Konoha.
After a full night of arrangements by Hiruzen and the others, the vote the next day confirmed that he would remain Hokage.
The choice of the Fourth Hokage would be decided after the Great Shinobi War ended.
As for Danzo, Hiruzen immediately sealed off Root, the Shimura clan, and all shinobi connected to Danzo and the Mist battlefield that very night, cutting communication between the two locations completely to ensure the Mist front received no news.
During the voting assembly, Hiruzen classified the Danzo matter as top secret and personally took charge of it. ANBU were dispatched to the Mist front immediately.
No one asked for details. Everyone understood the situation without needing to say it aloud.
Hiruzen's reputation had taken a hit, but his authority remained. If things truly escalated into a life-or-death conflict, no one would come out unscathed. He was still Hokage—if he could bring down the Senju, he certainly had methods to deal with others.
Still, after this incident, the clans became far more wary of the Hokage.
If Hiruzen wanted to target another clan in the future, it would not be easy.
"Hiruzen, what are you planning to do about Danzo?" Homura asked.
"You understand the situation. He must either die—or disappear. He knows too much. If anything goes wrong, we'll all be buried with him."
Dealing with Danzo required a single decisive strike. Anything less would be disastrous. They knew his methods well. A Tailed Beast Bomb hadn't killed him before, and the barrier that had protected Hiruzen from Mito's attack had also been one of Danzo's research projects. After surviving that past explosion, who knew how many safeguards he still carried on the battlefield?
Killing him would not be easy.
And compared to the two advisors, Danzo was far more decisive. Many dirty tasks they would hesitate to consider—Danzo would carry them out without hesitation.
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
"I've already decided what to do."
"Danzo will remain on the Mist front handling war operations. All communication from the village has been cut off. He will only receive information we choose to give him."
"The only chance he has now is to atone through merit. When he returns, I hope his achievements will outweigh his crimes."
Both advisors were stunned.
"That's impossible! The clans won't agree. There were so many shinobi present—the news can't be contained!"
"They've already agreed," Hiruzen said. "I dealt with it last night… that's why they allowed me full authority over Danzo today."
"…The information won't spread. This matter will soon be forgotten."
Hiruzen removed his pipe and exhaled a long plume of smoke.
"The only ones who will remember are the clans… and they understand."
The two advisors suddenly seemed to realize what he meant. Cold sweat formed on their backs as they looked at him like they were seeing him for the first time.
"Hiruzen…"
"There was no choice. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures," Hiruzen murmured. "This cannot be allowed to disgrace Konoha."
"You're sure it won't cause bigger problems?" they asked uneasily. There was no scapegoat left this time.
"It won't," Hiruzen replied.
He hadn't sent ANBU to silence people permanently—there were many ways to handle a problem.
Memory sealing. Speech restrictions.
ANBU's opening line was always: 'The Hokage requests your cooperation in an investigation.'
A genjutsu would follow. Most shinobi wouldn't resist. If they did… that only simplified matters.
Despite the commotion last night, only a few dozen people had actually been present.
Over half were clan shinobi. Most others had been turned away before arriving.
This was wartime. Nearly all Konoha shinobi were on the battlefield; those left behind were the wounded and clan leadership.
Konoha's reputation was tied to the clans. None of them wanted such disgrace to spread. They would issue gag orders within their own families.
And the incident would become leverage against the Third Hokage—useful for future negotiations. Naturally, fewer witnesses meant better bargaining power.
All that remained was to deal with the civilian shinobi who had been present.
That very morning, a rumor began spreading throughout the village:
Kumo ninja infiltrated Konoha last night to steal secrets and attacked the Senju compound. The Third Hokage fought and eliminated them.
The story spread quickly.
The advisors sighed in relief. "As long as you're confident."
"But be careful with Danzo."
"I know…" Hiruzen said, pulling out a document, his face darkening further.
"This incident still has consequences. The clans want the deployment list reconsidered."
"What?!" the advisors panicked.
"Do they not understand how critical the Cloud and Mist battlefronts are?"
Hiruzen sighed.
"They say they fear being treated like the Senju on the battlefield."
"They want a new distribution. Their clans will withdraw thirty percent of their shinobi. The rest… we must fill ourselves."
Meaning civilian shinobi would have to fill the gap.
Their quality and numbers were both inferior.
To compensate, the Academy might need to graduate students early.
"This was the condition for protecting Danzo… I had to agree."
"Hiruzen!"
"Danzo is on the Mist front. Don't forget his methods—he can stabilize that battlefield."
"As for the rest… I'll find a solution."
Exhausted, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair. The advisors fell silent.
As for Mito and Kushina—no one had the energy left to think about them.
---
Meanwhile – Mist Front.
"Is this information reliable?" Danzo asked the Root shinobi before him.
"Yes. I confirmed it personally. He didn't expect our visit—the intelligence is genuine."
"I heard Hanzo robbed the Underground Exchange in the Land of Earth. He shouldn't be short of money… yet he donated everything to Amegakure."
Danzo lowered his gaze.
"With all the war reparations Ame has gained, why would he still need money?"
"You haven't seen their reconstruction," the Root shinobi replied.
"Seventy percent of the village has been demolished and rebuilt. Because of the climate, most structures use steel. Even unfinished drainage systems are astonishing."
"That scale of construction… no amount of money would be enough. The war reparations won't last long."
Danzo's eyes lit up.
"Then we've gained a powerful weapon."
"If used well, the Mist battlefield will become my stage."
"My achievements for becoming Hokage will soon be enough."
After the shinobi left, Danzo looked up at the sky.
"Hanzo… you gave nearly everything to Amegakure."
"…How similar we are."
He thought of himself. For Konoha, he had sacrificed everything. The Shimura clan had declined because of him.
The Reverse Tetragram Sealing Jutsu—a suicide technique requiring elite skill, had been carved into the bodies of many core clan members. When the ceasefire explosion occurred, the Shimura clan was nearly wiped out.
"I will become Hokage."
With Hanzo's power at his side, his confidence surged.
With such an ally, who could still stop him from claiming the Hokage's seat?
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