Chapter 51: Konoha in Turmoil, Danzō Steps Down
Root Base.
Knock... knock... knock...
A series of rapid knocks suddenly broke the silence of the rest area.
Danzō, who was reviewing a scroll, narrowed his eyes, a bad feeling rising in his heart.
He had given orders that when he was reviewing scrolls, no one was to disturb him unless it was absolutely necessary.
So, something must have happened.
"Come in," Danzō said coolly after a brief moment of composing himself.
"Sir, an urgent report has arrived," a Root ninja said, kneeling on one knee.
"Speak."
"Sakumo Hatake... committed suicide at his home this afternoon."
Thump.
The scroll in Danzō's hand fell to the floor. His entire body, for a rare moment, began to tremble.
"How is that possible!!!"
The Uchiha, Hyuga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, and other major clans all received the news at almost the same time.
At this moment, the heads of these clans, or their actual leaders, were all gathered at the Hatake compound.
They looked at Sakumo Hatake, who lay on the floor, covered by a white cloth, and a sense of unreality washed over them.
This man, whose prestige and strength surpassed that of the Sannin, was dead just like that?
He had killed himself in his own home with a short sword?
All because of those ridiculous rumors?
These questions swirled in the minds of the clan heads.
At the same time, they all inadvertently turned their gazes to the doorway, as if waiting for someone to arrive.
Just then, a figure leaning on a cane slowly walked in.
Instantly, all eyes subconsciously turned to him.
This person was the just-arrived Danzō.
While the ordinary ninja and villagers might not know, how could these clan heads not be aware that all the previous rumors had been spread by Danzō?
And their Lord Hokage had not sent anyone to stop it.
If someone had to be held responsible for Sakumo's death, Danzō was the primary culprit.
After entering, Danzō ignored everyone and walked directly to Sakumo Hatake's body, staring at it in silence.
Kyosuke also stood by, saying nothing.
Seeing Danzō's demeanor, he couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This old dog. I'm afraid he's not feeling guilty right now, but rather thinking about how to shirk responsibility.
Of course, he would not let even a hint of this thought show on his face. After all, he still had to work under Danzō.
He might not say it, but that didn't mean others wouldn't voice their opinions.
"Elder Danzō, do you not need to give everyone an explanation for this matter?" The first to speak out was the current head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku.
Surprisingly, the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi, who had always been at odds with the Uchiha, also took a step forward. Although he didn't speak, his meaning was clear.
This matter required an explanation.
A moment later, the other clans also began to voice their agreement, preparing to jointly impeach Danzō.
Instantly, Danzō, who had been second only to the Hokage, seemed to have reached the end of his road.
The Third Hokage watched the crowd, his eyes closed in pain.
After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice. "From this day forward, Shimura Danzō is stripped of his position as an elder of Konoha. And..."
Here, the Third opened his eyes and looked at the still-silent clan heads. He said slowly, "The position of Root's leader, you will also relinquish, Danzō."
Hearing the Third's words, Danzō suddenly lifted his head and looked directly at the crowd. "I admit my mistake this time. But everything I have done has been for the sake of Konoha..."
"Enough!" the Third suddenly roared, cutting off Danzō.
"Carry out the order," the Third said coldly.
"Hmph." Danzō turned to look at the expressionless faces of the crowd, snorted angrily, and then strode out of the room.
Just as Kyosuke was hesitating whether to leave with his superior, the Third suddenly spoke. "Kyosuke, starting tomorrow, you will report to the Anbu."
Kyosuke was stunned for a moment. His mind raced, but he could only lower his head and agree.
Then, he left the Hatake compound.
"Lord Danzō." As soon as Kyosuke returned to the Root base, he was summoned by Danzō.
"Hiruzen has ordered you to report to the Anbu, hasn't he?" Danzō asked calmly.
"Yes, sir," Kyosuke replied without hiding anything.
"...That's fine. Your personality is not suited for being a ninja of the darkness anyway. It will be good for you to get some experience in the Anbu," Danzō said, his back to him.
"What about the experiment?" Kyosuke suddenly asked.
"Heh heh, do you really think Hiruzen is trying to strip me of my power? That's just..." Danzō said with a cold laugh, but he stopped mid-sentence.
"In short, even if you work in the Anbu, it won't prevent you from coming to Root to continue your experiments," Danzō said. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "By the way, come with me to see someone in a little while. I believe you will be interested in him."
"...Yes, sir," Kyosuke replied quietly.
At this time, the news of Sakumo Hatake's suicide had gradually spread.
While the ordinary villagers might not know yet, the news had basically spread among the Jounin.
Although Danzō believed that the Third wouldn't really come down hard on him, in fact, with the push from various interested parties, Danzō was quickly becoming a pariah.
And the Third had not made any comment on the matter.
It was clear that the Third himself wanted to use this opportunity to damage Danzō's reputation and stop him from dreaming of becoming Hokage.
After this, unless all of Konoha's powerful ninja were dead, the position of Hokage would never fall to him.
On the third day, Konoha held a grand funeral for Sakumo Hatake.
Except for Danzō, who had "called in sick," almost all of Konoha's high-ranking officials and Jounin were in attendance.
Even Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who were on the front lines, had rushed back to attend the funeral.
On the day of the funeral, Kyosuke had wanted to go and comfort Kakashi, but he was surprised to find that Kakashi was not at his own father's funeral.
After asking, he learned that Kakashi had locked himself in his room for the past two days, refusing to see anyone.
Sigh. Hearing this, Kyosuke could only sigh, knowing there was nothing more he could do.
The reason he was so concerned about Kakashi was not only because of some lingering feelings from his "past life."
In the various great wars to come, Kakashi's help would likely be indispensable.
Of course, a more important point was that he felt somewhat responsible for this matter. So, for both emotional and logical reasons, Kyosuke felt he had to do something.
As for the result, he could only leave it to fate.
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