The news that Hiruzen Sarutobi's former subordinate, Hiruko, had secretly conducted forbidden experiments, betrayed the village, killed his comrades, and even attempted to self-destruct to destroy Konoha, successfully made the front-page headline of the *Shinobi World United News*.
As the first and largest newspaper in the shinobi world, the *Shinobi World United News* reported the incident with great accuracy. It did not exaggerate or embellish the events but simply described the facts as they were. The focus was on being rigorous and fair.
However, the other newspapers in Konoha lacked such journalistic ethics.
For the sake of sales, they didn't care about the truth and sensationalized the story as much as possible.
Some even went so far as to label Hiruko as a disciple of the Hokage, claiming that it was the Hokage's own student who had defected and tried to destroy the village!
Others expanded on the story, suggesting that Hiruko was indeed a disciple of the Hokage but, due to his mediocre talent, had been neglected by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This neglect, they claimed, was what ultimately drove him down the path of forbidden techniques, all in the hope of gaining his teacher's attention.
The most outrageous version even suggested that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hiruko had been involved in a teacher-student romance...
The most shocking part was that some people actually believed this absurd rumor!
In fact, this rumor caused the circulation of the previously obscure tabloid to skyrocket overnight.
The publisher even fled the village that same night, shutting down the newspaper and leaving Konoha.
Amid the overwhelming media coverage, Konoha was now flooded with rumors.
"These damn unethical tabloids!" Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed a newspaper onto his desk in a fit of rage.
The force was so strong that it caused several cracks to appear on the desk, startling the two advisory elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who were sitting nearby.
"Calm down, Hiruzen," Koharu said, trying to soothe him. "These tabloids are just spreading nonsense. Ignore them. Should I send someone to arrest them?"
Hiruzen glanced at her, his expression grim. He had already sent people to arrest the publishers.
The problem was, after the arrests, the villagers became even more excited!
"If it's fake, why is the Hokage so nervous? If he's this nervous, it must be true! So, the Hokage and that traitor really had a scandalous relationship?"
Hearing these rumors, Hiruzen felt as if the sky were falling. He was now in his fifties and had served as Hokage for decades with dedication. He never imagined that his reputation would be ruined like this!
Because of this, he decided not to continue banning the newspapers but to wait quietly for the hype to die down.
"Forget it. I won't stoop to their level," Hiruzen said, trying to appear calm and composed.
On the other side, Homura's expression was equally serious. "I didn't expect Danzo's counterattack to be so fierce. Truly worthy of being called the 'Darkness of the Shinobi.'"
His tone was filled with apprehension. After all, the plan to use the Daimyo's reduction of military funds to attack Danzo had been Homura's idea.
The original intention was to shift the losses and tensions of the war onto Danzo, allowing the other three high-ranking officials, including himself, to escape unscathed.
Hiruzen could continue as Hokage, and they could remain as advisory elders.
At the same time, they could severely suppress the village's militant faction and strengthen their control over the village.
However, while the plan was good, Homura and the others had underestimated the intensity of Danzo's counterattack.
They had expected him to swallow the loss for the sake of the greater good and seek compensation in other ways.
Instead, Danzo had ignited the already simmering tensions.
Now, the higher-ups had no room to maneuver. Both the Daimyo's dissatisfaction and Hiruko's betrayal required someone to take responsibility.
"So, what do we do now?" Koharu asked, visibly frustrated.
Everyone knew the situation was serious, but the question was, how could it be resolved?
Homura glanced at Koharu and then at Hiruzen, who was deep in thought. His expression hardened, and he said coldly, "Now that we and Danzo are locked in a life-and-death struggle, why don't we just..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the other two understood his meaning. If they could completely overthrow Danzo, given his position as the leader of the Root, they could pin all the blame on him.
But was that even possible?
Koharu spoke up. "Homura, don't forget, Danzo is no longer the 'Darkness of the Shinobi' we could easily manipulate. He's now Konoha's War God. Many ninjas, from top to bottom, are willing to support him. If we really try to move against him, Konoha could instantly fall into chaos."
Faced with Koharu's warning, Homura didn't immediately back down.
Instead, he pressed on, "If we act quickly and catch him off guard, maybe we can..."
"Enough, Homura!" This time, it was Hiruzen who interrupted him.
He rarely showed such a stern expression. "Although we disagree with Danzo politically, he is still our comrade. Have you forgotten that?"
Under Hiruzen's reprimand, Homura's expression stiffened.
The status of the advisory elders was not equal.
Homura knew that without Hiruzen's support, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to challenge Danzo in the village.
