Chapter 114: Danzo: Get out of the way! You're blocking the way of my people!
"Lord Kazekage, what is the meaning of this!"
"Hehe, it's nothing much."
"A Kazekage is still a Kage, after all!"
"Doesn't Elder Danzo want to experience what it feels like to be a Kage?"
"As they say... know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!"
"If you don't serve as a Kage once, how will you know what a Kage needs?"
"But once you've been a Kage... after you return to Konoha... after all... opportunity favors the prepared!"
"Elder Danzo! What do you think?"
"After all, Elder Danzo, you don't want to be suppressed by Hiruzen Sarutobi forever, do you?"
"To be pinned down by a perverted monkey for a lifetime!"
"Don't you want to prove yourself to your teacher?"
"And tell him loudly... what a terrible mistake it was not to choose you, Danzo Shimura, back then!"
Danzo Shimura [!!!!!]
...Danzo Shimura left, taking the members of his Root with him.
Only, when he left, he felt as if he were drunk!
At this moment, inside the pavilion, only Saito remained, sitting there and admiring the scenery below the mountain.
And that smile at the corner of his mouth that he could never quite suppress.
After a long while... Ebizo walked up.
Sensing Ebizo's arrival, Saito continued to look at everything below the mountain.
Then, without turning his head, he spoke.
"Is everything ready?"
"Everything is ready!"
"It's just..."
"You're uneasy, aren't you?"
"Yes! After all, he is from Konoha... Although his Chakra is sealed, and although it's only temporary, he still has certain permissions..."
"Does he have the permission to investigate core technologies?"
"Uh... no."
"Then what are you afraid of?"
"But that is the position of the Kazekage, after all!"
"Have I ever done any work?"
Ebizo: "..."
"Uh... but..."
Hearing Ebizo stammering behind him, unable to speak, Saito knew exactly what he meant.
"Fine, I agree to transfer your official duties into Danzo's hands!"
"Don't worry, Lord Kazekage! I guarantee I will train Danzo Shimura into a true Kage!"
Saito: "..."
...The next day.
"Lord Danzo! These are the documents that have just been compiled; they need your review!"
"Ah... oh! Just leave them there!"
At this moment, Danzo, wearing the green hat, was still immersed in the luxury of the Kazekage Office.
Hearing that he had work to do, he didn't even react for a moment.
To be honest, he had secretly sat in the Hokage's seat before.
But... the gold-inlaid Kazekage seat... this was his first time sitting in it.
And this gold-inlaid office chair... tsk tsk!
Looking at the stack of documents just placed on the desk, Danzo Shimura began his first day of life as a Kage!
He wondered what Hiruzen was doing at this time, and if he was also reviewing documents.
Inside the Hokage Office in Konoha Village.
"Rest assured, Clan Leader Hyuga, Konoha will surely find the whereabouts of your clansmen! Konoha Village will definitely find your younger brother!"
...After seeing off the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his office chair and let out a long sigh of relief.
After grieving on his hospital bed for half an hour, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to step forward again to handle the tremors within Konoha Village caused by this incident.
By now, he had just managed to pacify the various clans.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that this was not a long-term solution.
The two thousand Ninjas previously stationed there were one thing; although there were some clan children among them, most were commoner Ninjas, and it was easy to handle if something happened.
Even if there were some core clan members, they were only from a few families and were easy to appease.
But the one thousand Ninjas sent as reinforcements later were different; they were the genuine elite Ninjas of each clan, the pillars of their respective families.
Yet they had only just entered the battlefield when they were wiped out... the combined power of those clans was not something Hiruzen Sarutobi could withstand.
Fortunately, no bodies were found, so there was still a chance.
But Hidden Sand Village had also been slow to reply.
Although they were currently in a state of war and the transmission of messages between Ninja Villages would slow down.
But slowing down didn't mean not replying at all!
Moreover, in the previous two wars, wouldn't they have publicized capturing so-and-so from the enemy Village to strike at morale?
Why was it completely different this time!
...No! I cannot wait any longer!
Danzo might be suffering right now; he must be waiting for me to save him!
He firmly believed that Danzo would not die so easily; he must have been captured by Hidden Sand Village!
Of course, this wasn't just because he had great faith in Danzo's strength, but because Danzo knew far too much.
