In front of the Konoha Memorial Stone.
At this moment, all the Ninjas in the Village, excluding those on mandatory guard duty, were gathered here.
The young Genin present were sobbing quietly. They had grown up being educated in the Third Hokage's will of fire, and in their eyes, the Third Hokage was a kind elder who had passed away protecting Konoha.
"Why did such a good person as Grandpa Hokage have to die?" Naruto stood before the Memorial Stone with a sorrowful expression, while Konohamaru beside him wept incessantly.
If Aoki Yoru had been by his side, he would have patted his shoulder and said, "Kid, you are still too naive. Don't you see that most of the adults present are holding back their laughter?"
"Boom—"
A violent explosion suddenly occurred in the southeast of the Village, sending flames soaring into the sky, clearly visible even to those at the Memorial Stone.
Seeing this sudden turn of events, Jiraiya's expression changed drastically. Having just experienced the Konoha Crush plan, he could not allow any more enemy invasions.
"Anbu Second Division, stay put and maintain order. Everyone else, return to your posts immediately to prevent an enemy surprise attack."
Having said this, Jiraiya's figure vanished from the spot as he rushed toward the explosion. The other Jonin at the scene followed suit.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"
Before long, the Jonin without specific missions appeared at the location of the explosion, surrounding the collapsed entrance.
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu looked at the collapsed entrance with grim expressions; they knew this place was a stronghold of Danzo's Root.
With things having reached this point, and still no sign of Danzo or his right-hand men, it seemed their situation was dire.
"Jiraiya, this is a Root stronghold," Homura Mitokado said, turning to look at Jiraiya.
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya's pupils constricted, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
"It seems Danzo has fallen too!" Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh.
He had always disliked Danzo's methods, but helplessly, his teacher had always protected him, both openly and secretly. The three of them knew what Danzo was doing; the teacher was well aware of everything, and it was even possible that he had tacitly approved.
In the end, he and Tsunade left Konoha, disheartened, and wandered about. As for Orochimaru, due to the Village's restrictions and his complete disappointment in their teacher, he simply defected from the Village, severing all ties completely.
Not long after, the Ninjas skilled in Earth Release finally cleared the soil from inside.
Looking at Danzo lying on the ground, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu felt a complex mix of emotions. This was a comrade-in-arms who had fought alongside them for decades, yet he had died so silently.
"Sigh! Danzo, I never expected you to follow Hiruzen in death. I had originally intended to let you take charge of the overall situation!" Homura Mitokado lamented.
That's right; he and Utatane Koharu had agreed to release Danzo, who was under house arrest.
After the Third Hokage died, there were only a few candidates who could become the next Hokage: Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi, who had shone brilliantly on the Land of Lightning battlefield.
However, Kakashi lacked sufficient prestige and didn't have his own power base, leaving only Jiraiya and Tsunade.
Both had enough prestige and strength. They were most satisfied with Jiraiya, as he was not power-hungry, which meant their own authority would be guaranteed.
However, just in case, they still planned to release Danzo to check and balance the new Hokage, taking advantage of the time while Konoha was leaderless and their own authority was still useful. Otherwise, once the new Hokage took office, unexpected complications would arise.
"Lord Jiraiya, two Advisors, please come inside and take a look." An exclamation came from Nara Shikaku, who had entered the depths of the basement ahead of them.
Laboratory.
Jiraiya looked at the children in the dozens of cultivation tanks, his face darkening. He hadn't expected Danzo to be so bold as to still be conducting human experiments; there might even be Konoha children among them.
He had also heard about the grudge between Aoki Yoru and Danzo; if it weren't for Yoru's interference, there might have been another corpse in there.
Nara Shikaku stepped forward quickly and handed a scroll stained with dark red blood to Jiraiya: "Lord Jiraiya, please look at this."
Jiraiya frowned, reached out to take the scroll, and with a "swish," snapped it open.
When he saw the dense experimental records, the list of children, and the inhuman data from the human experiments on the scroll, Jiraiya's expression instantly shifted from darkened to livid, and his Chakra surged violently!
"Danzo—!!"
A roar of anger made the entire laboratory hum. He gripped the scroll tightly, his knuckles turning white, and the killing intent in his eyes was almost overflowing; he wished he could rush out immediately and grind the already dead Danzo into dust.
As the scroll slowly unfolded, Danzo's numerous crimes were instantly exposed, laid bare before everyone.
Kidnapping children for live experiments, forcing civilian geniuses into Root for cruel "gu" cultivation, leaking Jiraiya's whereabouts to Kumogakure, single-handedly orchestrating the White Fang's false accusation... each and every one of these was heart-wrenching and unforgivable; they were simply too numerous to record!
Even the two Advisors, who had been mentally prepared, were dumbfounded; they hadn't expected Danzo to have done so many things in private.
They had thought Danzo was only secretly conducting human experiments and forcing geniuses from Ninja clans to join the Root—that was all, and this was something they had tacitly allowed.
"Did Hiruzen actually know about what Danzo was doing?" Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing.
At this moment, the Jonin present looked at each other in dismay; they hadn't expected to hear such a shocking secret. Danzo was a Konoha Advisor, the controller of the fearsome Root, and clearly the number two figure, yet he had committed such heinous acts that angered both heaven and man.
Did the deceased Sandaime know or not? At this moment, they already had their own judgment in their hearts.
"Alright, Shikaku, organize these things first. We will decide how to handle this after the new Hokage takes office."
Seeing the strange expressions on everyone present, Jiraiya interrupted them to handle the immediate matter first.
As for whether the contents would leak out, he no longer cared. The messy things the old man did himself, it was normal for there to be a backlash, and he didn't want to expend effort to protect his reputation anymore.
The two Advisors wanted to say something but held back. Seeing that Jiraiya had already made his decision, they could only sigh helplessly.
Over the next few days, undercurrents surged in Konoha Village. The things Danzo had done were slowly revealed by those with ulterior motives, and even civilians who didn't know who Danzo was were filled with disdain for him.
Especially the families whose children had gone missing; they all held Danzo accountable, wishing they could sleep on his skin, eat his flesh, gnaw his bones, and drink his blood.
They gathered in front of the Hokage office building, demanding an explanation, and were only appeased with great difficulty by the two Advisors.
Even the Shimura clan was affected; people looked at them with strange eyes, and they experienced the same treatment Naruto had received.
Even the Third Hokage's reputation was affected. Under his governance, such things had occurred, and by a high-ranking official at that; did the Third Hokage really not know?
Jiraiya and the two Advisors did not stop it either. With so many Ninjas present, there would always be someone dissatisfied with the Third Hokage and Danzo who would leak it.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Sandaime had died for the Village and people's gratitude toward him was still lingering, revealing it now was the least costly option.