Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

He must seize this opportunity to suppress Danzo once again.

Chapter 60: Punishment

"No matter the purpose, betraying one's own people is wrong. Danzo's actions this time are undoubtedly harming Lord Mito and the Senju clan, and he must be severely punished."

After Ryoma Aburame finished speaking, Homura Uchiha was the first to stand up and accuse Danzo of his crimes.

The outline of tonight's events is already very clear: Danzo's downfall is certain. What he needs to do now is to take advantage of Danzo's misfortune as much as possible and ensure that Danzo suffers eternal damnation.

“That’s right. Although Danzo did this to lure Ebizo out, it is absolutely unacceptable to achieve his goal by betraying his comrades. If we continue to let him do this, it will definitely cause an even greater crisis for Konoha in the future.”

Hinata and Ma echoed each other.

The Hyuga clan's current policy in the village is to keep a low profile, maintain neutrality, and absolutely not intervene in any faction.

However, Danzo's actions this time undoubtedly uprooted the ninja clan and severely damaged their interests.

Moreover, he was incredibly audacious, digging up the very roots of the Senju clan.

With such an audacious and unruly person, Hyuga Kazuma dared not allow him to continue holding important positions such as the leader of Root and the Hokage's advisor. Who knew that one day he might use the same method to uproot the Hyuga clan?

If he continues to remain neutral now, he can forget about anyone else coming to the aid of the Hyuga clan if something happens to them in the future.

With the two major ninja clan leaders having already expressed their stance, and the Senju clan, being the victim, joining forces once again, the three major ninja clans of Konoha have unanimously chosen to unite.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both came from a minor ninja clan, essentially belonging to the same camp as the three major ninja clans. Now that the three major ninja clans have joined forces again, they couldn't say anything.

If it were just something minor, they would have helped Danzo out of consideration for their old comradeship and shared role as advisors to the Hokage, thus minimizing the problem. But this time, they couldn't help; if they did, their positions would likely be jeopardized.

Danzo had the Root and Shimura clans, and apart from their own considerable strength, the ninja clans behind them couldn't provide much support.

Their ability to become Hokage advisors was largely due to the Third Hokage's patronage and their status as disciples of the Second Hokage.

As for their contributions to the village, the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans all made more contributions than them.

Previously, the three clans did not compete for the position of Hokage advisor because they looked down on it.

But things are different now. In order to counterbalance the ninja clans, the Third Hokage chose to delegate power, allowing this position to influence the Hokage and enter the village's decision-making level. The three clans have long coveted this position.

In order to protect their positions, the two had no choice but to follow the crowd and agree one after the other.

The Uchiha clan, the Hyuga clan, and the two Hokage advisors have all stated their positions, so now only the Third Hokage remains.

In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on the third generation.

“I have no objection. Danzo should indeed be severely punished. I have decided to remove Danzo from all his posts immediately.”

The third generation spoke with righteous indignation.

Everyone else has agreed, so what else can he do? It's no longer possible to protect Danzo.

“Is simply removing him from his post enough? He committed an unforgivable act that endangered Lady Mito and the Senju clan. I suggest that he be executed.”

Uchiha Homura said aggressively.

Danzo must die; that's his only thought right now.

“Clan Chief Uchiha, you have overstated things. Danzo did use the wrong methods in this matter, but he made great contributions to Konoha. The Root he led also played a huge role for Konoha on the battlefield in this Shinobi World War. These are all obvious to all. Danzo's crime does not deserve to die.”

Mitokado was the first to stand up and object.

Danzo went too far this time and certainly deserves punishment, but executing him would be going too far.

Putting aside Danzo's contributions, Danzo was the leader of Root. If he were to die, it would be difficult for Root to function properly. In that case, Root might not only be unable to help Konoha, but might even harm Konoha.

After all, the ninjas taken in by Root are all extremely militant types, and in the entire Hidden Leaf Village, only Danzo can currently command them.

Moreover, if Danzo dies, wouldn't we lose an important force to keep the Uchiha clan in check?

Mitokado Homura also dared not forget his teacher's teachings: the Uchiha clan was a ninja clan that needed to be guarded against. Now that the Senju clan had declined, he absolutely did not want to see the Uchiha clan rise again in the village.

Despite Danzo's many faults, Konoha needs him to take the lead in restraining the Uchiha clan.

Xiaochun, who was switching dorms, thought the same thing.

After Mitokado Homura finished speaking, she immediately chimed in: "That's right. Danzo is still one of the few Kage-level shinobi in the village. Now that it's wartime, executing him will only weaken Konoha's strength and make other shinobi villages happy and laugh at us. Rather than executing him, we should send him to the battlefield to atone for his crimes."

"Those two old bastards are indeed in cahoots with Danzo."

Uchiha Homura cursed inwardly upon hearing their conversation, then turned his gaze to Hyuga Kazuma.

Hinata Kazuma looked up at the sky, as if there was something very interesting on the ceiling that made him reluctant to look away.

"Lord Mito, you should know what kind of person Danzo is."

Seeing that Hyuga Kazuma had chosen to remain neutral again, Uchiha Homura cursed him under her breath as a piece of trash, then looked at Mito and tried to sow discord in her eyes.

Mito, Mito, and Koharu secretly realized their mistake and nervously watched Mito.

The three of them knew Danzo's character very well; if he survived this ordeal, he would surely seek revenge in the future.

Mito is still alive, so Danzo doesn't dare to do anything to the Senju clan. But the problem is that Mito probably doesn't live for many more years. Once she dies, she will leave a huge problem for the Senju clan and Tsunade.

