The words of the Root ninja in front of him made Shimura Danzo pause slightly.
"You should talk to Hiruzen about this. What are you doing here?"
Coming to his senses, Danzo said with a hint of dissatisfaction.
Hiruzen Sarutobi is the Hokage; I am merely a Root leader, and this matter is not my concern.
"It was the Hokage who sent me to inform you," the Root ninja quickly replied. "The Hokage came here the moment the Scroll of Seals was stolen, and then..."
Hearing this man's words, Shimura Danzo's face grew even more gloomy.
In short, when the Scroll of Seals was stolen, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately suspected him.
Furthermore, he personally went to the Root to retrieve the Scroll of Seals.
When they discovered that Danzo was not there, they became even more suspicious that it was Danzo's doing, so they sent this Root ninja to find Danzo.
The meaning is quite clear: I know it's you. Hurry up and return the Scroll of Seals, and I can pretend nothing happened.
"This is outrageous!"
Danzō Shimura clenched his teeth. Why should he doubt himself?
I just sneaked out to ask Naruto to go fishing together.
I absolutely refuse to take the blame for this!
Just then, a large number of ANBU ninjas appeared by the lake and surrounded Shimura Danzo.
"Danzo, hand over the item!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward first. "Naruto, you've seen it too. The Scroll of Seals should be returned."
Shimura Danzo: "..."
Naruto Uzumaki: "..."
Black Zetsu: "..."
Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi's confident demeanor, it was as if he had personally witnessed Danzō Shimura seizing the Scroll of Seals.
Naruto and Black Zetsu, who knew the inside story, never expected that the blame would fall on Danzo.
Their real intention was to make Mizuki take the blame, find another opportunity to get rid of him, and ensure that the Scroll of Seals would be completely spread throughout the ninja world.
"Lord Danzo, why don't you just hand over the item?"
"Otherwise, the Hokage will not let you off easily."
At that moment, the Root ninja came to Danzo's side, protecting him while whispering a suggestion.
"Get out of my way!"
His words made Danzō Shimura's face darken, and he slapped him two and a half meters away. "Hiruzen, this has nothing to do with me."
"I've been fishing here with Naruto the whole time. How could I have time to steal the Scroll of Seals?"
Even his own people don't trust him; Danzo is truly exhausted.
Do I really look like someone who's going to take the blame?
"Danzo, there's no need for all this rhetoric between us, is there?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his cigarette and said slowly, "I was inconsiderate in what I did before, but the Scroll of Seals is not to be trifled with. Return it quickly!"
"From now on, I will no longer stop you."
The "things" that Hiruzen Sarutobi mentioned earlier refer to the incident where he was prevented from seeing Naruto Uzumaki.
At that time, Danzo said sternly, "You will regret this."
Now he finally understood the way Danzo had made him regret his actions.
That is to seize the Scroll of Seals and use it to threaten himself.
"It really wasn't me, why won't you believe me?"
Seeing his serious expression, Danzō Shimura almost vomited blood in anger. "Naruto, you have to be my witness, haven't we been together the whole time, without being apart for even a moment?"
Left with no other choice, Danzo had to ask Naruto Uzumaki to testify for him.
"That's true." Naruto Uzumaki nodded blankly. "Grandpa Hokage, isn't there some misunderstanding here?"
He was completely bewildered. He had followed Black Zetsu's advice to have Danzō Shimura provide him with an alibi so that he could clear himself of any involvement in the matter.
How come it's now become that he himself is providing Danzo with an alibi?
"This Danzo is quite talented. We should make better use of his skills in this area in the future, hehehe—"
Black Zetsu looked at Danzo, already planning how to continue to trick him.
"Lord Hokage, Sakura Haruno has woken up. Should we ask her who stole the Scroll of Seals?"
Just then, an ANBU member approached Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked him a question.
"Okay, that's fine." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and looked at Sakura Haruno, whose face was full of fear. "Sakura, don't be nervous, this has nothing to do with you."
"You just need to tell me what the person who stole the Scroll of Seals looks like, or what their characteristics are."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words calmed Sakura Haruno down considerably.
"It was...it was Teacher Mizuki. He knocked me unconscious when I wasn't paying attention and took the Scroll of Seals. I saw his face the moment I fell down."
Upon hearing Sakura Haruno's words, Danzō Shimura across from her breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, Sakura Haruno was able to see the other person's face clearly and knew who they were.
Otherwise, even if he jumped into the Land of Water, he wouldn't be able to clear his name.
"Hiruzen, did you hear that?" Seeing someone vouch for him, Danzo spoke with much more confidence. "This matter has absolutely nothing to do with me."
"Danzo, I really underestimated you. When did Mizuki become one of yours?"
"The moment I relaxed my guard, your hand reached into the ninja academy?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared coldly at Danzō Shimura. These words almost made Danzo point at his nose and hurl insults at him.
With such an incompetent Hokage in power, Konoha will be destroyed sooner or later.
Poor Danzō Shimura, who was devoted to the village, was unable to realize his ambitions due to his position and could only let this 'shadow' do as it pleased.
I'm tired!
Destroy it!
"If you think so, then so be it!"
At this moment, Shimura Danzo no longer wanted to explain. In any case, Danzo wouldn't believe him no matter what he said, so he might as well let Danzo imagine it!
My heart is pure and loyal, why should I fear the slander of others?
"Danzo, your actions have seriously endangered Konohagakure."
"In the name of the Hokage, I hereby strip you of all your posts and reclaim all the powers granted to you. From this day forward, you may retire at home!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were filled with disappointment. He had never imagined that Danzō Shimura would be so ruthless.
Shimura Danzo: "..."
It's just power; you can take it if you want.
Anyway, as long as you live, I, Shimura Danzo, will always be suppressed by you. Since that's the case, I might as well have some peace and quiet.
"Alright, tell me where Mizuki is!"
After removing Danzo from all his posts, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued.
"I have no idea."
"Danzo, do you really intend to let the Scroll of Seals spread throughout the entire ninja world?"
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Danzo, we have worked together for many years. Even if there were disagreements, you should not have done such a thing."
What did I do?
"Fine, since you insist on not telling me, I won't force you. Men, take Danzo home. Before we retrieve the Scroll of Seals, he is not allowed to have any contact with anyone."
Seeing that he was unmoved by reason, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately stopped wasting time.
...
Smash that Powerstone!
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