Chapter 515: Confronting Danzo!
Everyone immediately looked at Fujin. Fujin looked at Danzo and said, "Four Root bases were attacked two days ago. Seeing that nothing else happened, there is little doubt that the culprit is targeting the Root. At such a time why weren't your Root ninjas keeping an eye on the Root headquarters and were instead spying on me?"
Everyone's eyes widened as they heard Fujin's words. They all immediately looked at Danzo. Danzo was stunned as well. He never imagined that the elite ninjas he sent to spy on Fujin would be discovered within hours. Nor did he think that Fujin would confront him in front of everyone during a time when the village was facing a grave threat.
Before Danzo could reply, Fujin added, "Your actions are too peculiar, Elder Danzo. Instead of protecting the Root ninjas, you spread them even thinner. Perhaps if they were in the Root Headquarters, then the attacker might have been spotted before it was too late. You could have kept the Root Headquarters safe. You could even have had a chance to fight and capture him. However, you decided to send them to spy on me."
Everyone was staring at Danzo. Deploying Root ninjas at such a time made little to no sense. Not to mention, Fujin was a Council Member as well. Spying on him meant that others could be spied upon as well. Though Fujin had provided no proof, knowing Danzo, everyone in the room believed that Danzo had indeed done something like that.
Of course, that was no reason for Danzo to accept it. He said, "I didn't send anyone to spy on you. I don't know what you are talking about."
Fujin asked, "Is that so? Could you tell me why 5 of your Root ninjas were hiding their chakra signature and surrounding my house instead of staying in the Root Headquarters?"
Danzo frowned. He said, "Don't accuse me without any proof, Suzuki Fujin. I had dispatched a squad for an important secret mission. It had nothing to do with you."
Fujin continued asking in a neutral tone without a hint of expression on his face, "Oh, I wonder what secret mission you had to do at such a point."
Danzo displayed slight anger and asked, "Do I have to explain myself to you? Besides, my ninjas should have returned by now. Did you do anything to them?"
Seeing that Fujin had discovered them, Danzo wondered why they hadn't returned yet. Not to mention, they should have returned after the explosion. But there was no sign of them.
Fujin replied, "I apprehended them."
The eyes of everyone in the room widened. That included Hiruzen and Shikaku who were familiar with the kind of shit Fujin always pulled off! Shikaku muttered to himself, 'I'm dead! He'll increase my workload once again! He created a mess in the Council!'
The other clan leaders also stared at Fujin. Nearly everyone had suffered at the hands of Root at some point. However, no one had ever taken the initiative to apprehend them. They would raise their concerns with Hiruzen and solve them diplomatically. It was the first case of someone taking down 5 Root ninjas before considering any diplomatic options.
Danzo exploded in rage and shouted aggressively, "You traitor! You dare to attack Konoha ninjas inside the village due to mere suspicions?"
Of course, Danzo was only pretending to be in a rage. While he was indeed angry, he wouldn't lose control over something like this. He just acted so to show that he was furious.
Before Fujin could say anything, Koharu said, "Fujin, even though you are in the Council, it doesn't mean that you can act willfully. If there was an issue, you should raise it in the Council instead of taking action yourself. I hope that those Root ninjas are fine. Otherwise, you will lose your seat on the Council."
The clan leaders were too familiar with how much the Elders supported each other. They had expected such a backlash. Of course, they won't allow that to happen. If someone was taking the initiative to take down Danzo, they would support him from the back. All the clan leaders reached a tacit understanding despite not speaking a word or even exchanging glances. Only Shikaku wasn't worried and was instead looking forward to Fujin's reply which was immediate. He only prayed that Fujin wouldn't increase his workload.
Fujin turned his gaze from Danzo to Koharu and asked, "Elder Koharu, if I were to attack you with the intention to kill you, would you fight back and try to protect yourself, or would you let me kill you and call a Council Meeting from the afterlife?"
Though Fujin's words were extremely provocative, his tone was still extremely neutral. It was as if there was no emotion in them. It was something everyone in the room found very odd. In a situation like this, it was normal to become angry and emotional. Even more so considering that Fujin was still only 15 years old. However, Fujin didn't display any emotion at all. He looked neither angry at being attacked nor scared to face the Elders who stood tall in the village for decades.
The clan leaders in the office were surprised and impressed at the same time. Senju Hiromasa looked at Fujin and thought, 'Such control over his emotions at such a young age. No wonder Renjiro praised him so much and Hiruzen included him in the council.'
Shikaku thought, 'Though I have heard about his fighting skills, this is the first time I have seen him angry. No wonder he is so efficient and deadly during missions. If he can maintain his calm and be calculative in such a situation, then there will be little that could disturb his mental state. Still, he is getting scary. He is the kind of opponent I hate to plan against.'
Similar thoughts ran through the minds of others. Hiruzen's office became eerily silent. It wasn't just due to how composed Fujin was. Fujin had threatened a Village Elder! And, he had stated in such a way that it wasn't a big deal, implying that he didn't think he would have any difficulty in killing her if he wanted to. And secondly, what Fujin's words implied was that the Root ninjas attempted to kill him! That was a big accusation. And knowing Danzo, everyone immediately believed that Fujin was telling the truth!
Koharu understood that as well, but her pride was hurt. She hadn't been threatened by a Konoha ninja in this manner since she became an Elder. She asked icyly, "Is that a threat, Suzuki Fujin?"
Fujin replied, "If by merely mentioning it, you get so offended, do you expect me to not resist when ganged upon by 5 Root ninjas? You should be glad that I didn't kill them on the spot and only apprehended them."
He looked towards Danzo and said, "One of the spies he sent was from the Aburame clan with a strange ability to poison someone on touch. Had I not been careful, perhaps I wouldn't be standing here. Elder Danzo, you better give me a good explanation or I won't be letting this go.
Despite the Root being under attack, you decided to dispatch your subordinates to spy on me and attack me with such deadly means once they got a chance. It almost seems like you don't care what is happening to Root and instead are targetting youngsters in the village."
Aburame Shibi's eyes widened on hearing about the ability. He immediately recognized, 'Torune?'
Fujin's accusation made everyone in the room tense. The one who was the most tense was Hiruzen. He knew that Danzo was the one to cause Shisui's death. It was a huge loss to Konoha. If he was attempting to kill Fujin, then it was a big issue for Hiruzen.
He looked at Danzo and asked strictly, "Is it true, Danzo?"
Meanwhile, Danzo was dumbfounded. He wondered, 'What the hell happened with Torune? Their job was to spy on him. Why did he attack Fujin? Fujin even stated his ability, meaning that what he says must be true. But why did he attack?'
Despite being at a loss, Danzo immediately answered, "The mission I assigned them had nothing to do with Fujin. I don't know whether they attacked Fujin and what reason they might have to attack him. I will need to talk with them to understand what actually happened."
Since he didn't know what exactly happened, Danzo decided to take a step back. Of course, he wasn't actually giving up anything. Even if Torune and the rest were at fault, there would be no punishment against them or him.
Once again, Fujin asked, "What was the mission you assigned?"
Danzo once again refused to answer Fujin and said, "Don't overstep your limits, Suzuki Fujin. I don't have to answer to you."
Fujin snorted and said, "If that's the case, then it means that those 5 Root ninjas have betrayed the village and have become traitors. The only other possibility is that you are lying and are the one who has fallen."
Immediately, Homura said, "Fujin, stop suspecting Danzo. He has served the village for decades and has been a cornerstone for Konoha in every Great War. His contribution to the village is unquestionable."