Chapter 88: Five Kage Summit Invitation, Danzō's Rage, Naraku's Grand Scheme for the Supreme Throne
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally received Ōnoki's invitation to the Five Kage Summit. He took a deep drag on his pipe, then slowly exhaled.
To be honest, he really didn't want to go—but he had no choice. He felt that if he didn't attend this time, Konoha might face an attack from four ninja villages. But if he did go, he might not even survive until the later stages of the war—he could be surrounded and killed right there.
Danzō, as Konoha's underground Hokage, naturally didn't hold back with Sarutobi Hiruzen. He snatched Ōnoki's letter and glanced through it.
When he read the part demanding Konoha hand over Uchiha Naraku—or at the very least share all weapons forged by Uchiha Naraku among the five great nations—Danzō exploded in rage. He slammed his hand hard onto Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.
This made Sarutobi Hiruzen stop smoking mid-drag and stare blankly at Danzō, his eyes seeming to say: This is clearly my Hokage desk—isn't slamming it like that a bit impolite?
Danzō now saw Naraku as his own subordinate. Other villages wanting Uchiha Naraku's weapons—or even Naraku himself—what was that? It was digging at the very roots of Shimura Danzō!
"Hiruzen, we absolutely cannot hand over Uchiha Naraku. We just need to give Uchiha Naraku a little time and drag out the war as much as possible. Once Uchiha Naraku forges enough weapons, what four great ninja villages? They're all just chickens and dogs!" Danzō stared intently at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the somewhat agitated Danzō and instead looked at Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, wanting to hear their thoughts.
Utatane Koharu met Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze and said: "When things become truly impossible, we can hand over Uchiha Naraku. At that point the fragile alliance of those four ninja villages would collapse instantly. Besides, Kirigakure has always been reluctant to get involved in other villages' affairs."
Mitokado Homura also expressed his view: "We could perhaps use the weapons forged by Uchiha Naraku to win over some allies, then continue building our strength."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his three advisors—what level of insects were these! All the suggestions were either mindlessly aggressive or endlessly retreating while hoping to avoid problems through concession.
But he had no better ideas himself right now. He knew war was probably unavoidable.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said to the three: "War is likely unavoidable. Tomorrow we convene an emergency jōnin meeting!"
This time Danzō heard Sarutobi Hiruzen seemingly agreeing with him and praised: "Good! Hiruzen, you've finally listened to me for once!"
Danzō, walking slowly out of the Hokage's office, saw the door left ajar. He turned back and gently closed it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, buried in paperwork, waited a long time without hearing Danzō's signature "bang" door slam and started to feel uncomfortable.
He looked up—only to find Danzō had already left.
...
After ending the meeting, Danzō immediately returned to his base and ordered his subordinates to summon Naraku.
Naraku—who was currently tinkering with Hashirama cells in Danzō's office—heard the Root ninja's message and happily went along. He remembered he still hadn't collected payment for forging the Inspiring Armor last time.
When Danzō saw Naraku arrive, he forced his face into something resembling a smile. Trying to imitate Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone, he said: "Naraku, is there anything you need lately?"
Naraku had been waiting for exactly this sentence. He opened his mouth wide like a lion: "Lord Danzō, I've been lacking inspiration lately. Could you give me a bit of Lord First's original body cells? And while you're at it, let me take a look at the Scroll of Seals? I heard it contains many forbidden techniques created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama."
Danzō inwardly scorned Naraku—after using second-generation Hashirama cells once, he had become completely shameless about such inhumane acts and now even wanted original Senju Hashirama cells.
As Teacher said: the Uchiha are an evil clan.
As for the Scroll of Seals Naraku mentioned later—even Danzō couldn't access it casually. Even if he wanted to see it, he needed Sarutobi Hiruzen's permission. Let alone ordinary ninjas—they had to have accomplished great deeds and be direct-line loyalists of the Hokage faction to even pick one.
The Uchiha brat in front of him was truly insatiable.
