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"..."
Well, well, he's been cornered.
With so many people present and such an undeniable charge, the Third Hokage couldn't avoid the situation, even if he wanted to.
He managed to extricate himself, but what about Danzo?
Danzo couldn't escape.
Orochimaru became a rogue ninja and couldn't be dealt with, but Danzo was still in the village, leisurely enjoying his retirement.
Does someone like that deserve it?
Faced with the gazes of the crowd, the Third Hokage felt extremely conflicted but ultimately had no choice but to make a difficult decision:
"I propose we eliminate Root and imprison Danzo, locking him up in Konoha's prison."
Danzo's status was sensitive, and the contributions and merits he'd made were significant.
Dealing with a high-ranking official wasn't a good thing for Konoha, so the best course of action was to imprison him in Konoha's jail.
He would be locked away for life, until he died of old age in there.
He knew that this decision would leave many people unsatisfied.
There's even a chance Danzo might escape.
The Third Hokage continued:
"Given Danzo's position as an advisor to the Hokage, with considerable power, and his possible placement of his own people in the Anbu and other places, I suggest that Danzo be imprisoned and guarded by the Uchiha clan."
Are you satisfied with this outcome?
Danzo might have left behind people in various places throughout Konoha, but definitely not within the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha hated Danzo and would wish for nothing more than his quick demise.
They wouldn't even think of helping him escape or do anything for him—it would be considered a good deed if they didn't kill him outright.
"Hokage-sama, I believe that such a task might be difficult for the Uchiha to... "
Danzo was completely toppled, and Fugaku was pleased, but he didn't want the Uchiha clan to be responsible for guarding him.
Danzo was too cunning, too insidious. If something went wrong, the blame would definitely fall on the Uchiha.
This kind of thankless task wasn't something they should take on.
"I trust you, I trust the Uchiha. Fugaku, you won't disappoint me, will you?"
"..."
You've put it like this—how can I refuse?
Frustrated, Fugaku grudgingly accepted.
"So now let's elect a candidate for the Fifth Hokage."
Striking while the iron was hot, the Third Hokage wanted to deal with everything at once, or else when the storm hit, they would be caught off guard.
Who was qualified to become the Fifth Hokage?
Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Even Koharu, who had never seen eye-to-eye with Tsunade, hoped that either Tsunade or Jiraiya would step forward and take on this responsibility.
"Don't look at me; I can't possibly become Hokage."
Jiraiya shook his head like a rattle drum. He was happy to take on missions, but becoming Hokage? He'd rather pass on that.
Jiraiya had the ability to become Hokage, but he didn't want to be nailed to the Hokage office because of the position. He still had to take care of Naruto, and there were many other things he needed to do, like searching for the new savior.
With Jiraiya voluntarily withdrawing, it essentially announced that Tsunade was the Hokage candidate.
But Tsunade hesitated.
To be honest, she didn't really want to stay in the village, much less become Hokage. The past events had left her with deep psychological scars.
For her, nothing good ever came from being involved with the position of Hokage.
In all fairness, Tsunade didn't want to become Hokage, but the choice wasn't up to her.
"Then it's settled—Tsunade it is. Whether in terms of identity, strength, or reputation, I believe the villagers will accept her."
Before Tsunade could respond, the Third Hokage decisively made the decision.
Kazuki's plan had succeeded!!!
Fugaku appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was secretly thrilled.
What had the Uchiha been waiting for if not this outcome?
Even if the policies targeting the Uchiha didn't change, at least the situation wouldn't be as extreme as before.
Tsunade wasn't as heartless as the Third Hokage and Danzo, and she wouldn't learn from them to keep pressing the Uchiha.
Hiashi's gaze swept over Fugaku, who remained calm as he stared at the table, but suspicion grew in Hiashi's heart...
'It seemed like I had no choice or right to refuse.'
Jiraiya was unwilling, the Third Hokage had made the decision, and the others all nodded in agreement. Tsunade becoming the Fifth Hokage meant that almost no one in Konoha would come out against it.Even Danzo, who had always dreamt of becoming Hokage.
Of course, Danzo could be ignored because whether he had an opinion or not didn't matter anymore. Because what awaited him was indefinite imprisonment in Konoha's jail, guarded solely by the Uchiha clan. Being guarded by a clan he had once targeted, one could imagine how hard Danzo's days in Konoha's prison would be.
It's a good thing Kazuki was still on his way to Konoha. Otherwise, if he knew about this, he would definitely die laughing and would eagerly take on the task of heading to the prison to personally "host" Danzo.
The Hokage candidate was selected—Tsunade—and all the blame was pinned on Danzo and Orochimaru.
The Third Hokage, Koharu, and Homura were at least safe, at most guilty of negligence.
As Fugaku left the Hokage building, intending to return to his clan, he was stopped by Hiashi.
"It seems the Uchiha have gained a lot."
"I don't understand what the head of the Hyuga clan is implying."
Fugaku slightly shook his head. Regardless of the Uchiha's role in this, it was something he couldn't admit to—never.
Otherwise, if the news got out, the Uchiha would be in deep trouble.
"Perhaps."
Hiashi didn't expect to uncover Fugaku's secrets with just a single sentence.
After exchanging a few polite words, they ended the confusing conversation and went their separate ways, returning to their respective clans. The village moved quickly. Almost as soon as the meeting ended, various countermeasures were in place. Since they couldn't keep it hidden, they decided to make it public.
Once the news spread, they would announce everything—those who needed to confess would confess, those who needed to retire would retire, and Tenzo—no, Yamato—would be brought into the spotlight. Danzo was completely unaware of what was happening outside. The Third Hokage had issued a warning, and Anbu had made targeted arrangements.
Danzo's informants within Anbu couldn't even find an opportunity to pass along any information to him. Let alone that the news hadn't spread yet; very few people knew about it.
The Third Hokage, accompanied by Tsunade and Jiraiya, personally came to visit. Regarding Danzo's punishment, Tsunade and Jiraiya had no objections, but they didn't want to see the Third Hokage go alone, so they chose to follow him. Not that they were worried about Danzo being a threat to the Third Hokage.
They were more concerned about a repeat of Orochimaru's escape.
Both knew very well how Orochimaru had managed to escape.
The Third Hokage had led Anbu, yet they couldn't stop even Orochimaru—it was almost laughable. Even though Orochimaru was powerful, with excellent escape skills and many contingencies in place...
With the Third Hokage leading and the entire Anbu involved, it should have been enough to give Orochimaru a hard time. Yet, in the end, Orochimaru got away cleanly without leaving a trace, giving Anbu no clues to follow.
The twists and turns of the situation were unclear to most, but Tsunade and Jiraiya knew full well. The Third Hokage had deliberately let Orochimaru go.