumor appeared, he no longer had any chance to compromise with Tsunade.
Tsunade would never cooperate with someone who had toyed with Senju Hashirama's corpse.
And between him and Orochimaru, Tsunade would definitely trust Orochimaru, not him.
"This means that against Tsunade and Jiraiya, I no longer have the option to retreat."
"I can only fight to the end."
"Either they die, or I die!"
Danzo's gaze turned ice-cold.
"But right now, there are not many methods I can use."
"What should I do?"
Danzo clawed hard at his hair.
Suddenly—
A voice sounded.
"Danzo, do you want to cooperate?"
The sudden voice made Danzo instantly alert.
"Who?"
"Who's there?"
Danzo turned back and saw a clump of white matter suddenly growing out of the beam across the office, like a mushroom. It swelled and expanded at a visible speed.
Then it transformed into a human shape.
"We can help you eliminate Tsunade and Jiraiya, even Hiruzen Sarutobi, allowing you to sit firmly in the Hokage position. Kakuzu is only one of our members."
Danzo studied White Zetsu and frowned.
"What are you? And what are you people?"
White Zetsu was not angered by Danzo's rude tone. Instead, he brought out a certain name.
"Hanzo-sama asked me to send you his regards."
Nagato and Konan both knew very well that Hanzo of the Salamander had once cooperated with Danzo.
If they wanted Danzo to lower his guard and agree to cooperate, this was a decent cover.
"Hanzo? Hanzo of the Salamander? Isn't he dead?"
Danzo's pupils shrank.
White Zetsu said, "Hanzo-sama is dead, but Hanzo-sama's spirit lives on."
"Just as you helped Hanzo-sama eliminate the existences in the Land of Rain who threatened him back then, we can also help you eliminate Tsunade and the others who threaten you."
Danzo lowered his head and began to think.
He had indeed cooperated with Hanzo of the Salamander before.
More than once.
Some Konoha people whom he found inconvenient to deal with himself, he would have Hanzo of the Salamander handle.
And some people in the Land of Rain whom Hanzo found inconvenient to handle would be dealt with by Danzo instead.
You help me. I help you.
Danzo also understood Hanzo of the Salamander's methods.
He excelled in poison. He excelled in assassination.
Since these were Hanzo of the Salamander's successors, then even if their overall strength was not that high, it did not mean they could not threaten the lives of Tsunade and Jiraiya. Even if Tsunade was skilled at detoxification.
After all, Tsunade had neglected herself for many years.
As for these successors of Hanzo of the Salamander, Danzo believed they must have continued researching and improving.
Faced with that kind of attack, Tsunade would have no time to sharpen her spear only after battle had begun.
"What do you want?"
"The Nine-Tails jinchuriki!"
"That is impossible!"
Danzo instinctively cried out and refused.
"The Nine-Tails jinchuriki belongs to Konoha. He will always belong to Konoha. It is absolutely impossible to give him to outsiders. I cannot agree to this condition. Impossible."
White Zetsu said calmly,
"Even if you are driven down from the position of Acting Hokage by Tsunade, branded with the crime of toying with Senju Hashirama's corpse, publicly executed, and your Shimura clan suffers destruction along with you?"
"You would still protect the Nine-Tails jinchuriki for Konoha?"
"What meaning does that jinchuriki have to you?"
"Danzo, are you truly so fond of sacrificing yourself for others?"
"Besides, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki has no real value to Konoha, does he? Apart from going berserk, has he ever brought any benefit to Konoha? No. He has only brought disaster."
"Think it over carefully."
"On one side is your Hokage position and the Shimura clan."
"On the other is a Nine-Tails jinchuriki who brings Konoha no benefit and only harm."
"How you choose is entirely up to you."
After saying that, White Zetsu's figure shrank back into the beam.
Danzo fell into a long silence.
His heart was tangled to the extreme.
On one side was the village.
On the other was himself.
What choice should he make?
Night fell, but Danzo did not leave the Hokage Building. He remained seated in his chair, motionless.
All the way until the next dawn.
"Konoha is my village!"
"Everything I have done has been for the village."
"But I have already done enough for the village!"
"This time, I should think for myself."
"And for the Shimura clan."