Chapter 326: The More I Think About It, The Madder I Get
Konoha.
In the Council Meeting.
"I have no objection to Lord Danzo assuming the position of Hokage," Tonbo Tobitake stated flatly.
As soon as these words were uttered, everyone was flabbergasted. MitoKado Homura and Utatane Koharu were completely caught off guard. Shikaku Nara, however, gave Tonbo a long, deep look.
Something felt wrong. Tonbo Tobitake had lived in Konoha his entire life; it was impossible for him not to know Danzo's methods. Supporting Danzo over Kakashi was fundamentally out of character. There had to be an ulterior motive.
Furthermore, Tonbo expressed no interest in continuing as the Acting Hokage himself. Shikaku could understand this part; Tonbo had always treated the Hokage seat as something he'd rather cast aside like a worn-out shoe.
With Tonbo's firm stance, the Land of Fire's Daimyo naturally wouldn't force the position on someone who didn't want it. Compared to the alternatives, Kakashi had the seniority and the contributions, but Danzo was pushing hard.
The Daimyo fluttered his fan. "Very well. Then it is settled. I hereby declare Danzo the successor as the Sixth Hokage."
"What is this?"
The Kumogakure trio, passing through the outskirts of Konoha, stared at the massive crater before them. It looked as if a natural disaster had ravaged the land.
Omoi immediately recalled the monster they encountered in the Land of Frost. "A monster didn't show up here too, did it? If that's the case, am I going to die here? The girls in Konoha will never see me, and my yet-to-be-born son might never even be conceived..." His face grew increasingly pessimistic as he rambled.
"Omoi, stop with the doom and gloom," Karui said, exasperated. "There was clearly a massive battle here, just like the one we saw before."
Samui added, "Let's move. We'll ask about it once we get into Konoha." Her eyes lingered on the crater. A truly formidable battle must have taken place.
"Dad, why did you send us away earlier? Did something happen?" Keigo Tobitake asked at the dinner table.
"Exactly," Tosei Tobitake added, sounding dissatisfied. "It makes sense to send Ayame, Keigo, and Teuchi away, but as a retired ninja, I could have helped out." After so many years of a quiet life, the old man wanted a taste of hot-blooded action again. He felt he could still fight.
Tonbo replied, "Dad, don't push yourself. I'm here for Konoha; nothing major happened. It was just a precaution."
"As long as everyone is safe," Ayame said, changing the subject to avoid heavy topics. "But a lot of furniture got broken in the house. We need to go order some new pieces."
"Where are Brother and Sister?" Keigo asked curiously. Since returning, he noticed his older siblings had been running out constantly. They had already learned "Lifestyle Ninjutsu" from their father, yet they were seemingly slacking off.
"Heh, those two are training like mad right now," Tonbo laughed. "The enemy invasion stimulated them."
Because Konohamaru had taken down an enemy single-handedly while it took all three of them to handle one, Tianyu and Maki were feeling the pressure. They were training harder than ever, though their squad was already becoming famous for taking down a powerful enemy.
The Pain invasion ended, and Danzo was officially the Sixth Hokage.
After settling his family affairs, Tonbo left a shadow clone to help manage village matters while his main body retreated to the lab to begin a deep-dive analysis of Urashiki. Cells, heredity, chakra... everything went through neural probes and high-tech instrumentation.
Meanwhile, news of Sasuke capturing the Eight-Tails could no longer be suppressed. Kumogakure called for a Five Kage Summit. With someone taking the lead, the other villages followed suit. Before, only Konoha and Suna were concerned, but now Kumo was restless, and Kirigakure and Iwagakure agreed to the meeting.
Rumors of the Akatsuki nearly destroying Konoha spread through the ninja world. No nation could ignore that kind of pressure. Danzo hadn't even been Hokage for two days before he was called to the summit. He had already left the village.
"The Black Flash of Konoha, Captain Tonbo."
Sasuke listened to the report from the masked man, his grip tightening on his Kusanagi sword. No matter how strong the opponent, Konoha was destined to be destroyed before the eyes of the Uchiha.
"Danzo has become the Sixth Hokage and is currently heading to the Land of Iron for the Five Kage Summit," Tobi said.
"Understood. I'll deal with him," Sasuke rose, leading the members of Team Taka out of the base. Tobi's lips curled into a smirk.
"Tonbo, do you have some sort of plan?"
On this day, Shikaku Nara met with Tonbo. He had pondered for a long time and still couldn't fathom why Tonbo would push Danzo for the seat.
"Are you talking about Danzo becoming Hokage? I was controlled by his Genjutsu. He used Shisui's eye," Tonbo said casually, now dressed in his Konoha flak jacket.
"What?!" Shikaku was stunned. Danzo had actually used Genjutsu to control Tonbo just to become Hokage. And the fact that a Genjutsu could even work on Tonbo was shocking—he was the master of the craft. "Uchiha Shisui's eye...?"
"That's right. That guy got Shisui's Mangekyo from somewhere. I wouldn't mistake that chakra; I clashed with him once," Tonbo said.
"So, what are you doing now?" Shikaku noticed Tonbo was geared up for a mission.
"I'm going to slaughter him."
The sentence floored Shikaku. "Tonbo, don't be impulsive! He is the Sixth Hokage now—"
"He won't be the Sixth once he's dead. Daring to lay a hand on me is daring to lay a hand on Konoha. I was once the Acting Hokage... anyone who strikes at a comrade deserves to die," Tonbo said airily.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He decided to kill Danzo himself after the Five Kage Summit ended. Regardless of the consequences, he wanted to land a few slashes.
"Hey, don't do anything rash..."
"Don't worry. It's just one dead man," Tonbo smiled, then vanished from Shikaku's sight.
"This is going to be a disaster," Shikaku muttered, rushing toward the high-level council chamber. He had to report this immediately.
"I see. No wonder Tonbo nominated Danzo. He was being controlled," Utatane Koharu said, her voice laced with fury. She had no objection to Danzo being Hokage, but controlling their own people behind their backs was unforgivable. If Danzo could control Tonbo, what was to stop him from making the village his personal puppet show?
"Yes. We need to send people to stop him, or things will spiral out of control," Shikaku urged.
However, the councilors shared a look. Regardless of Tonbo's motive, killing a Hokage was a grave sin, but they also didn't want to be controlled by Danzo. If Danzo died, he deserved it. If he lived, it was just luck.
Most of them already preferred Tonbo or Kakashi for the role anyway. Only those close to Tonbo sighed; they feared that from now on, Tonbo Tobitake would be saddled with a dark and infelicitous legacy.
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