"Our... teacher?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
Although his teacher, the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's Water Release was indeed exceptional, it seemed inappropriate coming from the lips of a Hidden Mist Village elder.
"Esteemed Elder..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared intently at the elder before him, contemplating whether the Hidden Mist Village elder was so old that he confused his own teacher...
"..."
The Hidden Mist Village elder raised his hand, his fingers gently forming a hand seal. Accompanying his action, many Hidden Mist Ninja suddenly started rioting, leaping towards the high platform!
This was a planned ambush!
Many Konoha Ninja didn't even have time to react!
Only the Dark Department members who had been guarding Sarutobi Hiruzen responded instantly, engaging with the group of Hidden Mist Ninja to prevent them from charging onto the stage!
"Esteemed Elder, what is this supposed to mean?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's palm slightly tightened, yet his attention was not fully focused on the elderly figure of the esteemed elder, but quietly observed the nearby Fourth Kazekage Rasa.
However, Fourth Kazekage Rasa remained calmly seated as if he had no intention of engaging in the conflict between the Hidden Mist Village and Konoha, even watching this drama with interest.
The Hidden Sand Village Ninja also stayed quietly in place.
Some restless Hidden Sand Ninja gathered around the Kazekage's assistant Maki, urgently asking, "Lord Maki, aren't we going to make a move?"
"When are we going to act!"
"Why doesn't the Kazekage-sama order us to strike..."
"Don't rush."
Maki glanced at the high platform where the Fourth Kazekage Rasa sat calmly like a mountain, advising in a deep voice, "Wait for the Kazekage-sama's orders, no one is allowed to act rashly!"
On the high platform.
Fourth Kazekage Rasa's fingers gently tapped the armrest of the chair.
The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood slowly relaxed, as long as the Hidden Sand Village wasn't launching a simultaneous attack, only the Hidden Mist Village threatened to break the alliance, it wouldn't be a big problem for Konoha and could easily be suppressed.
However...
Sarutobi Hiruzen still preferred not to tear their alliance apart.
"Esteemed Elder."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the elderly figure seated not far from him, questioning calmly, "Since the alliance was formed between Konoha and your village, I dare to say we have upheld our end of the agreement without any faults..."
"You have done well."
The Hidden Mist Village elder shook his head slowly, continuing calmly, "Even sacrificing Konoha's interests to maintain the alliance..."
"It's good that you understand my efforts, esteemed elder..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's fingers hid beneath the Divine Robe of the Hokage, ready to perform hand seals and take action, but he still attempted negotiation to resolve the issue: "If you have any thoughts, we can discuss them slowly, no need to..."
"The Hidden Mist Village elder holds no grievance against you..."
The Hidden Mist Village elder slowly extended his hand, reaching towards his ear while removing the mask from his face, speaking slowly: "However, I do have some grievances against you..."
As he continued speaking...
This Hidden Mist Village elder had removed his mask, and even his voice turned into a familiar one for Sarutobi Hiruzen the instant the mask was removed.
Shimura Danzo.
Konoha's S-Class Traitorous Ninja.
Former Hokage Assistant and former Root Leader.
"Monkey..."
Shimura Danzo's expression remained calm, his eyes half-closed: "I never thought you'd be so muddled that you couldn't even recognize your old friend!"
"Danzo..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice trembled slightly, his fingers stiffening.
Ever since Shimura Danzo fled Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart always felt a pang of anxiety, fearing that Shimura Danzo would collude with other Ninja Villages to betray Konoha's information.
Sarutobi Hiruzen never decided how to deal with his traitorous old friend; he once thought of killing Danzo to eliminate the hidden danger, yet more often he hoped to bring Shimura Danzo back to Konoha, because their bond spanned nearly seventy years!
And now...
This traitorous old friend openly appeared before him, even colluding with the Hidden Mist Village...
"It's been a long time, Danzo..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression shifted briefly to melancholic, but quickly regained the Hokage's dignity: "I never thought you'd return to Konoha in such a way..."
Shimura Danzo's lips curled into a cold smile, questioning coldly: "If not for this way, I might not have reached Konoha before you executed me! To cover up your secret human experiments, you pinned all blame on me..."
"It was you who secretly performed human experiments!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face suddenly darkened. He recalled his agony after learning the incident of the Double Bloodline Ninja!
If Shimura Danzo had privately communicated with him and the matter was beneficial to Konoha, it could have been easily resolved internally instead of being exposed by village members, nearly causing a trust crisis within Konoha!
Sarutobi Hiruzen coldly stared at Shimura Danzo: "If it were only for unauthorized human experiments, I would have just punished you, but at that time you even attempted to murder advisor Mitokado Homura to frame the Hidden Mist Village and incite war between Hidden Mist and Konoha..."