"Hiruzen… what do you mean by that?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer him directly. Instead, he said calmly,
"If you don't want to say it, then I can always ask Minato after he returns."
Danzo's expression changed again.
After a long silence, he let out a deep sigh.
"I only saw an opportunity," Danzo said at last. "So I thought I could use it to assassinate Rasa. If I had succeeded in killing him, it would have been of enormous benefit to Konoha."
"It's just that I never expected Shirasuna Koichi to have already exposed flaws beforehand."
"That's why my operation failed."
Lying to Hiruzen was meaningless.
Hiruzen could obtain the list of the dead shinobi at any time.
Sunagakure also had spies planted in Konoha.
And beyond that… there was Namikaze Minato.
Minato had arrived late to provide support, but he had still seen part of what happened.
Hiruzen tapped the desk lightly with his fingers.
"Danzo, if I remember correctly, I already ordered you to hand Root over to Homura. So why is Root still in your hands?"
Danzo gave a cold snort.
"With Homura's ability? If I'd handed Root to him, could he have managed it properly?"
"Only under my control can Root bring out its greatest value."
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened.
"And this," he said flatly, "is the value you're talking about?"
"The deaths of dozens of Konoha elite shinobi, while Sunagakure suffered not a single casualty."
"And Konoha and Sunagakure weren't even strong direct enemies to begin with. We only formed an alliance with Kirigakure. Sunagakure's main target was never us."
"But now? You've forcibly dragged Sunagakure's hatred onto Konoha."
"Danzo… are you trying to destroy Konoha?"
Danzo immediately denied it.
"I am not. I did no such thing. Hiruzen, don't twist my words."
"And besides, the reason I moved against Sunagakure at all was because you took the initiative to ally with Kirigakure."
"If you hadn't allied with Kirigakure, why would I have attacked Sunagakure?"
Hiruzen's eyes widened.
"So after all that, you're saying this is my fault?"
Danzo said nothing.
His silence spoke clearly enough.
Hiruzen let out a cold snort.
"Danzo, it seems I've been too lenient with you."
"For old friendship's sake, I won't punish you this time."
"But don't you dare stir up any more trouble."
"For the next year, you will remain inside the village. You are forbidden from leaving."
"If you disobey…" Hiruzen's voice turned colder, "then don't blame me for setting aside old ties."
Danzo's face changed sharply.
"Hiruzen, you can't treat me like this. The village cannot do without me. Confining me to the village is harmful to Konoha."
"I am one of the village elders. I have the资格—I have the right—"
Hiruzen cut him off with a single indifferent glance.
"But I am the Hokage."
Danzo slammed the door on his way out.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Not long after Danzo left, Mitokado Homura arrived.
"Hiruzen!"
Homura's tone was urgent.
"Did you see the contents of that newspaper headline? Danzo has gone too far! So he never fully handed Root over to me after all."
"I've never even seen those dead shinobi."
"This is outrageous!"
"Hiruzen, issue another order. Make Danzo hand over Root to me completely!"
Hiruzen looked at Homura, disappointment plain in his eyes.
Only now had Homura realized Danzo had never fully relinquished Root.
And after realizing it, instead of confronting Danzo himself, he had come running to the Hokage's office to ask the Hokage to issue an order.
Was his ability truly this poor?
They had both been disciples of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
They were both village elders.
In Hiruzen's view, once he as Hokage had already given permission, Homura should have been capable of seizing Root for himself if he truly had the means.
Not relying on him for every little matter.
"Homura," Hiruzen said at last, "I've already ordered Danzo confined to the village. As for Root… handle it yourself."
Homura immediately showed an awkward look.
"But Hiruzen… what if Danzo still refuses to cooperate?"
"Then that will depend on your own methods."
Hiruzen had no intention of wasting more time and attention on this.
If Homura lacked the ability to wrest Root into his own hands, then even if he somehow obtained it, he would never manage it properly.
If Danzo made more mistakes, then at worst, Hiruzen would simply dissolve Root altogether.
Homura opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something more, but seeing the unmistakable dismissal in Hiruzen's expression, he could only leave.
Hiruzen picked up the newspaper again and continued reading.
"Half of it is recent major events from the ninja world."
"There's no blatant fabrication. Most of it is factual."
"And the other half… a serialized story?"
"The Kouga Ninja Scrolls…"
"A novel using ninja as its theme. But in this story, the daimyo's status is exaggerated to an absurd degree—forcing subordinates to slaughter each other just to decide an heir."
"The daimyo of the Land of Fire wouldn't have that kind of authority."
"And the ninja in this story are all rather ugly in one way or another."
"The author is… Kaygetsu?"
"I don't know which person in Sunagakure that is. But if it was allowed to appear in this newspaper, then it must have been approved by Rasa."
"Why would Rasa approve it?"
"The story is undeniably good, though."
"It's very compelling."
Hiruzen's eyes moved down the page.
Then he frowned.
"Hmm?"
"That's it?"
A faint itch rose in his chest.
"This is a weekly, isn't it? Then next week… will there be a second issue?"
"And if there is, then the story section in the next issue should continue from here, shouldn't it?"
"I have to wait a whole week…"
Hiruzen put the newspaper down, still feeling unsatisfied.
"Still, Danzo does have a point."
"This time, Rasa didn't fabricate much in the paper. But what about next time?"
"If it isn't controlled and is allowed to spread unchecked, then sooner or later Rasa could slip in whatever private agenda he wants."
"And the damage it could do to other villages might exceed even those little propaganda cards."
"It must be brought under control."
So Hiruzen issued orders.
Throughout Konoha and across the battlefield, the newspapers were to be restricted and confiscated.
At the same time, he sent shinobi to relay a message to the daimyo of the Land of Fire, asking for a formal order to suppress the circulation of the newspaper throughout the country.
And Hiruzen was not the only one.
Onoki had also recognized the danger hidden within the newspaper and gave his own order to suppress it.
But issuing an order and successfully enforcing it were two entirely different things.
Most of the people who had picked up the newspapers and were able to read had already seen the story of The Kouga Ninja Scrolls printed inside.
And many of them had been thoroughly drawn in.
"This story is good."
"It's packed with tension. I really want to know what happens next. The Ten Kouga Ninja and the Ten Iga Ninja… I wonder who'll win in the end."
"We have to wait another week."
"Waiting for the next update is torture."
"I wonder who the author is. To be able to write something this good…"
"Gennosuke and Oboro are pitiful."
At that point, one shinobi suddenly raised a thought.
"Do you think Gennosuke's character might be based on the Uchiha? They both specialize in eye techniques."