"Minato, hand Rin over to Danzo! It's for her own good!"
Watching Minato's slightly blazing eyes, Hiruzen perfectly displayed his masterful acting.
His shoulders trembled, and his pain-filled eyes gently closed.
"Am I still the Hokage of the village?"
"I can't even protect my own disciple!"
The internal struggle made Minato's face appear pale and powerless.
"Rin, quickly come with me, old man."
Minato's expression was naturally fully observed by Danzo. With a sneer in his heart, he coldly reprimanded Rin, startling her small face to turn slightly pale.
She leaned closer to Kakashi again, helplessly looking at Minato's back.
"Minato-sensei..."
In Rin's life experience, she had never felt this...
Helpless.
"Rin, don't worry!"
"From now on, you'll stay in Konoha Hospital. You won't have to go anywhere else."
Veigar also knew that what was happening frightened Rin. He spoke softly to comfort her, while secretly deciding to add more fuel to Minato's fire, letting the flames in his heart burn even brighter.
"Veigar!"
Rin turned to Veigar, her incredibly complex gaze revealing a hint of anticipation...
And reassurance!
Taking a step forward.
Veigar looked directly into Danzo's sneering eyes and calmly stated:
"I sealed the Three-Tails."
"So, it's my spoils of war. If I don't give it, you can't take it."
Danzo turned to Veigar, his eyes glinting coldly.
After hearing this, Hiruzen hadn't expected Veigar to step forward with such a declaration at this moment.
But, was there anything wrong with it?
No, absolutely nothing.
The Three-Tails was a Kirigakure Tailed Beast. Now, sealed within Rin's body by Veigar's hand, it truly belonged to Veigar as spoils of war.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Compared to the deep cunning of Hiruzen and Danzo, the other two of Konoha's "Four Elders" lacked considerably in self-control.
"Koshima Veigar, do you know what you're saying?"
Koharu Utatane, her face filled with anger, raised her eyes and furiously pointed at Veigar, speaking.
"What's wrong? Does Advisor Koharu think there's a problem with what I said?"
Veigar turned to Koharu and asked.
"Do you think the Three-Tails is an ordinary item? It's a village's war weapon! It never belonged to anyone, but to the village. Now, it belongs to Konohagakure!"
A furious Koharu spoke with righteous indignation.
"Say that to the Mist Ninja!"
"Or, let the Mist Ninja come find me."
"What's mine is mine. If I don't give it, no one can take it."
Veigar's tone was incredibly firm, stating his resolve not to hand over Rin.
"Koshima Veigar."
"What exactly do you want to do? Do you want to ignite another war? Do you want to drag Konoha back into the vortex of war? Or are you saying you want to betray Konoha?"
The sharp-tongued Koharu raised her hand, pointing a finger at Veigar's nose and piling on accusations. Driven to madness, she spat out anything that came to mind.
"Koharu..."
Hiruzen's expression drastically changed, and he spoke, wanting to stop Koharu from saying more.
Minato, struggling internally, instantly opened his eyes with a cold gaze when he heard Koharu accuse Veigar of betraying Konoha.
At this moment, Minato seemed to understand something.
Swish.
A cold flash streaked.
"Ah..."
Koharu let out a painful wail.
Crimson blood splattered into the sky.
In an instant, a section of Koharu's raised right hand was gone, the part below her forearm falling to the ground.
"The hat's too big, I can't wear it."
"Advisor Koharu, once you learn to mind your words, I'll help you reattach your hand."
"But, hurry up, okay!"
The Shinigami Blade rested on Veigar's shoulder, a gentle, playful expression on his face, without any hint of incongruity.
Veigar had acted!
He had acted directly!
Facing Koharu's accusation of betraying the village, Veigar didn't hesitate for a moment, directly severing one of Koharu's forearms.
"You actually dare..."
Homura Mitokado, also a Konoha Advisor, seeing Koharu's hand severed by Veigar, immediately tried to yell in reprimand.
"You actually dared to attack Koharu!"
Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes met Veigar's indifferent, emotionless gaze.
He panicked.
At this moment, he panicked.
He was sure Veigar would absolutely dare to attack him, just as he had attacked Koharu.
Veigar's movements were too fast, clean and decisive; everyone present was too late to stop him.
"Veigar..."
Minato's face showed a wry smile, but inwardly, he felt an unusual sense of satisfaction.
Hiruzen's face also turned unsightly.
Lawless.
Meanwhile, Danzo looked at Veigar with a glint of appreciation in his eyes.
"Such decisiveness and power, what a pity..."
Danzo sighed inwardly. Veigar was no longer one of Root's; the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal had already been broken by Veigar.
Due to the intense pain, Koharu could no longer be as furious as before. Instead, her face was ashen as she clutched her bleeding arm to stop the flow.
However, meeting Veigar's eyes made her dare not say anything more, even though she realized that what she had said earlier was indeed wrong.
That she didn't die from Veigar's kenjutsu was still thanks to her current status.
"Hiruzen, you saw it too!"
Turning to Hiruzen, Koharu hoped he would step forward and enforce "justice."
Instantly, Hiruzen understood Koharu's meaning.
A bitter smile formed in Hiruzen's heart.
What do you want me to say?
What can I say?
If one only looked at the outcome, Veigar's actions were indeed excessive.
However, Hiruzen couldn't find a single flaw in Veigar's reason for acting.
Betraying Konoha.
Those words, coming from Koharu's accusations, were far too heavy.
After a moment of thought, Hiruzen spoke.
"Veigar, what you did was a bit too much. Although Koharu's words were out of line, she is still a Konoha Advisor, after all."
"As a ninja, you should maintain humility towards your seniors who have dedicated themselves to the village..."
These words, casually spoken by Hiruzen, clearly indicated his desire to let the matter drop.
He also didn't dare to push Veigar too hard.
The feat of fighting four Kage alone had granted Veigar a layer of protection.
As long as Veigar didn't commit a fundamental mistake, Hiruzen would not allow Veigar to betray or leave Konoha.
That would be aiding the enemy and creating a huge problem for his own village.
However, before Hiruzen could finish his sentence, Veigar raised a hand to stop him, gesturing for him to say no more.
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
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This fanfic has been fully translated!