"Hiruzen, you are already the Hokage. The position of Anbu Commander…"
Left with no choice, Danzo Shimura had to be direct with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at him.
As partners for over a decade, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Danzo Shimura just as well as Danzo knew him, if not better.
The moment Danzo opened his mouth, Hiruzen knew what he wanted.
However, Hiruzen already had someone in mind for the new Anbu Commander, which was why he hadn't responded directly to Danzo.
He just hadn't expected Danzo to be so blunt.
Before Danzo could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off.
"Danzo, you are not fit to hold the position of Anbu Commander."
"In the battle with the Stone ninjas, you exposed numerous problems and sustained considerable injuries, which have significantly affected your strength."
"And you know the kind of missions the Anbu undertake."
"If the Anbu Commander lacks the strength to command the respect of his subordinates, how can they be convinced to follow him?"
The Anbu's missions were the most difficult in the village.
It could be said that Anbu ninjas were sacrificed on almost every mission.
Without a strong commander to lead them and give them hope of completing the mission, who would be willing to throw their lives away for nothing?
If the mission was a success, the sacrificed ninjas were heroes.
If the mission failed, the sacrificed ninjas didn't even deserve a name.
As "tools," a good reputation was perhaps the lifelong pursuit of a normal ninja.
This could be seen as the same as the Uchiha clan's pride.
"Hiruzen, you…"
Danzo Shimura's face flushed red, then turned pale.
He never imagined that Hiruzen Sarutobi would be so merciless.
Indeed, in the war with the Stone ninjas, Danzo, as the commander, had not only been stubborn and refused to listen to the Nara clan's advice, but his strength was also significantly inferior to that of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.
Even against the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki, Danzo had failed to hold them back in the subsequent battles, allowing them to inflict considerable damage on the Konoha ninjas.
Fortunately, before Hiruzen and the others arrived to support the Stone front, the Ino-Shika-Cho combination had managed to hold off one of the Stone's top combatants. The head of the Nara clan, in particular, had used his command to its fullest, setting up numerous traps that allowed Konoha to preserve most of its strength under the Stone's relentless pressure.
If not for that, Danzo Shimura would probably have become the first elder to be disqualified.
"Danzo, you should keep a low profile for a while. The time for you to reappear is when everyone has more or less forgotten your mistakes."
"Damn it!"
Danzo Shimura gritted his teeth.
However, he also knew that of Konoha's three battlefronts, although the Uchiha clan had suffered heavy losses, they had truly held the Sand ninjas back beyond the borders of the Land of Fire.
Furthermore, they had established a fearsome reputation on the Sand front, reminding the entire ninja world of the Uchiha clan's terror.
During the Warring States period, even without Madara Uchiha, the Uchiha clan was a super ninja clan.
Only the Senju clan could rival them.
After joining Konoha, the Uchiha clan had used the war with the Sand to declare their strength once more.
To fight an entire village with the power of a single clan—besides the Uchiha, no other clan in the ninja world could do it.
On the Cloud battlefield, under the tenacious resistance of the Sarutobi clan, the Cloud ninjas had also failed to invade the Land of Fire.
It wasn't until Li Anshi was dispatched from the Sand front to provide support that the battle was decided. The delivery of several thousand flying daggers scared the Cloud ninjas straight back to their village.
Only on the Stone front, led by Danzo Shimura, had the situation once fallen into crisis.
"Damn it, if Li Anshi had come here to help, how could I have lost?"
Danzo Shimura cursed inwardly.
At the same time, his jealousy of Hiruzen Sarutobi twisted his face.
Why?
Why did all the good things happen to Hiruzen Sarutobi?
It was like that when the teacher said to stay behind and cover the retreat, and it was the same on the battlefield where he received stronger ninja support…
How unfair the heavens have been to me!
Hiruzen Sarutobi could guess some of what was going through Danzo's mind.
However, Hiruzen didn't pay much attention to Danzo's abnormality.
Danzo's personality, to put it nicely, was that he plotted before acting, skilled at using underhanded means to achieve his goals.
To put it bluntly, he was timid and indecisive.
And as the supreme leader of a village, decisiveness was paramount.
You could choose to be wrong, but you could not choose not to choose.
Otherwise, opportunities were fleeting. While others had already taken several steps, you hadn't even put on your shoes. How could you possibly gain everyone's recognition?
Furthermore, for a profession as dark as a ninja's, the desire for "light" was even stronger.
Everyone hoped to live in the sunlight, to follow someone who could let them bask in it.
Look at the Kage of the great ninja villages. Which one of them did not possess personal charisma and vision that attracted the majority of ninjas to willingly serve them?
Even those in the village who had a bad relationship with the Kage would only vent their personal dissatisfaction, not believe that the person was unqualified as a "Kage."
On this point alone, no matter how many schemes Danzo Shimura had, he could never become a "Kage."
"How about this…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying to Danzo, "Danzo, the Anbu have suffered heavy casualties and need frequent replenishment."
"For now, you can cultivate a group of ninjas in the village. If there are any outstanding talents among them, they can be promoted to the Anbu."
Danzo Shimura was slightly angered.
Was Hiruzen Sarutobi treating him like a farmer growing leeks?
If the unit he formed had no outstanding talents, it was his own incompetence.
But if he cultivated outstanding talents, they wouldn't belong to him either, but would be absorbed into the Anbu to become Hiruzen's subordinates…
"Hiruzen, you will regret treating me this way!"
After roaring at Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura left the Hokage's building with a dark face.
From Hiruzen's tone, Danzo understood that he was determined to sideline him for a period of time.
During this time, it would be impossible for him to openly serve as a high-ranking official in Konoha.
…
In the carving shop, Li Anshi sat at his workbench, the flying dagger in his hand gliding across a palm-sized piece of wood, sending chips flying.
