Ren kept his cold gaze fixed on Danzo, his posture as relaxed as it had been at the start, but inside, he was giddy.
'This is so fun. No wonder the fanfic seniors always wanted to deal with Danzo. I'm having the time of my life right now, I can't even imagine how fun it'll be to kill him.'
As he was thinking this there was a light tap on the back of his neck. Ren blinked once and realized it was Yoru. Somehow, the man always knew when his thoughts were drifting.
Ren gave a small nod, the grin in his mind wiped off as he refocused just in time, because all eyes in the chamber were now trained on Danzo. Everyone but Hiruzen.
To Ren's right, Fugaku stepped forward from his seat, voice low and cold. "Elder Danzo… it would be better if you speak the truth now. My son was on that mission. If, because of your interference, he was put in avoidable danger, then I…"
He didn't finish the sentence as he didn't need to because everyone present understood the threat. The Uchiha Clan Leader had waited a long time to draw his blade and today, he had found a legitimate opening.
Around the room, a few other clan heads straightened slightly. You could feel the hesitation building. They wanted to pile on, wanted to call Danzo out, but they weren't sure. Not yet. Not unless this time was truly different.
And then Koharu's voice cut through the silence. "The dignity of this council is truly degrading. First the Senju heir murders two shinobi in this sacred hall, where weapons aren't even allowed and now the Uchiha clan head openly threatens the Hokage's advisor, based on circumstantial evidence at best."
Ren's eyes drifted to her.
He smiled, not mockingly, but with the kind of calm that unnerves a room.
"Elder Koharu," he began softly, "are you sure you want to continue in that direction?"
She flinched almost imperceptibly but Ren didn't let her speak. "Because if, right here, right now, Elder Danzo's involvement is confirmed, then we're no longer talking about internal matters."
He leaned forward slowly, keeping both hands on the table. "We'd be looking at a man who, through covert sabotage, would have contributed to the deaths of over a hundred loyal agents. Operatives risking their lives in enemy territory. Who, pardon my narcissism, could have compromised the lives of the three greatest genius leaf has produced in a single mission."
He paused, gaze sweeping the room. "If this gets out and trust me, it will, then I ask you, who in their right mind will serve this village again, knowing the enemy isn't just outside the walls?"
That silence held a different weight.
One by one, voices rang out.
"The Uchiha certainly won't," Fugaku said immediately, arms crossed.
"Neither will the Nara," Shikaku added, chin resting on his hand lazily.
"The Yamanaka won't tolerate it," Inoichi's voice was firm.
"Nor the Akimichi," Choza rumbled.
Others also agreed, only the Hyuga and Inuzuka heads remained quiet. But neither of them raised a word in Danzo's defense.
Koharu bit her tongue and Ren noticed her glancing toward Hiruzen however, the Third had his eyes closed and was just listening to everything. His stance was clear to all, he would not intervene, not this time.
Ren turned his eyes back to Danzo. His tone dropped, but every syllable rang sharp. "Elder Danzo. Please speak."
He let the words breathe, then added, "Otherwise, your silence will be recorded as an admission of guilt and as per shinobi law, the punishment for treason is execution."
The air was dead still.
Until that moment, most of the people in the room still thought this would end like every other time, with Danzo walking away, untouched, his shadow extending a little further. But Ren had crossed a line.
He had not only named the crime.
He had named the consequence, and now, it was real.
More than one council member inhaled slowly, almost in awe. This wasn't politics as usual.
This was blood on the table.
Danzo didn't move. His hands were resting on the arms of his chair, but his knuckles were bone-white from the pressure.
He stood slowly, composed as ever, his single eye scanning the council chamber. His voice was low and grave, but it was filled with the practiced cadence of a man used to invoking guilt and control.
"It pains me," he began, "that after everything I've done for this village, I stand here being accused like a traitor."
Guilt tripping.
"I had no knowledge of any Root operatives acting without my command, let alone attempting to assassinate the Senju heir."
Denial.
"And as for the operatives found in the Mist, we are leaping to conclusions. Why are we assuming the seal is my doing? Have we not considered the possibility that Kirigakure, our enemy, may have replicated Root's methods? That they used these symbols to sow internal discord?"
He turned slightly, appealing to the room. "It would seem, unfortunately, that they've succeeded."
Deflection.
A heavy silence followed his words.
Ren gave a soft chuckle, then leaned forward. His voice was casual as he began, "Beautifully said, Elder Danzo. Truly. You could make a poet cry with those words."
He straightened slightly, then clapped, three slow, deliberate claps. "But let's break it down, shall we?"
He counted off on his fingers, gaze locked on Danzo. "You spoke of the things you have done for the village, so let me remind you and the others of the things you have done for the village."
