Naruto: Get Stronger by Spoiling My Sister

Danzo sighed inwardly, a trace of regret flickering through his heart. He had hoped to study the secrets hidden within Neji a little longer, but fate clearly had other plans.

With so many eyes on him, he could suppress the objections of Tsunade and Hiashi for now, but he still needed to eliminate Neji himself to justify his earlier actions. It was a pity, really... especially for that rare Mokuton.

Still, if he could at least obtain some of Neji's cells, there might yet be hope.

Danzo's gaze was cold and distant as he controlled one of the wind-style shuriken, sending it slicing toward Neji's arm.

Naturally, this did not escape Tsunade's notice. Her eyes widened in fury, and she roared, "Danzo, what do you think you're doing?!"

She had already struggled to accept the idea of killing Neji. But now? Danzo was aiming for his arm? What was he trying to do mutilate him? Humiliate him?

"This is how Root handles traitors," Danzo replied grimly, placing deliberate emphasis on the word "Root."

Tsunade gritted her teeth in fury. He was spouting nonsense. Even Root didn't have a tradition of dismembering captured shinobi. What was he really after?

There was no way she would stand by and watch Neji die, and Neji, for his part, wasn't about to wait for death to take him. He had been caught off guard just now, falling into Danzo's trap. Originally, he'd intended to use the Orochimaru-style substitution technique to dodge that fatal blow. But Tsunade and the others had burst in at the crucial moment.

Though it was only a brief distraction, it had been enough. Neji landed on the ground, kicked off hard with his back foot, and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

At the same time, Tsunade and Hiashi exchanged a glance and sprang into action.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"

From either side, they intercepted the two wind-style shuriken, diverting their paths so that they sliced past Neji harmlessly.

In that instant, Neji twisted around and grabbed the chakra threads Danzo had used to control the weapons. His palm crackled with gentle fist chakra, surging along the threads.

Bang!

Danzo staggered backward as though struck by a heavy blow, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He quickly released the chakra threads and retreated.

"Tsunade! Hiashi! What do you think you're doing?!" Danzo bellowed, voice filled with disbelief and rage. They had interfered in full view of everyone. Were they really throwing all caution to the wind?

He spun around, eyes burning with anger as he searched the faces of the others who had followed them to the scene. He hoped someone would speak up, back him up, reinforce his authority.

But what met his gaze stunned him.

One by one, those shinobi turned their backs, muttering nonsense and feigning confusion, their expressions clearly saying, "We didn't see anything. Carry on."

"You!" Danzo nearly spat blood from sheer fury. Their pathetic acting fooled no one. It was obvious they were deliberately avoiding involvement. Even he, as cunning and calculating as he was, found himself momentarily speechless.

Was this how the others saw him? One of the most powerful figures in the village, now ignored as if he were invisible?

But none of them cared what he thought. A moment ago, they'd been watching the situation unfold with great interest. But the moment Danzo turned his gaze on them, they wished they had never come at all.

The future Hokage and the head of the Hyuga clan were openly defending a so-called "S-rank traitor" who had singlehandedly devastated Root, standing against one of the village's highest authorities.

It was madness. Every single person present was inwardly shocked, jaws metaphorically hitting the floor. But no matter how they tried to wrap their heads around it, this was clearly not something they were meant to get involved in.

These were no fools. Anyone capable of rising to this level of authority knew better than to speak up now. The wisest course of action was clear pretend not to see a thing. And so they did, unanimously choosing the "we're all blind" strategy.

Even Mighty Guy, normally loud and fearless, had betrayed his youthful vow to face any challenge head-on. He stood beside Kakashi, mumbling nonsense to avoid turning around.

"Hey, Guy, shouldn't you go help? That's your student, after all," Kakashi said lightly, clearly amused.

Guy looked up at the sky, speechless. After a brief pause, he turned and met Kakashi's calm, smiling gaze and suddenly felt the urge to punch him square in the face.

Kakashi was being infuriating. Guy couldn't help but think: His student had outgrown him in no time at all. As Neji's former instructor, he suddenly felt the world was deeply unfair.

What kind of feeling was it to train someone who turned out to be far more powerful than yourself? Honestly, it was already a miracle he could even process the current situation. Anyone else might have passed out by now.

Guy gave Kakashi a long, searching look. He almost regretted letting Lady Tsunade heal him. Wouldn't lying in the hospital, staring at the pristine white ceiling, have been much more peaceful?

"See that, Hiruzen?" Danzo muttered coldly to himself. "This is what your leadership has brought to Konoha. Hmph. The Third made a mistake naming you Hokage. But I won't repeat that mistake."

Anyone else might have laughed in his face. As if he hadn't done worse things himself. Did he really think people tolerated him out of respect? If they weren't afraid of him, who would have put up with this for so long?

Still, Danzo felt a hint of reassurance. At least his old war buddies, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, weren't turning a blind eye like the others.

That was enough. With Tsunade defending a traitor and the Hyuga clan attempting to protect him, the charges of betrayal and treason could be made to stick.

The Konoha Council had been established precisely to prevent any single Hokage from holding absolute power. Even Tsunade, despite being Hokage, had to consult with the elders on many matters.

More importantly, the council technically held the authority to remove the Hokage if necessary.

Homura and Koharu had once fought beside him in the war. Even if they had distanced themselves after the events of the Konoha Crush, he trusted they would never let Tsunade and Hiashi strike against him without consequence.

"Yes… the seat of Hokage… It was always meant to be mine. None of them can stop me." Danzo's mood lightened, even his usually stern face showing a rare hint of smugness.

"That's enough. This farce ends now." Koharu's voice rang out, full of authority and icy pride.

"Yes. This needs to stop. Internal strife damages the village far more than any outside threat," Homura added with a sigh.

Their words instantly drew everyone's attention. From the sound of it, they weren't supporting Danzo and more astonishingly, they weren't demanding punishment for Neji either.

"No way…" Mighty Guy muttered in disbelief. Homura's leniency was one thing, but Koharu? She had once been publicly embarrassed by Neji. Why would she defend him now?