"Did you deliver it? And how much?"
According to what the Third Hokage knew, Orochimaru hadn't crafted any chakra weapons for Nawaki.
This meant that the materials never made it to Orochimaru.
"Hiruzen, everything I did was for the village!"
Having been repeatedly mocked and questioned by the Third Hokage, Danzō finally snapped, yelling, "Isn't it right to reward the village's heroes and contributors?"
"Yes, of course it's right."
The Third Hokage let out a bitter laugh.
Koharu, standing to the side, kept signaling Danzō with her eyes, trying to get him to stop talking.
But Danzō paid her no mind.
Koharu rolled her eyes and gave up on him completely. If you won't listen to me, then you can deal with this mess yourself.
"Bang!"
The Third Hokage slammed his hands on the table and stood up.
"Danzō, let me ask you: who gave you the authority to pull resources from the logistics department?"
"It's my responsibility to decide who gets what rewards. I am the Hokage of this village!"
At a time like this, you're still trying to cover your tracks? As the Hokage's advisor, do you have the right to make such decisions? What do you take me for?!
"You…"
Danzō wanted to argue back, but he couldn't.
He wasn't the Hokage.
Everything the Third Hokage said was true. Every word felt like a sharp blade stabbing into Danzō's chest.
His face twitched, but eventually, he held his tongue, his expression dark and rigid.
Danzō finally lowered his head. The Third Hokage took a deep breath before asking, "Where's the rest of it?"
"Don't tell me you gave all of the chakra metal to Orochimaru. As far as I know, he hasn't crafted any chakra weapons for Nawaki."
The amount of chakra metal Danzō had taken wasn't small. It was enough to craft several weapons.
Even a piece of metal the size of a fist was worth millions of ryō. The chakra metal Danzō took was worth several billion!
"It's gone."
After being pressured repeatedly, Danzō decided to just give up and admit it.
"I ordered Root members to deliver it to Orochimaru, but they were ambushed and killed as soon as they left the village."
Cough! Cough!
The Third Hokage suddenly remembered the recent attack on Root members outside the village. The thought hit him like a punch to the gut, and he began coughing violently.
No wonder Danzō had been so angry and anxious back then. He hadn't cared about the deaths of Root members or the village's reputation. What had really upset him was losing the chakra metal he had secretly taken.
"And what about the other batch of chakra metal?"
Taking a deep breath, the Third Hokage continued to question him, suppressing the fury bubbling inside. If he didn't control himself, he feared he'd lose it entirely.
Danzō closed his eyes and pretended not to hear.
The rest of the chakra metal was still in his possession, but he had no intention of handing it over.
If he gave it up now, his negotiations with Orochimaru would fall apart.
After being hunted by Hanzō, Danzō was desperate to get his research going so he could recover his body.
But Orochimaru wasn't one to work without a reward.
"Are you refusing to return it?"
Danzō continued to ignore the question, his face set in stone, infuriating the Third Hokage to the point where his whole body began trembling with anger.
Koharu couldn't stand it any longer.
"Danzō, just hand over the chakra metal. Don't be so stubborn."
If Danzō handed it over, the Third Hokage would still be angry, but he wouldn't take any drastic measures.
After all, Hiruzen still needed Danzō.
But if Danzō refused to cooperate, things could get much worse.
"Shut up!"
The moment Koharu spoke, Danzō exploded in anger.
"You're the ones who gave me the chakra metal! Didn't we agree that your two families would contribute some of the supply?"
"You…"
Danzō's ingratitude left Koharu fuming. How dare he bite the hand that feeds him? She was so enraged she could barely breathe.
The Third Hokage turned his gaze on the two of them, his eyes practically burning with fury.
"Well, well, well. You three have outdone yourselves."
"You're really not going to cooperate?"
The Third Hokage let out a hollow laugh and slammed his hand on the table.
"If you won't cooperate and insist on keeping secrets from me, then from today on, the three of you will be stripped of your powers. And Root will be merged into the ANBU."
If anyone else had pulled a stunt like this, they'd be rotting away in prison for decades.
But for the two elders and the Hokage's advisor, even though the Third Hokage was furious, he only took away their authority.
Their positions remained intact.
Going forward, the three would still be the Hokage's advisors and members of the Council of Elders, but they no longer had any actual power.
"What?"
Danzō's eyes widened in shock, and Koharu and Homura were just as stunned. They hadn't expected the Third Hokage to go this far and strip them of their authority.
While being an elder or an advisor might sound prestigious, without actual power, they were nothing.
Danzō's Root, Koharu's control over the medical department, and Homura's grip on the logistics department—these were all vital branches of Konoha.
Without these positions, their status would plummet.
"Hiruzen, you can't do this to us! This is Danzō's fault—why are you punishing me and Homura?"
In a last-ditch effort, Koharu threw Danzō under the bus completely.
"Even if Danzō did this, he never would have taken resources from the logistics department without your approval. He didn't have the authority."
The Third Hokage's voice was cold as ice.
"And after you found out about it, instead of reporting it to me, you kept it hidden. You even helped him cover it up the second time. That makes you complicit, his accomplices."
"Both of you need to step back and reflect on your actions—figure out where you went wrong."
"Hiruzen, we…"
"Get out. I'm tired."
The Third Hokage didn't want to hear any more excuses.
There was no point in listening.
The three of them had crossed the line, and the Third Hokage couldn't tolerate it.
He had to take away their power as a punishment, teach them a lesson, and possibly restore their authority later depending on the situation.
The Third Hokage knew he couldn't run the village without the help of his old comrades, which was why he had only taken away their authority and not their positions.
Had he removed their positions entirely, they'd be done for.
Meanwhile, unaware of what was happening in the Hokage's office, Takuya stared at Minato in disbelief.
Minato, the always reliable "Little Sun," had even notified Kushina and Mikoto Uchiha. What was this, some kind of trial?
"I was just worried you were serious about giving up being a ninja," Minato said with a sheepish smile.
Kushina, on the other hand, had no such reservations. With her hands on her hips, she declared boldly, "Takuya, if those old guys at the Hokage's office are giving you trouble, then quit! Tomorrow, I'll write up my own resignation and leave too. If it comes to it, I'll just take care of you!"
She had the confidence of someone with wealth.
Takuya: "…"
Minato: "…"
Mikoto Uchiha: "…"
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Check out my other translation, Kidnapping Hancock and Building the Strongest All-Female Pirate Crew. It's a book that was abandoned by the previous translator, and I'm currently working on it. The story is quite engaging!
This is a bonus chapter for reaching 3600 Power Stones.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 290+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters