In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt an ominous chill the moment Shimura Danzo spoke his first words.
He had initially planned to intervene, but it was already too late.
Danzo, that old bastard, spoke too damn fast! In just a few sentences, he had spilled everything—dragging Hiruzen down with him in the process.
As the crowd outside grew increasingly agitated, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to stay hidden in his office, sighing in resignation. He dared not show his face.
Meanwhile, Danzo had also realized the severity of the situation. He carefully traced back the events leading up to this disaster, and soon, his suspicion fell squarely on Shiro.
That cup of water… there was definitely something wrong with it!
But just as he turned to look for Shiro, the young boy had already vanished into the crowd.
Danzo's eyes narrowed in fury. Once this is over, that kid must die.
A mind this sharp at such a young age... he cannot be allowed to live!
Just then, Shiro emerged from the crowd once more, stepping forward with a look of righteous indignation.
"Unbelievable! Danzo-sama, I never imagined you were such a person!"
"I used to respect you so much, yet you saw me as nothing more than a bargaining chip in your shady dealings with the Hokage!"
"I, Shiro, refuse to associate with a traitor to this village! From this day forth, we are severing all ties!"
"If anything happens to me in the future, you all know who the culprit is—this old bastard right here!"
Danzo: MMP!
That voice… no wonder it sounded familiar earlier!
So it was this brat stirring up the mob all along?!
This kid not only wants to ruin me, but he's also forcing me to keep him alive! Damn, what a ruthless move!
Danzo sucked in a sharp breath, a shiver running down his spine.
Meanwhile, the villagers erupted into applause, cheering for Shiro's bravery and integrity.
Shiro humbly cupped his hands in gratitude before addressing the crowd again.
"Danzo! What other dirty deeds have you done? Confess everything before the people of Konoha!"
The villagers echoed his demand:
"Yeah! Spill it, you old bastard!"
"Tell us everything!"
"Come clean!"
Danzo was now drenched in cold sweat, his robes completely soaked.
This can't be happening.
If he truly revealed everything…
Even if the villagers didn't tear him apart on the spot, he wouldn't escape severe punishment. At best, he'd be forced to commit seppuku.
At worst, he wouldn't even be left with a complete corpse.
I can't talk… I mustn't talk!
But Danzo's treacherous mouth seemed determined to betray him.
"Well, if we're talking about the misdeeds I've committed over the years… the earliest traces back to when I first became the Hokage's advisor."
Stop!
"Back then—"
Shut up!
"Later—"
For the love of god, shut up! (╥﹏╥)
"And then—"
"In collaboration with Sarutobi Hiruzen, I orchestrated the downfall of Sakumo Hatake—"
"SHIMURA DANZO!!!"
At that moment, a furious Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared in a blur, gripping his Adamantine Staff.
With a powerful strike, he smashed Danzo over the head, shattering the roof of the Hokage's office in the process.
Danzo collapsed instantly, unconscious, as he tumbled down through the debris.
Strangely enough, even in his unconscious state, a faint smile of relief remained on his lips.
The villagers, on the other hand, were outraged.
"That bastard was just getting to the good part! And you had to show up and knock him out?!"
"Are you trying to hide something, Hiruzen?!"
The Third Hokage broke out in a cold sweat.
He had no choice but to step in.
Danzo's confession had already implicated him in multiple crimes, and if he let him keep talking, the entire village would turn against him!
Some of the things they did could still be covered up, but if everything was exposed, not even all the past Hokage combined could save him from the villagers' wrath!
And so, Sarutobi Hiruzen made his move, taking down Danzo before he could do any more damage.
Now, at least, he had a chance to salvage the situation.
Stepping forward, he raised a hand to quiet the crowd.
"He's still the Hokage for now, so people will at least listen…"
"Konoha's citizens, please listen to me."
Sarutobi took a deep breath before making a bold declaration:
"Effective immediately, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, declare that Shimura Danzo is stripped of his title as Hokage Advisor."
"During his tenure, he abused his power, manipulated the system, and was responsible for countless wrongful accusations leading to the deaths of many outstanding shinobi."
"He exploited my trust and deceived me, keeping me completely unaware of his crimes!"
"From this day forth, he will be imprisoned in Konoha's highest-security prison while we investigate his actions."
"Furthermore, his secret organization, Root, is hereby disbanded. All Root members will be reassigned to the ANBU under new leadership."
Sarutobi then glanced down at Danzo's unconscious form, a flicker of regret in his eyes.
"Forgive me, old friend… but I need to save myself first."
That Night
By evening, Sarutobi Hiruzen personally led the effort to imprison Danzo, ensuring the villagers witnessed the act.
At last, the people of Konoha began to calm down.
Meanwhile, Shiro had returned home.
His residence wasn't large—just a modest, one-bedroom apartment, allocated to him after leaving the orphanage.
Yet, despite his apparent victory, Shiro felt no relief.
This wasn't over.
Danzo getting locked up? A joke.
Root being disbanded? An even bigger joke.
Once the public outrage subsided, Danzo would return, more dangerous than ever—just lurking in the shadows instead of acting openly.
And once he did, his first priority would be eliminating Shiro.
Even if Danzo didn't act immediately, Hiruzen definitely would.
The Third Hokage was no fool.
The moment he realized the kind of threat Shiro posed, he'd do everything in his power to silence him.
And right now…
Shiro wasn't strong enough to stop them.
His Nine-Tails chakra was powerful but too uncontrollable. He couldn't rely on it just yet.
If I want to survive the inevitable retaliation from those two scheming old foxes…
"I need to grow stronger. Fast."
Taking a deep breath, Shiro spoke the words that would shape his destiny:
"System, begin the simulation."
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