At the underground base of Root, the silence was broken by hurried footsteps. A masked subordinate bowed deeply before Shimura Danzo.
"Lord Danzo… Hokage-sama demands your presence in the office immediately."
Danzo's one visible eye narrowed, his grip tightening on his cane. The other arm, bound in bandages, twitched faintly.
"…Tsunade really has grown arrogant," he muttered, the cane tapping against the floor as he rose. "To think she dares summon me like some subordinate… hmph."
But beneath the irritation, a flicker of caution stirred. His right eye—the one sealed with Sharingan—and the arm marked by forbidden seals both gave him pause. He could not afford any accident. If the truth leaked out before half of Konoha's leadership, it would bring disaster.
"I'll reinforce the seals before I set foot in that office," he whispered coldly, flexing his bandaged hand.
With deliberate steps, Danzo made his way to the Hokage's office. When the doors opened, he found not only Tsunade waiting, but also Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Nara Shikaku. The gathering was too formal to be trivial.
Danzo's sharp eye swept across the room. So this is how it is… a council.
Tsunade leaned back in her chair, arms folded across her chest, her amber eyes sharp with impatience.
"Danzo, you're too slow," she snapped, slamming a hand against the desk. "It doesn't take an hour to walk here from Root. Do you think our time is worthless? You kept us all waiting."
The scorn in her voice was unmistakable.
Danzo inclined his head, face unreadable. "My apologies, Hokage-sama. There were matters at my base that delayed me."
His tone was even, but the words were hollow.
Tsunade's lips curled into a cold smile. "I doubt those 'matters' were anything honorable. Root operates in the shadows of this village, controlled entirely by you. Tell me—what do you call it, Danzo? A village within Konoha?"
The tension in the air tightened. Shikaku remained silent, eyes half-closed, though his mind raced, weighing Tsunade's motives. Koharu and Homura shifted uneasily, glancing at each other when Tsunade's accusation landed.
Danzo did not falter. "Careful, Hokage. Are you using this council to push me out? To rid Konoha of its elders?"
The implication made Koharu stiffen, her lips pressed tight. Homura's brows drew together as well—if Tsunade wanted Danzo gone, what would become of them?
Shikaku exhaled slowly. As expected, he tries to twist the suspicion back on her.
Tsunade did not dignify the barb with words. Instead, she reached into her desk and tossed a document onto the table.
"Look at this."
The parchment spread open, bearing the seal of Takigakure. The contents were damning: accusations that Konoha's Root had abducted Fū, the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki.
The room chilled.
Koharu was the first to speak, her voice trembling. "Danzo… did you truly order this? To seize the Seven-Tails' host? That would invite war with Takigakure!"
Homura added quickly, "If this is true, you've crossed a line, Danzo."
Danzo's cane struck the floor with a sharp crack. His lone eye glared.
"This is slander!" he barked. "A fabrication meant to frame me. Do you think I would be so careless? If I wanted to act, I wouldn't leave evidence for Tsunade to wave in my face."
His words carried the weight of reason, but Tsunade's gaze bore down on him like a storm.
"Can you swear, here and now, that Root had no part in this?"
Danzo drew himself up, voice cold and resolute. "I swear it on my name. I did not send men to capture the Seven-Tails' jinchūriki. If I had, do you think I would be stupid enough to leave proof? That would be handing my enemies the rope to hang me with."
Even Shikaku had to admit—Danzo's argument held logic. And yet, the unease did not fade. Tsunade drummed her fingers against the desk, her jaw tight.
Before she could respond, a masked ANBU dropped to one knee before her.
"Hokage-sama, urgent intelligence," he whispered in her ear.
As the words reached her, Tsunade's expression flickered, shifting with each sentence. Shock, fury, calculation—all in the span of heartbeats.
The council fell silent, watching her face twist through emotions they could not decipher.
Finally, Tsunade rose abruptly, her voice sharp as a kunai.
"ANBU! Surround Danzo Shimura!"
The order cracked through the room like thunder.
"What?!" Danzo's cane slammed the floor. "Tsunade, are you mad?! Do you seek civil war within Konoha?"
Koharu bolted upright, her voice panicked. "Tsunade, wait—this is too reckless! Speak clearly before you move against an elder!"
Homura echoed, "Yes, we cannot allow Konoha's internal affairs to become a spectacle for our enemies. Stand down!"
But their protests only fueled Tsunade's fury.
"Enough. If there is rot festering in Konoha, I will cut it out myself," she spat, her golden hair gleaming under the light.
Shikaku, for once, held his tongue. He knew this was no place to intervene—not when the Hokage herself had drawn the line.
Shizune stood at Tsunade's side, voice steady despite the chaos. "ANBU, follow your Hokage's command."
In less than two heartbeats, masked figures materialized throughout the office, blades gleaming faintly in the dim light. They closed in on Danzo, encircling him like wolves ready to strike.
Danzo's eye darkened, fury and calculation colliding in silence.
"Tsunade…" His voice was low, dangerous. "…you'd better think carefully about the consequences."
The air inside the Hokage's office grew thick, suffocating with tension, as the will of Konoha prepared to clash with the shadow that had hidden within it for decades.
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