Danzō said: "I can probably give you a little of Lord First's original body cells—but you must use them sparingly. As for the Scroll of Seals, the forbidden techniques inside are too dangerous. You're still young—those are too early for you."
Naraku immediately became unhappy upon hearing this. What do you mean "you're still young"? If you've got the guts, drop your pants and let's compare who's smaller!
Naraku then thought of Danzō's lifelong childlessness, plus that strange relationship between Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen—could he be gay? And the kind with ED (erectile dysfunction) that could only bottom?
Naraku looked at Danzō with pitying eyes, leaving Danzō utterly baffled.
Seeing Naraku silent, Danzō thought he was dissatisfied and continued soothing: "Do you know Sarutobi Hiruzen is considering handing you over to other ninja villages? Recently Iwagakure called for a Five Kage Summit—they want you! Otherwise they threaten to attack Konoha together. Sarutobi Hiruzen is considering handing you over."
When it came to badmouthing Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzō was well-practiced. He had even prepared—if Sarutobi Hiruzen later said no to handing him over, he would tell Uchiha Naraku it was thanks to his own forceful argument and willingness to die to protect him.
Upon hearing this, Naraku immediately went full drama mode—suddenly lowering his head and using chakra to stimulate his eyes until they turned red.
Naraku seemed to have made some kind of determination. He raised his head, looked firmly at Danzō and said: "Lord Danzō! Since Sarutobi Hiruzen wants to abandon me from Konoha, I can only rely on you to help me now. I recently had an idea—I want to forge a mech that surpasses Teigu. This mech will have power beyond Teigu—enough to pacify the entire ninja world! I've already gathered most of the materials for this weapon. Now I need your help."
Greed surged in Danzō's heart. He never expected badmouthing Sarutobi Hiruzen once would unearth such a big prize. To date, every weapon Naraku said he would forge had succeeded—anything he claimed was usually a conservative estimate, and the result always exceeded his promises.
If he could control this weapon capable of pacifying the ninja world—what bicycle did he need anymore! In the future he could do whatever he wanted! All those schemes were for the weak—true power would make the weak come crawling to him.
Seeing Danzō practically drooling, Naraku naturally didn't know his few words had made Danzō feel like he was about to become the protagonist of the nation.
"You need what? I'll support you fully!" Shimura Danzō said, forcibly calming himself after ending his fantasy.
Naraku replied: "Because that weapon is extremely massive, the workload is also enormous—so I need Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to help. Second, I have a premonition this new dangerous species will be terrifyingly powerful. It will be the biological core of the new weapon—and precisely because of that, the new weapon can surpass Teigu. Third, because the work is so complex, I'll need help from many talented people, massive amounts of money, and vast quantities of materials!"
Hearing this, Danzō immediately gave his promise. He told Naraku to go back and wait—he would arrange everything as quickly as possible.
On the way back, Naraku couldn't help but reveal a Dragon King smile—his lips were simply too hard to suppress.
This time he had gotten quite a lot of good stuff. He had even thought ahead: later he'd find a chance to leak information about the [Supreme Throne] to Sarutobi Hiruzen and ask for more.
Then, using Konoha's resources, he would forge this S-rank weapon. He had a premonition that once this was forged, he could make the system level up again!
As for who the weapon would ultimately belong to—perhaps because Naraku hid his true strength so well and almost no one knew his real power, those people never imagined Naraku would simply take the weapon for himself.
But Naraku didn't mind giving Konoha's higher-ups a little "insurance" later—let them feel some sense of security. They could invest with peace of mind. Anyway, in front of the weapon's royal authority, every weapon he forged would spread its legs like a slut for him!
Naraku fantasized about himself wearing Susanoo-powered mech armor—he even felt he might be able to fight the current old-age Madara one day.
If luck was good and he killed Madara, then in the entire ninja world—unless the Sage of Six Paths jumped out—he would be the true emperor of the ninja world!
Of course he could also wait for Uchiha Madara to die of old age before making his move.
Thinking of this, Naraku realized a serious problem: Could Uchiha Madara already be paying attention to him?!
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