Gekko Chizan completely changed his attitude from before and instantly became lively. After all, they were about to move against Root, against Danzo—he was extremely motivated.
This guy didn't have many strengths, but one of them was holding grudges!
Anyone who made a move against him, anyone who tripped him up—he would remember it for a lifetime.
Among them was Shimura Danzo, an old backbone of Konoha Village, who had tripped him up more than once. On top of that, there was also some conflict between Danzo and his teacher.
Adding it all up—
Yeah, he had to mess him up. Mess him up to death!
"Uh, Chizan, weren't you so old you couldn't even move just now?"
"How come the moment you mention taking action against Root, you come back to life?"
Namikaze Minato chuckled lightly, his voice full of teasing. Even Uchiha Fugaku beside him wore a smile.
As for Root, none of them liked it. Not the organization itself, but its leader—Shimura Danzo.
This was a man who truly walked in darkness, someone who did things without any bottom line at all.
To Gekko Chizan, this was a bastard who had been scheming against him for years.
And to Uchiha Fugaku, he was a ticking time bomb that could threaten his clan at any moment.
"Heh heh, you guys know about the grudges between me and that old bastard."
"Back then he screwed me over so badly—my suffering was real."
Gekko Chizan spoke with tears and snot, recounting the misery of being set up by Danzo.
And it was all true. Ever since he entered Danzo's line of sight, the man had practically never stopped targeting him. If Orochimaru hadn't been standing in front back then to block things for him,
Who knew what kind of life he'd be living now.
"Alright, stop acting."
"The current situation is that the village has no choice but to restructure Root."
"If Root continues to grow and split the village's strength, then in the future, when facing existences like Uchiha Madara and the Rinnegan, the village will suffer both internal and external blows."
"As Hokage, I absolutely won't allow that to happen."
Namikaze Minato's expression was extremely serious. It was obvious he had taken all of this upon himself.
There was no helping it—he was the Hokage, after all.
"You don't need to say so much. Just tell me what to do."
"Forget it. As long as you agree, I'll start targeting Root. Leave it to me—I'll handle it."
Watching Gekko Chizan pat his chest in assurance, Namikaze Minato felt a surge of confidence. After all, Chizan's execution ability was plain for all to see.
"Wait a bit first."
"Root has already taken on the mission of going to the Rain Village for negotiations."
"Once Root sets out on the mission, you can start your action."
"But Chizan, I hope there won't be any casualties. Can you do that?"
No casualties?
Gekko Chizan frowned upon hearing this. Root's brainwashing techniques were top-tier—people like that, even if kept alive, would be hard to control.
Seeing the doubt in his heart, Namikaze Minato continued.
"I know what you're thinking. Root has indeed poisoned its members deeply, but it's not completely beyond saving."
"Fugaku, if I ask you to use the Sharingan to cast Genjutsu on them, is it possible to erase some of their memories and let them live happily again?"
Only then did Gekko Chizan and Uchiha Fugaku react.
No wonder this guy had called the two of them together to discuss this—so he had planned it all along.
No matter how deep the brainwashing, facing Genjutsu constructed by the Sharingan, it wasn't impossible to break.
After all, as one of the three great dōjutsu, the Sharingan was an absolute overlord in the field of Genjutsu.
"In theory, it's possible—using Genjutsu to reconstruct their thinking."
"As long as there's no external interference, there shouldn't be any problems."
Uchiha Fugaku's attainments in Genjutsu were undoubtedly powerful. The weight of the Uchiha clan head was no joke.
Not to mention, he had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Although the abilities of his eyes had nothing to do with Genjutsu, that didn't affect the unparalleled nature of the Mangekyō Sharingan at all.
"That's good. This way, Root's personnel can be preserved to the greatest extent."
"They're all living strength of the village. If they can be kept, it's better to keep them."
Three scheming men stood on this high platform, pondering how to swallow up Root.
In the end, they decided not to rush things and to wait until Root set out for the Rain Village.
Gekko Chizan would then take action directly, first suppressing Root on the surface.
As for how to suppress them, Gekko Chizan said he had his own plans.
What he wanted to know now was whether Danzo that old bastard would be among the Root members going to the Rain Village.
If he was, that would be even better. Even if he wasn't, it would still be enough to make him sick.
...
After their meeting ended, Gekko Chizan deliberately made a trip to the Rain Village.
At this time, the Rain Village was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt. Konan was so busy she was about to lose her sense of direction. If it weren't for Terumī Mei helping her, Konan might have collapsed already.
It wasn't until Gekko Chizan arrived that Konan managed to steal a moment to rest.
"Chizan, you have no idea—reorganizing a village is just too hard."
"That old bastard Hanzō, who knows what he was thinking. The village's financial loopholes are massive, and as for manpower allocation, he actually invested an astonishing thirty percent of the forces just to protect his own castle."
"What was he even thinking?"
Gekko Chizan only smiled at this. He knew very well that after Hanzō got older, he declined day by day and constantly felt he would be inexplicably killed.
And in the end, that was exactly what happened—he was inexplicably killed.
Beaten to death by a crowd, no less.
"Relax. Back then, didn't you and Yahiko also sort out the Takigakure like this?"
"If it really doesn't work, just have Yahiko send some people over to help you."
"Anyway, the Rain Village and the Takigakure are basically one and the same now."
Konan nodded helplessly. Since things had already come to this, there was nothing else she could do.
"But Chizan, why did you come?"
"Is something going on?"
Gekko Chizan nodded and explained that Konoha had dispatched Root members to the Rain Village.
Konan didn't speak after hearing this. Instead, she waited for Gekko Chizan to continue. She knew that since he had already come, he must already have a countermeasure.
"Heh heh, Konan, I want you to keep all the people Konoha sends in the Rain Village."
"Don't let them go back. If Danzo himself comes, I'll personally come over and deal with him."
Gekko Chizan's words made Konan slightly startled. It was obvious she hadn't expected him to be so decisive.
"Don't overthink it. Shimura Danzo is known as the darkness of the shinobi world. His existence affects too many things."
"So letting him exit the stage early isn't a bad thing."
Konan also had some understanding of Shimura Danzo. So aside from her initial surprise, she didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.