Hiruzen Sarutobi did not stop Danzo from leaving. He only looked meaningfully at the departing back of his old friend and then withdrew his gaze.
He must have gained insight into something, as the light flowing in his pupils also became obscure.
But after all, he did not speak at this time. All he did was pick up the cigarette rod placed on the table and light the tobacco placed inside, and then took a hard puff, as if he wanted to use it to soothe his heart. mood.
"Hiruzen, do you really want to hand Danzo over to the Iron Kingdom?"
"The action against Tang Zhiguo was the result of our discussions together. He is not to blame."
"This situation occurred entirely because we did not collect enough intelligence about Yuno Country."
"Besides, Danzo has put all his strength into this operation."
"It would be too chilling to hand it over directly to the Iron Kingdom."
Xiaochunyu broke the silence when he went to bed and spoke in a serious tone.
This wave of unrested events made her a little confused, but she knew one thing clearly: Konoha cannot do without Danzo, and Hiruzen cannot do without Danzo.
They need such a person to carry and execute the dark side of Konoha.
However, such a voice did not receive an immediate response. The white-haired old man was still smoking dry cigarettes, and he did not know whether he heard the words here.
"Hiruzen!"
Xiaochun obviously couldn't agree with or be satisfied with the attitude of his old friend.
Another urgent deep cry expressed the dissatisfaction in his heart.
"Hiruzen, we really need you to give us an attitude."
Mito Menyan also added in a timely manner.
This is not only to solve the matter, but also to get an explanation.
If even someone like Danzo, who has silently made great contributions to Konoha, has to be abandoned, then who will be abandoned next time?
They are companions who have been together since the Second Ninja War! !
When two urgent and hot gazes fell on him, it would be impossible for Hiruzen Sarutobi to remain silent.
"Daming Mansion needs an answer."
He stated his position firmly.
What I really don't understand is that even Shimura Danzo himself didn't show any resistance, so why can't these two people clearly see that they have a strong relationship?
But after a pause, he continued:
"Once you lose the support of the Daming Palace, do you think Konoha can continue to operate on its own for a long time?"
"The purchase of various ninja tools, training of ninjas, border expenses, salaries of auxiliary ninjas, pensions for those who died in the service, and maintenance of daily facilities, all of these require huge funds to operate."
"Do you think we can offset this huge consumption just by relying on our ninjas to carry out missions?"
"And, who do you think is the biggest employer in Konoha?"
"It's the Daming Mansion of the Country of Fire, as well as all the dignitaries and wealthy businessmen within the territory!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was also angry. He didn't know how expensive food, rice, oil and salt were when he was not a family member.
Sitting in this position, what he has to consider is the operation and future of the entire village, not just one person! !
"Think of Sunagakure Village in the neighboring country."
"Why do you think they chose this stage and this time to hold the Chuunin Joint Examination with us?"
"Is it a spur of the moment?"
"It's to let the great names of the Kingdom of Wind see their own strength!"
"Do you know how many commissions we have received in recent years from the Country of Wind next door? Sunagakure's interests are constantly being reduced, as are the subsidies from the Daming Palace of the Country of Wind."
"That's why they can't wait to pass this joint examination to prove their strength!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, hating the fact that he was not as strong as steel.
If one's own side disgraces the face of the Fire Nation's daimyo due to a momentary self-interest and a momentary lack of cooperation, then the consequences that follow are entirely conceivable.
After all, Konoha is just a huge mercenary army.
The one who truly controls the wealth of the entire Fire Nation is the Fire Nation Daming Mansion!
Under the Sandaime's unabashed confession, it would be too inappropriate for the two advisors to say anything that would anger the public.
"Then, you can't just watch Danzo being escorted to the Kingdom of Iron!"
"You know how important Danzo is to Konoha, especially Konoha now."
"What's more, the threat of Uchiha Ara has not been eliminated yet."
After going to bed, Koharu's tone weakened significantly, but he still wanted to save Danzo.
"I said, I will protect Danzo, but I need time."
