At the same time, in Konohagakure, inside the Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office.
"According to the preliminary investigation, last night's attack resulted in the destruction of thirty-seven buildings of various sizes. Casualties include 164 civilians and 36 shinobi."
"The facility that suffered the most damage was Konoha Prison. Most of the fallen shinobi were prison guards."
Nara Shikaku, the head of the Konoha Jōnin Commander Unit, closed the file after summarizing the damage from the previous night.
Inside the office were four other people:
Shimura DanzōMitokado HomuraUtatane KoharuNamikaze Minato
Shikaku continued calmly:
"The prisoners inside Konoha Prison rioted. Fortunately, the Konoha Military Police Force responded quickly."
"Aside from the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, who was rescued by Kumogakure forces, 421 prisoners who resisted were killed, while the remaining 754 were captured again."
"In addition, every member of the Kumogakure diplomatic envoy has disappeared. They are very likely the masterminds behind the attack on the village."
Mitokado Homura nodded.
"The losses aren't too severe. It seems their main objective was to rescue the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki."
Shikaku added:
"The Chief of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Ren , has already led the police force to pursue them."
"Later, a thousand shinobi reinforcements were dispatched under the command of the Hyūga Clan Head."
"It's unlikely the Kumogakure forces will escape easily."
"Outrageous!"
Shimura Danzō suddenly snorted coldly.
"Who gave them the authority to act without permission? Why was I not informed beforehand? What exactly are they trying to do?!"
The gaze in his single visible eye turned icy.
This development had truly caught him off guard.
Utatane Koharu glanced at him and spoke calmly.
"Danzō, the thousand-man reinforcement force was organized by Minato and approved by both Homura and myself."
"As for why no one informed you… don't forget that you're currently suspended from duty."
"You only have the right to advise, not to make decisions."
The events of last night had been extremely unusual.
Both Koharu and Homura had sensed something suspicious. They weren't sure what role Danzō might have played, so when making arrangements they had deliberately avoided informing him.
Danzō's expression darkened.
But he quickly changed the topic.
"Fine, forget the thousand shinobi."
"But what about the Uchiha clan?"
"Who gave them the authority to leave the village without permission?"
"The responsibility of the Konoha Military Police Force is maintaining internal stability. Chasing enemies outside the village violates the rules."
"They must give an explanation."
Minato frowned slightly and immediately responded.
"Elder Danzō, extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures."
"The Military Police spent the entire night suppressing disturbances inside the village and fighting the enemy. It's understandable that they pursued the attackers in the heat of the moment."
Then Minato's tone grew sharper.
"Speaking of which, I would like to ask you something."
"Last night when the village was attacked, the Barrier Team, the ANBU, and Root all showed no response whatsoever."
"As a result, the Konoha Military Police Force was the only organization fighting the enemy."
"I've also heard that the reason for this was because you summoned the heads of multiple departments beforehand."
"And that Root operatives were sent to order those departments to stand down."
"Is that true?"
The moment those words were spoken, everyone in the office turned their gaze toward Shimura Danzō.
It had already been confirmed that the incident was orchestrated by the Kumogakure envoy.
But that alone didn't make sense.
The envoy only consisted of a few dozen shinobi, and their strength wasn't particularly impressive.
Even if their strength were multiplied ten or twenty times, what could they possibly accomplish?
This was Konoha.
The strongest shinobi village in the world.
Under normal circumstances, such a small force could never stir up chaos within Konoha.
Yet somehow the Kumogakure envoy had succeeded in causing a massive disturbance—and even escaped under the encirclement of countless Konoha shinobi.
This could only mean one thing.
Another force had been secretly assisting them.
And all signs currently pointed toward Shimura Danzō.
But the situation felt too obvious.
That wasn't Danzō's usual style.
Everyone waited for his answer.
"You guessed correctly."
Facing their stares, Danzō spoke calmly.
"Last night's events were indeed orchestrated by me."
Minato and Shikaku frowned.
Meanwhile, Koharu and Homura fell into deep thought.
Minato and Shikaku couldn't understand Danzō's reasoning, but the two elders—who had worked with him for decades—were trying to deduce his intentions.
Eventually Homura gave up guessing and asked directly.
"Danzō, you need to explain yourself."
Danzō remained expressionless.
"There's something you may not know."
"On his way back to Konoha, Hiruzen was attacked by Kumogakure shinobi."
"Not only were all of his ANBU escorts killed, but he himself was severely injured."
"If my Root operatives hadn't arrived in time, Hiruzen would already be dead."
The room instantly fell into shock.
Koharu's eyes widened.
"Is that true?"
"This information came directly from the ANBU," Danzō replied flatly.
"By my estimation, Hiruzen should return to the village today. When he does, you'll know the truth."
Minato frowned.
"What does that have to do with allowing the Kumogakure envoy to cause chaos?"
Danzō snorted.
"Their goal in attacking Hiruzen was obvious."
"They wanted to take him hostage and exchange him for the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, avoiding the compensation they owe Konoha."
"But they failed."
"Last night's chaos was merely a desperate move."
"If we had immediately suppressed the incident, Kumogakure would simply deny everything."
"With their shameless behavior, we would have no way to hold them accountable."
"Attacking a former Hokage is a direct slap in Konoha's face."
"And I'm not the kind of man who endures humiliation without retaliation."
Danzō's voice grew colder.
"Only by letting Kumogakure believe their plan has a chance of succeeding will they commit more resources."
"Then, when we close the net… we'll reap far greater gains."
"So I personally entered the game."
"I pretended to cooperate with the Kumogakure envoy and allowed them to rescue the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki."
Danzō spoke with righteous conviction, effortlessly washing away any suspicion of collusion.
Homura nodded slightly.
This aggressive strategy was indeed very much Danzō's style.
Koharu, however, looked worried.
"Danzō, if this goes wrong, it could restart the war. You should have discussed it with us first."
Danzō sneered.
"And if I had, would you have agreed?"
"Over the years, all of you have had your edges worn down."
"Not a trace of fighting spirit remains."
He paused before delivering another bombshell.
"Let me tell you something else."
"I didn't just cooperate with the Kumogakure envoy."
"I also leaked part of Konoha's border defense map to Kumogakure to help them enter the Land of Fire."
"This time, whether you like it or not…"
"We're going to war."
"I will cripple Kumogakure—break them, crush them, and make them fear Konoha forever!"
Even if none of you understand me, it doesn't matter."
Danzō's voice turned resolute.
"Even if I must raise this old body as a torch…"
"I will carve out a future for the village!"
Then he declared with fierce determination:
"I will defy Heaven itself—if only for half a move!"
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