"Lord Danzo has entered the village!"
"What?!"
"He actually dared to return?"
"Isn't he afraid the Hokage will have him arrested?!"
The villagers were in disbelief—none had expected Danzo to show his face again.
"Lord Danzo is back—and with him is one of the Legendary Sannin, the Cold Snake himself, Lord Orochimaru!"
"What?! I thought Orochimaru defected?!"
"Defected? He was forced to leave!"
"Huh…?"
"I heard Lord Danzo was investigating the truth behind Master Lu's death before the Shimura clan was massacred!"
"Master Lu?"
"You don't know Master Lu? He's Old Man Tree!"
"What? Him?!"
"Wasn't Old Man Tree killed by Root?"
"All fake! Lies! This was all part of a conspiracy—by the Hokage himself. Pah! That dog, Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
"What?!"
The crowd gasped in shock.
"I can't talk now—I'm heading straight to Konoha Plaza!"
"Lord Danzo and Lord Orochimaru say they're going to expose Sarutobi Hiruzen's conspiracy and reveal his true face!"
"Seriously?!"
"We're going too!"
The curious, ever-eager masses surged toward Konoha Plaza.
...
Hokage Office
"Hokage-sama! Bad news! Lord Danzo has returned—he brought Lord Orochimaru and Root with him!"
"What?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been poring over a scroll on the Impure World Reincarnation, jolted upright. His pipe fell from his mouth. "Danzo dares to come back?!"
"He didn't just come back—he brought books. Lots of them."
"What books?"
"Please take a look, sir." The ANBU respectfully handed over a stack.
Sarutobi's eyes narrowed as he scanned the titles: A Madman's Diary, The Outcry, Wandering, Dawn Blossoms Gathered at Dusk, Wild Grass, The Coffin, A Brief History of Shinobi World Novels... each bore the same author: Lu Shugen.
"Why are there so many?" Sarutobi frowned.
"Lord Danzo found them at Lu Shugen's former residence. Right after that, he mobilized Root to distribute and mass-print them in the villages around Konoha."
"They worked nonstop. In just over an hour, they printed hundreds of thousands of copies!" The ANBU swallowed hard.
"What? Hundreds of thousands?! Has Danzo gone mad? Where did he get the money for that?"
Sarutobi was thunderstruck. Had Danzo taken over every printing house in the neighboring towns?
How much money would that even cost?!
It has to be embezzled funds. Obviously, the ANBU thought privately, then added, "I also heard that Lord Danzo left the village specifically to uncover the truth behind Lu Shugen's death."
Sarutobi: "…"
"The truth? Wasn't Lu Shugen killed by Root? The ANBU report even claimed he self-detonated with Root agents!"
"But Lord Danzo says you killed Master Lu—and tried to frame him for it." The ANBU shrugged innocently.
Sarutobi: "…"
Danzo, you bastard! You pull the strings and expect me to carry the blame?!
"Danzo also claims you sent assassins to kill Lu Shugen and tried to destroy all evidence by leveling his home. Thankfully, he arrived in time—otherwise, those books, which record your crimes in black and white, would've been lost forever."
Sarutobi: "…"
He clutched his chest. His breathing was labored.
Damn you, Danzo! Shouting 'thief!' while stealing!
"What else did he say?" Sarutobi inhaled deeply, steadying himself. He feared he might keel over from rage then and there.
"Danzo says he was ambushed by ANBU during his investigation—but thanks to the heavens and Master Lu's protection, he miraculously survived… and coincidentally ran into Lord Orochimaru, who saved him. That's how he found Lu Shugen's home."
Sarutobi: "…"
'Coincidentally'? You've clearly been conspiring with Orochimaru all along! You think I'm an idiot?
"This story is ridiculous. Who in their right mind would believe it?"
"Well… they do."
Sarutobi: "…"
"They're all fools!" Sarutobi shouted. This is the dumbest generation of villagers I've ever governed!
