Bang!
"What exactly is Danzō trying to do?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his fist onto the desk as he stared at the intelligence report sent back from the front lines.
Mito Koharu and Homura Mitokado sat nearby, looking at him in confusion.
The report was clearly about the Uchiha clan's front-line situation—what did that have to do with Danzō?
But the moment the two of them took the report from Hiruzen's hand and finished reading it, their expressions instantly darkened.
The report stated clearly: the Uchiha had been attacked by Kirigakure the very night they arrived at their encampment, and the enemy's troop strength was almost equal to theirs!
This was obviously not a coincidence—it was a premeditated ambush.
Those who knew the Uchiha's movements, numbers, and deployment were limited to only four people among Konoha's top leadership.
If you didn't do it, I didn't do it, and he didn't do it—
then there was only one person left.
Shimura Danzō.
Although none of them liked the Uchiha, even suppressing the Uchiha required proper timing!
Konoha was currently at a critical stage of the war.
The Land of Fire occupied the most resource-rich territory in the entire shinobi world—other villages had always been watching Konoha like hungry wolves.
If Konoha showed even the slightest weakness, the other villages would pounce without hesitation, tearing into Konoha like predators ripping apart prey.
At a time like this, the village needed unity above all else.
Even though Uchiha Fugaku had publicly embarrassed Hiruzen, Hiruzen had merely sent the Uchiha to the front lines.
That wasn't "killing them with a borrowed knife."
It was a warning.
A warning to Fugaku: I'm angry at what you did—so go suffer at the front lines.
On the other hand, the village truly had no usable forces left.
The Ino–Shika–Chō, the Inuzuka, and other clans were all tied down on the Iwagakure front.
The Hyūga clan, because of the Byakugan incident, was currently in open conflict with the Third Hokage and needed to be appeased.
Sending the Hyūga to the front lines now would only deepen the rift between them and the village.
So the only clan with both the strength and numbers that could still be deployed was the Uchiha.
But Hiruzen had never imagined that Danzō would actually collude with Kirigakure, attempting to crush the Uchiha on the front lines!
Did Danzō not realize that if the Uchiha fell, Konoha's defenses would develop an irreparable gap, plunging the entire village into an even greater crisis?
Hiruzen took a deep breath, forcing down his boiling rage.
Homura Mitokado looked at the final line of the report—
Uchiha Fugaku was demanding an explanation from the Hokage.
And rightly so.
I'm fighting on the front lines, and someone is stabbing me in the back—who could possibly fight with peace of mind under those conditions?
Hiruzen slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with heaviness and helplessness.
"Someone come here," he said in a low voice.
An ANBU appeared instantly, kneeling on one knee.
"Hokage-sir!"
"Effective immediately, suspend all authority of Shimura Danzō. He is not to leave Konoha, and he is forbidden from conducting any intelligence exchanges."
"Yes!"
The ANBU vanished in a blur of shunshin.
Koharu and Homura's expressions changed instantly.
Koharu stood up at once.
"Danzō, isn't this… too extreme?"
"Too extreme?!"
Hiruzen snapped, glaring at her furiously.
"Then tell me—what should I do?!
Right now, the only force we can rely on is the Uchiha! And at a time like this, you want to provoke them further?
If a rift forms between the village and the Uchiha, and Kirigakure takes advantage of it—while most of our forces are tied down fighting Iwagakure—Konoha will be caught in a pincer attack!
At that point, we wouldn't even be able to protect ourselves!
Is such a simple truth really so hard to understand?!"
Koharu and Homura fell silent.
They knew Hiruzen was right.
And they knew the village could no longer afford any further instability.
Homura sighed.
"Then… we need to think about how to suppress the Uchiha's dissatisfaction."
Hiruzen let out a long sigh, lifted his pipe, and took a deep drag.
After a long silence, he finally said:
"Asuma has been clamoring to go to the front lines ever since passing the Chūnin Exams. Send him as reinforcement."
"Reinforcement" sounded nice—
In reality, it meant sending a hostage.
This was Hiruzen's way of appeasing the Uchiha.
The message was obvious:
I truly didn't know about the ambush. I'm sending my own son into your hands to show my stance. I have no intention of becoming your enemy.
Of course, Hiruzen also had his own calculations.
If the Uchiha made any unusual moves, Asuma could report them back.
And Hiruzen was certain the Uchiha wouldn't dare lay a hand on Asuma.
After all, he was still the Hokage.
Though advanced in age, his strength as a "Professor of Ninjutsu" had not diminished.
The Uchiha would not dare openly oppose him.
Besides, compared to the blood-soaked Iwagakure front, the Kirigakure front was relatively safer—at least on the surface.
"No!"
Koharu immediately rejected the idea.
"If Asuma goes to the battlefield, then both of your sons will be on the front lines!"
Her meaning was clear:
If something happened to both of Hiruzen's sons, the Sarutobi bloodline would end.
Hiruzen's gaze hardened, his tone leaving no room for debate.
"This is my decision as Hokage— and my sacrifice as a father."
Koharu opened her mouth to argue, but Homura raised a hand to stop her.
His expression was grave.
"At this point, this is the only choice.
The Uchiha side cannot afford any further trouble.
But sending Asuma alone isn't enough—you should select several elite ANBU to protect him along the way."
Homura understood very well:
He was firmly aligned with Hiruzen's faction.
If something happened to both of Hiruzen's sons, Hiruzen would never let it go—
and Homura, along with his clan, would inevitably be implicated.
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
"I already have suitable candidates in mind."
Root Headquarters
When Danzō received Hiruzen's order, he was completely dumbfounded.
His face screamed: Who am I? Where am I? What did I do?
He stared at the command in disbelief, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Exposed the Uchiha's front-line deployment and troop strength?
I didn't do that!
Sure, he planned to—
But he had only just been preparing to act!
The operatives he sent had only just left the village!
Danzō's chest heaved violently, his single eye filled with resentment and malice.
He knew very well that once this matter was investigated thoroughly, even if he truly hadn't acted yet, the traces of preparation already existed.
At that point—
Mud in your pants is still mud, even if it isn't shit.
Looking at the order, Danzō clenched his teeth.
He was unwilling.
Unreconciled.
Fugaku had humiliated him in front of everyone.
If he didn't retaliate, could he still call himself Shimura Danzō?
If you're not going to do it—then don't.
But if you do— do it thoroughly.
He had already taken the blame— what was one more black pot on his back?
The Uchiha clan must be destroyed!
As the Shadow Hokage, what was one more scapegoat?
It wasn't like he hadn't carried countless others before.
As for the order?
You issue your command.
I'll do things my way.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer