Nawaki and Sakumo entered the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen's expression was priceless. For a moment, he seemed to understand what had happened but soon feigned ignorance.
"Why are you two here?" Hiruzen asked, leaning slightly forward. "What happened to the mission?"
"The target was lost," Sakumo replied, raising his hand to show his palm. "Look, the mark is gone."
The Third Hokage stared silently at Sakumo's hand.
The silence was broken by a long sigh. It was as if he had taken that time to think, but in reality, he had already understood everything. He was merely maintaining his usual theatrical pretense.
'If he lived in the modern world, he'd probably be an Oscar-winning actor,' Nawaki thought sarcastically. 'Or maybe a politician... The art of deception and spouting nonsense seems to come naturally to him.'
"I understand, but—"
"Third," Nawaki interrupted, narrowing his eyes. "Be careful with what you say next."
"Nawaki-kun, I am the Hokage!" he warned, placing his hands on the desk and standing up.
"And I am Nawaki Senju," Nawaki raised his voice, crossing his arms over his chest without breaking his posture. "Don't forget that!"
Sakumo placed a hand on his forehead and sighed.
But remembering what Nawaki had said, Sakumo began to believe he might actually do something...
Hiruzen sat back down. He rarely displayed his emotions so vividly, but at that moment, everything was on full display.
Still, the weight of Nawaki's name was considerable. It was different from that of other ninjas.
For a moment, he regretted not listening to Danzo back then and lamented even more, thinking that his oversight had failed in dealing with Nawaki.
'If only he…'
"Third, before discussing this, you owe me an explanation, don't you?" Nawaki spoke without a shred of respect. "Why did the ANBU, who were supposed to protect Kushina, fail again?"
He emphasized the word again, causing Hiruzen's expression to twist slightly.
There's a saying: Respect is not imposed; it is earned.
At that moment, Hiruzen lost all the respect Nawaki might have had for him.
"Bang!"
The office door suddenly swung open.
A man wearing a black kimono with long sleeves extending to his torso and arms, a lilac obi wrapped around his waist, and white hakama-style pants entered. His wooden sandals made a loud noise as he approached quickly.
"This cannot go on, Hiruzen!" he shouted, sounding like he owned the place. Turning, he pointed a finger at Nawaki and Sakumo. "Not only did they fail, but they also returned without showing results in an ultra-secret mission. This is unacceptable!"
"Who do you think you're talking to, Danzo?" Nawaki stepped forward toward him, standing face to face and forcing Danzo to look up, as Nawaki was a few centimeters taller. "Know your place. Don't think that just because the Third tolerates your rudeness, you can speak to me in that tone. Understood?"
"Boom!"
Nawaki's chakra began to manifest, making the ground vibrate.
"Nawaki!" Hiruzen called in a grave tone.
"Hmph!" Snorting, Nawaki stepped back with barely concealed disdain.
Danzo was sweating cold as he stood before Nawaki.
'Coward...' Nawaki thought, watching Danzo retreat meekly.
He acts with such confidence because Hiruzen allows it. But that doesn't mean he's unfamiliar with fear.
Otherwise, why has he spent so much time hiding in the shadows? Is it because he's strong?
No, it isn't. While he's not mediocre, he's far from being a powerful ninja.
His strength hasn't even reached Kage level. Yet here he is, trying to act superior in front of Nawaki, daring to point a finger at him.
"Third, this is the third time today you've disappointed me," Nawaki said slowly and calmly. "First, you failed to properly protect Kushina. Second, you let this insolent old man barge in here like he owns the place and said nothing. Third, he tried to disrespect me and Sakumo-san, and you just stood by, watching. Explain to me, how should I feel with you acting like this?"
Hiruzen's eyes changed. Fixing his gaze on Danzo, he ordered, "Danzo, leave!"
"W-What?" Danzo seemed shocked.
A scenario that had never happened before.
'Hiruzen was coerced by this boy?'
He felt anger, intense anger. "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen said, and as he watched Danzo huff with rage and envy while leaving, why did he look so satisfied?
