Danzo, Step Down!

As Hiashi Hyuga finished speaking.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps echoed as Kakashi and Yamato emerged from the dark corner of the room.

"You two..."

Everyone was surprised to see them. They knew Kakashi and Yamato had joined the Uchiha and had become high-ranking members.

Why were they here now?

While the crowd was still puzzled, Hiashi Hyuga delivered another shocking piece of news:

"The Uchiha clan has agreed to support Kakashi as Hokage."

"What?"

The crowd gasped and began whispering among themselves.

"Kakashi becoming Hokage? That's unexpected."

"I thought he was crazy for betraying the village and working for the Uchiha, but it seems he made the right gamble."

The tone of the crowd was filled with surprise and envy.

Then, the head of the Mimura clan frowned and was the first to speak:

"If Kakashi is going to be Hokage, it means Danzo will step down. In that case, do we still need to carry out this coup?"

His question was on everyone's mind.

Kakashi stepped forward, looked around, and finally said in a deep voice:

"Everyone, whether you take down Danzo or I become Hokage, Konoha's position in the shinobi world won't change. We will still be the lowest and continue to be oppressed by the other villages.

The Uchiha clan has no intention of returning to Konoha. They don't care about this village's current state or future and will let Konoha fend for itself.

Now, there's only one way to save the village fundamentally."

"What way?"

Everyone asked eagerly.

Kakashi took a deep breath and said slowly:

"That is to seek the forgiveness of the Uchiha clan and persuade them to return to Konoha.

If the Uchiha return, all the unequal treaties with the other villages will be nullified, and the occupying forces will leave Konoha.

This is the only way to restore peace and revive Konoha's former glory."

His words made the clan leaders look at each other in silence.

In the past.

They were full of jealousy and hatred toward the Uchiha, pushing them to the fringes. But now, they only felt deep respect and admiration for the Uchiha.

After all, defeating a 100,000-strong allied shinobi force with the strength of one clan proved the Uchiha were the greatest clan in the history of the shinobi world.

People have a natural tendency to admire the strong, especially ninjas.

When the Uchiha were only slightly stronger, they were envied and resented. But now that the Uchiha's power far surpassed everyone else, others could only look up to them.

It was that simple.

Finally.

"What do we need to do for the Uchiha clan to forgive us?" the head of the Fuma clan asked.

Yamato clenched his fists and spoke passionately:

"We need to overthrow Danzo, then represent all of Konoha's villagers in petitioning the Uchiha clan, showing our sincerity. Kakashi and I will do everything we can to help you!"

The leaders exchanged glances again.

Kakashi's sincerity, in forgoing the Hokage position to invite the Uchiha back, was felt deeply by the clan leaders.

After a moment of silence.

"Alright, Kakashi, we'll follow your lead! Let's do it!"

Choza Akimichi was the first to speak, raising his fist to show the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's support.

"And us! For the sake of Konoha, we'll fight!" The other clan leaders also agreed, their expressions resolute and passionate.

The next morning.

Under Kakashi and Yamato's planning, tens of thousands of Konoha villagers took to the streets in a massive demonstration.

"Danzo, step down!"

"Four Great Shinobi Villages, get out of Konoha! Uchiha, return!"

The passionate villagers marched towards the Hokage Building, determined to overthrow Danzo's rule.

In the Hokage's office.

"Damn it!"

Danzo roared with anger, jumping from his chair and ordering the ANBU, "Deploy immediately and suppress these rioters. Find out who's behind this! Also, send people to the camps of the Four Great Shinobi Villages and ask them to send troops to help suppress this rebellion!"

"Yes!"

The ANBU members quickly left to carry out their orders.

Danzo tried to calm his inner rage, walking to the window and looking at the crowd outside.

Who was behind this?

The Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho... In Danzo's mind, only these clans had the capability to incite the villagers to rebel.

Hmph, these fools must be tired of living, forgetting the lesson I taught the Sarutobi clan so quickly.

With a cold gleam in his eyes, Danzo decided to use the occupying forces of the Four Great Shinobi Villages to launch another purge in Konoha, consolidating his power as Hokage.

But this time, Danzo was destined to fail.

After receiving his request, the occupying forces indeed assembled quickly, ready to deploy.

For them, helping Danzo suppress the opposition was an easy task, and they could expect a handsome reward.

However, two figures appeared before them.

"Everyone, this is an internal affair of Konoha. I advise you not to interfere, lest you regret it."

Kakashi spoke calmly, issuing a warning.

Yamato stepped forward and added, "If you're not afraid to die, go ahead and try."

He swiftly formed hand seals and slammed his hand to the ground. With a loud rumble, he created countless wooden spikes, blocking the way of the Four Great Shinobi Villages' troops.

The occupying forces were immediately thrown into disarray, with fear evident on many faces.

However, what they feared was not Yamato's Wood Release or Kakashi's words, but their current affiliations.

Everyone knew.

Kakashi and Yamato had joined the Uchiha and held high ranks.

At this moment.

With Konoha in turmoil and these two present, were they acting on their own or under the Uchiha's orders?

Not sure and unwilling to take the risk.

After all, if they obstructed the Uchiha, they might not live to tell the tale.

So.

Under Kakashi and Yamato's intimidation, the occupying forces quietly withdrew their weapons and returned to their camps.

The strategy of using the Uchiha's name worked.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and instructed Yamato:

"Let's have Hiashi and the others take action."

Half an hour later.

"Charge!"

Thousands of Konoha ninjas and thousands of villagers surrounded the Hokage Building, trapping Danzo inside.

Without the support of the occupying forces, Danzo's men were quickly defeated or captured.

Danzo was left alone.

Under everyone's watchful eyes.

With a cane, Danzo appeared on the rooftop, looking down at the Konoha ninjas and villagers below.

"Danzo, surrender! You're finished!"

Hiashi and the other clan leaders arrived on the rooftop, surrounding Danzo and issuing a final ultimatum.

"Hmph."

Danzo sneered and raised his voice, "I order you to stop this ridiculous coup immediately! Otherwise, I'll detonate all the explosive tags in the village, burying Konoha!"

However, his threat had no effect.

Hiashi stepped forward, eyes burning with hatred and anger:

"Danzo, you've lost the people's support. You're unfit to be Hokage, unfit to be a Konoha ninja. The explosive tags planted by Genno have been secretly disarmed by the Hyuga clan. In other words—Danzo, you're finished!"

You're finished.

Those words made Danzo tremble as if waking from a long dream.

Seeing the Konoha people's cold eyes and the villagers' angry shouts, Danzo felt a chill spreading through his body, making him shiver.

Why? Why did it come to this?

"No, I'll always be Konoha's Hokage!"

He suddenly became vicious, screaming hysterically, "You rebels want to take Konoha from me? I won't allow it!"

As he spoke, he struck the ground with his cane.

The next second.

Boom.

A massive tremor echoed from the Hokage Rock behind the Hokage Building—Genno's explosive tags had been detonated by Danzo.

This is bad.

Hiashi and the others were alarmed. If the Hokage Rock collapsed, the Hokage Building would be buried, and everyone would be killed.

But as they prepared to dodge, they found to their surprise.

Crack.

With a loud crack, a huge fissure appeared on the Third Hokage's statue, and then... nothing else happened.

The other Hokage statues remained intact, and the Hokage Rock showed no signs of collapsing, let alone burying the entire village.

It turned out that Genno had been lying from the start, even deceiving Danzo.

"Everyone, capture Danzo!"

Hiashi raised his arm and called out.

The Konoha people rushed forward, subduing Danzo and stripping him of his Hokage robes.

Danzo was overthrown.

The news spread quickly through Konoha, causing a huge sensation.

The villagers had suffered under Danzo for too long.

Hearing the good news of Danzo's downfall, they poured into the streets, celebrating as if it were a festival.

That night.

In the ANBU prison.

"993, 994, 995..."

In a dim cell, Might Guy did one-handed handstand push-ups, counting

 until he reached a thousand.

His training for the day was done.

Guy had openly resisted Danzo and was thrown into this dark prison by ANBU on Danzo's orders.

He had been imprisoned for a year.

In this dark place, Guy did not give in to despair. Instead, he trained tirelessly, maintaining his physical conditioning.

After a year of prison workouts, he was in better shape than ever, his muscles full and well-defined.

Moreover, he was forced to abandon his ridiculous green jumpsuit and bowl-cut hair and now sports a clean, short hairstyle.

Anyone who wasn't very familiar with him would hardly recognize him now.

After wiping his sweat with a towel, Guy sat on his bed and began meditating.

A combination of movement and stillness was the way to train.

"You seem quite relaxed."

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the cell.

Huh?

Guy opened his eyes and saw a familiar white-haired figure leaning against the cell door, arms crossed, looking at him lazily.

"Kakashi!"

Guy exclaimed joyfully, quickly walking over and asking in disbelief, "What are you doing here? Aren't you... a wanted man in Konoha?"

The ANBU prison was isolated from the world.

Since his imprisonment, Guy rarely heard news from outside. He once overheard guards mentioning Kakashi being wanted by Konoha.

He worried for his friend, not wanting Kakashi to end up in the same prison.

"It seems news doesn't travel well here."

Kakashi shook his head, taking out a key and unlocking the cell door.

"What's going on?" Guy asked, bewildered.

When Kakashi told him about the Uchiha defeating the allied forces and Danzo's overthrow, Guy was even more shocked.

"I missed so much?" Guy murmured, feeling a deep regret.

Seeing this, Kakashi patted Guy's shoulder and then called out:

"Bring him in."

With a clanking sound, Danzo, wearing shackles and prison clothes, shuffled out of the darkness, escorted by Yamato.

Now in a prison uniform, Danzo looked down at the ground, silent.

"Go in."

Kakashi stepped aside and said to Danzo.

Danzo glanced at Kakashi, said nothing, and entered the cell where Guy had been held.

"…"

Guy was stunned, unable to believe Danzo had fallen so far.

After Guy regained his senses, Kakashi solemnly instructed him:

"Guy, the clan leaders, and I are leaving the village to do something important that will determine the village's future.

In the meantime, please stay here with Yamato and make sure Danzo doesn't escape."

Guy paused, then nodded seriously, pounding his chest with a fist:

"Leave it to me, Kakashi. I won't let anyone near this cell or let Danzo escape before you return."

"That's reassuring."

Kakashi smiled, leaving the place in Guy and Yamato's care before leaving the ANBU prison.

Early the next morning.

Kakashi arrived at the village gate, where the leaders of the Hyuga, Akimichi, Nara, Aburame, and other clans were waiting.

"Is the petition ready?" Kakashi asked.

Shikaku Nara and Choza Akimichi exchanged glances, bringing out a scroll taller than a person, which they slowly unrolled to over ten meters in length.

The scroll was covered with names written in bright red ink.

Because every name was written with the blood of Konoha's villagers.