Uzumaki Kushina felt completely powerless.
She sighed deeply. "Why is there so much suspicion and distrust between us, even though we're all comrades from the same village?"
Sora gently rubbed Kushina's head to comfort her. "That's just how things are. In my opinion, a world without any suspicion or doubt between people is absolutely impossible to achieve—and would be unnatural anyway."
Kushina looked puzzled. "Unnatural? Wouldn't it be good if everyone trusted each other? Then there would be no wars, and the world would become a beautiful place, right?"
Sora explained patiently: "In the real world, people make different choices and decisions based on their values, interests, and motivations."
"If everyone trusted each other unconditionally, regardless of these differences, then that trust would lack any realistic foundation and would seem distorted."
"Human nature is complex and ever-changing. People sometimes act dishonestly or deceptively because of selfishness, fear, jealousy, and other emotions. If everyone trusted each other without question, that kind of trust would ignore this aspect of human nature and appear too naive."
"In an environment of complete trust, people might overlook potential problems or mistakes because no one would question or challenge them."
"But problems are inevitable."
"Without healthy skepticism and questioning, these problems might not be discovered and resolved in time, which could lead to even greater crises."
"Through challenges and questioning, people can learn new knowledge and skills and improve themselves. If everyone trusted each other without any doubt, individuals might lose opportunities to grow because they couldn't learn from their mistakes or push themselves to improve."
"In an environment of complete trust, people might lower their guard and ignore external threats and risks. This lack of self-protection could actually make them more vulnerable to attacks and harm."
"So it would be unnatural for everyone to trust each other without any suspicion, because that ignores the complexity of human nature and the unpredictability of reality."
After hearing this, Kushina was stunned. She stared blankly at Sora and murmured, "Sora, why are you so insightful about these things?"
Sora smiled and replied, "Because... I'm not going to tell you~"
Kushina pouted angrily.
Sora could analyze things so thoroughly because he had been surrounded by suspicion and distrust since childhood.
Back in Konoha, Sora had lived very cautiously. If his true intentions were ever discovered, he would find himself in a situation from which there was no return.
Kushina said to Sora, "Let's do our best to help Miyuki. After all... if it weren't for her, I would have been the Kyuubi Jinchūriki."
Sora pinched Kushina's cheek and said, "Alright, no matter what choice Miyuki makes, I'll help her."
"If she wants to leave Konoha, I'll help her leave."
"When the time comes, I'll convince her to join the Owl Organization."
"It would be perfect. She'd have a place to stay, and she could also help Yahiko and the others."
...
Meanwhile, at the Root headquarters.
Danzo sat alone in his office, tapping his fingers on the desktop as he thought about the meeting three days ago.
Sora had been targeted, lost his position as the Hokage's assistant, and was ultimately threatened.
But Danzo didn't truly dare to touch Sora.
Sora had become so bold that he made it difficult for Konoha's leadership to save face in front of everyone. If they really moved against Sora, they would need to kill him. If they failed, Sora would definitely retaliate with everything he had.
There were still too many uncertainties, so they couldn't act rashly.
What angered Danzo even more was that Sarutobi Hiruzen had backstabbed him twice.
The last meeting had probably been the closest he'd ever come to becoming Hokage, only to be betrayed again by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was now assuming the position of Hokage again and needed to inform the daimyo in person.
Since he was resuming his old position, Sarutobi Hiruzen probably wouldn't bring many people when meeting the daimyo. This could be an opportunity.
Namikaze Minato was in a coma, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had volunteered to resume his role as Hokage.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen were to die, Danzo could nominate himself as the successor.
Sora and Orochimaru had deeply offended Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. They would definitely support Danzo's succession to Hokage.
Danzo's eyes flickered as an idea suddenly formed in his mind.
He immediately sent someone to find out when Sarutobi Hiruzen would be going to the daimyo's palace, and soon received the information.
Tomorrow, Sarutobi Hiruzen and five Anbu would be heading to the daimyo's palace.
Danzo immediately summoned ten Root shinobi, including the future 'Yamato' who was only ten years old and currently code-named 'A'.
Half an hour later.
The ten Root shinobi gathered before Danzo, kneeling on one knee.
Danzo closed his eyes and remained silent for a while, then opened them again.
His gaze was extremely sharp as he looked down at the ten Root members and said, "Tomorrow at dawn, the Third Hokage will depart for the daimyo's palace with five Anbu as escorts."
"His purpose is to be officially reinstated as Hokage while the Fourth is in a coma with no sign of when he might wake up."
"If he succeeds in taking office, Konoha will once again be controlled by a timid and indecisive leader. For the sake of the village, we cannot allow this to happen."
"Your mission is to quickly eliminate the Third on his journey. The only thing you must be careful about is ensuring that no one discovers who was responsible. You must make people believe it was the work of missing-nin. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
At five o'clock the next morning.
The gates of Konoha opened. Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the gates with five Anbu kneeling on one knee behind him.
One of the Anbu asked, "Lord Third Hokage, are you ready to depart?"
"Yes, let's go."
...
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the five Anbu headed toward the daimyo's palace.
The Root shinobi sent by Danzo followed them secretly.
At the same time, another figure was tracking both Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Root shinobi from a different direction.
This person was Sora.
But this Sora was just a Shadow Clone.
Sora was now only 44,000 witness points away from redeeming the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, so he didn't want to miss any opportunity to gain more points.
That's why Sora was constantly using his Observation Haki to monitor the movements of both Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In the original timeline, Danzo would have manipulated Kakashi, wanting to use him for his own purposes, and then assassinate Sarutobi Hiruzen on his way to the daimyo's palace.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen had discovered Kakashi and encouraged him to rebel.
At the same time, during several operations, Kakashi had discovered a ninja among the Root who could use Wood Style—the future Yamato.
Sora wanted to see how Sarutobi Hiruzen would handle the assassination attempt this time without Kakashi's help.
However, Sora felt that Danzo seemed to underestimate Sarutobi Hiruzen too much. The strength of these ten Root shinobi was simply not enough.
And... Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't actually left Konoha. The "Sarutobi Hiruzen" heading to the daimyo's palace was an Anbu in disguise.
In other words, Sarutobi Hiruzen was already aware that Danzo's Root shinobi intended to assassinate him.
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