Inside the Hokage Office, the acrid smell of killing intent and lightning lingered, and the air was solidified like a block of ice.
Kakashi didn't say another word, merely tossing the scroll, stained with his father's blood and tears, onto the Hokage's desk. The scroll unfurled, and the list of charges it contained held more power than any shout.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the names, names he knew or had long forgotten, each representing a blood-soaked case that had been sealed away. Beside him, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado's expressions shifted from initial anger to suspicion, then to an incredulous pallor.
"...So, this is the truth." Kakashi's voice was low, hoarse as if squeezed from his throat. "My father, Sakumo Hatake, did not die from shame over a failed mission, but from the machinations of his comrades, and from... the tacit approval of the higher-ups."
His crimson Sharingan, like a red-hot branding iron, fixed intently on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, as if to pierce through the hesitation and calculations deep within his soul.
"Tell me, Third Hokage, where were you when all of this happened? What did your crystal ball see?"
This question seemed to shrink Hiruzen Sarutobi by a fraction.
He forcefully suppressed the tumultuous waves in his heart; he couldn't admit fault here, at least not on the surface. He first displayed an expression of shock and profound grief, as if he too was hearing these appalling inside details for the first time.
"Bang!"
He slammed his hand on the desk, the authority belonging to the Hokage forcefully pushed to its peak at this moment.
"Enough, Kakashi!" he roared, his voice booming, shaking the entire office. "Danzo's actions are treasonous! I swear in the name of the Third Hokage that I will personally apprehend him and clear the White Fang's name before the Memorial Stone!"
This decisive declaration startled Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, leaving them speechless for a moment.
Kakashi's Sharingan remained fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi. He saw the righteous indignation on that face, and beneath that anger, a fleeting glimpse of deeper weariness and calculation.
Ultimately, the boiling rage that threatened to consume his reason was forcibly suppressed. He knew that simply venting his anger here wouldn't solve any problems.
"Before sunset tomorrow," he said hoarsely, giving the final deadline. "If I don't see results, I will find my own way to get an answer."
As his voice faded, he looked at no one, turning and leaving. The eight fanged ninja dogs vanished in a puff of white smoke the moment he turned, leaving only a grotesque doorway blasted open by Chidori and a room full of dead silence.
After Kakashi left, the authority Hiruzen Sarutobi had so forcefully maintained collapsed instantly, as if his bones had been removed. He sank back into his chair, picked up the pipe on the desk, and tried to light it, but found his hand trembling uncontrollably, failing to meet the flame several times.
He knew he had lied.
A complete and utter lie.
Hand over Danzo before sunset tomorrow? How could that be. Danzo wasn't an ordinary Jonin; he was the leader of the "Root," the deepest and most twisted root system of Konoha's great tree, entrenched in the darkness. Uprooting him would cripple Konoha. Moreover, some dirty and arduous tasks still needed Danzo to complete.
This was a delaying tactic, and the only one he could think of.
He was caught in an unprecedented predicament. On one side was Kakashi's unyielding determination, willing to sacrifice everything; on the other, Naruto's even more unfathomable shadow, stirring up all the winds and clouds.
He felt like a rag doll being torn apart by two immense forces, powerless and desperate.
Finally, as if making some kind of decision, he gave up on lighting his pipe. He looked up and gave an almost inaudible order to the Anbu guarding in the corner shadows.
"Go, call Naruto."
Ten minutes later, Naruto appeared outside the Hokage Office. Inside the office, only Hiruzen Sarutobi remained; the two Advisors had been sent away.
Next to the shattered doorway stood a dutiful Anbu guard. He didn't stop Naruto, merely turning his head for a second look.
His head hadn't even fully turned.
Naruto's figure blurred before him, and a hand, swift as lightning yet light as a feather, struck the nerve cluster on his neck.
The Anbu guard didn't even emit a muffled groan; his eyes rolled back, and he slumped softly to the ground. Naruto caught him, gently leaning him against the wall, the entire process making no superfluous sound.
Naruto pushed open the broken door and stepped inside.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, inside the office, saw this scene and stood up in astonishment: "Why did you knock him out?"
Naruto didn't spare a glance for the fallen Anbu, answering calmly: "He is Danzo's spy, placed by your side. Hokage-sama, your office has long become someone else's backyard, free for anyone to enter and exit."
This was information he had learned from "Zero."
This statement was even more hurtful than Kakashi's earlier questioning. It directly negated Hiruzen Sarutobi's last shred of dignity and control as Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze dimmed, and he sank back into his chair, his voice filled with weariness: "Did you give the scroll to Kakashi? What exactly do you want to do? Do you want to plunge Konoha into civil strife?!"
"Civil strife?" Naruto ignored his questioning, the old man's desperate face clearly reflected in his ice-blue pupils. He threw out his final trump card in a tone of stating a fact.
"This is not enough."
"Third Hokage, if you continue to hesitate, my next report will be delivered directly to Uchiha Sasuke."
Naruto's voice was calm, yet it felt as if all the blood in Hiruzen Sarutobi's body had frozen.
"The report's content is simple—"
"'The Complete Truth About the Uchiha Clan Massacre,' and the role Konoha's higher-ups played in it."
"You!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was struck as if by lightning, trembling violently. He shot up from his chair, and for the first time, genuine fear flickered in his cloudy old eyes. He pointed at Naruto, his lips quivering, unable to utter a single word.
He knew he had no more bargaining chips to contend with this young man.
"You're insane!" he finally shrieked, his voice hoarse like an old bellows. "If Danzo is killed, who will take over 'Root'? Who will handle those unsavory dirty jobs? Those assassinations, interrogations, infiltrations... Konoha needs this power! It's a necessary evil!"
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's roar, Naruto took a step forward.
He looked at the old man with confidence, his gaze as if looking at a child who couldn't grasp the simplest logic.
He chuckled lightly, giving the only and final answer in a matter-of-fact tone.
"It's simple."
Naruto's voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed clearly in the empty office, filled with undeniable power.
"I'll take over."
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