Then, Hiruzen turned to Nawaki. Even the way he spoke was gentler, like an elder addressing a youth. "Nawaki-kun. Calm your anger. I understand I've wronged you, but you need to understand that things aren't so simple."
"I'm listening," Nawaki replied.
From beginning to end, Sakumo stayed silent. If one didn't look in his direction, it was almost as if he wasn't even there.
And, in truth, he was grateful to Nawaki. After all, he had expected Hiruzen to reprimand him for not continuing the mission even though the target was lost.
In these few exchanges, though seemingly random, Sakumo began to piece together various points. He even started to believe that what Nawaki had said before might actually come to pass.
But he still had his doubts, especially: Did he want to be Hokage?
He hadn't yet found an answer.
"You've seen it yourself. Whoever did this must have been from the Cloud Village. They—"
"Come on, Third," Nawaki interrupted. "Only a fool would believe this nonsense. As arrogant as the Cloud may be, they wouldn't infiltrate and wear a ninja headband clearly displaying their identity. That's like a thief announcing their robbery beforehand. Does that make any sense to you?"
"…"
"Nawaki-kun, I know all of this," Hiruzen said patiently. "But even if it's a disguise, it was still from Cloud ninjas."
"Then how about we send a letter demanding a satisfactory explanation from them about this incident? I'll personally ensure this debt is collected if necessary," Nawaki replied.
Once again, Hiruzen was left speechless.
He knew the Cloud ninjas weren't the culprits. If he did what Nawaki suggested, his prestige and intelligence would be questioned.
Not to mention, he wanted to suppress this case, downplay it so the other villages wouldn't think Konoha could be easily intimidated. However, the fact that they managed to infiltrate with nine ninjas and even almost capture Kushina...
If this became public knowledge, how could he ever show his face before others again?
Cough, "As you said, it might be another village disguised as Cloud ninjas," Hiruzen feigned a cough, putting away the pipe he had taken back, and said, "That's why it's crucial to investigate this case thoroughly, and to avoid interference, this case needs to be silenced to prevent..."
*Knock, knock!*
"Hokage-sama, it's urgent!"
"Come in!"
Before he could finish, someone knocked on the door, speaking in a breathless tone.
When the person entered, it was someone from the Yamanaka Clan.
"They're gone!" he said. "The bodies of the Cloud ninjas have disappeared, Hokage-sama!"
Nawaki, who heard this, wasn't surprised; he even chuckled softly.
"Don't worry," Nawaki said. "Not everything has disappeared."
Hiruzen, who seemed relieved but masked it under a facade of disbelief, looked at Nawaki with a mixture of surprise and perplexity.
"What do you mean, Nawaki-kun?" he asked.
"One of the bodies," Nawaki began in a playful tone, though he was discussing something very serious, "I hid it. I figured something like this might happen and swapped the corpse with a shadow clone. Oh, look at that, I just received information from my clone." He paused, letting suspense hang in the air before continuing with an ironic smile. "Wow, you won't believe who's behind this, Hiruzen..."
--
--
[P.O.V – Nawaki]
I had been waiting for this moment. I knew, or rather, I had faith that at some point, he'd slip up and leave loose ends untied.
The moment my shadow clone disguised as a corpse was captured along with the other bodies, I waited. I just didn't imagine he'd show up personally, trying to get rid of the evidence.
"I've got you, Danzo!"
He jumped back, disbelief written all over his face. His one good eye trembled as he stood there, shocked, sweat beginning to form on his face, his mouth agape, wordless.
His voice came out shaky as the bead of sweat that had formed on the left side of his face began to trickle down. "N-No, it's not what you think. I just—yes, I just wanted to lure the real culprit to me and capture them!"
"Oh, interesting." I stood up, smiling as I said, "But, Danzo. That doesn't even make sense. Since you're the one behind this. Ohh, wait, are you thinking of turning yourself in? Is that it? Split personality?"
Grinding his teeth, Danzo seemed angrier than scared at that moment. My words seemed to hit him where it hurt.
"W-What nonsense are you spouting!" he shouted as if that would help prove a point. "Everything I do is for the good of the village!"
"Even these clandestine experiments?" I said, glancing around.
