The next day, three old geezers were sitting together, conspicuously not including the Third Hokage.
Because the gathering was initiated by Danzo, and the location was at Danzo's home.
Torifu Koharu picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "It really has been a long time, Danzo."
Mitokado Homura chimed in, "Indeed, ever since Root was disbanded, you've become increasingly reclusive."
Danzo sat opposite them, his hands resting on his cane, his one eye looking at his two old friends, and said in a deep voice, "Originally, I intended to retire quietly, but in recent years, the Fourth Hokage's behavior has become increasingly excessive. How can a Hokage arbitrarily recognize ninja from other villages as his children?"
Mitokado Homura, who was originally in charge of intelligence, had some understanding of these matters: "I know those children. They all have great talent, and they're not old. If properly nurtured, they might become pillars of Konoha."
Danzo snorted coldly, "Hmph, how can one easily trust ethereal emotions? It would be better to hand them over to me. I can certainly train them into qualified tools."
Torifu Koharu felt that Danzo had other motives and asked, "Did you call us here just to say this?"
"No, I want to ask you, are you willing to retire just like this?" Danzo understood these two old friends; they were unwilling to give up the power in their hands.
Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and asked, "What do you mean?"
Danzo said confidently, "Jiraiya and Tsunade will probably replace you soon, right?"
"..." The two exchanged glances but said nothing.
Seeing that they did not refute, Danzo continued, "The Fourth Hokage is too young and not steady enough in his actions. Hiruzen made the biggest mistake in choosing him in the first place."
Mitokado Homura disagreed, retorting, "But Konoha has indeed become stronger in recent years. The Fourth Hokage has done a great job. Even the Uchiha clan..."
"Hmph, that's just superficial prosperity," Danzo interrupted him. "The Fourth Hokage is too naive, actually allowing the Uchiha to become shadow guards and squad leaders in the Anbu. If they have any intentions, the village will immediately be in danger. Have you forgotten the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Rebellion?"
"But the Fourth Hokage has already determined that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Rebellion was unrelated to the Uchiha clan, at least unrelated to the Uchiha in the village, and the Military Police Force has also begun to accept people other than the Uchiha," Mitokado Homura did not doubt Minato's statement.
"Those positions in the Military Police Force are just insignificant jobs. That clan is simply not trustworthy. If it were me, I could definitely handle it better," Danzo said with inexplicable confidence.
Torifu Koharu became impatient and asked directly, "Danzo, what exactly do you want to say?"
Danzo was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I just hope that if the Fourth Hokage's actions lead to any bad consequences in the future, you can support me."
"Danzo, don't do anything rash."
"That's right, this old woman has dedicated her life to Konoha and will never allow you to do anything that harms Konoha!"
Both of them thought that Danzo was just unwilling to accept his situation after all these years of seclusion and wanted to restore his position through some radical means.
"Of course, everything I do is for Konoha," Danzo said righteously. He had been saying this his whole life and was starting to believe it himself.
"Let's hope so."
Mitokado Homura and Torifu Koharu didn't think that this old friend would betray Konoha for a little power. After all, they were all excellent successors of the Will of Fire... right? Well, I'll investigate Danzo a bit later. The two tacitly made the same decision in their hearts.
After the two left, a black-haired boy walked in, knelt on one knee, and respectfully called out, "Danzo-sama."
Danzo looked down at him and ordered, "From now on, until the mission is over, your name is Sai."
"Yes, Danzo-sama." Sai tried to make a smiling expression and looked up.
Danzo looked at him for a few seconds and said, "Don't make that fake smile in front of me."
"I'm very sorry. The book says that to win people's hearts, you must first know how to smile, but I can never control expressions freely." After saying this, Sai returned to a blank expression.
"Although you are not mature enough yet..." But I really don't have anyone else to use, Danzo thought, but said, "But you are the most suitable candidate, go, don't disappoint me."
"Yes." Sai turned and left.
Danzo turned around, facing the direction of the Sarutobi Clan, and muttered while holding his cane, "Forgive me, Hiruzen, if it is for Konoha, you would be willing to give your life, right?"
...
"Of course not!" Hiruzen Sarutobi took the pipe out of his mouth, looked at the water stains on his clothes, and said with some headache, "Konohamaru, how many times do I have to tell you to understand that the Hokage is not someone you can become by defeating your grandpa.
How long are you going to play this kind of prank? And even if you want to challenge someone, you should challenge the Fourth Hokage, right?"
Biwako was cleaning up a puddle of water made by Konohamaru's trap, her movements so skilled that it was heartbreaking.
Konohamaru lowered his head, feeling a little frustrated because his sneak attack had failed: "But, Grandpa, didn't you say that you are the strongest Hokage of all time? As long as I defeat you, I will definitely be able to become the Hokage!"
"Cough cough." Hiruzen Sarutobi choked on the smoke, thinking to himself, As a grandpa, is it wrong to brag to my grandson? Anyway, Minato won't come to expose me.
He patted Konohamaru's head and said, "The so-called Hokage should be someone who stands up to protect the village in times of crisis, where the leaves of Konoha dance,..."
Konohamaru ran out of the living room. Grandpa always gives long speeches. I have memorized this passage. What follows is something like the fire's will continues to burn, but Naruto-bro said that setting fire to the mountain means a lifetime in prison, and children can't play with fire... Naruto-bro is right.
"Ouch, that hurts." Konohamaru covered his head, and was about to complain when he saw a head of red hair, and immediately became well-behaved, bowing ninety degrees: "I'm sorry, Aunt Kushina!"
"It's okay, be careful when you go out to play." Kushina rubbed Konohamaru's head and let him go.
"Sorry to disturb you, Third Hokage, Lady Biwako."
"Kushina?" Biwako had already cleaned up the mess, poured a cup of tea for Kushina and said, "You haven't been here for a long time."
"Ah, because of the Chunin Exams, I've been quite busy recently." Kushina said a little embarrassedly, "I actually came this time because I wanted to ask about some Ninjutsu issues."
"Is that so, wait a moment, I'll go change my clothes." Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed to the corner of his clothes.
Kushina said with a smile, "Is it Konohamaru's prank again? He's so well-behaved in front of me."
"Yes, it's a headache for me too." The Third Hokage turned around and went back to the house, saying, "I'll be right back."
Kushina's expression became serious, and she whispered a few words to Biwako.
Biwako looked surprised, then nodded solemnly, and accepted the things Kushina handed her.
Afterwards, Kushina asked a few questions about Water Release, and then bid farewell and left.
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