Chapter 52: There are too many to Count

Countless killing intent surged towards Danzō, even though he had experienced three Great Ninja Wars and had countless killings under his belt, he still felt a sense of oppression. 

The members of the Shinobi Clan were truly angry. These 'precious materials' that were not taken away by Natsuo were all their brothers and sisters! 

They were willing to die for Konoha and were not afraid. But to be used as research subjects after death, who would be willing? 

Danzō tried hard to find an excuse, but he couldn't think of anything that could explain this situation. But he was not willing to be captured without a fight. 

In the end, the situation became so chaotic that the Third Hokage had to come and clean up the mess. 

And so, the next day. 

As a Jōnin, Natsuo heard the news that Shimura Danzō had once again been stripped of his position as leader of the Root and his role as advisor by the Third Hokage, and was sentenced to three years in house arrest. The charges were of 'incompetence in duty'. 

'It seems like the Third Hokage has saved Danzō again.' Natsuo thought to himself. 

Although Danzō had been relieved of his duties, the reason for his removal was 'incompetence'. 

Yes! It had nothing to do with those 'precious materials' from various major ninja clans. 

Natsuo later learned from some clan leaders that in front of countless members of the Ninja Clans, the Third Hokage declared that all those labels were fake and were a means to frame Elder Danzō by the spies who had infiltrated the Root base. 

"Don't believe it? Go to the Konoha Hospital for testing. The flesh and blood samples are definitely not from your clan members!" 

Many members of the Ninja Clans were furious and almost started a fight with the Third Hokage. 

Faking a test report, isn't that simple? We are all ninjas, are you kidding me? 

Seeing the situation was not going well, the Third Hokage immediately stated that Shimura Danzō's management of the Root was unfavorable, and he would be severely punished, stripped of his position as the leader of the Root, and subjected to a series of punishments. 

Only then did the crowd slightly calm down. 

But everyone also understood that this was just a means to appease the Ninja Clans. 

When the Uchiha clan was annihilated, wasn't Danzō already stripped of his position as the leader of the Root? 

But what is he doing now? Isn't he still the leader of the Root? 

It's just a title. After a while, when everyone's anger subsides and public opinion calms down, the Third Hokage will bring Danzō back. 

So, as many members of the Ninja Clans left, they took away the materials with the names of their clan members written on them without saying a word. Even though Danzō repeatedly said that 'These are all ninja materials from enemy villages,' they still burned all the remaining materials left in the laboratory without giving the Third Hokage any face. 

The Third Hokage turned a blind eye to this and didn't dare to say much. 

'The divide between Konoha and the major ninja clans is too great. The Third Hokage is completely biased towards Danzō and represses the Ninja Clans. Both sides have long been at odds. If the Third Hokage continues to maintain power, Konoha will likely fall into chaos.' Natsuo thought to himself. ' In the original work, fortunately a few years in the future, Orochimaru would attack Konoha during the Chūnin Exams. Otherwise, the Third Hokage could have become the first Hokage to be overthrown by his own people." 

Even Kakashi, who should have been a loyal supporter of the Hokage, was 'suppressed' and couldn't go to support the Third Hokage during Orochimaru's attack. Not to mention the other Ninja clans! 

"Hmm, if I think about it this way, could it be that Orochimaru's true intention is to give his teacher, the Third Hokage, a perfect ending?" 

... 

The attack on the Root base had a significant impact. 

Although many high-level ninjas were unaware of the dirty deeds of the Root, allowing the enemy to enter Konoha Village so brazenly, destroy one of Konoha's subordinate organizations, and then leave so openly. It was like a slap in the face to the Konoha Shinobi. 

The Police Department has once again become the target to vent, enduring the curses of the people of Konoha Village. 

There's no way around it, they are much weaker compared to the Uchiha Police Department of the past. 

Tonight, there is no telling how many people have begun to miss the past, when the Uchiha Police Department maintained the security of Konoha. 

Then they couldn't help but curse Itachi again—why did he have to kill all the Uchiha? 

Even the high-ranking officials like the Third Hokage and Danzō are cursing their own Anbu and Root members because they couldn't uncover the details of this incident and catch the mastermind. 

What a joke! A Kage-level expert like Natsuo attacked a small Root base alone, it would be strange if they could find a trail leading to him. 

Then, the Konoha Council gathered and scolded Danzō with a few words. After that, the Third Hokage's expression became serious. "Danzō, I think this attacker must have targeted you. Do you have any clues?" 

Natsuo's words, as well as his deliberate use of the Fire Release to attract countless ninjas to the scene, prove that there is bad blood between him and Danzō. 

Danzō pondered for a while. 

"People who hold a grudge against me. Let me think..." 

'The Inuzuka clan's Inuzuka Hana should count because my Root accidentally made his classmate go dumb during the investigation of his memories.' 

'Hyūga Nan, a member of the Hyūga clan, should also count because her sister accidentally discovered my Root's research laboratory with her Byakugan and I silently killed her. If she finds out about this, she should count too.' 

''The Kazekage of Sunagakure should also be counted because he recently guided the Fire Country merchants to lower the purchase price of Sand Gold, which put Sunagakure in extreme financial danger.' 

'The people of Iwakagure...' 

'Damn, there are too many, it's hard to count!' 

Danzō 's face turned dark. He thought and thought, as if the whole world had a grudge against him, as if anyone could have done this. 

"Can't you find possible suspects?" The Third Hokage frowned. "The person who can kill the guards and quickly retreat before reinforcements arrive must have at least the strength of an Elite Jōnin." 

"Consider that some people may be hiding their true strength, so expand the range to Jōnin." 

"Don't consider the possibility of someone deliberately investigating your Root research lab, then he should be someone who has recently had a conflict with you." 

"Danzō, have you had any conflicts with any Jōnin in the past three months?" 

The information about Root is not difficult to find, unless someone has been deliberately investigating the Root research lab for years or even decades. 

Otherwise, it's because they recently had a conflict with Danzō and attacked out of anger, thus accidentally discovering the lab. 

Considering the tone of the written message left behind and some details of the investigation, the Third Hokage believed it should be the latter. 

"Danzō, how many Jōnin have you had conflicts with recently?" the Third Hokage asked. 

Danzō fell silent for a moment and then raised his hands. 

"Ten?" 

The Third Hokage squinted his eyes. His old teammate was indeed bold, offending so many people in just three months. 

And they were Jōnin! 

Even for rich and powerful Konoha, high-ranking officials are very few, and it is very troublesome to investigate so many Jōnin. There are too many candidates, it's going to be difficult to uncover the truth. 

Even if the Anbu work tirelessly, there's only a small chance they can solve this. 

Who would have thought that Danzō would shake his head and say, "Ten fingers are not enough to count." 

The Third Hokage: "..." 

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