"Sakumo Hatake. A hero. A man too powerful, too respected, and so he had to fall. And what better way than quiet whispers in the right ears and rumors that hit him right where it hurt."
"Second, you fanned the flames against the Uchiha after the Nine-Tails attack. Despite eyewitnesses like Utakata-Sensei, the Third, others, seeing a masked man, you still blamed the entire clan. Why? Because you feared them. Feared what they could do to your carefully built empire of shadows."
"The Uchiha were one of the village's strongest military forces, and instead of embracing them, you turned them into pariahs. For the benefit of the village, you say? No, that was for your ego. For your paranoia."
"Third, you kept dealing with Orochimaru, even after he fell into darkness. Don't bother denying it. In fact…" Ren tilted his head, voice quieter now. "Why don't you show everyone your arm? Let them see how your investments reaped as you kept dancing with a snake."
Gasps and murmurs rippled around the room.
Danzo's posture shifted ever so slightly, but he didn't speak. Ren's voice dropped further.
"Fourth, You leaked Naruto Uzumaki's identity as the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails."
The chamber froze.
"You turned a boy, who should be treated as a hero, the savior of this village into a target of hatred and fear."
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Last year, I met him. It was our birthday. I wished him well. He told me… it was the first time anyone had ever done so."
There was silence for a while then a shockwave of chakra blasted through the room, invisible but suffocating, like pressure from the depths of the sea. Papers fluttered and seats creaked. Almost everyone paled to varying degrees.
However this time, it wasn't Ren, it was Jiraiya.
The toad sage mechanically turned his head towards Danzo, his eyes full of anger.
"You… did… what?"
His voice was quiet, but deadly.
For the first time, even the clan leaders flinched. His chakra coiled like a summoned beast beneath his skin, barely held in check.
Danzo's expression tightened, but he said nothing.
Then, finally, "Jiraiya." Hiruzen's voice cut through the pressure, he didn't raise his voice, he just spoke gently.
"Sit down."
For a long moment, Jiraiya didn't move.
Then, with an audible exhale, he turned his burning gaze from Danzo and slowly returned to his seat, but the anger in his eyes didn't fade.
Ren didn't spare a glance for the murmurs or shifting gazes around the room. His voice stayed steady, even casual, as if he were discussing weather rather than treason.
"You said that some Root shinobi acted without your knowledge, fine. But that only proves your incompetence, doesn't it?"
He turned his gaze to Danzo, eyes unblinking. "If you can't even control your own forces, what right do you have to lead them at all?"
Danzo's eye narrowed, but Ren didn't stop. "And as for your claim that the Mist Village copied your seals, let's test that."
He clapped twice and two blurs of movement appeared beside him, Two and Four appeared. Two dragged a Root operative by the neck like a ragdoll. Four held two of the agents who'd been extracted from the Mist.
Ren walked calmly to Four's side. He took one of the agents by the collar, and without warning punched him half dead.
Crack.
The first punch landed like a hammer blow, folding the man forward.
"Who do you serve?" Ren asked flatly.
"...L-Leaf…" the agent croaked.
Crack.
Another punch and the agent slumped further.
"Who do you serve?"
Same answer. Same result.
By the fourth punch, the agent's face was swelling, blood pooling at his lips. Ren crouched slightly.
"Who do you serve?"
The man wheezed, "L-Lor-"
That was all it took as a black seal flared across the agent's tongue, spreading like ink across his lips, down his jaw, his throat. Before the corrosive chakra could lash outward.
Thud.
Ren hurled the body across the room like garbage. It slammed into the wall with a crack and slid down, dead.
The room was completely silent. Some of the civilian council members looked sick. Even the hardened shinobi sat straighter.
Ren didn't blink.
"Next."
He grabbed the second agent from Four. This time, his voice was lighter.
"We'll use genjutsu, something small and I'll make him say Mist Village, and we'll have Hyuga Leader dispel it."
He activated the technique quickly. The agent's eyes glazed as Ren asked, "Who do you serve?"
"Mist Village," the blank voice replied.
Ren held the man in front of Hiashi Hyuga.
"Dispel it, please."
Hiashi stood, placed two fingers to the agent's forehead, and activated his Byakugan. "Done."
Ren dropped the Genjutsu and calmly asked again.
"Who do you serve?"
"L-Lor Da-!"
Another seal ignited.
Another corpse.
Ren didn't even flinch as he threw two men to their deaths. He turned now to Two, and without ceremony, ripped the Root operative from his grasp by the neck.
"Now we ask the real question."
Danzo's face hardened.
Ren raised the Root shinobi up slightly and asked, his voice level and clear for all to hear, "Did Elder Danzo ever order the assassination of Leaf shinobi, or orchestrate missions that, while appearing to serve the village, ultimately served only his personal ambitions?"
