Danzo led his Root's Ninjas away in disgrace.
It wasn't because he was kind-hearted, but because Hiruzen had arrived with his Anbu.
The Uchiha Jonin who did not defect was detained by the Anbu and taken to the Anbu Prison, and Sakura was summoned to the Hokage Building's meeting room.
After being woken up in the middle of the night, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura pushed open the meeting room door with foul moods, only to be hit by the aroma of food.
Following the scent, they saw a girl sitting at the conference table, devouring her meal.
In front of her was a pile of various steaks and fruits, all being consumed at an astonishing rate.
"Quite a commotion, Hiruzen. What exactly is the situation now?"
Koharu ignored Sakura and walked straight to the conference table to sit down.
"A minor disturbance, and a portion of the Uchiha have defected."
Hiruzen watched Sakura's ravenous eating with a kind expression, though inwardly he winced at his wallet.
'She doesn't look that sturdy, so how can she eat so much?'
"What's going on? Where are the Anbu? Where are the Root? What are they doing?"
Hearing that some Uchiha had defected, Homura perked up and straightened his posture.
"Hmph, ask the genius sitting over there for details. Ask her what good deed she's done!"
The conference room door opened, and Danzo, who had rushed over, leaned on his cane and raised an resentful accusation at Sakura.
Hearing such words from their usually emotionless old friend stunned Koharu and Homura.
"Hahahaha."
Hiruzen, who had witnessed the entire situation from start to finish, laughed heartily, his face full of satisfaction.
Sakura's actions had his approval from the beginning, based on the analysis report she had submitted.
Losing such significant combat power from the Uchiha Clan would be a tremendous waste for Konoha, whose talent was already dwindling.
From Hiruzen's perspective as the leader, he certainly didn't want such an outcome.
So, through the analysis report, Sakura proposed a plan to Hiruzen.
Namely, to incite a controlled internal conflict within the Uchiha Clan, splitting them into extremists and non-extremists. Then, based on the extremists' choices, handle the situation to avoid massive loss of combat power.
The plan was approved by Hiruzen and executed by Sakura, Itachi, and Fugaku.
Thanks to Fugaku's dedication, the details were precisely controlled, down to the exact timing of his own death.
"The three advisors are still unclear about the details. Sakura, report to them."
The more he looked at her, the more Hiruzen grew satisfied with Sakura.
'A clean background, powerful strength, a sharp mind… perhaps if I held on for a few more years, this child could support Konoha's future...'
"We orchestrated tonight's events. To avoid bloodshed, Uchiha Itachi led the extremists in defecting. That's all."
Sakura shoved all the food into her mouth, swallowing with a loud gulp.
The air was filled with a refreshing scent of perfunctoryness, choking the three Hokage's Advisors.
A long silence followed, leaving Koharu, Homura, and Danzo in endless confusion.
Finally, that confusion turned into a simultaneous roar: "Explain properly!!!"
Helpless, Sakura had to re-explain the entire plan in detail. After finishing, she slumped in her chair, burping.
"So, you let those traitors escape. That's what I understand, correct, Haruno Sakura?"
Danzo tapped his bandaged hand with his good one and sneered.
Sensing Danzo was about to cause trouble, Hiruzen frowned and was about to speak, but this time Danzo beat him to it.
'My turn, Hiruzen!'
"According to the rules of Konoha's Anbu, pursuing Missing-nin is your duty, isn't it?"
"You knowingly allowed Uchiha Itachi to defect without pursuing him and even obstructed me. This is a serious dereliction of duty."
Danzo supported himself with his cane and stood up, looking down at Sakura.
The Anbu were the Anbu, and rules were rules. Over the years, the consensus everyone had grown accustomed to wasn't easily shaken.
Even with Hiruzen's backing, Sakura's violation of the rules was an indisputable fact.
And manipulating a young Ninja who had erred within the rules was precisely Danzo's specialty.
"For a Ninja like you who violates the rules of the Anbu, I think it is necessary to send you to the Root for Anbu training!"
Danzo's gaze swept over the three behind him, using his authority over the Anbu's training facility to poach her.
Koharu and Homura sipped their tea, adopting a detached attitude toward the power struggle between Danzo and Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen bit down hard on his pipe, his brow furrowed.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, but the next moment, it was broken by the girl's clear voice.
"No need. Since I've made a mistake, I'm prepared to face the consequences."
Sakura casually rubbed her rounded belly as the food quickly digested, healing her injuries.
"So, I hereby resign to Hokage-sama. I hope Hokage-sama will remove me from the Anbu."
With that, the girl stood up, with her hands behind her back, tilting her head playfully.
She also showed a provocative smile at Danzo.
"Besides, Root shouldn't be so short-handed that you need to forcibly recruit an 'ordinary' Konoha's civilian, right?"
Crack!
Danzo's cane splintered in his grip with a crisp sound.
Hiruzen, catching on, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly defined the situation.
"Very well. The punishment for Anbu's member, Flower, is removal from the Anbu and revocation of all Anbu's privileges!"
"Additionally, as a reward for an ordinary Konoha's civilian preventing a disturbance, she is permitted to learn one forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals."
"As for the judgment of the Uchiha Clan, it will be handled with the assistance of the two Hokage's Advisors. That is all!"
Faced with Hiruzen's blatant favoritism, Danzo's unfulfilled triumph turned to stiffness.
Koharu and Homura were already accustomed to the outcome of these two's struggles and simply stood up to leave the meeting room.
"Hiruzen, aren't you worried about nurturing another Sannin by indulging her like this?"
"Oh? Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this one day!"
"Danzo, don't forget… I am the Hokage!"
Bang!
The meeting room's door slammed shut.
Hiruzen sat back in his chair, holding his forehead, and let out a long sigh.
"Sorry, Sakura. You had to see that."
"No, no, not at all!"
Having witnessed the famous scene firsthand, Sakura was thrilled, even wishing she had brought some popcorn.
Then, Hiruzen pulled out a pre-prepared Ninjutsu Scroll from his sleeve and tossed it gently to Sakura.
"This is a list of techniques from the Scroll of Seals. You can choose the one you want."
"I'll have someone deliver the corresponding scroll to you later."
Sakura took the scroll, understanding dawning on her.
'It seemed this was the reward the old man had originally intended for her, but that old bastard Danzo's interference had changed things.'
However, Sakura didn't regret resigning from the Anbu. She had had enough of the nonsense there.
The small fortune of one million Ryo she had saved over the past few months would last her until graduation. Resigning didn't come with any substantial losses.
'Besides, the old man had even given me severance pay~'
'Let me see, let me see!'