No Ninja Village would let Danzo die so easily!
They would keep him alive... even if only by a thread!
Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out stationery from his drawer and began to write.
After a long while—
"Someone, come! Deliver these three letters into the hands of the three Kages of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri."
...Evening, Hidden Sand Village.
Danzo was walking on the streets of Hidden Sand Village.
Yesterday, while looking at the prosperity within Hidden Sand Village from the mountain, he had thought about coming for a stroll.
As it happened, he had also been busy in the office all day today.
And the Kazekage Building wasn't far from here, so he simply came over.
Danzo Shimura walked on the main street of Hidden Sand Village, followed by his loyal Root.
"Shopkeeper, how much do these three-color dango cost?"
"One skewer of three-color dango is... eh?"
The shopkeeper selling the three-color dango heard someone asking for the price and answered casually, but when he was halfway through and looked up to see who it was.
The shopkeeper froze for a moment, then spoke uncertainly.
"You... are you Lord Danzo?"
"Hmm? You recognize me?"
"I do! How could I not! You're the newly appointed Kazekage!"
Saying this, the shopkeeper stuck his head out of the shop and shouted towards the street.
"Someone, come! Quickly, everyone! The new Kazekage is here! Come and see!"
Danzo Shimura: "!!!"
Hearing what the Dango shopkeeper said, the crowds walking on the street all turned their heads to look, staring intently at Danzo.
"Quickly, protect Lord Danzo!"
Seeing the actions of the surrounding villagers, the Root members following Danzo also reacted promptly, surrounding Danzo Shimura in the center.
Although the Root's loyalty was commendable and they were very dutiful.
They had ultimately had their Chakra sealed; no matter how powerful they were before, they were now just slightly stronger ordinary people.
As the noise here grew louder and louder, more and more people gathered, and soon, the defensive line formed by the Root was broken through by the villagers.
The villagers of Hidden Sand Village relied on the gaps and swarmed in front of Danzo.
Just as the Root members thought their lord was about to be harmed, the villagers running in front stopped in their tracks right before Danzo.
Then they firmly grasped Danzo Shimura's hand and, while Danzo Shimura was in a state of utter confusion, said:
"You must be Lord Danzo, the new Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village. It's truly a pleasure to meet you. Could you give me an autograph?"
After saying that, before Danzo could react, the villager had already taken a pen out of his pocket and handed it to Danzo.
Then he turned around, hunched his body, and presented his back before Danzo Shimura's eyes.
"Lord Danzo, hurry up! The people behind are still waiting!"
Danzo Shimura: "???"
In the end, Danzo finished signing his name in a daze.
Then, the situation on the scene spiraled out of control.
"Ah! He actually got Lord Danzo's autograph! Lord Danzo, I want one too!!!"
"Lord Danzo, look at me! I'm your loyal fan!"
"Ah! Lord Danzo is so handsome!"
"Ah... I touched Lord Danzo! I've decided not to wash my hand for three days!"
...The shouts and screams of the villagers were like toothpicks.
Propped against Danzo Shimura's upper and lower eyelids, they caused Danzo's originally sharp and piercing eyes to slowly become rounded and... clear!
[Is... is this the price of being a Kage!]
"Lord Danzo! Lord Danzo! Are you alright?"
After being scattered by the villagers, the Root Ninjas finally squeezed back to Elder Danzo's side.
Looking at Danzo's rounded eyes, the Root members all fell into a panic.
[Their Lord Danzo's eyes, how... how did they become so clear?]
"Quick! Protect Lord Danzo!"
Although they were very panicked inside, the Root's training was not for show.
Facing the Hidden Sand Village villagers who continued to rush over from afar, the Root Ninjas still stood guard in front of their Lord Danzo.
They would absolutely... absolutely not let Lord Danzo be harmed again!
"Get out of the way!"
Thud!
But just as they made up their minds.
A sharp shout came from behind them, followed by a gust of wind rushing towards their heads.
And then.
The Ninja who had been the first to speak and organize the other Root Ninjas to protect Danzo Shimura... was directly knocked to the ground by Danzo Shimura from behind.
Then, under the shocked gazes of the other Root Ninjas, the Lord Danzo in their eyes just stepped over that Ninja's body and walked towards the villagers.
In the air, only Danzo Shimura's faint voice remained.
