Hokage Building.Hokage's Office.
The silence was suffocating.
Heads of the noble clans, leaders of Konoha's institutions—no one spoke.Not a whisper. Not even a breath.
Though they had long known that the tension between Hyuga Naraku and Sarutobi Hiruzen had reached the point of no return…
Though they expected a confrontation… even bloodshed…
No one—not even the most cynical among them—dared imagine this:
Impeachment.Of the Hokage.In public.
A shadow being stripped of power, not by force, but through a direct accusation, before the entire council.
It was unprecedented.
Not just in Konoha.But in the entire history of the shinobi world.
There had been coups before. Assassinations. Silent blades in the dark.Especially in Kirigakure, where Mizukage assassinations were almost a tradition.
But impeachment?A formal declaration?Never.
"Impeach… the Hokage?"Utatane Koharu muttered in disbelief.It sounded absurd even to her ears.
It was madness. Treason. Insanity.
"Who gave you the authority?!"Mitokado Homura exploded, standing and pointing at Naraku, voice trembling with fury."You're not even an advisor! On what grounds do you impeach the Hokage?!"
Naraku didn't answer.
Instead, he raised his hand toward Homura.
Boom.
A wave of repulsive force—Tenseigan chakra—burst from his palm.
Homura was flung from his seat like a ragdoll, crashing into the wall behind him.Stone shattered. Dust filled the air.
"Homura!"Koharu cried out, springing to her feet.
Boom.
She, too, was hurled across the room before she could speak another word.
Naraku lowered his hand, eyes filled with disgust.
"Even now, you cling to your titles. Consultant. Elder. As if they matter."
"You're already dead—you just don't know it yet."
"You...!"Hiruzen stood, fury in his eyes.
But Naraku cut him off with a sharp glance.
"I'm not interested in your posturing, Hiruzen."
"You said I needed proof?"He smiled coldly. "I came prepared."
From his robe, Naraku drew a stack of scrolls—documents.He handed them, one by one, to the clan heads seated around the room.
"This," he said, "is the beginning."
Eyes fell to the parchment.Gasps followed.
"In the 45th year of Konoha, Sarutobi Aoki, a shinobi of the Sarutobi clan, murdered his entire squad to claim a mission's success for himself…"
Another page.
"In the 49th year, Sarutobi Shikō stole a fellow shinobi's original ninjutsu and presented it to the village as his own, receiving full commendation…"
"In the 46th year, Sarutobi Takemura embezzled mission funds, leading to total mission failure…"
"In the 47th year, a Sarutobi clan member misused village finances, discovered only because Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage—personally intervened… until Hiruzen overruled it."
The list went on.
Each line was damning.Each entry—another stain.
The room buzzed with rising tension.
Even the most composed clan heads began to murmur, stunned by the sheer scale of it all.
A document filled front and back with concise summaries of corruption, theft, and betrayal—each connected to the Sarutobi clan.
"Hyuga-dono…"Nara Shikaku, voice calm but hesitant, finally spoke."This… this is extensive. Do you… have corroboration?"
He wasn't doubting.But the truth—if it was truth—was too large to take in at once.
"I do," Naraku replied.
He handed Shikaku another thick bundle of evidence—names, reports, ledgers, witness statements.
Shikaku's brow furrowed as he read.
Then his eyes widened."Th-this is… this is airtight."
The evidence wasn't lacking. It was overwhelming.
Every incident was cross-referenced. Every lie exposed.
"Lies!"Hiruzen roared, his composure crumbling.
"You forged this! Fabricated it all to frame me and my clan!"
But even as he screamed, he felt it:
Dread.Deep in his bones.
Because he knew it wasn't forged.
He knew every incident. Every crime.And he knew who had the power to gather this much truth.
"You're wondering how I know," Naraku said, voice laced with dark amusement.
"I didn't fabricate it."
"This—" he gestured to the stack of documents—"was given to me. By Shimura Danzo."
The room froze.
"Danzo?" someone whispered.
"But… he died yesterday…"
Even Hiruzen stared, dumbfounded. "Danzo would never…"
"Think," Naraku said softly, eyes boring into him.
"Why do you think Danzo confronted me yesterday?"
"Why did he lure me out, all alone?"
"Why would I—the man he's tried to kill—appear at the same place, at the same time?"
The answer struck Shikaku like a bolt of lightning.
"A… bait."
Danzo had offered something.
Something powerful enough to draw Naraku out from the safety of the Hyuga compound.
This evidence.This betrayal.
It was a lure.A trap.
Danzo had wagered it all. And lost.
He gave Naraku the noose… and ended up in it himself.
Naraku smiled again.
"I could've revealed this yesterday. But I didn't."
"Why rush it? Why not let Hiruzen sleep peacefully… one last night?"
The room fell silent again.
The clan heads—each of them—were reading. Murmuring. Remembering.
"I remember Aoki," one said grimly. "Only one returned from that mission. The others died under strange circumstances…"
"That Shikō report—I remember. It was suspicious even then…"
"I always thought that credit felt stolen…"
The memories were real.The evidence undeniable.
The once-loyal council began to turn.Against the Hokage.
"This must be investigated!" someone said.
"Seconded!""Agreed!""This can't be ignored!"
Like a rising tide, voices swelled around Hiruzen.
He felt it now: the weight of the village bearing down on him.
"I'll step down…" he said at last, barely audible."After the war… after this crisis passes… I'll appoint a successor…"
He was already planning—call back Jiraiya, find Tsunade. Secure the seat before it's taken from him.
But Naraku shook his head.
"No."
"You don't get to delay this."
"You don't get to choose when you fall."
He stepped forward, voice rising:
"You will not resign."
"You will be dismissed."
"Stripped. Of. Power."
"And you think this is all the evidence I have?"He paused.
Then smiled.