Konoha.
Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat on the broad wooden chair, clenching the pipe that had accompanied his original body for many years, flipping through documents with rapt attention.
The base color of his eyes held a thick shade of curiosity.
Before he had been reading for long, the doorknob of the office was rudely twisted. Accompanied by a knock that was perfunctory and almost simultaneous with the opening, a man with bandages on his head and leaning on a cane strode in.
Shimura Danzō was holding back a fire in his heart.
Recently, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been seriously ill, bedridden with a high fever for several days, and had set aside a lot of work...
Too slothful!
He, the Hokage Assistant, had to give him a good beating!
Shimura Danzō was just about to habitually shout the name "Hiruzen," triggering the silky smooth combo he had used for many years.
But he saw the other party suddenly look up, his eyes playful.
Shimura Danzō's heart shivered, and he subconsciously stood still.
What was going on?
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had just recovered from a serious illness, seemed to have become younger, his sitting posture and figure much more upright than before.
Was it an illusion?
"I wondered who it was."
Sarutobi Hiruzen unhurriedly knocked his pipe against the edge of the table, paused for a moment, and said, "So it is the Hokage..."
He deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of the last word: "...Assistant, who has come?"
Shimura Danzō's face looked ugly.
During the pause just now, his mood had actually fluctuated.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen never addressed him by the title of Hokage Assistant.
So was there a possibility, a very small possibility, but one that should exist?
— Monkey finally realized today that I am the one most suitable to be Hokage, and he wants to pass the position to me today!
But as soon as the emphasized word "Assistant" came out.
Shimura Danzō immediately reacted; Sarutobi Hiruzen was expressing dissatisfaction!
"Hiruzen..."
Shimura Danzō frowned, his fingers unconsciously exerting force, wrinkling the document bag in his hand: "What do you mean by this?"
"It means your recent work has been done well." Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to smile with gratification: "The scale of Root continues to expand, and the individual funding and equipment specifications have exceeded the Anbu..."
"You added trench coats to the attire and adopted masks that look fiercer than the Anbu's."
"You are quite formidable now!"
The thoughts in Shimura Danzō's mind spun rapidly.
Something was wrong...
Nine out of ten things were wrong!
Logically speaking, he was secretly conducting the banned Wood Release experiments. Sarutobi Hiruzen shouldn't be troubling him right now.
At the very least, he would wait until he detected it and confirmed that results had been produced. Only then would this Lord Hokage try to take away the fruit borne in the darkness and give him a punishment that was neither too big nor too small.
In this process, even if his personal authority expanded beyond the framework of a Hokage Assistant, it was the remuneration he paid for this darkness.
This was the tacit understanding between the two for many years.
Now, was Sarutobi Hiruzen going to tear up this contract?
Was he not afraid that Danzō would stop working on Wood Release?!
If he had to do it himself, as the branch under the light, would he dare to carry this black pot?
"Hiruzen, I am doing this for Konoha!"
Shimura Danzō emphasized loudly: "Root lurks in the darkness, facing the cruelest environments and missions. Naturally, it requires a large amount of personnel and supplies!"
"As the Hokage, you should be thinking about the future of the village and the Ninja World War that will inevitably happen, not bickering here about minor issues with Root. This is meaningless infighting!"
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly stood up, holding his pipe and pacing in front of Shimura Danzō.
He smiled disdainfully at his face and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
The pungent smoke made Shimura Danzō clench his fists instantly!
This was too humiliating!
Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Konoha Hokage, he couldn't treat his assistant like this...
But the words that followed stunned this Darkness of the Ninja World.
"Do you think I am accusing you?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and patted his old friend's shoulder heavily: "I am reminding you, you are walking the wrong path!"
Shimura Danzō frowned tightly: "What wrong path?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand roughly.
"Your desire to be Hokage—from the Five Great Hidden Villages up top to the obscure ninja clans down below, who doesn't know?"
"But looking like this, how can you be Hokage?"
"Always walking in the darkness, as the leader of a special department, you possess privileges that ordinary ninja fear."
"But the more you walk this way, the further you get from the position of Hokage."
"For example, why did Lord Second ask the Uchiha Clan to take over the Police Force duties alone?"
Shimura Danzō's expression became very colorful.
How could he not understand this principle?
