Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado; their gazes were filled with unfamiliarity.
They had been good partners before, but now everything had changed in an instant; they had actually joined forces with Minato Namikaze to target him and wanted to dissolve his Root.
What was most infuriating was that not a single person stood by his side, and no one had told him in advance.
They had just isolated him alone.
If Root were dissolved, he would have no power left in his hands at all.
His position as Hokage Assistant had been revoked, and now the position of Root leader was also being revoked. Since he was not an Advisor, he would be no different from an ordinary old man in Konoha.
Danzo said angrily, "Root was established by me. I am its leader, and I possess independent command authority. This matter was something you, Hiruzen, promised me personally back then, so when I say I don't agree, I don't agree!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a deep voice, "Danzo, it is true that I promised you back then, but the current Hokage is Minato, not me!"
"At the same time, you must remember that there is only one supreme leader of Konoha, and that is the Hokage! No one's power can override the Hokage, and the Hokage possesses the highest decision-making authority!"
"Now, whether it is me, Koharu, or Homura, we are all helpers of Minato, this Hokage. We must all listen to Minato. As long as it is beneficial to Konoha, we will fully support Minato in pushing it forward."
"Danzo, although Root was founded by you and you possess independent command authority, you are still Minato's subordinate. You must make this clear."
"However, since Minato took office, have you ever reported the situation of Root to Minato? Root is not your private organization, but a department of Konoha. Reporting to Minato is your duty, Danzo!"
Danzo's expression changed constantly, like he was changing masks.
The situation was already very clear; Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado would simply not stand on his side.
Even if he didn't want to dissolve Root today, he had to.
However, there were many things hidden in the dark within Root.
After taking a deep breath, Danzo said, "I understand. I will go to Root to announce this."
Minato Namikaze spoke up, "There is no need to trouble yourself, Elder Danzo. The Anbu have already gone to take over Root."
Danzo trembled all over, staring at Minato Namikaze with a terrifying gaze.
So it had been premeditated long ago.
When he left Root to come here, Minato Namikaze's Anbu had already gone to take over Root.
This was leaving him no way out!
Minato Namikaze stood up, stood in front of Danzo, and said, "This time, no matter what is discovered within Root, I will pretend I didn't see it. However, this is only for this once."
Danzo stared at Minato Namikaze. If looks could kill, he would surely have sliced this detestable blond in front of him into a thousand pieces.
What did Minato Namikaze mean by saying this? Spare him this once and make him feel grateful?
In his dreams!
"You will regret this!"
Danzo left after throwing out a harsh threat; after all, that was all he could do now.
After Danzo left, Minato Namikaze let out a long sigh of relief.
Now, he could proceed with the Uchiha Clan's matters with peace of mind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
After all, Danzo was their companion and good friend. After what happened today, they had completely fallen out.
Minato Namikaze looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two, thanking them, "Thank you, Sandaime and the two Advisors, for your help today."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "For the sake of Konoha, this is what we should do. After all, Danzo and Root have already become destabilizing factors for Konoha."
Utatane Koharu sighed, "Danzo is just too hung up on what happened back then, believing that only by becoming Hokage can he prove himself."
Minato Namikaze asked with some curiosity, "What happened?"
Homura Mitokado recounted, "Back then, during the First Ninja World War, Kinkaku and Ginkaku of the Hidden Cloud Village suddenly launched a coup during the alliance ceremony between the Raikage and the Hokage. With the power of the Six Paths Ninja Tools and the Nine-Tailed Chakra, the two of them inflicted near-fatal injuries on the Second Raikage Ay and the Second Hokage. Subsequently, the severely wounded Second Hokage led us to break through the encirclement."
"However, Kinkaku and Ginkaku led all their elite Ninjas in pursuit. We discussed that we needed one person to act as bait to lure the enemy forces, ensuring the other teammates had time to escape successfully."
"At that time, it was actually a secret test by the Second Hokage to choose the correct successor. Although Danzo held the intention to volunteer as bait, he was too timid at the critical moment and didn't say it. It was Hiruzen who stepped forward and proposed to be the bait himself."
"In the end, the bait was naturally the Second Hokage. Before parting, the Second Hokage expressed his approval of Hiruzen's actions and ordered Hiruzen to become the next Hokage. Afterward, the Second Hokage sacrificed himself to cover our withdrawal."
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, his expression filled with nostalgia and sadness.
Utatane Koharu continued, "Because of this, Danzo remained bitter, feeling that if he had stepped forward back then, the Hokage would have been him. But Danzo didn't understand that the Second Hokage's test subject at that time was actually only Hiruzen."
"Because in the Second Hokage's mind, the optimal candidate for Hokage was Hiruzen, not Danzo. Danzo was not even in the Second Hokage's consideration, because Danzo's methods were too extreme."
"Facts have also proven that Hiruzen has done a great job as Hokage all these years, and Konoha has developed very well under Hiruzen's leadership."
"Danzo's abilities do not need to be questioned, but he is suitable to be the shadow of the Hokage, not the Hokage himself."
"Hiruzen is the forever warm Hokage in the sunlight, and Danzo is the decisive Root in the darkness. The two complemented each other, leading Konoha to prosperity."
"But it's a pity that Danzo was too obsessed with the position of Hokage. He should have been able to become a great help to you, the Fourth Hokage."
Minato Namikaze felt a bit emotional after hearing this; he hadn't expected these things to have happened in the past.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe and said, "I believe Minato can do better than me. Now Konoha is flourishing. Shikaku, Inoichi, and the others are capable of standing on their own, and the next generation like Kakashi, Obito, and Kamishiro are also growing strong."
"Each generation has its own tasks. The next era belongs to Minato. We, the people of the previous generation, just need to play an auxiliary role with the experience we have accumulated."
After Minato Namikaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the others chatted a bit more about the future of the Konoha Military Police Force, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado left the Hokage Building first.
Minato Namikaze stretched. Now that a big problem was solved, Minato Namikaze felt much more relaxed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said, "I'm tired from sitting here for so long. Minato, accompany me for a walk. That kid Kamishiro's shop has opened, let's go take a look."
Minato Namikaze readily agreed, "Alright."
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