The remaining Root members froze in place, their hands clutching their blades trembling slightly.
More than a dozen pairs of Sharingan, emitting chilling killing intent and powerful visual prowess, were fixed firmly on them.
"Konoha Military Police Force, by Hokage-sama's order, is thoroughly investigating all Root personnel and archives."
"Everyone, put your hands on your heads and squat against the wall. From now on, no one is allowed to speak without my permission."
The remaining Root members, as if their spines had been removed, obediently followed the instructions. They squatted down, hands on their heads, pressing against the cold wall, not even daring to breathe.
The ninja who had been shouting earlier, if there were no surprises, was probably already dead.
"Satoshi, this kid's out of breath, how should I write this?" Inaho scratched his head.
Killing someone before the investigation even began would be difficult to explain.
"The aforementioned Root member, realizing the gravity of his crimes, committed suicide out of fear. Despite Konoha Military Police Force personnel's full efforts to resuscitate him on site, he was pronounced dead."
"Ah? Not a single word changed?"
"Not a single word changed. The facts are clear, the logic is self-consistent."
"Alright... you educated folks sure are cunning."
Upon hearing this, the members squatting in the corner grew even more panicked.
Most of them had been tricked, coerced, and intimidated into joining by Danzo. After witnessing his methods, they both hated and feared Danzo.
But this white-haired guy didn't seem to be a good person either... even darker than Danzo.
Satoshi removed the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal Danzo had left behind.
"Interrogate them separately and record their testimonies. Be careful not to cause any fatalities."
After giving his instructions, Satoshi slowly walked towards the deeper parts of Root.
According to his understanding, Danzo had established many secret bases internally. These were used to conduct various experiments in secret, or to store the valuable Ninjutsu scrolls and confidential intel he had collected over the years. Perhaps there was even some reserve funding for a rebellion.
Satoshi meticulously observed every subtle trace. He stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary archive room wall, and unceremoniously kicked it.
Boom!
The seemingly solid stone wall collapsed inwards, revealing a hidden entrance to a secret room.
"Hoh, this old geezer is so rich?"
Satoshi roughly counted, estimating there were about four or five Asumas' worth.
He took out a small notebook and diligently recorded.
"Discovered several instances of embezzlement of public funds and funds from unknown sources. Preliminary estimate is approximately... hmm, let's record it as 300,000 ryo for now."
The rest would be moved back to the house Tsunade had given him for a slow inventory. That one was bigger and could fit everything.
"Seized a large number of Ninjutsu scrolls, experimental records, and confidential documents from unknown sources."
Except for Wood Release-related scrolls and Hashirama Cell experiment results, everything else is to be handed over.
This stuff is useless to the Hokage, don't add to his reading burden.
"And all sorts of other messy criminal evidence. Forget it, no more investigating, I'll just make some up."
"Charge One: Long-term abuse of power, embezzling and misappropriating various Konoha public funds, with conclusive evidence."
"Charge Two: Illegally conducting human experiments, using war orphans housed in Konoha orphanage as test subjects, with extremely cruel methods."
"Charge Three: Secretly colluding with rogue ninja, selling Konoha intel, conducting illegal forbidden Ninjutsu research, endangering the village's safety."
"Charge Four: The suicide of Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo, was caused by Danzo's efforts to eliminate rivals, secretly spreading rumors and manipulating public opinion."
"Charge Five: The Nine-Tails attack on Konoha was, according to ample evidence, a result of Danzo's internal and external collusion with the rogue ninja Obito. His objective was to create chaos, weaken the Hokage's authority, and frame the Uchiha clan, attempting to incite internal strife and seize power."
"And..."
Satoshi wasn't very good at writing this kind of thing. By the time he finished writing, several hours had passed.
When he emerged from the secret room, many members of Root had already been taken away. In addition, there were some children who needed to be dealt with.
They were the little ones Danzo had brought in, not yet having become Danzo's weapons.
Have them be his bodyguards?
Forget it. At that point, who knows who would be protecting whom?
"Send them to the orphanage, and return the funds Danzo withheld from them."
"Understood."
Before leaving, Satoshi noticed a small boy holding a picture book.
"What's your name?"
"Sai."
"Got it."
—
Outside Konoha, deep within a hidden forest, Kabuto contacted Orochimaru, who was observing from the shadows.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru slowly stepped out of the shadows, his golden snake eyes gleaming with a chilling light in the dimness. It was clear that he was not in a good mood.
After all, a guy named Pain had found him and beaten him up. He was then forced to 'voluntarily' join Akatsuki.
After joining, he felt even worse. Because a guy named Obito also wanted to beat him up for no reason.
However, today Satoshi had taken down Root, making him even more furious.
Danzo was an important partner, providing him with many internal Konoha conveniences, funds, and valuable experimental subjects. This allowed his research into life, souls, and Kekkei Genkais to proceed smoothly.
Now that Danzo was dead, this stable supply line was completely severed. It would be much harder to continue delving into the ultimate secrets of this world in the future.
"What an utterly detestable brat."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and continued to report, "The Uchiha clan was preparing to launch a coup, but it was suppressed."
"Satoshi killed Itachi, pinning all the charges of betrayal, being a spy, and colluding with Orochimaru-sama on him. Then, he killed him."
Orochimaru couldn't sit still.
Invading Konoha was his doing.
Deceiving Obito was his doing.
Now, colluding with Itachi was also his doing.
Damn it, where did he find the time for all these convoluted schemes?
One day, if the Hokage was killed, it would probably also be attributed to him.
"Danzo's death is also being blamed on me?"
"Satoshi's report to the Hokage states he died at Itachi's hands."
Orochimaru's mood improved slightly. Finally, something that wasn't his doing.
"Infighting..."
"..."
It still couldn't be completely separated from him.
Orochimaru felt that it would be better if Konoha were destroyed.
"Go back. Report if anything happens, and also, be careful of Satoshi."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."
A day later, Satoshi placed the compiled evidence on Hiruzen's desk.
Faced with these charges, Hiruzen had nothing to say. As Hokage, he knew what Danzo had been doing all these years. For certain reasons, he had chosen to turn a blind eye. Now that everything was out in the open, he chose to cut ties at light speed.
"I never imagined Danzo would do so many things to harm the village for personal gain. He doesn't deserve to be Tobirama-sensei's student."
Since things had reached this point, Hiruzen no longer covered for him. He just wanted to quickly make a decision to distance himself, lest the reputation he had built his entire life be ruined right before retirement.
Moreover, too many things were intertwined here. A thorough investigation would uncover a lot of dirt and could cause an unpredictable amount of impact.
According to the evidence Satoshi provided, everything was still within controllable limits.
Perfect, let's just end this quickly.
So, two days later, Konoha announced Danzo's various crimes.
Danzo's reputation in Konoha was already poor, and this made him even more infamous.
Some radical villagers were already carrying tools, intending to tear down Danzo's house.
But how could the Konoha Military Police Force allow such a thing to happen?
They took the tools from the villagers and helped them with the demolition.