Therefore, he had no choice but to remain silent.
At this point, Koharu stepped in to mediate. "Danzo is indeed our comrade, but his ideas are too radical. If the village truly falls into his hands, I fear it could lead to disaster."
Hiruzen fell silent.
Unlike in the original timeline, Konoha had not suffered any major defeats in the war.
Therefore, Hiruzen had not chosen to resign immediately.
In fact, due to Konoha's successive victories on the battlefield, Hiruzen had begun to feel that he was still capable.
On the other hand, he was also worried that his resignation would leave Danzo's militant faction unchecked, potentially plunging the village into a state of constant warfare.
From any perspective, Hiruzen was reluctant to step down now.
But given the current situation, someone had to take responsibility.
In the entire village, only two people were qualified to bear this responsibility.
One was the Hokage, the supreme leader of all—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The other was the elder who had led this war—Danzo Shimura.
Therefore, if Hiruzen didn't want to step down, he would have to sacrifice Danzo to shoulder the blame.
In the past, this kind of blame would have been easily shifted onto Danzo.
After all, he was the "Darkness of the Shinobi," wasn't he? Wasn't he meant to take the fall?
But now, things were different. His old friend seemed to have stepped out of the shadows, aiming to become the "leaf" rather than the "root." This was what truly troubled Hiruzen.
The tacit understanding between him and Danzo had been shattered.
They could never go back to how things were!
Seeing Hiruzen's hesitation, Koharu immediately understood his thoughts. "Why don't we unite the major clans and pressure Danzo to take responsibility? We can compensate him afterward, even allowing him to secretly expand the Root!"
This kind of arrangement was not uncommon among them.
The proposal made Hiruzen's heart stir.
If they could persuade Danzo as they had in the past, it would undoubtedly be the best outcome.
They could preserve Hiruzen's position while weakening Danzo's influence.
As for whether an expanded Root would become too powerful to control, that was a problem for future Hiruzen to deal with.
"In that case..." Hiruzen was about to instruct Koharu to proceed when an ANBU ninja suddenly appeared beside him.
Hiruzen frowned because the newcomer was none other than his son, Shinnosuke Sarutobi.
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.
The Hokage's son knelt on one knee, his tone urgent. "Lord Hokage, while inspecting the Uchiha clan's territory, we encountered resistance."
"What?!" Hiruzen and the two advisors widened their eyes in unison.
Almost simultaneously, a thought flashed through their minds: 'Quick, go to the Root and summon Elder Danzo!'
Danzo had always been the vanguard against the Uchiha clan, the most effective deterrent against them.
But now, the situation seemed different.
"Fugaku Uchiha's reasoning was that their territory had already been inspected by Root ninjas and didn't need to be inspected again," Shinnosuke explained, his tone heavy.
Technically, the Root was part of the ANBU.
Therefore, the Root could indeed represent the ANBU. Fugaku's reasoning wasn't entirely unreasonable.
But the political implications of this action were far more significant.
It was almost a clear message to Hiruzen: 'This time, the Uchiha are siding with Danzo!'
If it were just the Uchiha clan, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But with the addition of the Root leader, a high-ranking official of Konoha, the situation became much more serious.
Hiruzen and the two advisors clearly realized this.
"How dare Danzo defy the will of our teacher and collude with the Uchiha clan?" Homura said angrily, as if their ideals had been tainted by Danzo.
Hiruzen, however, fell into deep thought.
Ever since Danzo took Shisui Uchiha as his disciple, his attitude toward the Uchiha clan had softened significantly. Now, he had even found common ground with them...
Danzo, are you so desperate for this position that you would abandon our teacher's legacy and collaborate with the Uchiha?
Koharu, her expression serious, said, "Hiruzen, we can't delay any longer. If the Uchiha and Danzo truly join forces, it could cause even greater damage to the village!"
Hiruzen's face darkened. He knew this matter could no longer be postponed. "Go and contact the major clans immediately. Have them unite and pressure Danzo!"
"Understood."
Koharu and Homura quickly left to carry out their tasks.
After they left, Hiruzen turned to his son. "Take all the ANBU and enforce a state of emergency. Keep a close watch on the Uchiha and the Root to prevent them from doing anything drastic!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shinnosuke also left.
Only Hiruzen remained, gazing at the Hokage Monument behind his office.
Memories of working alongside Danzo, Kagami Uchiha, and others under the Second Hokage flashed through his mind.
"Danzo, why must you push me so hard..." The aging Hokage sighed deeply, his eyes fixed on the face of the Second Hokage in the center of the monument.
"Teacher, did I really make a mistake?"
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