Seated in absolute stillness, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally looked up at Danzo Shimura after hearing his request.
"Danzo… you understand the consequences if I were to issue such an order."
Of everyone present, only Hiruzen truly understood the real reason behind Danzo's aggressive stance.
Because the three shinobi who died last night were Root operatives under Danzo's command.
Though many high-ranking jōnin were present, while they knew of Root's existence, they had no knowledge of its inner workings or its members.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage himself, did not have complete awareness of Root's personnel or their identities.
"Hmph."
"Hiruzen, are you just going to let the Cloud shinobi walk free?"
"If that's your decision, I will be the first to object."
Danzo's tone was sharp, almost combative. Yet everything he said was airtight—no cracks, no clear grounds for rebuttal.
Hiruzen's gaze turned inscrutable as he looked at Danzo, a heavy sigh echoing in his heart.
"So this is your true goal, Danzo…"
As Danzo's longtime comrade, Hiruzen finally saw through to his real motive.
Danzo was forcing him into a corner—pressuring him to make a choice.
To Hiruzen, issuing an order to detain the Cloud shinobi was a lose-lose scenario.
If he gave the order, it would infuriate Kumogakure and could very well provoke an armed conflict. Konoha's image abroad would plummet, and its reputation across the Land of Fire—and the entire shinobi world—would suffer. Worse yet, Hiruzen would surely face backlash from the daimyō.
But if he chose not to give the order, he'd be playing right into Danzo's hand.
Danzo, for all his bluster, didn't actually want the Hokage to detain the Cloud shinobi. He wanted him to refuse—to appear weak and indecisive before the jōnin.
And that was Danzo's true aim.
Hiruzen realized there was an even deeper layer: Danzo was using this incident as a springboard—to pave the way for his future ambition of becoming Hokage.
But Danzo underestimated Hiruzen's political savvy.
In a game of strategy, Hiruzen could run circles around him.
And unlike Danzo, Hiruzen fought with open cards—an upright and righteous tactician.
Instead of responding to Danzo directly, Hiruzen turned toward the gathered jōnin and spoke calmly.
"Very well. Let us put it to a vote."
"All in favor of Danzo's proposal to detain the Cloud shinobi—raise your hand."
The moment Hiruzen finished speaking, nearly every jōnin present screamed internally:
"What the hell…"
No one felt it more than Tomou Uchiha, who could practically hear a stampede of ten thousand curses trampling through his mind.
Not a single jōnin in this room was a fool. They instantly understood that the Hokage had just tossed them a live grenade and expected them to choose what to do with it.
And this grenade? They couldn't dodge it—they had to respond.
The most outrageous part? Hiruzen's linguistic finesse.
Danzo had never explicitly said he wanted the Cloud shinobi arrested. He'd only urged Hiruzen to make a decision.
While Danzo's tone implied a preference for confrontation, it was Hiruzen who nailed that interpretation into stone—declaring it Danzo's official stance.
And then, as Hokage, he redirected the decision to the jōnin—putting them in opposition to Danzo, even though Danzo had been pressuring him.
A masterstroke.
In just a few sentences, Hiruzen had deftly sidestepped Danzo's trap, revealed none of his own cards, and forced the jōnin to expose theirs.
Whether the vote passed or failed, his own image would remain untarnished. And now, he'd get a clear sense of who among them leaned toward Danzo.
The jōnin who caught on lowered their heads in silence—not because they were weighing the pros and cons, but because no one wanted to be the first to speak out.
"...Hiruzen, you—"
Danzo began, only to cut himself off.
He understood now—his scheme had failed. His move against Hiruzen had been countered and dismantled.
Anything further would be futile.
As the room grew heavy with tension, one man stepped forward—Minato Namikaze.
From the moment he took that step, every eye—Hiruzen's, Danzo's, and all the jōnin's—turned toward him.
Under the scrutiny of the entire room, Minato respectfully addressed the two elders.
"Lord Third."
"I'd like to ask you something."
Hiruzen gave him a measured look. "Go ahead."
Calmly and clearly, Minato asked:
"Lord Third, I'd like to know why those three ANBU operatives were even present at that location last night."
He knew full well that this question overstepped his station—but his doubts weighed on him too heavily to ignore.
Hiruzen's response, however, made every jōnin in the room realize just how deep this matter went.
"Minato, I'm not the one who can answer that. Danzo will explain."
With that, Hiruzen turned to Danzo.
In a single, casual sentence, Hiruzen had shattered any illusions: those three weren't ANBU. They were Root operatives under Danzo's command.
Danzo replied curtly:
"Jōnin Minato—they were on a classified mission. That level of intel is beyond your clearance."
Minato's question had been a godsend for Hiruzen—a perfectly timed assist.
But for Danzo, it was an infuriating disruption.
Minato had successfully swayed the jōnin back toward Hiruzen.
"Now then," Hiruzen said, seizing the moment, "let's proceed with the vote."
"All in favor of detaining the Cloud shinobi—raise your hand."
The room remained silent.
Not a single hand was raised.
In that moment, Danzo's maneuver not only failed—it had backfired, cementing the jōnin's support behind Hiruzen.
"Hmph."
Danzo let out a heavy snort.
No one supported him. But he wasn't finished.
Not yet.
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