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"Hey, Manji. You got called in for the meeting too?" Sakumo Hatake asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Manji said, nodding.
He looked perfectly calm, but he already knew what had happened at the Hokage's office. White Zetsu had filled him in on everything.
Danzō had staged a coup. Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't even tried to fight back—he just handed over the position.
Manji's interference had sent the story so far off course that both Hiruzen and Danzō had become completely different from their original counterparts.
That's why Danzō's coup could end with Hiruzen deciding not to resist and giving up the Hokage's title without a fight.
Manji didn't want to interfere either. He wanted to see a version of Naruto with more possibilities, a story that could go in new directions.
As long as it didn't lead to any major upheaval, he had no intention of stepping in. He'd rather stay in Konoha and see what life had to offer.
..............
When everyone entered the meeting room, Hiruzen wasn't there as usual. The familiar ANBU guards were gone, too. In their place, Root operatives in matching tanuki masks stood on either side of the doorway.
The shinobi took their seats and waited for a while.
Creeeak—
The heavy wooden door was pushed open, and Danzō came in leaning on his cane, one step at a time. He wore a brand-new black kimono and a faint smile.
Orochimaru followed close behind, still wearing his usual long blue-green robe.
They walked straight to the head of the long table, to the seat that used to belong to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzō stayed standing. He slowly took out a red-and-white scroll from his robe, unrolled it, and held it up.
"Your attention, please."
"This is an official appointment from the daimyō's office. Effective immediately, Hiruzen Sarutobi is stepping down as Fifth Hokage for health reasons. I, Danzō Shimura, will succeed him as Sixth Hokage and assume command of Konoha."
"..." The room fell silent. No one spoke or clapped. Everyone was shocked.
Sakumo's pupils contracted. He knew exactly what Danzō had done.
"I OBJECT!"
"The next Hokage has always been nominated by the outgoing Hokage, then approved by a vote of the jōnin council."
"There's been no public nomination from Hiruzen, and no vote by the council. You expect everyone to accept you on the strength of one appointment letter from the daimyō?"
His objection got a reaction. Several clan heads who had been looking down now looked up, their faces showing they agreed.
"Hmph! Sakumo Hatake, how many years have you even been a jōnin? I was getting praise from the First Hokage before anyone had even heard of you!"
Danzō snorted, his single eye growing cold. He slammed his cane on the floor with a dull thud.
"Hiruzen wrote his own letter of resignation and personally agreed to let me succeed him."
"The daimyō is Konoha's highest authority, at least in name. With both men's approval, why waste time on a jōnin vote?"
"When the First Hokage handed the position to the Second, there was no vote. There wasn't even an appointment from the daimyō."
"You—" Sakumo began, frowning.
Like hell that was the same. The daimyō had known better than to meddle in Konoha's business while the First was in charge.
"I support Danzō's appointment as Hokage," a cold voice cut in, stopping him from going any further.
Everyone turned toward the speaker. Setsuna Uchiha, head of the Uchiha clan, slowly rose to his feet.
The Uchiha had always backed Danzō. No surprise there.
"Every member of the Uchiha clan supports Danzō as the Sixth Hokage."
"I support him as well," Koharu Utatane said, nodding the moment Setsuna finished. "Danzō has years of experience, and he knows how to take a firm hand. He's the man we need as Hokage to make Konoha stronger."
"I agree," Homura Mitokado added in an even voice, pushing his glasses up his nose. "The shinobi world is unstable. We need a leader who can rule with an iron fist."
They had already planned all this with Danzō ahead of time.
Three respected village elders had backed him one after another. Their support quickly silenced the objections in the room.
Kagami Uchiha and Torifu Akimichi exchanged a look, each recognizing the other's hesitation.
They were some of Hiruzen's closest friends. The problem was, they were just as loyal to Danzō.
Both men were their friends. They also knew that going against Danzō now would almost certainly start a civil war.
The Uchiha had made their choice clear, and Root now controlled the whole Hokage building. If a fight started, Konoha would be left much weaker.
In the end, neither man spoke. They lowered their heads in silence.
Seeing this, the rest of the clan heads relaxed. They had never wanted to get pulled into this power struggle anyway.
If the elders and the Uchiha, the village's strongest clan, were supporting Danzō, they weren't going to risk trouble by speaking out.
"The Nara clan agrees."
"The Yamanaka clan agrees."
"The Akimichi clan agrees."
The Ino-Shika-Chō clans were following the crowd, just like they always did.
The endorsements kept coming, one after another, like dominoes falling.
The more Sakumo watched, the angrier he became. Then he felt someone gently touch his arm.
He turned to Manji, who was sitting next to him. Manji gave a small shake of his head and a calm look, telling Sakumo to be patient and wait.
That made Sakumo pause. He knew how powerful Manji was. If even Manji was holding back, there had to be a good reason.
Sakumo was still angry and didn't want to accept what was happening. Even so, he took a deep breath and slowly sat down.
Danzō looked around the room. Everyone else had made their position clear. At last, his attention settled on Manji, who hadn't said a word the entire time.
The room grew tense again. Danzō's palms started to sweat. If this man refused, he would be in deep trouble...
Manji could feel Danzō and everyone else watching him. He looked up and met Danzō's anxious eyes, his own face calm.
"Okay," he said with a small nod.
One casually spoken word was enough to put all of Danzō's fears to rest.
He let out a long breath. His single eye lit up with excitement before he forced himself to hide it.
Orochimaru's golden, slit-pupiled eyes turned to Manji with new curiosity.
Sakumo looked up quickly, staring at Manji in disbelief. His lips moved, but he said nothing.
"Since no one has any objections..."
Danzō cleared his throat and raised the appointment letter again. It was easy to hear the excitement in his voice.
"From this day forward, I, Danzō Shimura, am Konoha's Sixth Hokage!"
This time, scattered applause finally broke out in the room.
As the others clapped, Manji lowered his gaze, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.
Manji had his limits. As long as Danzō didn't cross them, he was happy to watch and see where this new rule would take Konoha.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
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