Koharu glanced secretly at Homura, who sighed and shook his head at her.
The message was clear—there was no point in hiding this. Trying to cover it up would only lead to bigger problems.
"I sent my subordinates to the logistics department to retrieve the chakra metal, but they told me the village's supply of chakra metal is running low and can't be used for weapon crafting."
"How is that possible?!"
The Third Hokage couldn't sit still. He distinctly remembered the village having a significant reserve of chakra metal, all of it purchased at great expense from external sources.
Crafting a single weapon would only require a small portion of that supply.
Not everyone was like Tobirama Senju, who had the luxury of using chakra metal to forge something like the Thunder God Sword, which Tsunade eventually gave to Takuya.
So the question remained—what happened to all the chakra metal from the logistics department?
The Third Hokage shot a deep look at the two elders, who remained silent. He already had a strong suspicion of where the issue lay. Forcing an awkward smile, he turned to the blacksmith.
"You can go rest for now. I'll send over the chakra metal. Just be ready to start forging."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The blacksmith obediently left the office.
As soon as he was gone, the forced smile on the Third Hokage's face vanished, replaced by a dark, thunderous expression.
"Koharu, Homura… is there something you'd like to explain to me?"
A whole batch of chakra metal—just gone!
And the logistics department was mostly managed by Koharu and Homura. If the chakra metal had disappeared, it was undoubtedly tied to them.
Homura chuckled bitterly. He opened his mouth to admit the truth but found himself at a loss for words.
The Third Hokage's face grew darker, the anger simmering inside him rising as he glared at Koharu and Homura.
"Hiruzen, there's no need to look at us like that," Koharu finally said. "This matter has nothing to do with us. You should ask Danzō. He's the one who took the metal. We only found out about it afterward."
Why should they take the fall for Danzō's actions?
In times of trouble, survival instinct kicks in, and they had no qualms about throwing Danzō under the bus to save themselves.
If they didn't, they'd end up being the ones to suffer.
"Danzō…"
The Third Hokage clenched his fists, his breathing becoming more rapid as he struggled to contain his rising fury.
"Send for Danzō," he ordered, his voice barely controlled.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
An ANBU appeared in the office and disappeared just as silently, heading out to summon Danzō.
Hiruzen looked livid.
This is all Danzō's doing, not ours, Koharu and Homura communicated with each other through their gazes.
They had no intention of defending Danzō—selling him out was their best option. Once Hiruzen had calmed down, they could plead for leniency on Danzō's behalf.
Before long, Danzō entered the Hokage's office, walking slowly with his cane.
"Hiruzen, what do you need me for? If it's not urgent, don't waste my time. Root suffered heavy losses, and I'm busy recruiting replacements."
As he mentioned this, Danzō ground his teeth, silently cursing to himself.
The various clans had refused to send any of their people to join Root. Danzō had been eyeing the Uchiha and Hyuga clans in particular for a while now, but the Third Hokage wouldn't allow him to recruit from them.
Left with no choice, Danzō had turned to the smaller clans. Unfortunately, they had also refused.
Root had taken heavy losses, and with the Third Hokage using the war's toll as an excuse, he was unwilling to provide Danzō with any significant support.
Without the Hokage's full backing, rebuilding Root would be an uphill battle.
"Let's leave Root aside for now."
The Third Hokage's mood soured even further at Danzō's words.
Koharu and Homura were speechless. Danzō, are you blind? Can't you see how upset Hiruzen is?
"Why did you take the chakra metal from the logistics department?" Hiruzen demanded.
"Huh?"
Only now did Danzō realize something was wrong. His gaze shifted toward Koharu and Homura. So the chakra metal issue came to light, and you didn't even warn me?
But Koharu and Homura kept their heads down, pretending not to notice.
This was your mess, Danzō. You deal with it.
"We need an explanation, Danzō!" the Third Hokage shouted, slamming his hand on the desk.
"Do you have any idea how much money the village spent on that chakra metal? How many favors I had to call in to get it? And you thought it was a good idea to use it all to arm Root with chakra weapons?!"
Even ANBU didn't get this kind of special treatment. What in the world was Danzō thinking?
The rarity and value of chakra metal were beyond question. But what really enraged the Hokage was the fact that Danzō had done this behind his back.
And worse—Koharu and Homura had known about it and said nothing, keeping him in the dark.
The three of them had worked together to conceal this from him.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
The Third Hokage felt like a puppet leader, betrayed by those closest to him.
He had given them their authority, and now they had the audacity to go behind his back and act without consulting him. Did they not respect him at all?
"I took it," Danzō admitted, seeing no point in lying now that the secret was out. Denying it would only make Hiruzen angrier.
"And where is the chakra metal now?" the Hokage sneered. "Don't tell me you've already used it to forge weapons."
Go on, Danzō. Show me what you've done this time.
Remaining calm, Danzō replied, "The metal… I intended to give it to Orochimaru. He's a war hero and has done so much for the village."
"I knew he wanted to give Nawaki a fine weapon, so I decided to provide some of the chakra metal."
"To give to Orochimaru?"
The Third Hokage let out a bitter laugh.
Yes, Orochimaru is a war hero. He's done more for the village than most, and as my student, I would have no problem rewarding him with some chakra metal.
In fact, I've already arranged for a chakra blade to be crafted for Orochimaru, so he can give it to Nawaki.
But now? There wasn't a single scrap left!
And who gave Danzō the authority to move materials from the logistics department?
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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