Chapter 69: The Accusation in the Hokage's Office!
Chapter 69: The Accusation in the Hokage's Office!
The former leader of the Jonin squad, the current head of the Analysis Team, and a direct subordinate of the Second Hokage. The leading figures of the three Ino-Shika-Chō clans were traveling together, and their entourage even appeared to be carrying two bodies...
Even the Uchiha Military Police Force, responsible for Konoha's security, did not dare to casually stop and question this team, allowing them to pass through Konoha Village unimpeded. As for Nara Keisuke and Yakushi Nono'o, who were silently following behind these great figures, they were naturally ignored by the crowd of onlookers, even though they were the victims of this incident...
The Ino-Shika-Chō team very quickly arrived at the base of the Hokage's Office. After a formulaic announcement process, they smoothly made their way to the Hokage's office on the top floor.
"Torifu, Shikano, Inojin, Shikaku."
Sitting behind his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow was tightly furrowed. He called out the names of the great figures in order of familiarity, and like everyone else, he ignored the presence of Nara Keisuke and Nono'o. "What are you all doing here?"
Hiruzen's gaze focused on the corpse that Akimichi Torifu was carrying. With the Third Hokage's sensory and observational abilities, he could naturally perceive that the person on Yamanaka Inojin's back was merely unconscious.
"This ninja's name is Shimura Shin." Akimichi Torifu threw the corpse in his hand onto the floor of the Hokage's office. In his earlier years, he had been a teammate of Hiruzen's, fighting side-by-side. Therefore, the conversation between them did not need to be overly polite. "Hiruzen, you should know the significance of this name."
Sarutobi Hiruzen indeed grasped the key point, his brow furrowing even tighter. "Shimura..."
The Shimura clan was one of the first ninja clans to join Konoha in the early days. And the leader of the Shimura clan was—without a doubt—Shimura Danzō!
'Why would Torifu bring the corpse of a Shimura clan ninja to the Hokage's office?' Thoughts raced through Hiruzen's mind. 'And that ninja on Inojin's back in a deep coma... what on earth is going on!?'
'The leading figures of the three Ino-Shika-Chō clans have mobilized at the same time. Why was there no intelligence on this beforehand!'
"Yes, the Shimura clan that Danzō fellow comes from." Akimichi Torifu nodded, then turned his gaze to Yamanaka Inojin. The latter understood the signal and stepped forward, gently setting down Yamanaka Rin from his back.
"Lord Third." Compared to Torifu, Inojin's attitude was much more courteous. "This is a Jonin from our Yamanaka clan, Yamanaka Rin. According to my understanding, she joined the Anbu many years ago."
"I know her." Hiruzen looked at the unconscious Rin and nodded lightly. "Yamanaka Rin has a very thorough grasp of your family's secret techniques. She can easily use birds to perceive and observe the actions of other ninja. This was also the reason she was able to join the Anbu in the first place."
As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen might not be able to know the information of every single ninja in the village like the back of his hand. But at the "Jonin" level, he could list the intelligence of every Jonin in the village from memory.
But this special Jonin combination of "Shimura Shin" and "Yamanaka Rin"...
Hiruzen's brow showed no sign of relaxing. He turned his gaze to Nara Shikano. But Nara Shikano had already retired. At this time, he just coughed lightly, and Nara Shikaku at his side proactively took a step forward.
"Lord Third." The new leader of the Jonin squad was respectful in his attitude, but his words were sharp. "Just now, Shimura Shin, in concert with Yamanaka Rin, launched an attack on a Genin of our Nara clan, Nara Keisuke, as well as the matron of the Kikyo Orphanage, Yakushi Nono'o. Senior Inojin has checked the brains of these two ninja and has confirmed that these two Jonin from the Anbu were acting on orders from a superior when they committed such a crime!"
Baka!
This was the only word that appeared in Hiruzen's mind after hearing Shikaku's report. Anbu Jonin, following orders, attacking their own comrades in the village? This was practically stating outright that it was you, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who ordered two Jonin to carry out a secret mission to eliminate other ninja in your own village!
And considering "Yamanaka Rin's" identity as a ninja of the Yamanaka clan... there might also be some malicious intent to sow discord in the alliance of the three Ino-Shika-Chō clans hidden within this!
Everyone present could understand what Nara Shikaku was saying. Including Yakushi Nono'o, who had been kissed into a daze earlier. At this moment, she finally reacted and understood what the clan heads and elders of the Ino-Shika-Chō were planning to do.
When all was said and done, Nono'o was a true legendary spy and possessed an extremely strong talent for acquiring certain types of intelligence. She knew very well that the two Jonin, Rin and Shin, were acting under orders from the Root leader, Danzō. She also knew that Keisuke must have known this point as well. But in the mouth of Nara Shikaku, who should also have known the beginning and end of the incident, the person who issued the mission order had changed from Danzō to Hiruzen...
Nono'o lowered her head slightly, her gaze focused on the office floor, forcing herself not to look at the true mastermind beside her. 'Is this the plan Keisuke mentioned earlier?'
Yes! This was Nara Keisuke's plan. What was the use of throwing the evidence directly in Danzō's bandaged face? That old root was already notorious. Even within Konoha Village, Danzō had no good reputation. In the ninja world, he even had the moniker "The Darkness of the Shinobi" and could be counted as a symbolic figure whom everyone despised. If they directly confronted Danzō with Shin and Rin, the other party could completely deny it to the end. After all, Danzō was a ninja who lived in darkness; "shameless lies" and "eliminating dissidents" were not derogatory terms for him.
