As soon as Ren's word fell, the village didn't just grow quiet, it stilled.
It was as if someone had pressed a hand over the mouth of Konoha itself.
The murmurs died mid-breath, footsteps froze, even the wind seemed to have slowed down. Thousands upon thousands of eyes lifted upward in unison, drawn to the Hokage Tower like iron to a lodestone. Against the blue of the morning sky, four figures stood clearly outlined at the edge of the roof.
The Third Hokage.
The Fire Daimyo.
Ren Senju.
And Danzo Shimura.
No announcement was needed for understanding to spread. People might not have known the details, but they knew the shape of justice when they saw it. A man in chains standing beside the Hokage, flanked by the Daimyo and the Senju heir, there was only one possible reason for a gathering like this.
Ren reached into the storage pouch at his belt and pulled out a megaphone, the metal catching the sunlight briefly. He turned and handed it to the Daimyo with an easy motion.
"All yours," he said quietly.
The Daimyo took it without a word. He stepped forward to the edge of the tower, paused for half a second to look down at the sea of faces below, then raised the megaphone.
"Citizens of the Hidden Leaf," his voice rang out, amplified and clear, echoing across rooftops and streets. "I am the Fire Daimyo, ruler of the Land of Fire, and today I have an important announcement for you all."
The crowd leaned in collectively. Even those standing at the very edges strained to hear, afraid to miss a single word.
The Daimyo lifted his free hand and pointed toward Danzo.
"As you all know, Danzo Shimura, Hokage advisor for decades, was apprehended several months ago on charges of treason. Today, after a full trial attended by your Hokage, clan heads, elders, and commanders, a verdict has been reached."
A ripple passed through the crowd. Some people clenched their fists. Others held their breath.
"Before I announce that verdict," the Daimyo continued, his tone hardening, "you deserve to know what this man has done."
He didn't rush, he spoke slolwy.
"Danzo Shimura created a private army using village resources, an army loyal to him alone, not to the Hidden Leaf. He manipulated ministers within my own court to create instability. He blackmailed clans, forced policies through fear and coercion, and twisted the will of the village for his personal ambitions."
Gasps broke out and angry shouts followed.
"And," the Daimyo said, his voice dropping just enough to sharpen the blow, "he attempted to assassinate the Third Hokage."
For a single heartbeat, there was stunned silence.
Then the village exploded.
"What?!"
"He tried to kill the Hokage?!"
"That bastard!"
The anger surged like a tidal wave, raw and unfiltered. Years of quiet unease, rumors, unexplained disappearances, strange decisions, suddenly they all had a face.
The Daimyo raised his hand, letting the noise swell for a moment longer before speaking again.
"What do you think should be done to such a man?"
For one brief second, the question hung in the air.
Then the answer came.
"Kill him!"
"Death!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The chants rolled through the village, growing louder, angrier, until the very stones beneath their feet seemed to vibrate with it. This was not bloodlust, it was outrage given voice. A collective judgment.
Up on the tower, the Daimyo watched the crowd carefully. This time, he didn't flinch, he didn't pale. Instead, a thin, satisfied smile crossed his face. The fear he had felt earlier was gone, replaced by certainty.
He raised the megaphone again.
"That is correct," he said firmly. "Such a traitor deserves death. And that is the decision of this trial."
The crowd quieted, anticipation crackling through the air.
"In my authority as the Fire Daimyo," he declared, "I decree that Danzo Shimura has been found guilty of treason against the Hidden Leaf Village and the Land of Fire."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"His punishment shall be execution."
A roar erupted, but he wasn't finished.
"The execution will take place tomorrow, at sunrise," the Daimyo continued, "here in the village, under my watch and under yours. The sentence shall be carried out by the Third Hokage himself."
For a split second, there was stunned silence again, then the reaction came like a storm breaking.
"Death to the traitor!"
"Long live the Third Hokage!"
"Long live the Fire Daimyo!"