The Root agent stiffened.
Ren's chakra threads wove into his jaw just in time to pull out a poison capsule hidden in his tooth. He punched again, shattering the operative's mask and part of his cheekbone.
"Did he?"
The man gurgled, tried to bite his tongue but Ren yanked it forward with chakra threads again.
Without hesitation, Ren pressed his fingers to the shinobi's temple and activated a deep-Genjutsu override.
"Did he?"
The man's body slackened, and his eyes glazed.
"Yes. He-"
But that was as far as he got. A final seal flared, this one carved directly into the agent's nape. A web of symbols spread across his scalp and exploded silently, searing the man's skull from the inside out.
Ren hurled the burning corpse onto the table, the charred remains skidding across polished wood and ash falling in front of the stunned council.
Then he turned as his boots struck the floor with loud thumps.
He walked slowly, step by deliberate step, back to his chair. The silence felt like a noose tightening around Danzo's neck.
"Two for two from the field agents. One from your own Root. All with the same seals. All dead the moment they spoke your name."
He turned his head slowly, scanning the room. "Do any of you still need proof?"
"Tell me now, and I'll go out and bring you the heads of every last Root shinobi, all bearing the same seal, all ready to die before revealing the name of the man they serve."
He stopped behind his chair and faced Danzo directly, chakra humming through his fingers.
"Speak, Elder Danzo."
"Have you forgotten how to use that mouth of yours? You talk so much when you want power, what now? Are you so cowardly that you won't even own your actions?"
He slammed his palm on the council table.
CRACK.
The wood splintered under the force, the table groaning from the pressure.
"SPEAK!!"
The sound of his voice rang through the room, not like a shout, but like a verdict.
The silence in the council chamber was absolute. Even the faint hum of chakra in the room felt smothered under the weight of what had just occurred.
All eyes were locked on the two men at the center of the storm, Ren, still standing with fingers twitching from suppressed chakra, and Danzo, who finally let out a long, weathered exhale.
"These matters involve secrets too deep for the public eye," Danzo said slowly, voice rough with age but still composed. "I request a private trial."
His gaze shifted meaningfully to Hiruzen as a silent threat threaded behind the words, it was as if he was giving a warning.
Ren let out a loud, derisive snort. "I'll give you a private trial at the village gates, old man," he said, stepping forward, voice cold with promise. "Let's go."
He looked ready to drag Danzo out by force when, finally, Hiruzen raised a hand.
"That's enough."
Ren stared at him for a second longer but finally returned to his seat without speaking anything.
Hiruzen's expression was grave as he turned to the room. "Elder Danzo is being accused of high treason," he began. "However, such accusations, regardless of how compelling, must be processed properly. The village requires time to collect, verify, and organize all supporting evidence."
The old man closed his eyes briefly before continuing, tone firmer now.
"Effective immediately, Elder Danzo is stripped of his command over the Foundation. His role as a Hokage Advisor is revoked. He is suspended from all council duties."
The room buzzed with barely-contained tension.
"Until further notice, ANBU Commander Yoru will temporarily assume control over the Root. Root operatives are barred from missions until the investigation concludes. Danzo Shimura will receive a private ANBU tribunal as per protocol. All qualified and authorized parties will be informed of the date."
A sharp, mocking "Hah!" echoed across the chamber from Ren.
However Hiruzen ignored it. "This is the village's decision. It will not be changed."
No one dared speak. Everyone seemed to be measuring the tension in the air, the shift in power.
Ren stood up abruptly, not bothering with formalities. His footsteps echoed loudly as he turned on his heel and made for the door.
Just as he reached the threshold, Koharu slammed her palm on the table and stood up, indignant.
"You may be the Senju heir, but do you have no respect for the village's laws? For its process?"
Ren stopped.
He turned slowly, face twisted with anger. His chakra surged without warning and he directed it straight at Koharu.
Ren spoke calmly.
"Buzz. Off."
Koharu gasped, buckling under the sheer weight of his chakra pressure. Her knees hit the polished floor with a dull thud as she began panting, hands braced on the table, trying desperately to breathe.
Ren gave her one final, scornful glance.
Then he turned and slammed the door behind him. The wood cracked with the force, and the walls of the council chamber almost broke down.
Silence settled again.
But beyond that door, just beyond where the gravity of the council's judgment ended, Ren's entire demeanor shifted.
His angry scowl softened into a cheerful smile. He started skipping slightly down the corridor, hands in his pockets, humming.
"That… was so fun."
~~~~~
{Ren is truly a menace isn't he?}
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{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else}
{280 Stones = Extra chapter}
{STONES!!!!}