"You still care about Hyuga Hiashi's opinion? Still care about their hearts?" Danzo sneered, not wanting to waste any more time with Hyuga Ieyasu.
He pulled a scroll from his sleeve and tossed it casually onto the table.
The scroll unrolled, revealing rows upon rows of dense accounting records.
"Year 38 of Konoha, reselling two thousand Explosive Tags, which are strategic supplies..."
"Year 40 of Konoha, embezzling front-line compensation funds and replacing hemostatic agents with inferior medicinal herbs..."
"And last year, selling three wagons of grain to Black Market channels, which, after several hands, finally reached a contact in Iwagakure..."
With every sentence Danzo read, Hyuga Ieyasu's face grew whiter.
By the time he finished, the teacup in Hyuga Ieyasu's hand was crushed with a "snap."
Broken porcelain shards splattered across the marble floor, and scalding tea wound its way down the table legs, emitting wisps of white steam.
Hyuga Ieyasu stared fixedly at the ledger on the table, the muscles at the corner of his eyes twitching frantically.
"Slander!"
He snapped his head up, veins bulging on his neck, his voice sharp like an old cat that had its tail stepped on: "This is a forgery! This is complete slander! Danzo, to get your man, you actually forged such things to frame me?"
He reached out, wanting to grab the scroll, his movements urgent and panicked.
Thwack.
A cane pressed precisely onto a corner of the scroll.
It didn't use much force, yet it felt like a mountain, causing Hyuga Ieyasu's hand to freeze in mid-air.
Danzo Shimura sat in his chair, his body motionless, only his single eye narrowing slightly, revealing a playful look that saw through everything.
"Forgery?"
Danzo's mouth twitched, his voice flat: "Every seal on it, the flow of every payment, even the signature and thumbprint left by your nephew, who was responsible for the contact in the Black Market, are backed up in Root's archives."
He leaned forward, a stale yet deadly pressure washing over him.
"Elder Ieyasu, I don't deny you have your methods."
"Following past conventions, if something goes wrong, you can easily find a scapegoat from the Branch House. After all, with the Caged Bird Seal in hand, making them admit they stole things to sell, or even making them die, is just a word from you."
Having said this, Danzo paused, his gaze scraping across Hyuga Ieyasu's pale face like a knife.
"But this time, which member of the Branch House do you think has the stature to carry the heavy burden of 'aiding the enemy'?"
"That batch of grain for Iwagakure directly fed their Explosion Corps, giving them the strength to blow up more than thirty of our Konoha Ninjas on the Battlefield."
Danzo withdrew his cane and tapped his finger lightly on the scroll, making a dull thudding sound.
"This is a major crime of betraying the village and colluding with the enemy."
"A crime like this cannot be carried by a small fry from the Branch House."
Hyuga Ieyasu's breathing became heavy, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
He naturally knew it couldn't be carried.
Once a scandal of this level broke out, let alone his position as an Elder, even the great tree that was the Hyuga Clan would have a layer of skin peeled off.
"What exactly do you want?" Hyuga Ieyasu gritted his teeth, the words squeezed from between them.
"I said, I want the person."
Danzo's expression remained unchanged: "Give Aokawa to me, and this scroll will rot forever in Root's incinerator."
...This book has been written for nearly 400,000 words now. I originally wanted to drop it at 200,000 words, but I found that people were still following and reading, so I persisted. I'm very grateful to everyone for following along to this point.
As a newcomer, before starting the book, I always felt that since I'd read novels for over a decade, I certainly wouldn't write any "poison points." But through feedback from some readers, I've realized that switching from a reader's mindset to an author's mindset is indeed different. The story is about to enter the next part, and I'm afraid I might miss some issues.
Therefore, I'd like to collect some feedback from everyone. I will read it seriously and try to avoid issues in future chapters. Everyone can reply in this thread. Thank you, thank you!
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