— — — — — —
"Old man Third, for Asuma's sake, I'm giving you a piece of advice: shut up and stay put. If you behave, you might just keep your miserable life. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rough with you," Renzo said coldly.
Seriously, even at a time like this, they still wanted to protect Danzo?
Where the hell were they getting their confidence from?
"You..." Hiruzen's face darkened. He glared at Renzo and snapped, "A village has its rules! Even if Danzo and I did something wrong, it should be handled through a fair and open trial, not private vengeance!"
"If we let you do whatever you want, how's Konoha supposed to run? How can we uphold any order?"
He sounded righteous and full of moral authority.
Honestly, if Hiruzen were born on Earth, he could easily become the president of most countries with his level of hypocrisy —he was a true politician. Of course, even on Earth there are plenty like him, so it's not like he'd really make a difference or make things even worse.
Anyway, every ninja knew... this was just Hiruzen trying to buy time — for himself, for Danzo, for all of them — to weasel their way out of this mess.
Still, hearing Hiruzen's words, even Jiraiya, Minato, and several clan heads started to hesitate.
The clan leaders, especially, were worried. If Renzo could just crush anyone with pure strength whenever he wanted, what would happen the next time there was a dispute?
Rules were important sometimes — especially for the weak. Without rules, how were they supposed to survive?
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was totally enjoying the show. He smirked and whispered, "I wonder what choice Renzo-kun will make?"
In his mind, it didn't really matter. Whatever happened, it wasn't his problem.
Right now, he was more interested in his research... and working with Renzo.
"Oh?" Renzo noticed the shift in everyone's attitude. He smiled faintly, then casually called out to Tsunade, who was still chasing down Danzo, "Hey, Tsunade-sis, hold up for a second!"
Hearing that, the Third Hokage, Danzo, and even Minato all visibly relaxed.
If Renzo insisted on killing Danzo right now, honestly, none of them could stop him. The strength Renzo showed today was just too much for them to handle.
Now that Renzo was showing signs he was willing to play by the rules, they all let out a small sigh of relief.
"Hmm?"T sunade froze for a second, her bloodshot eyes glaring at Renzo. "You trying to talk me out of it too?"
She had already decided: no matter what, Danzo must die. Even Renzo couldn't change her mind.
"Of course not," Renzo waved his hand and grinned. "I just thought... wouldn't killing him outright be too easy on him?"
"Right now, most of the villagers — even a lot of the ninja — have no idea about all the crap Danzo, the Third Hokage, Koharu, and Homura have been pulling behind the scenes all these years!"
"If you just kill Danzo now, some idiots might even think he's the hero and we're the traitors."
"So, what if we keep Danzo alive a bit longer? A few days from now, we'll hold a public trial, right in front of the entire village. Lay bare every single one of his crimes, one by one, for everyone to see!"
"Then, after all that, we let the villagers decide his fate. Sound good?"
He paused, then smiled sweetly at the Third and his two advisors.
"And since you, Hiruzen, and you two," Renzo looked at Koharu and Homura, "have all stepped up to defend Danzo, I have reason to believe you're in on it too. So, you'll join the trial as well. No problem, right?"
As he finished speaking, Renzo flashed them a bright, harmless-looking smile.
But that smile made everyone from the Third Hokage to the advisors feel a chill down their spines.
They wanted to refuse. But Renzo clearly wasn't giving them a choice.
Danzo: "..."
Damn it... at this point, it'd be better if you just killed me!
"I have to escape!!"Without thinking, Danzo turned and tried to bolt.
But Renzo instantly froze him in place.
Realizing he couldn't escape, Danzo tried to kill himself instead —Only for Renzo to stop him again, grinning.
"You don't get to choose, buddy. No running, no dying. Otherwise, guess what? The Third and the others will have to take all the blame for you~!"
Danzo wanted to curse out loud.
What the hell, man! So what?
All these years, I've been taking the fall for the Third and those two old fossils!
Is it really so bad for them to cover for me just once?
But Renzo wasn't about to give him the chance.
Thinking about what was waiting for him, Danzo's heart completely sank.
It's over. Totally, utterly over.
Hiruzen: "..."
Koharu: "..."
Homura: "..."
Meanwhile, they were all cursing Danzo in their hearts too.
This bastard! He was planning to dump everything on us!?
No freaking way!
— — —
Honestly, having Danzo take the heat right now was the best-case scenario.
If Danzo became the main scapegoat, their own crimes and screw-ups would look a lot lighter by comparison.
The Third Hokage and the others were secretly relieved. Sure, they'd been involved in a lot of shady stuff over the years, but most of the truly nasty things had Danzo's fingerprints all over them.
As long as Danzo took the fall, they wouldn't have much direct evidence tying back to them.
At worst, their reputations would take a massive hit, and they'd lose their positions of power.
So no death at least.
"Damn, that's cold," Orochimaru and several clan leaders thought to themselves.
Renzo wasn't just aiming to kill Danzo —He wanted to completely destroy Danzo's name, and drag down the Third Hokage and the advisors while he was at it.
Honestly, this was way harsher than just killing them. And the worst part? He was doing it all by the book — within the rules.
(This kid... he's not just strong, he's smart too! Definitely not someone simple. Better watch out for him in the future...)
That was the thought running through a lot of people's minds.
A monster with only brute strength is scary, sure — but a monster with both strength and brains?That's someone you fear.
"Good! Even better this way! I'm in!" Tsunade immediately nodded her agreement.
Suddenly, she felt Renzo's idea made perfect sense.
Killing Danzo outright? Way too cheap for that bastard. He deserved worse.
He deserved to be crushed, disgraced, and spit on by the whole village — that would at least begin to cool the fire of hatred and rage burning inside Tsunade.
And bonus: they could deal with the Third and his old companions at the same time!
Even if she couldn't bring herself to kill her former teacher directly, this would still be a punishment they couldn't escape.
After all, killing the Third herself...No way.
Jiraiya would definitely stop her, and she didn't want the stain of "killing her own master" on her name. That wasn't worth it — not for the likes of him.
The Third Hokage wasn't worth that price.
She was going to bring him down the right way, openly and legally.
"This works for us too," Jiraiya, Minato, Orochimaru, and all the clan heads agreed.
Honestly, this was the cleanest way to handle things.
"Good," Renzo nodded in satisfaction.
Then he turned to the Third Hokage and said, "Third, I'll need you to immediately write a letter of resignation, and also a formal recommendation naming Namikaze Minato as the Fourth Hokage."
"After that, Jiraiya," he looked over at Jiraiya, "I'll need you to take these documents to the Fire Daimyo. Once everything is officially approved, we can hold the public trial. Sound good?"
Renzo wasn't about to start a public trial without stabilizing the village first. The new Hokage needed to be in place to prevent any chaos.
Sure, with his power, Renzo could crush any rebellion in seconds —But why bother creating a mess he didn't need to deal with?
"Got it!" Jiraiya nodded without hesitation.
"I agree," The Third Hokage said with a defeated look, finally giving in. He knew there was no way to change the outcome anymore.
The tide had turned, and he was powerless to stop it.
Right now, he could only hope that Danzo would attract most of the villagers' anger and attention.
Also, he was betting on Renzo's feelings —After all, he had treated Renzo fairly well in the past, aside from forcibly recalling and sidelining him.
And Asuma had a good relationship with Renzo too.
If he cooperated now, maybe Renzo would show mercy later, for Asuma's sake at least.
The Third understood one thing clearly: Renzo valued personal bonds.
If he played nice, things might not end up too badly.
...
With the Third Hokage actively cooperating, things moved a lot faster.
Very soon, the Third finished writing his resignation letter and the recommendation for Minato to become the Fourth Hokage.
Jiraiya left the same day, traveling at top speed to the Land of Fire Capital to deliver the documents.
As for Danzo and the others?
Danzo had his chakra and mobility completely sealed by Renzo, and was tossed into a hidden corner of the Takamagahara domain for safekeeping.
Homura and Koharu were placed under temporary house arrest by the Uchiha Clan, locked up at the Konoha Police Department.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage began handing over all official duties and power to Minato —including control over the Anbu.
Of course, the Anbu members who were hardcore loyalists to the Third? They got quietly purged.
Then, Minato actually wanted Renzo to become the new Anbu Commander...But Renzo refused.
Instead, he recommended Yuhi Shinku for the job!
Minato thought about it for a moment and then agreed.
.
.
.