Moving forward, he thought it best not to involve himself too much in village affairs. Instead, he would give more chances to Shikashin and try to promote the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, allowing himself to enjoy a quieter life at home.
"Hiruzen?" Koharu Utatane called tentatively, but the Third Hokage remained silent.
Oh dear!
Things seemed serious. The Third Hokage only acted like this when he was extremely angry, refusing to acknowledge anyone until everyone had gathered and he was ready to speak.
The three exchanged glances, silently taking their seats.
"Lord Hokage."
At that moment, the Anbu ninja who had been sent to summon Danzo returned.
"Where is Danzo?" asked the Third Hokage.
The Anbu ninja awkwardly replied, "Lord Danzo said he wasn't feeling well, so..."
"Bang!!"
The words "not feeling well" struck a nerve, and the furious Third Hokage slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone in the office.
Is this the Sarutobi Hiruzen we know?
Are we sure Tsunade isn't disguised as him?
"You may leave," said Koharu, standing up and dismissing the Anbu.
Once he had left, she turned to the Third Hokage.
"Hiruzen, what did Danzo do this time to make you so angry?"
"What did he do?"
The Third Hokage laughed out of sheer frustration. "He almost overturned everything! Did you know?"
"He attempted to assassinate a fellow Konoha ninja, leaking village information to make a deal with Salamander Hanzo, asking him to kill Hyuga Takashi—only to be betrayed. Hanzo then marched to our border camp and revealed everything in front of dozens of our ninja!"
"And you ask what he did!"
Assassinating a fellow ninja and leaking village secrets—these charges could be handled lightly or heavily. If handled lightly, it could be swept under the rug, but if made public, it would lead to serious consequences.
If this had been exposed through some other channel, the Third Hokage might have been able to deal with it. But no—it was Hanzo himself who had come forward and revealed everything in front of Konoha's ninjas stationed at the border.
Those ninjas were already resentful of their long postings, enduring harsh conditions while separated from their families. Now, the revelation of Danzo's actions would leave them disillusioned.
We are missing New Year celebrations, patrolling dutifully in the freezing snow and rain, only to find we have to be wary of our own people too? That we could be assassinated by our own comrades?
Who could possibly accept that?
Even though they weren't the ones targeted, everyone in the camp could feel the impact. They shared the same space, and empathy took over—anyone would feel bitter in their place.
Akimichi Torifu covered his forehead in resignation, while Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado stared in shock, unable to believe what they were hearing.
Has Danzo lost his mind?
Assassinating a fellow ninja, and even employing an outsider to do it—it was something that would completely destroy trust within the village.
If it were anyone else, that would be bad enough, but Hyuga Takashi was not just anyone.
They could only imagine the reactions Tsunade and Mito Uzumaki would have when they found out.
"Hiruzen, we must put Danzo under control immediately. If possible, a gag order should be imposed at the border camp," Koharu said, visibly anxious.
The Third Hokage sighed heavily. "Do you think a gag order is possible?"
As if Mito Uzumaki would stand by idly.
Tsunade could turn the Hokage's office upside down if she wanted to.
"Sigh, I never imagined that Danzo would be capable of something so heinous. We must provide the villagers with an explanation."
At this crucial moment, the Third Hokage didn't hesitate to abandon Danzo.
This mess was Danzo's doing, and Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't about to let himself get dragged into it.
Homura Mitokado nodded solemnly. "I agree with Hiruzen. This matter was caused entirely by Danzo, and we must take control of him to give the villagers an explanation."
They needed to act fast before word spread. They had to arrest Danzo immediately and release a statement before the rumors took root.
If they let things drag on, allowing villagers to become angry, it would be much harder to deal with.
The best course of action was to take Danzo into custody and make the Hokage office's stance clear.
"I'll leave Danzo to you," said the Third Hokage. "I'll arrange for the announcement to be made."
The Third Hokage didn't even want to see Danzo.
"And Danzo's punishment?"
This was a delicate issue. Though Danzo had been thoroughly exposed by Hanzo, the Hokage office had to mete out severe punishment.
Otherwise, many would lose faith.
However, Koharu, Homura, and Torifu weren't sure how far they should go.
"We'll keep him imprisoned for now. No matter what, Danzo has made significant contributions to the village. Even if he has erred, he shouldn't be punished too harshly."
Not punishing Danzo would be impossible to justify to the villagers, but the punishment also needed to be carefully measured.
After all, Danzo still had his uses. The Third Hokage couldn't just abandon him entirely.
After a brief discussion, Koharu, Homura, and Torifu led the Anbu to Danzo's residence.
Seeing his small courtyard surrounded by Anbu, Danzo realized something was wrong.
Could it be that Mito Uzumaki had acted?
Or had Hanzo failed? That half-witted "Demi-God" couldn't even manage to kill one medical-nin?
"Danzo, your actions have been exposed. By order of the Hokage, you are to be arrested and detained. Please cooperate," said Torifu, forced to take on the role of the bad guy as Koharu and Homura remained silent.
"Why?" Danzo asked calmly.
Torifu rubbed his plump face, scolding, "You still ask why? You've nearly driven Hiruzen mad! Just because of a small dispute, you decided to assassinate Hyuga Takashi? Don't forget, you were the one who instigated this!"
"If you had done it yourself, it would have been fine, but you leaked village secrets to make a deal with Hanzo."
If Danzo had done it personally, Torifu might have respected him for it.
But no—he wasn't willing to act himself or even show his face, instead using village secrets to make a deal.
And then he got betrayed by Hanzo.
Failed, huh?
No—even with all the ninjas at the border camp, they couldn't have stopped Hanzo.
Although Danzo despised Hanzo deep down, he had to admit that Hanzo was indeed strong—much stronger than himself.
So then, how did this all blow up?
It couldn't possibly be Hyuga Takashi, that "cripple," who had miraculously overpowered Hanzo, could it?
No, Hanzo would have surely been manipulated by him. That much, Danzo was certain.