But compared to Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who lived completely in the light, was entirely different. Since the "Darkness of the Shinobi" had absorbed all of Konoha's darkness, then the "Third Hokage" could only be pure light! The kind that could not be stained by even a speck of blame.
Faced with Nara Shikaku's accusation, what could Hiruzen say? That he knew nothing about Shin and Rin's actions? Or... that it was he who sent them to kill people?
Sarutobi Hiruzen's lips moved a few times, but when the words reached his mouth, he still didn't know what to say. Did he have any room to refute Shikaku? No. This was the real crux of the problem.
Even if Hiruzen didn't know much about this Jonin from the Shimura clan, "Shimura Shin," "Yamanaka Rin" was a bona fide Anbu Jonin! This point alone was enough to make Hiruzen shut his mouth.
'Shimura... Ino-Shika-Chō... Nara... Danzō!'
The threads of clues spun in Hiruzen's mind. He recalled the conversation in his office a few days ago and directly locked onto the "real suspect." 'Shimura Danzō!'
"Regarding this matter, I will definitely give you three Ino-Shika-Chō clans an explanation." Hiruzen said with great solemnity. At the same time, he raised his hand to give an order, and an Anbu ninja flickered out from the shadows. "Go to Root and have Shimura Danzō come see me!"
"Yes!" The Anbu ninja replied respectfully, about to act immediately.
But just then, an old, hoarse voice came from outside the door. "There's no need to go."
Shimura Danzō pushed the door open and entered, his expression calm and cold. "I am already here."
The actions of the Ino-Shika-Chō clans had indeed been swift enough. But on their way to the Hokage's Office, Danzō had already received intelligence on their movements. After considering Hiruzen's personality... Danzō still decided to come up himself.
"Shimura Shin!" Danzō's gaze focused on the corpse on the ground, and the dissatisfaction and anger in the depths of his eyes flashed and disappeared. "This is a Jonin of our Shimura clan. For you Ino-Shika-Chō to openly kill a comrade within the village, your crime is truly heinous!"
Upon his entrance, Danzō immediately turned the tables.
"Elder Shimura," Nara Shikaku's tone was also very cold. "Senior Inojin has already searched the memories of these two ninja. We have confirmed that these two Jonin acted because they received orders from a certain high-level official. Are you perhaps questioning the professional ability of the Analysis Team?"
"I only know that a ninja of the Shimura clan is dead, while the ninja of the Yamanaka clan is still alive," Danzō sneered and said noncommittally. "What's more, this is the result of their own Yamanaka clan ninja's self-examination. If you ask me, it would be better to hand both of these ninja over to me and let my subordinates personally examine their memories. At that time, I will also definitely give you an explanation."
Hmph!
Hearing Danzō's words, everyone present couldn't help but snort coldly in their hearts, lamenting the shamelessness of this old root. Handing these two ninja over to you would be like throwing meat buns at a dog—they would never return!
Nara Shikaku decided to ignore the heartless, shameless, and unreasonable Danzō, and looked directly at the Third Hokage. "Does Lord Third also think so?"
The Ino-Shika-Chō's idea was very simple: focus the problem on the Third and bypass Danzō.
Faced with Shikaku's questioning, Hiruzen silently took a puff from his pipe. To be honest, he had originally planned to call Danzō up to take the fall. Then the two old teammates would play a "good cop, bad cop" routine and just get through today's matter first. He hadn't expected the stage to be nearly set, only for the other actor to completely refuse to follow the script!
Just as Hiruzen was thinking about what to say in response to the three clans, Danzō, who had intended to be a cold bystander, took the initiative to offer a way out.
"To cause such a boring farce at such a tense time, I really don't know what you three Ino-Shika-Chō clans are thinking!" Danzō once again drew fire for his old friend, taunting them to their faces while dropping a bombshell. "Do you not know that Sunagakure has already mobilized its forces to search for their Third Kazekage!"
(Author's Notes:)
Regarding Sarutobi Hiruzen and conspiracy theories, it's really an unavoidable issue. As a Hokage with real power who ruled Konoha for at least several decades, after Shimura Danzō was forcibly pushed out as the "number one scapegoat," the esteemed Third Hokage, Hiruzen, was left with only two paths: First, he was foolish enough not to see Danzō's actions; Second, he was incompetent enough that he could only condone Danzō's evil deeds.
Or just a fictional third path: Hiruzen himself was also the mastermind of the conspiracies.
---
I will not forcibly attribute some ethereal conspiracy theories to Hiruzen. But I will also not believe that Hiruzen was truly a "pure and noble Third Hokage."
---
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage is basically seen as the fuse for the Third Great Ninja War. But there is a second half to that sentence. In manga chapter 266, a Suna elder mentioned something along the lines of: "If at that time we hadn't gone to search for the Third Kazekage, but instead worked hard to stabilize the village."
In other words, after the Third Kazekage disappeared, Sunagakure fell into a long period of chaos.
My personal organization of the fuse for the Third War is: Akasuna no Sasori assassinates the Third Kazekage; the Third Kazekage disappears, Sunagakure loses its leader and falls into chaos; Sunagakure proactively dispatches troops, invades the territory of other countries, and ignites the Third Great Ninja War.
(End of Chapter)
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