Sarutobi Hiruzen responded in a deep voice. He was also very confused now. All the bad things happened one after another in an instant, making him unable to be as calm as before.
And in this incident, the man from the Kingdom of Iron directly bypassed Konoha and went to criticize the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Fire. This can already illustrate the seriousness of the incident. It is simply impossible to fool him casually. things.
What's more, it directly caused the death of thousands of warriors, and we had no way to make excuses!
Because the Iron Kingdom is not like Kumogakure, a ninja village that has always had friction with its own side and has hatred, but a samurai who has always remained neutral and behaved rigidly.
Once this matter is not handled well, it will be a trivial matter for the Iron Country to send a signal of hostility to itself. What is really worrying is the decline in the reputation of Konoha and Konoha ninjas!
This is a matter related to the development of Konoha and must be resolved with caution.
"Besides, he might have already made up his mind."
Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly put down the cigarette rod in his hand.
He must be the one who knows Danzo best among the four, so he can find a clue in the other person's cold eyes.
That guy would never want to be controlled by others.
therefore.........
"Okay, you guys go back and rest first. I will handle this matter with Danzo."
After calming down, he began to drive away the guests.
What was supposed to be a long night has already begun to shine due to the entanglement of many things.
I am destined to have no sleep tonight,
I will give an answer to Yunyin Village tomorrow.
Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood couldn't stop falling.
Today was probably the most painful night for him since the night of the Kyuubi.
"Well, then you should go to bed early."
Mito Katoyan stopped Koharu who wanted to say something else.
He obviously knew that the person who was suffering the most tonight was not them, nor Danzo Shimura who was at the forefront of the storm, but Hiruzen as the current Hokage.
There are too many things that the other party has to consider. If you are not careful, then the problem will not be just for one person, but for the entire Konoha.
As he said this, he didn't expect to get a response from the former, so he motioned for Xiaochun to go to bed and leave with him.
However, when the entire Hokage's office returned to silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not sit down at his desk to deal with matters, but looked out the window, and that direction was the location of the village gate.
.........
.........
'Shimura Danzo? '
'Where is that guy going so late? '
When Huang returned from Tang Country, he immediately received reports from free-range bugs.
Of course, there are very few insects living freely in the village, and they only target a few important people in the village.
After all, the ninjas of the Aburame clan are not only a group of very powerful insect controllers, but also a group of guys who love insects very much. If any clues about them are discovered, it will definitely cause some unnecessary trouble.
In addition, Shisui's other Mangekyō Sharingan was still on the guy's body, so he did not let the bugs follow the old fox too much.
But since that guy chose to travel late at night, he had to take the opportunity to give some feedback in order to be reciprocal.
After thinking about it, Ara directly activated [Shisui Shisui] and walked unimpeded towards the opponent's stronghold inside Konoha.
Danzo's stronghold is also at the corner of Konoha, almost on the opposite corner from the Uchiha clan.
I don’t know if it’s out of genuine disgust, or it’s a metaphor for the determination to fight against this clan to the end.
The interior of the stronghold is very dark, quiet, and rough and simple.
It is equivalent to digging a bottomless pit into the ground. All structures are supported by extremely barbaric steel bars, and nothing is done for aesthetic reasons.
This would make it easier for him to do something.
For example, a detonating symbol is secretly posted where the steel bars meet.
But what surprised Huang a little was that there didn't seem to be a warning barrier set up at this stronghold.
Although he 'passed by' here the day before yesterday, he didn't get too close. However, now that he has completely set foot in this deep and huge stronghold, he still hasn't found anything that serves as a warning.
Not to mention the warning barrier, there were not even half a human figure, and the whole place looked like it was deserted.
"What tricks is that old fox doing again?"
Huang muttered to himself and continued walking deeper into the ground.
The regular rooms dug into the two rows of passages seemed to be places used by root ninjas to rest, but they were still empty.
As he continued to go deeper, a closed door appeared in his field of vision. It seemed that this was the final destination of this stronghold.
[Rolling eyes. 】
A ferocious green vein suddenly appeared in the corner of his right eye, and everything around him, including the ambiguity hidden in the rock wall, became clear at this moment.
