After Shota Aizawa had left the Hokage's office, Minato did not waste any time. The young Hokage sat quietly for a moment, staring at the documents and evidence items Shota had handed over to him.
His mind raced as he analyzed the serious accusations against Elder Danzo. Minato knew that such claims could not be taken lightly.
Danzo was an old and powerful figure in the village, someone with deep connections and many secrets. If even a small part of what Shota said was true, it could shake the foundation of Konoha.
Minato took a deep breath and made his decision. He turned to the shadows in the corner of the room where his most trusted personal Anbu guards always stood hidden. "I need you to investigate these proofs carefully," he said in a low but firm voice.
"Check every detail the Suna- nin provided. Look for any signs that match what he described. Do not speak of this to anyone else. Report only to me when you have solid results."
The Anbu operatives nodded silently and vanished in body flicker jutsu. Minato leaned back in his chair, his eyes filled with worry. He hoped the evidence would prove Shota wrong.
But deep inside, a part of him feared the opposite. Danzo had always operated in the dark for what he believed was the good of the village according to his sensei. Sometimes those actions crossed lines that even Minato could not accept.
Two days passed in tense silence. Minato handled his daily duties as Hokage, but his thoughts kept returning to Shota's visit and the papers on his desk.
Then, late one evening, his personal Anbu returned. They appeared in the office and placed a new set of reports in front of him.
Minato read through them quickly. His face grew serious with each page. The Anbu had confirmed several key points. There were indeed signs of tampering with village sensors and barriers in a specific area on the day Shota was attacked.
An Inuzuka anbu had reported unusual scents and signs of a fight in that same location. Blood samples matched missing members from the Akimichi and Aburame clans. Everything lined up with Shota's story.
One of the Anbu spoke quietly. "Hokage-sama, the evidence supports the claims. We found no signs of forgery or outside manipulation in what the Suna-nin provided provided."
Minato closed the folder and looked at his guards. "Thank you for your thorough work. Now listen carefully. Prepare yourselves and a small elite team. We might have to move against Root soon to handle this matter. Keep all preparations completely secret. Do not alert anyone outside this room. Elder Danzo is very experienced. If he senses danger, he will activate failsafes we may not even know about. Stay hidden and be ready."
The Anbu bowed and disappeared to carry out the orders. Minato stood up and walked to the window. He looked out at the peaceful village lights. 'This cannot wait any longer,' he thought. 'If Elder Danzo is truly behind these crimes, we must act before more harm comes to Konoha.'
Without delay, Minato sent urgent messages to three people he trusted most: Jiraiya, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Shikaku Nara. He asked them to come to his office right away for an emergency meeting. He did not explain the reason in the messages.
The three men arrived one after another within minutes. Jiraiya entered first, his usual playful smile fading the moment he saw Minato's grim expression. Hiruzen followed. Shikaku came last, already looking thoughtful as if he sensed trouble.
They stood in front of Minato's desk. The room felt heavy with tension. Jiraiya broke the silence first. "What's wrong, Minato? You look like you haven't slept in days. Did something happen after the Kazekage's visit?"
Minato gestured for them to sit. He remained standing as he began to explain. "When the Kazekage's group was leaving the village, Shota Aizawa came to see me privately. He brought proof that directly implicates Elder Danzo in several serious crimes. These are not small mistakes or crimes against other villages or countries. These actions have harmed the Land of Fire and Konoha itself."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow in surprise. He leaned forward slightly. "Danzo might have done some dark things in the past. I know that. But I also know him well. He would never do anything that truly harms Konoha. His loyalty to the village runs deep. There must be a mistake in the proof. Perhaps Suna is trying to stir up trouble and cause a civil war inside our walls."
Minato shook his head slowly. "I am afraid, Lord Third, that is not the case. I did not accept Shota's words blindly. I ordered my personal Anbu to investigate every piece of evidence he gave me. They returned with their own findings today. What Shota told us appears to be true. The proof is solid."
Hiruzen frowned deeply, but he stayed quiet, waiting for more details. Jiraiya crossed his arms, looking concerned. Shikaku rubbed his chin, already thinking through the possibilities.
Minato continued in a calm but serious tone. "First, there was an attempt to attack Shota inside Konoha. This happened right after Danzo may have learned that the boy and Suna possessed dangerous knowledge about him. The village sensors in that area were suddenly called away for a fake emergency in another direction. The protective barriers around that section were secretly altered to create a weak spot. An Inuzuka anbu later reported clear signs of a battle there, including leftover chakra traces and disturbed ground."
He paused to let the words sink in. "The Suna nin collected blood from the scene. Tests show that two of the attackers belonged to the Akimichi clan and one to the Aburame clan. Their blood markers match two young shinobi from those clans who went missing years ago. This leads to my second point. Elder Danzo has been kidnapping children from the clans."
Shikaku let out a long sigh. His sharp mind connected the dots immediately. "Choza is going to be furious when he hears this. His clan values family above almost everything. Inoichi mentioned something similar a while back. He told me that several kids and even some young genin from different clans including his own were disappearing at odd times. He started his own quiet investigation, but every trail went cold. There was never any evidence left behind. Now I suspect Danzo's Root took some Yamanaka children as well. They would be useful for mind techniques."
Minato nodded gravely. "That matches what we found. Here is another report." He slid a thick folder across the desk. "My personal Anbu tracked the growth of Root's forces. Officially, Root should only handle about ten percent of the operations that regular Anbu do. But right now, Elder Danzo commands almost forty percent of that number. He has been secretly recruiting orphans, both from civilian families and from shinobi clans. Many of these children vanish from records completely."
The three men took turns reading the report. Their faces grew darker with every line. Jiraiya muttered under his breath. "This is worse than I thought. He's building his own private army."
Minato handed over yet another set of papers. "Furthermore, Shota accused Danzo of stealing bloodlines. We do not have direct proof of that yet. But we do have strong evidence that Danzo is responsible for the disappearance of many Uchiha shinobi."
He pointed to the list of names. "Over the years, numerous Uchiha have vanished on missions. Most of those missions were personally authorized by Elder Danzo. I have the full records here. For each missing shinobi, Danzo gave the approval and assigned the task. Not every Uchiha who took his missions disappeared, but the majority did. The pattern is too clear to ignore."
Hiruzen stared at the list, his hands tightening on the paper. He had always tried to balance Danzo's methods with the village's peace. But this...
Minato spoke again, his voice quieter now. "And finally, I had my Anbu check the grave of the First Hokage. It seems that it has been..."
He stopped speaking. The words hung in the air. Everyone in the room understood instantly. Someone had disturbed the resting place of Hashirama Senju, the founder of Konoha, the man who had built the village with his own hands and dreams.
Hiruzen's face twisted with rage. For the first time in many years, pure anger showed in his eyes. He slammed his fist on the desk, making the wood creak. "Danzo, you fool!"
The old Hokage stood up slowly. His pipe trembled in his hand. He had overlooked many of Danzo's questionable actions over the decades. He had believed they were necessary for the village's survival. But this was too much.
Desecrating the grave of Lord First, the teacher who had guided Hiruzen as a child, the man who represented everything good about Konoha, this was something Hiruzen could never forgive.
--------Author Notes---------
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