The chants overlapped, voices raw, some angry, some relieved, some almost joyous. Shinobi raised their fists. Civilians shouted until their throats burned. For the first time in years, something heavy lifted from the village's chest.
On the tower, Hiruzen closed his eyes briefly, the weight of what awaited him settling onto his shoulders. When he opened them again, there was no hesitation left, only resolve.
Danzo stood motionless throughout it all, no protest, no fear. Just silence, as the village he had tried to control condemned him with one voice.
The Fire Daimyo let his gaze drift over the crowd below, a slow, measured sweep, and satisfaction settled deep in his chest.
'This, this was what power was supposed to look like.'
Thousands of voices chanting his name. Civilians cheering, shinobi roaring approval. For a brief moment, the Hidden Leaf was not just a village of soldiers and monsters, but a city of people who looked up to him, not the Hokage, not the clans.
Him.
If he could make this feeling permanent, if he could make the people of the Leaf look to the Daimyo first, not the Hokage then he would be more than a ruler by title. He would be the true conqueror of the Land of Fire.
But even as that thought surfaced, it withered just as quickly.
Because the Daimyo was not a fool.
He knew better than anyone that this scene existed only because two men stood beside him on the tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had crossed a line today.
The Daimyo didn't miss it, not the controlled pressure, not the unspoken threat buried beneath polite words. Hiruzen had made his point clear without ever saying it aloud, Do not interfere further.
The Third Hokage had ruled this village through wars, disasters, and the Nine-Tails itself. If he was willing to risk a political fracture now, it meant he had already decided that the Leaf was entering a new phase.
There will be big changes.
Dangerous ones.
And if the Daimyo tried to encroach further, if he pushed too hard while the village was already unstable, Hiruzen wouldn't hesitate to take drastic measures. That much was obvious. Even if the Daimyo outlived him, even if he waited patiently for age to claim the old Hokage, there was still the other one.
The Daimyo's eyes shifted slightly, landing on Ren Senju.
That boy was worse, even more dangerous.
From the moment Ren had walked into the trial chamber earlier, the Daimyo had understood something fundamental, the Senju heir did not respect him, not truly. Ren had bowed, had spoken the formal words, had followed protocol but there had been no weight behind it.
It was the respect of convenience, not belief.
To Ren, the title of Daimyō simply… didn't matter.
And the Daimyo knew why.
The boy had everything.
Bloodline, talent, strength that bordered on the monstrous. Political backing, military dominance and influence that stretched across villages and shadows alike. Ren Senju didn't need the Daimyo.
Standing at the top of the world wasn't a dream for him, it was a timeline.
Just a matter of time.
And if, one day, the Daimyo stood in his way?
The Daimyo swallowed.
Ren would kill him.
And if the world turned against Ren afterward? So what. By then, the boy would already be strong enough to bear that weight. Strong enough to make the world bend instead.
That was what truly frightened the Daimyo, not Ren's hostility, but his indifference. You could bargain with hatred. You could negotiate with ambition. Indifference meant you were irrelevant.
And yet… as those thoughts churned, something else began to shift.
The Daimyo exhaled slowly.
'Perhaps,' he thought, 'I've been thinking about this the wrong way.'
With Ren present, the dream of becoming the most influential figure in the Land of Fire, greater even than the Hokage, was impossible. That path was closed. Any attempt to force it would only end in disaster.
But what if he didn't compete?
What if, instead of trying to stand above the shinobi… he stood beside them?
If Ren Senju rose, and he would rise, then the Land of Fire would become the strongest of the Five Great Nations, unquestionably so. Even if the Daimyo never touched shinobi affairs again, ruling the strongest nation carried its own kind of authority.
Civilians would worship him for presiding over an era of unmatched strength. Other Daimyo would treat him with deference, not because of his armies, but because of who stood behind him.
Power by association.
Influence through alignment.