It was just that standing under the light, for the power figures of Konoha, was a privilege that previously belonged solely to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
As they say, the sky cannot have two suns.
So, Shimura Danzō could only grip the darkness in his hands tightly...
After all, dark power was still power. In any case, he was the Hokage Assistant, above one person and below ten thousand!
"Of course I know!"
Shimura Danzō spoke hoarsely: "What do you want to say, Hiruzen! I am willing to shoulder the darkness for the village! Ninja must have the conviction of sacrifice!"
"I'm asking you, do you want to be Hokage?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly smiled: "I'm asking you just this once, Danzō."
In the past, Shimura Danzō thought no one understood Sarutobi Hiruzen better than he did.
But today, he completely couldn't figure out what this Lord Hokage wanted to do...
"I want to, how could I not want to? I think about it day and night, I think about it every day, I dream about it! I want to be that damn Hokage so much!" Shimura Danzō roared internally.
But.
Facing this Sarutobi Hiruzen whom he couldn't see through, the words were hard to say when they reached his lips.
Subconsciously, the scene of Senju Tobirama asking who would stay behind as a decoy floated in his mind.
He didn't dare to raise his hand to stay behind back then...
Did he not even dare to say he wanted to fight for Hokage now!
Thinking of this, Shimura Danzō took a deep breath and spat out a hard word: "Yes!"
"Mn, you've improved compared to before." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with a smile.
This tone left a bad taste in Shimura Danzō's mouth.
Do you think you understand me very well? Let me tell you, you don't understand me at all!
What is with this tone?
Do you think you are my leader!
Although he complained in his heart, his ears pricked up to listen intently.
"If you want to, I can help you, but I won't designate you."
"I'll make this clear to you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to his seat and drank a sip of hot tea: "In the past, for some matters regarding Root, I would give you official endorsement."
Shimura Danzō's breathing became unconsciously heavy, and doubts welled up in his heart.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was actually willing to take the blame for him?
Was the Ninja World still created by the Sage of Six Paths!
Shimura Danzō couldn't wait for Sarutobi Hiruzen to continue, but Sarutobi Hiruzen took his time drinking tea.
He glanced at him and lifted his chin slightly.
This meant: My sincerity has been displayed.
Next...
It's your turn.
Shimura Danzō's thoughts turned a hundred times.
Should he talk about the Wood Release experimental subject...
That was a precious Wood Release ninja!
But Sarutobi Hiruzen's composed attitude made it impossible for him to gauge the bottom line.
"At Orochimaru's request, I cooperated with him to conduct some Wood Release experiments."
Shimura Danzō weighed his words: "We paid some price, but the results are extremely gratifying. An experimental subject who survived the intensity of Lord First's cells has appeared."
"I came today to tell you about this."
This was a lie.
He had come to scold Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling Shimura Danzō to sit down, and poured him a cup of tea.
He seemed completely unconcerned about the Wood Release.
Shimura Danzō frowned slightly. That was Wood Release!
He couldn't help but calculate in his heart.
Was Sarutobi Hiruzen waiting for a better price, pretending not to care to lower the value of his confession... or did he truly know about it long ago?
The clear tea tasted bland in his mouth, suppressed by his complicated thoughts.
Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to have not taken the Wood Release experiment to heart at all, saying with a smile, "That's it?"
"A few days ago, I asked the Aburame Clan for a talented ninja."
Shimura Danzō's tone gradually became annoyed:
"Hiruzen, does this count as a matter? If I don't go and ask those arrogant ninja clans for people, how can Root have combat power? How can we establish the authority of the Hokage faction!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed: "Look, you're getting anxious again. You and I are two old brothers; we haven't sat down to chat for a long time. I am caring about your work and life."
"All these years, it really hasn't been easy for you."
Shimura Danzō sneered in his heart. This monkey, why is he playing the emotional card!
But his tense, deadpan face unconsciously softened a little.
"Sometimes, seeing you cultivate some armed forces in Root and trying your best to hide it from me..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's conversation took a sudden turn: "I am not angry, but rather a bit heartbroken."
"You also know that you are not in the normal line of succession for Hokage. Organizing these private soldiers, perhaps you are thinking that if one day I am gone, you can try the path of an armed coup?"
"Starting research on Lord Hashirama's cells, besides considering the village, you also want to obtain that power yourself, right?"
