After the meeting, Minato and Ryo left the conference room to the office.
“Ryo, do you really have any evidence?” Minato anxiously asked as soon as he sat down.
Ryo smirked at Minato as he closed the door, and said: “Ni san, even you believed that? You’re too innocent for a Hokage!”
“Cough! Who said I believed you? I don’t. I just think that it’s bad for you to play such a risky game without true evidence.” Minato’s face was red as he quickly explained.
“Well, even if you didn’t believe, I want you to stand to my side, Ni san. The Sandaime and Danzo are coming, and you can’t be too soft. We should at least get rid of Root this time; Danzo is too much of a threat!
When it came down to ‘business’, Minato was obviously serious: “I know, don’t worry about that.”
Just like Ryo said, a few minutes later, the 3rd and Danzo entered through the door. The latter stared at Ryo with contempt as soon as he entered.
“Hey Danzo san, don’t you want me here? Alright, I’m going out to make a scroll fair in front of the office!” Ryo stood up, as if leaving.
The 3rd was surprised and he had to interfere: “Ryo, he doesn’t mean that! Don’t be too implusive!”
“Ryo, don’t make trouble! The Sandaime and Danzo san are your elders! Pay them their due respect.” Minato wanted to get down to business, so he had to interfere as well.
As if he was Orochimaru, Ryo licked his lips and sat back down, while the 3rd and Danzo went and sat on the opposite side.
“Minato, I’ve brought Danzo here so we could talk about what happened in the Rain Country. I don’t have the details, but I have known Danzo for the longest time. He is absolutely loyal to Konoha!”
Minato was not angry, and he still asked very politely: “Sandaime, did you ask Danzo san about the ones he cooperated with Hanzo to siege?”
Minato was very respectful in his speech to the 3rd, a man who dedicated his whole life to Konoha.
Hiruzen was surprised by the question, and immediately looked at Danzo’s expression with some doubt.
“Minato, who are those three? Why should Konoha care about their fate so much?” Danzo asked Minato.
Hearing his words, Ryo frowned in wrath, his Chakra breaking out around him: “Danzo san, Minato who?”
The 3rd looked at Ryo, somewhat dissatisfied with his behavior. However, he still did not understand how Danzo was speaking erratically.
When finding that his old friend wasn’t interfering, Danzo could only yield and say: “I… I was mistaken. Hokage Sama, who were those people?” He turned at Minato and asked again.
Ryo repressed his Chakra, and Minato answered slowly: “Those three are the reason why Jiraya Sensei stayed in the Rain Country for three years; they are all Jiraya Sensei students!”
The third’s face changed greatly, immediately asking: “What? Are you sure?”
Ryo said with a cold smile: “What Ni-san had said is all true. The three are named Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. They are all Jiraya san’s disciples. Now, Danzo san, if Jiraya san learns that you’ve killed his apprentice, what do you think he’s going to do to you?”
Danzo’s face was getting more and more gloomy; he had no idea about the trio’s link to Jiraya.
The 3rd was also very embarrassed. He did not expect that Danzo would actually kill one of Jiraya’s disciples.
“I had no idea about this! The one who killed them is Hanzo!”
Danzo’s justification seemed so dull, and the 3rd on his side sighed in frustration, feeling his old friend’s deeds aging him in an instant.
“Danzo, you can’t get away with this, and I can’t help you anymore! I won’t try to get the killing of my student’s apprentice go unpunished! You’re on your own!” After saying that, the 3rd got up and left.
After the 3rd left, the office fell into silence for a while, with Minato, Ryo, and Danzo all staring at each other without uttering a word.
In the end, Danzo couldn’t go on: “This is the end of the matter. I won’t defend myself. What are your conditions, Hokage sama?”
Minato had his answer ready: “Danzo, I have two conditions. The first is the disbanding of Root, starting today. You get to keep a very small team in the headquarters, just enough people to guard its records. The second is your resignation from your post as Councilor!”
Danzo immediately stood up raising his voice: “What? That’s impossible! You…”
“Danzo san, I advise you to think well before complaining. If you refuse, I will not hesitate to deliver the contents of the scroll to Jiraya san, who would then immediately learn that his disciple died because of you!” Ryo interrupted him.
Danzo’s face was heavy as he took he while to think, and then he eventually sighed and said: “Just do what you want, I’ve lost this time!” Finishing his words, he left the office.
As Minato watched him leave, he felt finally relieved. Finally, the matter of Root was satisfactorily resolved.
Ryo was still somewhat dissatisfied with the result. Although Danzo took a big hit this time, he did not completely finish him off. He knew that he would eventually try to raise his head again.
“Ni-san, why not be tougher in your judgment? You could have taken away the rest of his authorities after his confession!”
“The matter is not so simple! Danzo’s forces are not limited to Root. A number of small and medium sized clans in Konoha follow him. If we put him under too much pressure, he’d probably defect, and hurt Konoha greatly.”
“I don’t think so.” Ryo shook his head, “While Danzo is indeed too stubborn and greedy, he is really loyal to Konoha. Otherwise, the 3rd would not have tolerated him for so long.”
Minato was surprised; he never expected to hear those words from Ryo’s mouth!
“Alright Ni san, I’ll be going now! I have something to do in Orochi san’s lab.” Ryo immediately disappeared from the office.
After he left, Minato recalled what he had just said and then thought: “Is he really loyal to Konoha? I sure hope so!” After that, he got back to his tedious work.
The next day, an earth shattering event occurred in Konoha, as Danzo announced his resignation from the Council in public. On top of that, Root was also disbanded.
Of course, that last bit was done in confidentiality. After all, there were not too many people knowing of Root’s existence in the first place!
Besides the higher-ups attending the meeting of the previous evening, everyone was puzzled. Konoha’s ninjas main topic of discussion for many days was Danzo’s announcement.
Ryo however had no time to pay attention to that, for unexpected developments occurred in Orochimaru’s lab!
