When he saw Sakumo Hatake and Hatani walk through the door, a flicker of genuine panic flared in the depths of Danzo's heart. However, remembering the meticulous details of his plan and seeing that no one else had followed them in, he quickly regained his composure.
"Sakumo Hatake, Namikaze Hatani... what do you think you're doing?!" he barked, his voice ice-cold. "Are you attempting to betray the village?!"
He let out a sharp, frigid snort, his eyes boring into Hatani with unmasked killing intent. Danzo was never a man of grand character; after suffering several humiliating setbacks at Hatani's hands, he had long ago placed the boy at the top of his list for retribution.
"Seize them!" Danzo commanded the Root ninjas, who had already moved to encircle the duo the moment they appeared. "If they dare to resist, execute them on the spot!"
Whish! Whish! Whish!
Just as the Root operatives prepared to strike, a dozen Anbu ninjas wearing various animal masks suddenly flickered into the room. They moved with practiced precision, forming an outer ring that effectively trapped the Root agents in the center.
This time, Danzo's expression turned truly ghastly.
"Is the Anbu attempting a coup as well?!"
He could no longer maintain his facade of calm. He slammed his hand onto the table and stood up, shouting in fury. If he had been holding a pen and had a map of the front lines spread before him to sweep onto the floor, his performance as a dramatic, slighted commander would have been perfect.
"The one attempting a coup is someone else entirely, I believe!"
A voice cut through Danzo's roar. Sarutobi Yuki entered the room, flanked by several Sarutobi clan shinobi. His gaze was heavy with a deep-seated loathing as he stared at the enraged Danzo.
As a member of the Hokage Guard and the Sarutobi clan, Yuki had come within a hair's breadth of becoming a historical disgrace—a failure who lost his Hokage. And he owed every bit of that nightmare to Danzo.
Consequently, when Hatani had suggested that he and Sakumo would quietly neutralize the two Root "gatekeepers" and rush the Hokage Building while Yuki gathered his clansmen and mobilized the remaining Anbu, Yuki had agreed without a second thought.
Sakumo had initially worried that the plan was a bit too aggressive, especially given the lack of concrete evidence at the time, but he was eventually outvoted and went along with the majority.
However, when Sakumo had reached the doors of the meeting room and heard Danzo shamelessly pinning the blame for the ambush on his head, even the usually temperate White Fang felt his blood boil. That fury was exactly what had fueled his lightning-fast takedown of the two guards outside and the forceful kick that had shattered the doors.
"Sarutobi Yuki! What is the meaning of this?!"
Koharu Utatane, who had been fuming over Sakumo's "disrespectful" entrance, was now dizzy from the rapid-fire plot twists. Realizing that the situation was vastly different from Danzo's initial report, she turned to Yuki for answers.
She didn't quite trust Sakumo or Hatani yet, and she was already annoyed with Danzo's arrogance; Sarutobi Yuki, as both a member of the Hokage Guard and the Sarutobi clan, was the only reliable source of information in her eyes.
"That is a question you should be asking Lord Danzo!" Yuki replied, his eyes never leaving Danzo for a second. "Tell us, Lord Danzo—without an order from the Hokage, why did you suddenly abandon the front and return to the village?!"
Danzo, realizing things were deviating from his script the moment he saw Yuki, continued to feign composure. He wasn't certain if Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually dead.
If Hiruzen was dead, Danzo intended to maintain that everything he did was under Hiruzen's secret orders. With no witness to contradict him, and given his status and the crisis the village faced, Konoha would be forced to lean on him.
"Hmph! Does an incompetent guard who failed his duty have the right to question the man Hiruzen personally designated as Acting Hokage?" Danzo countered with a look of utter disdain. "In fact, I should be asking you—by what right do you mobilize the Anbu and gather your clan to surround this meeting? What is your true objective?"
"You—!"
Yuki was nearly choked by his own rage. He couldn't believe Danzo was still fabricating orders and had the gall to turn the accusations back on him.
"Heh. Danzo, give it up," Hatani interjected, stepping forward and placing a hand on Yuki's shoulder to calm him. He let out a light, mocking laugh. "Since you went to the trouble of planting a spy in Sakumo's squad and didn't forget to warn the Suna and Rain ninjas about the Third Hokage's route, how could you possibly forget that there was another member of that squad still alive?"
Danzo felt a jolt of alarm, but he kept his face a mask of confusion. "I have no idea what you're babbling about."
In Danzo's mind, the plan should have been foolproof. Chiyo was tasked with pinning down Sakumo, while Hanzo himself—supported by multiple Rain Jonin and the suicide strike from the traitor Akimitsu—handled Hiruzen. The probability of Hiruzen surviving was almost zero.
"Haha, typical. You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, will you?"
Hatani didn't care if Danzo was truly confident or just bluffing. Even if Hiruzen had died, Hatani was certain Danzo would never sit in that chair.
He knew the history of these "old friends." After Hiruzen would eventually fall to Orochimaru in the original timeline, Homura and Koharu's first instinct would be to ask Jiraiya to take the mantle, and when he refused, they sought out Tsunade. These elders were never soft when it came to dealing with their own; they knew Danzo better than anyone.
If Danzo were above suspicion and could hide behind Hiruzen's legacy, the elders might have tolerated him for the sake of the crisis. But now that Danzo was a suspect, they would move heaven and earth to block his path to the Hokage's seat.
Now, it was time for Hatani to show Koharu the evidence that would seal Danzo's fate.
Under the watchful, wary, and curious eyes of the assembled Jonin and clan heads, Hatani produced a sealing scroll.
"Release!"
With a soft puff of smoke, Hanzo's corpse appeared on the floor in the center of the room.
"This... this is—!"
Most of the shinobi present were older veterans who had been left behind to guard the village; they recognized that face instantly, even without the respirator.
"Is this... Hanzo of the Salamander?!"
Koharu Utatane was the first to regain her voice, though it was still thick with disbelief. She looked to Sakumo for confirmation. Hatani looked far too young for her to fully credit with such a feat.
"Yes," Hatani nodded, stepping in before Sakumo could answer. "Lord Third was ambushed by a traitor, but even while heavily wounded, he fought a brutal battle against Hanzo. Sakumo-sama arrived just in time to deliver the final, killing blow."
His explanation didn't draw any skepticism from the crowd. However, Sakumo and Yuki both turned to look at Hatani simultaneously.
Sakumo's eyes were full of confusion, but Yuki's gaze was filled with pure admiration.
This kid... he really knows how to play the game.