Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if all his strength had been instantly drained, and he slumped into the Hokage's chair.
In reality, deep down, he wasn't entirely without premonitions that Danzo might be engaging in some dark dealings behind the scenes.
But when these suspicions were presented so concretely, so shockingly, the impact was still devastating.
The crimes recorded on the scroll, one after another… these offenses, in any ninja village, would be enough to execute Danzo dozens of times over!
Although just moments ago, the distant, heart-pounding Nine-Tails' Chakra had quietly subsided, seemingly indicating the crisis was temporarily averted, the Third Hokage felt no relief.
A tremendous sense of exhaustion and guilt engulfed him like a mountain collapse and a tsunami; he lay sprawled in his chair, the wrinkles on his face seemingly deepening.
"Heh…" Menma's sneer rang out again, "How should I put it, old man.
You might not have directly participated in these dirty dealings, but your indulgence, your indecisiveness, your so-called 'consideration for the bigger picture,' undoubtedly provided the most fertile ground for that scoundrel's rampant behavior."
"I just remembered… you know, that guy even planned a real assassination attempt on you for the Hokage position."
"Under those circumstances, you actually chose to 'forgive' him… now, expecting you to thoroughly investigate and settle his crimes seems rather strange, doesn't it?"
Menma's taunts left the Third Hokage without the strength to even retort.
"…I still have a few conditions.
Of course, for both you and me, these should be self-evident matters.
However, given your usual conduct, I'm genuinely not sure if you'll actually do them."
The Third Hokage slowly raised his head; he didn't understand what 'self-evident' conditions still needed to be presented to him.
"Konoha has a tradition… the names of all ninjas who die during missions or wars are solemnly engraved on that memorial stone, to be revered and remembered by future generations, right?"
The Third Hokage nodded in silence.
Menma's voice suddenly grew even colder, "Then—Danzo Shimura's name… you're not planning to engrave that name there as well, are you?"
The Third Hokage's body trembled violently and uncontrollably for a moment.
To place Danzo's name alongside those heroes who shed their last drop of blood for Konoha? This would be the greatest blasphemy against the deceased! A complete betrayal of the Will of Fire!
However… to deny everything about Danzo, to completely erase him from Konoha's history, was equally an incredibly heavy, painful decision.
After a suffocating silence, the Third Hokage very slowly, heavily… nodded.
He agreed to Menma's conditions.
"Very good." Menma seemed unsurprised by the Third Hokage's compliance, "Then, the second condition.
I need you, with the authority of the Hokage, to actively disseminate the 'truth.'"
"The truth?" The Third Hokage looked up.
"Exactly.
I'm very much looking forward to it, when the people of the village all learn that their trusted Konoha elder—your dear friend Danzo Shimura—in order to control the First Hokage's 'God of Shinobi' like Wood Release…"
"…did not hesitate to abduct fellow villagers for heinous human experimentation, secretly colluded with the notorious S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru to continue those forbidden researches, and even repeatedly targeted Uchiha clan members, and even others possessing the Sharingan, all for the power of the Sharingan…"
"I remember, that guy even had his sights on Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan, didn't he?"
With each crime Menma spoke, the Third Hokage's face grew paler, and his knuckles turned white from gripping the armrest so tightly.
"Aside from the full truth of the Uchiha clan massacre needing to be temporarily suppressed and announced a few years later,"
Menma concluded, "disseminate these 'truths' exactly as they are, clearly and completely.
Let everyone see what kind of evil the so-called 'Root' has nurtured in the darkness.
Understand?"
"..."
The Third Hokage fell into a long silence; this was tantamount to him personally tearing open Konoha's ugliest wound, exposing its internal decay completely to the sunlight.
But he knew that what the other party had given was not a choice, but an order.
His hands, tightly clutching the chair's armrests, finally, powerlessly, slowly loosened.
"…I understand." His voice was hoarse, almost squeezed out between his teeth; once again, he agreed to the other party's demands with humiliation and difficulty.
"…Alright then, I'm glad we finally reached an agreement." Menma seemed to nod in satisfaction.
Then, his tone suddenly became somewhat meaningful, no longer sounding like a condition, but more like a casual piece of advice, "Also… old man, you've been in this position for far too long.
It's time to consider retirement."
He said something that left people a bit bewildered.
"If you keep clinging on… you might attract someone even more 'eerie'."
After delivering this ambiguous warning, Menma no longer lingered.
He turned and, accompanied by the consistently silent Shisui, walked directly out of the Hokage's office, their figures quickly disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.
In the office, only Hiruzen Sarutobi remained.
He slowly, somewhat unsteadily, rose from his chair, feeling an unprecedented fatigue sweep over his entire body.
He knew that what the other party said might be true; he had indeed been in power for too long, so long that too much darkness had festered right under his nose.
But… his students… one by one, they all…
Next time! Next time that scoundrel Jiraiya returns to the village… no matter what! Even if he has to use force, he must make him stay!
He abruptly shook his head, temporarily suppressing the chaotic thoughts.
The Third Hokage knew very well that now was definitely not the time to wallow in sadness and self-reproach; there was a mountain of messes waiting for him to clean up.
He forced himself to rally his spirits and immediately strode out of the office.
Outside the door, Menma and Shisui were already gone.
His most urgent task now was to immediately summon all available Anbu and rush to the Uchiha Clan Compound—no matter how slim the hope, he had to personally confirm if any survivors existed!