There was still no one in the room, and there were no traps set at the door.
Everything is undefended.
Such a strange situation once made Ara wonder whether he had gone to the wrong place, and whether this was the stronghold of Danzo Shimura!
As soon as I pushed the door open, a dark, damp, musty smell immediately spread across the floor. It was really hard to imagine how that dark old thing could curl up in this place all day long.
The room seemed a bit messy, with some documents scattered on the floor.
However, after picking up a few and carefully analyzing them, I could not get any useful information from them. Either the words were incomplete and no follow-up message could be found; or they were written using special characters and symbols, which required a specific codebook to decipher.
This is also the only place where Huang can feel that this is the stronghold of the old fox.
"Is it abandoned?"
He stood in the room and muttered to himself.
He has used his Byakugan to scan every inch of land and every compartment here, but he still hasn't been able to find any useful information.
Everything seems to tell that the owner here has completely abandoned it.
But from the messy papers that fell on the ground, it can be seen that this place has not been abandoned for a long time.
It may even be the day he passed by the day before.
With this thought in mind, Huang slowly exited the room. Of course, all the papers he had just touched were gently wiped with the gauze in his bag.
Although the technology tree of this plane is not very high, it is always right to be careful.
And when he completely exited the stronghold, Huang returned all the objects he had touched to their original positions, and also removed some detonating symbols placed along the way.
Since this place is suspected to have been abandoned by Danzo Shimura, that old fox, there is no need for him to arrange anything else, just treat everything as if he has never been here.
at the same time,
On the only way out of the village, a white-haired old man stood with his hands behind his back.
He seemed to have been here a long time ago and was waiting quietly for something.
"Have you really made your decision?"
"This is a road of no return."
After an unknown amount of time, the old man suddenly spoke out. His words were very calm, and it was difficult to discern the special emotions mixed with them.
After a while, along with a rustling sound, a figure with a relatively broad frame quietly appeared, but his whole body was in the shadow of the trees, and the only thing exposed to the sky seemed to be a wooden crutch.
"you do not believe me?"
The white-haired old man turned around and looked at the visitor who was under the shadow of the giant tree. There was a hint of fatigue and inseparable complexity in his old eyes.
It's just that this question still hasn't been answered. The figure on crutches seems to have simply appeared in response to the call, and has nothing to communicate with.
"Things actually have room for relaxation."
"Although General Mifune is stubborn, he must also consider the future of the entire Iron Country. Offending Konoha is definitely not the result he ultimately wants."
"I will also find ways to persuade the daimyo. I think it still saves me some face."
"But you have to give me time. During this time, I need to aggrieve you."
The old man continued to speak, and his voice became more and more genuine. He must be speaking from the bottom of his heart.
However, what he got was still speechless.
This silence lasted for a long time, until the sky became brighter and brighter.
The night is drawing to a close.
"I see."
"You're scared too, right?"
"I'm afraid that the little guy from the Uchiha clan will not give you a chance to wait after learning about this matter, and will attack you midway."
The old man no longer persuades, because he can completely understand the other person's mind.
The elite at the root were basically wiped out, the most trusted left and right arms were no longer around, and even the Mangekyo Sharingan that he had captured had no effect in front of that person.
Fear,
Wanting to leave before things get complicated is the other person's current mood.
understand,
He really understands.
"But you have to know that once you make such a choice, Konoha will regard you as a defecting ninja who is trying to sow discord between Konoha and the Kingdom of Iron."
"And put them on the wanted list and pursue them, regardless of life or death."
Silence is still silence.
No matter what the white-haired old man was saying, there was always silence in the shadow where only a crutch could be seen.
After waiting for a while,
When a ray of morning sun fell, he broke the endless silence again.
"I see."
"You go."
"I will handle the envoy's side."
"However, you will soon face the ANBU pursuit."
"Just go as far away as possible."
Hearing this, a voice finally came from under the shadow.
But it was still not the sound of a reply, but the sound of footsteps gradually getting further away.