"Get out of the way! You're hindering my meeting with the villagers!"
...Still on yesterday's pavilion.
Saito and Ebizo were staring at every move below.
Seeing Danzo Shimura enthusiastically surrounded by the villagers, Ebizo spoke to Saito with a face full of concern.
"Lord Kazekage, arranging for the villagers to be like this... isn't it a bit... too deliberate?"
"Hmm? Deliberate? It's better to be deliberate!"
"For a long-term illness... you need strong medicine!"
"That's true... but Danzo Shimura has lived in Konoha for so many years, after all. With just this performance from the villagers and the hypnosis of the Chinoike Clan... I'm afraid it won't have much effect!"
"Effect? What kind of effect do you want?"
"?"
Hearing what Saito said, Ebizo also looked puzzled.
"Doesn't Lord Kazekage intend to completely brainwash Danzo Shimura into becoming one of our Hidden Sand Village people?"
?
Hearing Ebizo's words, it was Saito's turn to produce a question mark.
He looked at Ebizo with a shocked expression, his eyes even conveying 'Are you really that bold?'
"What? Did I say something wrong? As one of Konoha's high-ranking officials with real power, Danzo Shimura must have many secrets of Konoha Village in his mind.
But if we try to read them rashly, it will surely trigger the seals in Danzo's mind, and we'll get nothing!
But if we can get Danzo Shimura to acknowledge our Hidden Sand Village... then we can easily master those core secrets of Konoha!
Isn't that how it is?"
Saito: "!!!"
Don't say it! Really, don't say it!
Hearing the plan Ebizo mentioned, Saito actually felt that this method was feasible.
But... are there any secrets in Konoha to him?
If he really wanted to know, he could just make another diplomatic trip to Konoha, and then he'd know everything with a sweep of his perception.
Oh, no! There are still things he doesn't know.
For example, the contents of the scroll of seals in Konoha.
Although the Uzumaki Clan had given him a scroll of seals before.
But that one was from too long ago, and many forbidden techniques were not recorded on it.
Like... Edo Tensei!
Flying Thunder God!
If he could learn the Flying Thunder God, Saito would have long since left markers all over the Ninja World and been flying everywhere!
After all... he doesn't lack Chakra!
If Edo Tensei were on it... he would have reunited Madara and Hashirama long ago, and by the way, he could have created some trees for Hidden Sand Village.
When the time came, the First Hokage would plant trees, and the Second Hokage would water them... the Land of Wind would have become a forest long ago!
Besides, Ebizo!
You underestimate Danzo's love for Konoha too much!
If Danzo could betray Konoha so easily... he wouldn't be Danzo Shimura!
"Your idea is good; don't mention it again next time!"
Ebizo: "..."
"Then what is Lord Kazekage's purpose for doing this..."
"It's simple! To make Danzo's love for Konoha even more profound!"
"???"
"I didn't have the Chinoike Clan stuff anything else into Danzo Shimura's mind.
For the strong, the more you stuff in, the easier it is for cognitive errors to appear, and thus the easier it is to break free!
I merely had the Chinoike Clan reinforce two points for Danzo."
"Which two points?"
"One is to reinforce the words I said to Danzo yesterday, making him feel that he is just experiencing being a Kage in advance, and that he must do it well!
Because this is his only chance! A chance that can truly help him become Hokage!
Suggest to him that he should cherish this opportunity!"
Ebizo: "???"
"The second is to deepen Danzo's love for Konoha! To make him always believe that Konoha is the number one in the Ninja World!
That it should be number one in every aspect!
When the time comes... if Danzo Shimura returns and finds that Konoha is not as beautiful as he imagined, and that it can't even compare to Hidden Sand Village in any aspect... guess what Danzo will do!"
Ebizo: "!!!"
"Hehe! When Danzo goes back and finds Konoha has become like that.
Who will he blame?
What will he do?
He will surely first be suspicious, then question, and finally think about changing it.
Hehe... after all, our Elder Danzo loves the Village so much!"
Ebizo: "!!!"
Sinister!
Too insidious!
This was Ebizo's first reaction after hearing Saito's plan.
"Brilliant! Lord Kazekage is truly brilliant!
Using Danzo to cause internal strife in Konoha.
And we only need to watch from the sidelines!"
"Yes! We only need to watch..."
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