And Ren, for all his arrogance, had not insulted him outright. The boy had greeted him properly. Had played along with formality. That alone meant Ren did not desire an open fallout, at least not yet.
That was enough.
'Alright,' the Daimyo decided. 'I can work with that.'
His smile softened, becoming warmer, more genuine. He lifted his hands and waved at the cheering crowd below, acknowledging them, soaking in their approval. This time, the satisfaction wasn't hollow.
Ren glanced at him from the side.
He saw the shift instantly.
The calculation, the acceptance, the decision to adapt instead of resist.
Ren shook his head slightly, a quiet sigh escaping him, and a faint smile tugged at his lips.
'Well,' he thought. 'At least he's not stupid.'
The cheers continued to echo through the village, but beneath them, something else had settled into place, an unspoken agreement, fragile but real.
For now, the Fire Daimyo would be an ally.
And for now, that was enough.
~~~
Leaf Hospital
Utakata stood beside a bed, sleeves rolled up, his movements precise as he finished the last of the tests on Juichi.
Just then, the door slid open.
"Hey, Sensei!"
Utakata didn't even look up. He adjusted the flow of chakra one last time, let the seal settle, and only then stepped back, exhaling slowly. "You're loud," he said flatly. "This is a hospital."
Ren walked in anyway, dropping into the chair beside the bed where Juichi lay unconscious. He leaned back, resting his elbows on the armrests, eyes drifting lazily over the room.
After a moment, Utakata asked without turning, "Was there a fight here?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah. Danzo."
"It's good I had a clone stationed here," Ren continued, voice casual, almost dismissive. "But honestly, even if I didn't, I doubt he'd have been able to take Dad away."
His gaze sharpened slightly, pupils glowing as he shifted into perception mode. The air around the room subtly changed as layers of sealing lines revealed themselves to his senses, interlocking arrays hidden beneath the walls, the floor, even the bedframe.
Ren whistled low.
"Seriously, Sensei," he said, impressed with Utakata, "Who would believe you set up a level six killing formation in a hospital room?" His lips twitched. "Unless Danzo himself showed up in person, Dad would've been the safest man in the entire village."
Utakata finally turned toward him, expression calm but faintly tired. "I didn't build it as a killing formation."
Ren blinked. "You didn't?"
"It's a defensive kill-zone," Utakata corrected. "There's a difference."
Ren leaned forward, "That's… not much different."
"It is," Utakata replied simply. "A killing formation reacts to intruders. This one reacts to intent. Anyone who enters with hostility directed at the target becomes the enemy. The formation doesn't activate otherwise."
Ren's grinned, "That's the treasure keeping formation in the stories."
Utakata took that as a compliment. "I was experimenting with the Fuinjutsu notes you left behind and chanced upon this one."
Utakata continued lightly. "They were incomplete, dangerous in places but interesting everywhere." He glanced at the floor, where invisible lines converged. "I modified the structure. Layered perception seals, adaptive thresholds, delayed execution triggers. It's not meant to massacre. It's meant to protect."
Ren nodded slowly, eyes still scanning the formation. "A killing formation designed to protect someone," he murmured. "That's a good one."
They fell into discussion naturally after that, voices low and technical. Ren pointed out redundancies he would have removed, Utakata countered with stability concerns. They debated anchor points, chakra consumption curves, reaction lag. To anyone listening in, it would've sounded less like a conversation and more like two craftsmen arguing over how best to sharpen a blade.
"…your trigger seal is elegant," Ren admitted. "But if someone like the commander slipped in…"
"The formation wouldn't trigger," Utakata finished. "Which is why I added a secondary detection layer tied not to chakra signatures but body heat."
Just then, a groggy voice cut through the room.
"Ugh… shut up… you fuinjutsu maniacs…"
~~~~~
{Good news guys, the Daimyo's had a change of heart, he's going to live.}
{There will be a few chapters now where what will be happening will become clear, after that it will be action time.}