"That is to say, you were tricked out of the village by your own subordinate," Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he looked at his old friend, suspicion evident in his voice. "You never actually ordered them to provide support?"
No matter how you looked at it, this sounded like a lie!
Was it because there were outsiders here, and since Uchiha Shin was his man, he was making up this excuse?
Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Uzumaki Jun, who stood nearby with a shocked expression, and sighed inwardly. He had originally kept Jun here to distance Konoha from the Mangekyō Sharingan incident, but now…
It still seemed somewhat inappropriate!
"No, I am not lying to you!" Danzō, however, spoke with a serious expression. "I have already ordered my subordinates to interrogate them. We should have answers soon."
He had full confidence in Root's interrogation methods. The real question was…
Who was trying to frame him, the Darkness of the Shinobi World?
To think that just after he left the village briefly, someone had already set him up with such a serious accusation. If this wasn't handled properly, he might have to sacrifice himself for Konoha's sake!
The only person with the authority to mobilize Root members besides himself was…
Well, there was no one else.
"Hiruzen, rest assured," Danzō said with a stern expression. "I will get to the bottom of this. No matter who it is, if they harm the village, I will make them pay."
"This is a very serious matter," Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he took a puff of his pipe. "Even though I believe you, the Land of Whirlpools and the Akatsuki might not."
So…
If this wasn't handled properly, Konoha might provoke an extremely powerful organization. According to the intelligence gathered, aside from Uchiha Shin, there were already three known members: one who could use space-time ninjutsu, one with the legendary Rinnegan, and another…
Who had fought against the First Hokage.
No matter how you looked at it, this organization was extremely dangerous. And if they had even more hidden members…
Even if Konoha could resist them, the losses would be devastating.
Right now, they were still in the middle of a war…
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed deeply and said gravely, "No matter what, you must provide an explanation. And also…"
"There are spies within the village. This must be resolved immediately. We need to find out which village's spies they are."
Konoha's reputation could not afford to be tarnished in the slightest.
"I will handle it," Danzō's eyes sharpened. "Don't worry. I will make the person who played me pay the price."
It seemed he would have to impose stricter restrictions on Root members. Otherwise, if something like this happened again…
His dear old friend might really have to sacrifice him with tears in his eyes.
"You handle it," Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "Right now, we must first clarify the situation…"
Knock knock!
Yet again, before Sarutobi Hiruzen could finish speaking, the Hokage's office door was knocked.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened. "Enter!"
What was going on today? Why did someone keep knocking just as he was getting to the important part?
"Lord Danzō, Lord Hokage," a masked man entered and respectfully handed over a document. "The investigation is complete."
"Good, you may leave," Danzō nodded, accepting the file without expression.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave the departing Root member a displeased look and sighed before turning to Danzō. "What did you find?"
Uzumaki Jun also curiously leaned in. He wanted to see what Root had uncovered. After all, Zetsu's disguise skills were the best in the shinobi world!
"Mushi said he never sent anyone to notify me," Danzō frowned as he scanned the document before handing it over. "After interrogation, Mushi was not lying, nor was he under genjutsu."
So what exactly was going on here?
"This…?" Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he carefully read the document. "Did you try all interrogation methods?"
"Yes," Danzō nodded. "Every method Root has was used, but nothing was found."
Then…
Sarutobi Hiruzen set the document down and muttered, "Who could it be?"
Someone had effortlessly tricked Danzō out of the village and even commanded Root members. To think Konoha had been infiltrated without anyone noticing a single trace.
What were ANBU, Root, and the police force even doing?
"Perhaps it was someone from Uchiha Shin's side?" Uzumaki Jun stroked his chin thoughtfully. "They disguised themselves to deceive Danzō into leaving, then used Danzō's identity to command Root members."
He had to give them a lead. Otherwise, who knew what wild theories they might come up with?
"Possible!" Danzō gave Uzumaki Jun a surprised look. He hadn't expected Jun to help him out. He nodded at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "According to the Root members who went out, it seems someone disguised as me to give them the mission."
"But what kind of transformation technique could fool everyone?" Sarutobi Hiruzen still found it hard to believe. After all, Root had Hyūga members. If it was a disguise, how could the Root members not realize their boss was fake? He sighed. "It seems the village is not as peaceful as we thought."
"It's the Mangekyō, after all," Uzumaki Jun said helplessly. "I don't know much about it. But according to Pain, when Uchiha Shin joined Akatsuki, he claimed to be from Konoha."
"..."
Stop talking. Because of that one sentence, Konoha now had to fight one against four.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō both glared darkly at Uzumaki Jun. Their first thought now was to find out who this Uchiha Shin really was and why he was framing Konoha.
After the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara founded Konoha together, the Uchiha clan became the village's police force. There were no other Uchiha outside of Konoha in the shinobi world.
So…
"It seems this Uchiha Shin is backed by a powerful organization," Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and sighed helplessly. "Does Akatsuki have any information on him?"
To infiltrate Konoha undetected and deceive Danzō with a disguise—this was definitely not something one person could accomplish.
"Ah! Oh!" Uzumaki Jun nodded, then shook his head. "No, we only know he's from Konoha."
A backing organization…
He hadn't thought of that before!
If he had known earlier, why would he have gone through so much trouble?
All he needed to do was create another organization. Have Akatsuki play the righteous side and Uchiha Shin the villain. Then, the righteous side could fight the evil side, and he wouldn't have to go through the hassle of separating the two identities.
Wasn't it just a matter of changing uniforms and picking a new name?
"I'll report the situation to Pain," Uzumaki Jun said solemnly, looking at Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen. "I never expected such a dangerous organization to appear in the shinobi world. What exactly are they planning?"
For now, he had to sever the connection between Uchiha Shin and Akatsuki.
"Thank you," Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. "Konoha will also intensify its investigation. No matter what, Konoha, like Akatsuki, desires peace in the shinobi world."
"Don't worry. The Land of Whirlpools has always been committed to fighting crime. We will show no mercy to any organization that threatens the shinobi world," Uzumaki Jun declared righteously. "Punishing evil and maintaining stability in the shinobi world has always been the duty of the Land of Whirlpools."
So…
Leave the dark forces to the Land of Whirlpools and Akatsuki!
"..."