"Danzo-sama, even for the sake of the village, I still think acting against innocent fellow Konoha shinobi was wrong."
Not long before this, Hiruzen Sarutobi had told Minato Namikaze that Rin Nohara's incident had definitely not been arranged by Danzo.
Hiruzen remembered clearly.
Danzo had personally told him that he had not done it.
The ANBU investigation had also said it was not Danzo.
But now, the appearance of this suicide note made Hiruzen uncertain.
"Could it truly have been Danzo?"
"If not, how can this suicide note be explained?"
"Someone deliberately framing Danzo?"
"Impossible, right? After all, this was a person who was already going to commit suicide. It seems more likely that he participated in that incident and left this behind out of guilt."
"If it truly was a frame-up, then either he was being controlled by someone else…"
"Or he made some kind of deal and brought benefits to his family. But that possibility is not very high either. After all, doing this means risking Danzo's anger."
Hiruzen fell into silence.
A long while later—
"Have Danzo come here."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Soon, Danzo arrived.
"Hiruzen, what did you call me for? Don't tell me it's because of that headline in Ninja Major Events Weekly again. Don't you already know the truth of the matter?"
"Sunagakure deliberately wrote it like that. This is revenge. They are trying to disgust me and disgust Konoha."
"Hiruzen, you only need to clarify it in your name as Hokage."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo with an unfriendly expression.
It was because he had believed Danzo that he had spoken so firmly to Minato Namikaze, saying that Rin Nohara's matter was not Danzo's doing.
If Danzo truly had done it, then Hiruzen had effectively lied in front of Minato Namikaze.
Where would that leave his dignity?
What would Minato Namikaze think of him?
"Danzo, you had better explain this properly."
As he spoke, Hiruzen threw the suicide note in front of Danzo.
Danzo took it and looked.
His expression changed drastically.
It was exactly the same as Hiruzen's just now.
"This is slander. Absolute slander!"
Previously, no matter what rumors there were about him, they had all been spoken by other ninja villages.
Either Sunagakure said it, or Kirigakure said it.
But now, it was someone from Konoha saying it.
A ninja who had committed suicide had left behind a suicide note.
Even if that ninja had been completely ordinary before…
Even if no one had paid attention to him before…
He was dead now.
And before dying, he had left behind such a suicide note.
How was Danzo supposed to explain it?
How was he supposed to argue?
It was clearly not something he had done.
Yet now it had stuck to him.
And the more it stuck, the tighter it became.
Danzo felt as though some unseen hand in the shadows was manipulating everything.
Its purpose was to deal with him.
"What was wrong with this bastard? If he wanted to die, then die. Why frame me?"
Danzo wished he could drag the man's corpse out, revive him, interrogate him fiercely, then kill him again.
"Hiruzen, this man bore a grudge against me. That is why he used this method to frame me."
Hiruzen shook his head.
"Danzo, do you believe that explanation yourself?"
"His hatred for you was so great that he no longer wanted to live?"
"Then why didn't he come to me and report you?"
"Why did he write it so vaguely?"
"Why didn't he defect to Kirigakure?"
"Danzo, you disappoint me too much."
Danzo: "…"
"Hiruzen, believe me."
"I do not."
"It's true. I swear. Everything I said is true. If Rin Nohara's death has even half a coin's worth of connection to me, then let me be struck to death by heavenly lightning and have my soul scattered."
Hiruzen looked deeply at Danzo.
"In that case, I will give you a chance. Danzo, go and investigate Rin Nohara's death clearly."
"Investigate every detail thoroughly. Not the slightest omission is allowed."
Danzo let out a breath of relief and nodded heavily.
"I will."
The moment he walked out of the Hokage Building, Danzo's face turned gloomy.
"Who exactly is targeting me?"
"Using such lowly methods… Most likely Kirigakure again. Yagura truly is shameless to the extreme. Even more shameless than the Third Mizukage. Does he truly think I won't retaliate?"
Danzo snorted coldly.
A figure hurried toward him.
"Clan Head, something terrible has happened."
This was a member of the Shimura clan.
"Hm?"
"One of our Shimura clan's merchant caravans was attacked outside. Everyone is dead. Their heads were all cut off and hung from a tree, strung together in a line. It was extremely cruel. There was a note beside them."
Danzo's expression changed.
"What was written on the note?"
"Those who murder their fellow villagers—feel pain!"
Danzo's face became even uglier. His expression turned twisted.
"Who is it?"
"What deep hatred does this person have against me?"
If Danzo had felt that Kirigakure was highly suspicious when it came to the previous suicide note, then with this attack on the Shimura clan caravan, he was no longer so certain.
Kirigakure needed to shift internal conflict outward. To do that, they had to establish Konoha as utterly unforgivable.
That was why they would want to confirm that Rin Nohara's incident was done by Konoha.
But attacking a Shimura clan merchant caravan brought no benefit to Kirigakure.
"Sunagakure?"
"Impossible too. There's no benefit for them either."
"And with Rasa's greedy personality, there's no way he would leave the caravan's goods behind."
"This person hates me purely for the sake of hatred."
"Who exactly is it?"
Danzo thought for a long time, but he could not figure out who that person was.
Until—
A young man with golden hair entered Danzo's field of vision.
This person was not Minato Namikaze.
But that golden hair made Danzo think of Minato Namikaze.
"Could it be that Minato suspects I killed Rin Nohara and is using this method to take revenge on me for his disciple?"
"That does not fit Minato's personality."
"But who can guarantee that the personality someone shows on the surface is their real one?"
"Even Minato may not necessarily be without an evil side."
"For example, last time, if Minato had arrived a little earlier, I would not have suffered such heavy injuries under Rasa's attack."
Danzo then thought of another possibility.
"Or is it the Uchiha?"
"They certainly hate me. They would never let go of any chance to take revenge against me."
"There are Uchiha inside the village, and there are Uchiha outside the village too."
"As expected… this shinobi world would be better off without Uchiha."
After that, more deaths involving members of the Shimura clan appeared.
Danzo made many arrangements, but he did not obtain even the slightest clue.
It was as though the killer was a ghost.
As those people died, the notes that appeared every single time also became known to others.
The rumor that Danzo was the mastermind behind Rin Nohara's incident began spreading again.
…
…
Sunagakure.
A figure ran in quickly.
"Kazekage-sama, the first section of the Sun Disc has been completed!"