"This..." Danzo finally seemed to realize where we were.
Yes, we were in his research laboratory. It was likely he wasn't just going to dispose of the bodies but intended to use them as research material. That's why he brought us here.
But it's a shame. Doing this only worsened his situation. With so much evidence, I'd like to see how he's going to cover his tracks after this.
This time, not even Hiruzen will be able to shield him!
And I had already left my mark on this place. That's why I formed a hand seal and dispelled myself, since I was just a shadow clone, sending all the collected information to the original body.
--
--
My smile widened. This time, the fish fell right into the net. I only hoped to weaken Danzo's grip on power, but even I didn't imagine he'd take my shadow clone disguised as a corpse straight to his human experimentation laboratory.
I said, "Danzo. Danzo Shimura is behind all of this." I spoke with anger, "And that's not all..."
I explained everything I saw in that laboratory to everyone in the room without holding back.
Their expressions were, without a doubt, something to behold.
Especially Hiruzen's.
He couldn't even hide now how surprised he was. But whether his surprise was from discovering what Danzo had been doing or from the fact that I had uncovered it was uncertain.
"I'll take you there so we can capture this traitor!" I said with unmistakable anger.
This time, I won't give you a choice, Third.
Hiruzen looked at Sakumo, then at the Yamanaka Clan ninja, and even at his secretary, who wasn't far away and had heard everything.
Now, he couldn't pretend not to know, he couldn't remain idle, and he certainly couldn't let Danzo escape.
"Sakumo-san, you're coming with me," I said to him.
Just in case Hiruzen turned against me along with Danzo, I needed someone trustworthy by my side.
Sakumo nodded.
Hiruzen didn't object. I placed a hand on both their shoulders, and the three of us vanished from the Hokage's office.
–
–
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
When we arrived, Danzo was destroying the laboratory.
"Stop right there, Danzo!" I shouted.
Danzo didn't stop; he didn't even turn around.
"Danzo!" When the Third yelled, Danzo finally turned to face us.
His expression was one of desperation, but when he looked at Hiruzen, I could see a glimmer of hope.
"Surrender, Danzo," Hiruzen ordered.
Hearing this, Danzo's expression fell once more.
Sakumo, who was looking around, noticed the bodies on the ground, surrounded by water and shards of glass. Even someone as gentle as him, when he looked at Danzo, his eyes seemed to regard him as something worse than a pile of horse dung.
"Hokage-sama, this is unforgivable!" Sakumo exclaimed heavily.
He seemed even more shaken upon seeing the naked bodies of children scattered among the wreckage on the floor.
Some were even younger than his own son...
"This is cruel..." he murmured.
He was a ninja; his missions were based on eliminating enemy ninjas. But to toy with human lives in this way? Especially children?
He closed his eyes, and tears streamed down his face.
'As expected, he's too kind, but...' I thought, 'Being overly kind can be a double-edged sword, Sakumo-san.'
I wanted him to see this most of all. Only by witnessing this ugly side happening right under his nose could he become stronger.
The same could be said of Hiruzen. It's one thing to possibly know about what Danzo was doing; it's another to see it firsthand.
"You've disappointed me!" Hiruzen finally broke the tense silence.
"Hiruzen, all of this is for the village!" Danzo declared.
"No more excuses!" Hiruzen shouted. "Just surrender! Nothing you say will change the cruelty you've committed here, Danzo!"
"No, you're wrong. I'm not wrong!" Danzo shook his head, seeming to lose his sanity, forming hand seals. "I will—"
"You won't do a damn thing!"
I was done watching this pitiful emotional theater between the two of them, so I threw a kunai at Danzo.
When he saw my kunai, his expression shifted from crazed to a restrained, almost eloquent fury.
"You... Damn it! If it weren't for you!" he growled through clenched teeth, hatred dripping from every word.
In this timeline, only his right eye had been injured. After quickly completing three seals, he shouted forcefully: "Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!"
The wind generated by the technique surged violently, striking my kunai and hurling it away, spinning through the air before landing with a dull impact.
"Danzo, surrender!" Hiruzen shouted once more, making me glance at him.