"Danzo was still in Root this morning—by afternoon, he's supposedly being hunted by me, and now he's back with hundreds of thousands of books?"
"Does he not need time to recover? Do books print themselves? What is he—some kind of time management genius?!"
"Anyone with half a brain would see this was premeditated!"
He slammed the stack of books onto the desk, seething.
The ANBU was silent.
"You're right, Hokage-sama. But the villagers aren't thinking critically."
"Now that Lord Danzo has returned with Master Lu's works, they all believe him."
"Especially after the Shimura clan massacre—the villagers are siding with the underdog. They've turned on you, cursing and accusing you. Public opinion is completely one-sided now—Danzo has their support."
"What's more, after you banned Lu Shugen's writings, the sudden appearance of these books triggered their curiosity and rebellion. They're snapping up every copy."
"I've heard even Konoha bookstores are defying your ban. They've thrown open their doors and started printing the books."
"At this point… the entire village stands behind Lord Danzo."
Sarutobi: "…"
I've been played. Danzo, you son of a—
No… Danzo's not smart enough to pull this off. It must be Orochimaru—backstabbing traitor!
"Mobilize the ANBU. Get every shinobi of the Sarutobi clan—come with me! I refuse to believe Danzo can truly shake Konoha!"
Sarutobi's face was black with fury as he strode toward the door.
"Oh—and summon Itachi and Kakashi. There's no time for them to research the Impure World Reincarnation."
"Call all the clan heads—have them ready."
"Assemble the troops!"
"We march to Konoha Plaza!"
"Let's see if Danzo and Orochimaru's necks are tougher than my blade!"
"Yes, sir!" The ANBU vanished in a puff of smoke.
...
Konoha Plaza
The square was packed—tens of thousands shoulder to shoulder, buzzing with excitement. It was a historic scene.
Danzo stood on stage, delivering a thunderous speech:
"Master Lu wasn't just an independent scholar. He built through critique. He exposed Konoha's brutality, inaction, and hypocrisy. He revealed how the cunning exploit the ignorant, how power corrupts, and how silence breeds tyranny."
"He laid bare the selfishness, flattery, cowardice, cruelty, greed, and indifference that festered in Konoha's elite. He tore the masks off the powerful—those hypocrites, frauds, and pretenders to virtue."
"These ideas—Master Lu's ideas—are what Konoha should be uncovering. So why does the Hokage work so hard to destroy them?"
"To praise the Hokage is to be a hypocrite. To curse Lu is to be a true villain."
"Master Lu's spirit is eternal. The will of Konoha's people lives on!"
"Some people live but are already dead. Some are dead but live on. That is Master Lu."
"Time flows, the world changes, but I believe what is remembered will never be lost."
"Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen killed Master Lu, I, Shimura Danzo, remain!"
"Even if he wipes out my Shimura clan, he can never extinguish our love for Konoha!"
"Kill one Lu Shugen—and a thousand more will rise!"
"This Konoha—I've walked its streets. I've fought for it. I've loved it."
"I don't care what happens to me. The ending doesn't matter!"
The crowd erupted. Villagers held aloft copies of A Madman's Diary, The Outcry, Wandering—their faces flushed with passion, cheers shaking the plaza.
Below the stage, the real Danzo—masked as a Root agent—watched the disguised Danzo with teary eyes.
Yes. This is exactly who I am.
The one who truly understands me… is White Zetsu.
Moved beyond words, the real Danzo turned to "Orochimaru" (Itachi's clone) beside him.
"Orochimaru, who is this White Zetsu brother? Not only is he a master impersonator, but he survived the Reaper Death Seal? Someone like that belongs in Root!"
"Lord Danzo, it's not that White Zetsu doesn't want to join—he's just dying," the Orochimaru clone said sadly. "I told you, he's sick. The incurable kind. Let him go peacefully."
This White Zetsu was a recent capture. A perfect tool.
Once abundant in Konoha, they were now nearly extinct.
With the exception of the one onstage, there were barely any left.
He'd hunted almost all of them down.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin