Koharu Utatane did not become the head of Konoha's Medical Department purely through connections. Her medical ninjutsu was among the best in the village.
Moreover, Homura Mitokado had only fainted from anger and stress—it wasn't anything serious. Under Koharu's treatment, he soon regained consciousness.
After a round of hurried activity, Homura's condition stabilized. Refusing Koharu's suggestion to undergo a full examination at Konoha Hospital, he returned to the main seat.
This Jōnin Council meeting was extremely important.
The candidates for the Fourth Hokage, along with the procedures for the election, had to be finalized today.
Homura Mitokado feared that if he left, Koharu Utatane would not be able to handle the situation alone. So despite his condition, he forced himself to remain.
The others gradually returned to their seats as well.
The Jōnin Council meeting resumed.
Koharu Utatane exchanged a glance with Hiruzen Sarutobi. After receiving a subtle signal from him, she spoke:
"The matter of the Fire Daimyō's subsidy funds being safeguarded by the Uchiha clan is far too significant."
"Even if it has been acknowledged by… two Konoha elders and the Daimyō himself, it still may not gain acceptance from the entire village."
"After all, the Hokage is the true leader of the village. Without the Hokage's approval, such an important decision cannot truly be implemented."
"So why don't we postpone this matter until after we elect the Fourth Hokage?"
As she spoke, Koharu looked directly at Uchiha Ren, clearly asking for his opinion.
Ren responded indifferently.
"This matter certainly does require the Hokage's approval."
"But I doubt the Hokage would object."
"After all, the subsidy funds come from the Fire Daimyō. The decision lies entirely in his hands—whether he gives them, how much he gives, and who he entrusts them to."
"Even the Hokage can't exactly go to the Daimyō and snatch the money from his hands, can he?"
Ren naturally understood what Hiruzen and Koharu were trying to do.
They were stalling for time.
But Ren remained completely unbothered.
Hiruzen, Homura, and Koharu all believed that Ren's trump card in this matter was the Fire Daimyō.
What they didn't know was that Ren's true trump card was Minato Namikaze.
Once Minato ascended to the Hokage position, it would be time for the real showdown.
If they wanted to delay things, Ren was perfectly happy to let them.
A cold glint flashed in Koharu's eyes. After a brief moment of thought, she continued:
"Then let us proceed with the matter of recommending candidates for the Fourth Hokage."
"Earlier, Director Uchiha Ren recommended Elder Danzō Shimura as a candidate for the Fourth Hokage."
"However… Jōnin Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an objection and proposed that Elder Danzō be held accountable for his actions during the Battle of Kikyō Mountain Fortress."
She paused and turned to Hiruzen.
"Jōnin Sarutobi, could you elaborate on your opinion?"
This time, Koharu didn't beat around the bush.
Her target was clearly Danzō Shimura.
She had no intention of giving Danzō another opportunity to shift the topic.
"No problem."
Hiruzen answered almost the moment she finished speaking.
"What I want to say is this."
"Yes, we won the Battle of Kikyō Mountain Fortress."
"Yes, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure suffered tremendous losses."
"But we cannot allow such a costly victory to overshadow the mistakes committed by certain individuals."
"One could say that this entire war was provoked single-handedly by Elder Danzō."
"Yet his judgment proved to be deeply flawed."
"The enemy did not follow the script he had prepared."
"Elder Danzō intended to allow a small group of Kumo ninja to infiltrate so that we could annihilate them and strike a blow against Kumogakure."
"But he failed to anticipate that the Kumo forces would launch a surprise assault on Kikyō Mountain."
"He attempted to mobilize troops to encircle them, yet he never expected that Kumogakure had already formed an alliance with Iwagakure and Sunagakure."
"His actions instead created an opening for those two villages, leading to the complete collapse of Konoha's border defense line."
"If Director Uchiha Ren hadn't led the Konoha Military Police Force and the Hyūga clan's shinobi to hold Kikyō Mountain at all costs—buying precious time for the village…"
"The combined forces of the three villages would already have been marching beneath Konoha's walls."
"And if our shinobi hadn't fought desperately…"
"The allied army of the three villages would already have stormed Konoha itself."
Hiruzen concluded coldly:
"In other words…"
"The entire blame for this war lies with Elder Danzō."
"And yet, the victory itself has nothing to do with him."
Hiruzen showed Danzō absolutely no mercy.
At the same time, he even praised Uchiha Ren several times—clearly employing a tactic of raising one man while suppressing another, hoping to drive a wedge between Ren and Danzō.
However, everything Hiruzen said was the truth.
There was no exaggeration whatsoever.
The blame for this war truly did lie with Danzō Shimura.
If this had happened in the past—before the relationship between Hiruzen and Danzō had deteriorated—Hiruzen might have simply scolded Danzō privately, and the matter would have been quietly buried.
But now that Hiruzen had brought it up during the Jōnin Council meeting, things were different.
If Danzō failed to provide a convincing explanation—
He might not die for it, but he would certainly pay a heavy price.
Danzō's single eye glinted sharply.
He knew that Hiruzen had no intention of letting the matter go today.
His earlier attempts to steer the conversation elsewhere had served two purposes:
First, to disrupt Hiruzen's rhythm.
Second, to buy himself time to think.
Facing the crowd's scrutiny, Danzō spoke in a deep voice:
"I will say the same thing I said before."
"In war, people die. That is inevitable."
"You say that I single-handedly provoked this war."
"Very well—I admit it."
"And I will say it openly to all of you here."
"Yes."
"I intended to provoke this war."
The moment those words were spoken, the people in the conference room looked at Danzō with strange expressions.
For most Konoha shinobi—who longed for peace—someone openly advocating war was nothing short of an anomaly.
But Danzō continued calmly.
"Let me make one thing clear first."
"Just because I provoked this war does not mean I enjoy war."
"If the world allowed peaceful development, I would never deliberately create conflict."
"But this world is not one where simply behaving peacefully means no one will attack you."
"During the First Great Ninja War, the Second Great Ninja War, and the recently concluded Third Great Ninja War—"
"Tell me."
"In which of those wars did Konoha start the conflict?"
Danzō suddenly slammed his hand on the table.
"Not a single one!"
"In every war, Konoha was the one forced to defend itself."
"Even though we won each war…"
"After recovering for a period of time, our enemies simply turned their blades toward Konoha once again."
"Why?"
"Because every time we passively endured their attacks, they saw it as weakness."
"They believed that even if they lost the war, they would suffer no real consequences."
"So we must strike first."
"We must hurt them."
"We must make them fear us."
"Only then can we obtain a longer-lasting peace."
Danzō's voice echoed through the chamber.
"Everything I have done…"
"Was for Konoha."
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