“Danzo has made many contributions to the village and his crimes do not warrant death. However, given the severity of his crimes, I suggest that in addition to removing him from all his posts, he should also be imprisoned permanently and stripped of all his political rights.”

Mito gave the answer she had already prepared.

The village does need Danzo now, but let him continue living. His death sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment, but she will not allow him to turn his life around.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Homura's expression immediately improved. Although the result was still somewhat different from his expectations, it was within an acceptable range.

Hinata Kazuma nodded secretly, thinking the result was quite good.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions turned grim. Although Danzo wouldn't die, he was practically crippled, and there was little hope for him to turn things around in the future.

But since Danzo doesn't have to die, they can't say anything more now.

San's expression wasn't very pleasant either, but when he saw the extremely serious look in Mito's eyes, he knew that Mito was unlikely to back down any further.

After thinking it over, he realized that Danzo was actually quite lucky to have survived.

Who told him to mess with someone he absolutely couldn't afford to offend this time, and then get caught red-handed?

Not everyone can afford to offend a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who is on the verge of death.

At the very least, he is someone you absolutely cannot afford to offend.

The Third Hokage sighed helplessly, "I think Lord Mito's suggestion is excellent, let's do it that way."

Chapter 61: Hokage Advisor

"Hiruzen, what's going on with Orochimaru?"

Seeing that the matter of Danzo was largely settled, Mito asked casually.

Orochimaru was a key accomplice in Danzo's plan, so he inevitably has to be accused of being an accomplice.

Orochimaru's primary identity is that of the Third Hokage's disciple, so whether this matter is related to the Third Hokage is quite ambiguous.

The others once again focused their attention on the third generation.

"Lord Mito, you know me well. If I had known that Danzo would do such a thing, I would definitely be the first to disagree. As for Orochimaru helping Danzo, I was unaware of that either. But based on my understanding of Orochimaru, he must have been deceived by Danzo to do such a thing. If he had known that the seal barrier was broken by the Senju clan, he certainly wouldn't have helped Danzo."

The three generations had already prepared their plans and began to recount them slowly.

The Third Hokage hadn't expected Orochimaru to get involved in this matter, but his attitude towards his good disciple was naturally different from his attitude towards Danzo, so he had no choice but to protect him at all costs.

As for punishment, we'll discuss that after this matter is over or the war is over.

“I see. I believe you. Orochimaru is an excellent ninja. Tsunade has praised him many times in her letters to me. He has a very outstanding performance on the battlefield. Since he was deceived by Danzo, then his merits and demerits cancel each other out.”

Mito nodded after hearing the Third Generation's explanation.

The Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Mito easily walk past Orochimaru; he had been quite worried that Mito would demand that he severely punish Orochimaru.

After all, no matter how unaware Orochimaru was, he could not change the fact that he was an accomplice and would definitely be punished. He could not be let off so easily as he is now, otherwise everyone would use ignorance as an excuse to escape responsibility in the future.

Let's just say the merits and demerits cancel each other out.

Orochimaru is indeed not very suitable to be Hokage.

The third generation was in a much better mood now that his good apprentice was alright, but the next moment, his mood soured again.

Mito then said, "The position of Hokage advisor is very important and cannot be left vacant for even a day. Third Hokage, who do you think is suitable for this position in the village?"

One radish, one hole.

With Danzo removed from all his posts, the position of Hokage's advisor became vacant. This position was highly prestigious and powerful, granting not only the right to meet directly with the Hokage and offer advice, but also the right to participate in all major village affairs, making him one of the highest-ranking officials in the village.

Previously, three generations of his family, together with three of his old classmates, firmly controlled the highest decision-making level in the village, making it impossible for others to enter.

Now is the chance.

As soon as Mito raised this question, Uchiha Homura immediately looked intently at the Third Hokage, and even Hyuga Kazuma couldn't help but reveal a longing in his eyes.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu both looked tense, realizing the seriousness of the situation and that the impact of Danzo's downfall was beginning to take hold.

The third generation is now in a real predicament. Although his political skills are not high, he has been in power for many years and has been tempered by experience. How could he not see that this involves a struggle for core power?

Lady Mito was still blaming him, and this move was meant to teach him a lesson.

Danzo and Orochimaru are both connected to him, and he definitely bears responsibility for his poor judgment in choosing his subordinates and his lax discipline. Their punishments have been decided, and now it's his turn.

"Who does Lady Mito think is suitable?"

The third generation said bitterly to himself.

"I think Taohua is quite good."

Seeing that the third generation was on the right track, Mito revealed his choice.

For a moment, everyone in the room focused their attention on Momoka, who was standing next to Mito.

Since bringing the Third Generation and others in, Momoka has remained silent, quietly guarding Mito's side, her presence almost nonexistent.

But at this moment, her presence was overwhelming.

In fact, Momoka was shocked when she heard that Mito had nominated her to be the Hokage's advisor, but she had been helping Mito manage various affairs of the Senju clan for many years and was already able to remain calm and composed on the surface.

Momoka Senju, an elite Jonin of the Senju clan, served as an assistant to the First and Second Hokage. Her resume includes significant contributions to the establishment of the village. In World War I, as the commander of the Senju clan, she fought valiantly against the enemy, killing countless enemies and achieving numerous military exploits.

It can be said that Momoka is a veteran of Konoha, with great strength and prestige. There is absolutely no problem in appointing her as the Hokage's advisor; she would definitely be able to win over the people.

The Third Hokage and the others looked at Momoka, and involuntarily thought of the Senju who had kept a very low profile in Konoha for many years, and then their expressions varied.