"Fist is power; this is correct. But in Konoha, if you completely equate the two, you are deviating from the cultivation Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama gave us..."
The atmosphere became heavy.
When a Hokage points out that a subordinate has thoughts of an armed seizure of power, this is absolutely the sternest accusation.
And for Shimura Danzō...
Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed to understand him a little too well...
The two drank tea, silent for a long time.
"I never thought that way." Shimura Danzō spoke slowly: "Hiruzen, just say what you want to do."
"After all, you are the Hokage..."
But what he didn't expect was...
It wasn't a reprimand from Sarutobi Hiruzen that followed.
But a guarantee.
"Danzō, I promise you on the honor of being Lord Tobirama's disciple that in the future, I will regard you as one of the official Hokage candidates."
The weight of this sentence was substantial.
So much so that Shimura Danzō spoke urgently: "Hiruzen, do you mean that!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and pointed his thumb back at the portrait of Senju Tobirama on the office wall.
Shimura Danzō's heart instantly became hot.
"Since you are walking the right path, you must move under the sunlight, Danzō..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sipped his tea: "Keep a few handy people in Root; hand the rest over to me for unified classification."
"No need to worry, I will prepare a position for you."
Here came the main point!
Shimura Danzō calculated rapidly in his mind.
He naturally didn't think Sarutobi Hiruzen would be so benevolent as to guide him to the right path and still leave him so many men.
And this offer was actually fair.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen had a darker heart...
What kind of waves could he, a so-called assistant and leader of Root, make with the little power in his hands?
Just the Third alone...
Although Shimura Danzō didn't want to admit it, the Monkey could indeed fight!
Ino-Shika-Chō, his three disciples, Hatake Sakumo, and the major ninja clans gathered under the name of Hokage...
Even the Uchiha Clan, if told to suppress him, would work like horses for this smelly monkey!
As long as Sarutobi Hiruzen was alive, holding him down was too simple.
"Hiruzen, I feel Root should still..." Shimura Danzō took a deep breath, attempting to bargain.
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his index finger, signaling him to be silent: "Danzō, you must consider the problem from the position of the Hokage. If you were the Hokage, how would you treat Root?"
Shimura Danzō fell silent.
In today's Konoha, the Hokage's power was far from infinite.
But for him, a Hokage Assistant and Root leader whose legitimacy depended on Konoha, it choked his lifeline.
Moreover, he used Lord Tobirama as a guarantee...
Bringing the fight for Hokage out into the open and giving him a promise of fair competition.
The weight was enough.
"I understand."
Shimura Danzō placed a scroll on the table: "I'll hand over some matters regarding Orochimaru to you as well, Hiruzen..."
"I will handle Root's affairs."
"But the thing you promised me..."
After speaking, he took a deep look at Sarutobi Hiruzen and strode toward the door.
Two steps out of the office.
Shimura Danzō looked at the open door, his heart moved.
Although somewhat unwilling, he still turned around and closed the door properly.
If this were the past...
He wouldn't close the door for the Monkey!
Not slamming the door would have been good enough!
But today was different from the past; he should give this old guy a little respect...
Shimura Danzō, with a sour face, turned back and pulled the door shut.
Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the door close with a smile, raising an eyebrow.
Obviously, he was not the original Sarutobi Hiruzen...
He was once a veteran named Yuan Fei from an agency. While advancing triumphantly in his career, he unfortunately fell into the prison of ALS.
He could only actively undergo treatment and browse some historical trivia to relax his mind during breaks.
A few days ago, the algorithm, for some reason, pushed a video using Naruto as a metaphor for history.
Although the content was specious, it made him, someone who had never watched Naruto, smile knowingly. He swiped through several in a row before falling into a deep sleep.
And after Yuan Fei woke up, he found that he had come to this Ninja World and become the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Although this body was not young, it contained power far beyond his cognition.
Moreover.
Although he only knew uncertain fragments about the future of this world.
He had a trump card to protect himself.
With a thought, a page of red-headed white paper appeared in his mind, the black characters on it solemn and clear.
[Authority], [Diplomacy], [Economy], [Education], [Military].
Five indicators were listed in front.
And after completing the conversation with Shimura Danzō just now, a touch of gold quietly dyed the foot of the characters above the word 'Authority'.
Like a progress bar.
—