Never underestimate the efficiency of a ninja!
Although Li Anshi had only posted the mission at the Hokage's building yesterday afternoon, a ninja had already arrived early this morning with the requested items for confirmation.
After accepting the wood and signing the mission request form for the ninja who had completed it, Li Anshi began to work.
However, before he could finish the carving in his hand, a ninja wearing a white beast-like mask appeared in front of his shop.
"Lord Anshi, the Hokage has summoned you."
"Oh?"
Hearing the ninja's voice, Li Anshi looked up and saw the mask on his face.
"Anbu?"
It had been nearly sixteen years since he came to this world, and this was the first time Li Anshi had seen an Anbu ninja.
Although in the anime, the Anbu ninjas seemed like cannon fodder, with most of them getting injured or killed whenever they appeared.
In reality, the Anbu ninjas were the elite of the elite in a village.
The weakest among them were the best of the Elite Chunin.
The squad leaders were at least Special Jonin.
The division captains were at least Jonin, and as for the Anbu Commander, they had to be an Elite Jonin.
And a strong one at that.
This Jonin outside his shop, Li Anshi could only sense a trace of his aura.
This meant the other party was highly skilled in concealing their chakra signature.
He was at least a Jonin-level powerhouse.
"Alright, I understand."
"I'll be right there."
After nodding to the Anbu ninja, Li Anshi put down the carving in his hand.
Shoo!
Receiving Li Anshi's response, the Anbu ninja's figure instantly disappeared.
Closing the shop door, Li Anshi jumped onto the roof and used the Body Flicker Technique to head towards the Hokage's building.
"Lord Hokage, you were looking for me?"
Entering the Hokage's office, Li Anshi asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sitting in the Hokage's seat.
"Yes, Anshi. I want you to be the Commander of the Anbu. What do you think?"
"What? The Commander of the Anbu?"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Li Anshi was shocked.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to invite him to join the Anbu, Li Anshi could understand that.
Of course, whether to join or not was his own choice.
But Li Anshi never imagined that Hiruzen would offer him the position of Anbu Commander right from the start.
Generally speaking, the Anbu Commander was fully qualified to contend for the position of Kage after the current Kage stepped down.
In fact, if the Hokage of Konoha intended to cultivate the next generation's Hokage, they would have them serve as the Anbu Commander.
This seemed to have become a tradition in Konoha.
For example, when the First Hokage was still in power, Tobirama Senju had formed the Anbu and became its first commander.
After Tobirama Senju became the Second Hokage, the person who took over as the second Anbu Commander was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Because of this, the Anbu Commander had another nickname—the Hokage's Assistant!
According to the original trajectory of the ninja world, after Hiruzen Sarutobi, the one to serve as the Anbu Commander was a more mature Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.
At the same time, because of Sakumo Hatake's high prestige, Hiruzen Sarutobi had once personally torn off half of his sleeve and bestowed it upon him, giving him the beautiful title of "Hokage's Half-Sleeve."
At that time, everyone in Konoha believed that after Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sakumo Hatake would become the Fourth Hokage.
Unfortunately, due to Danzo Shimura's schemes, Sakumo Hatake became disillusioned with Konoha's leadership and, in despair, died for his principles.
Now, because of Li Anshi's appearance, Konoha had ended the war several years early, and Sakumo Hatake had not yet earned the fearsome reputation of "Konoha's White Fang."
Therefore, for Hiruzen Sarutobi, Li Anshi was the most suitable candidate to become the Anbu Commander.
Although Li Anshi was still young, his strength was unquestionable.
"That's right. As long as you are willing, the position of Anbu Commander is yours."
"I have high hopes for you, Anshi."
"The future of Konoha belongs to you all."
From Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone, Li Anshi could feel that he was sincere in wanting to cultivate him to become the next Hokage.
However…
Li Anshi shook his head.
The Hokage… for everyone in Konoha, it was their ultimate dream.
How many people, from the moment they refined their chakra, had made becoming the Hokage their life's goal?
Unfortunately, these people did not include Li Anshi!
He liked freedom.
And the Hokage was bound by numerous ties.
"My apologies, Lord Hokage."
"After this year of being a ninja, I think I still prefer the life I had as the owner of the carving shop."
"So, for your kind offer, I can only apologize."
In the end, Li Anshi shook his head and refused Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"This…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was bewildered.
After becoming Hokage, he prided himself on his broadened perspective.
From Li Anshi's previous questions in the Cloud battlefield camp, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that he was a Konoha ninja who possessed the "Will of Fire" and also had the mindset of a "Kage."
According to Hiruzen's speculation, Li Anshi should also be a young man who dreamed of "becoming Hokage."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have said to him, knowing full well he was the Hokage, that he "had not inherited the will of the previous two Hokage."
But now that he had delivered the stepping stone to becoming Hokage right to his feet, why did he refuse?
And what was this about preferring the life of a carving shop owner?
Even if you were going to make an excuse, you had to find a more reasonable one, right?
After Li Anshi had displayed his strength, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already collected all the information on him.
His carving shop had an average daily turnover of three to five thousand Ryo, about the same as the reward for a D-rank mission.
For what reason would Li Anshi tell him such an absurd lie?
"Anshi, I don't quite understand."
Hiruzen Sarutobi still didn't want to let such a good seedling go.
"I remember you didn't quite agree with some of my decisions."
"If that's the case, why don't you want to become Hokage to implement your own decisions?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had spoken with Li Anshi, and from his words, he could hear his disdain for some of Konoha's policies.
Of course, Hiruzen could also feel that while some of Li Anshi's suggestions sounded good, they weren't very suitable for Konoha's situation.
If they were implemented forcefully, it would inevitably cause turmoil in Konoha.
Promoting Li Anshi to Anbu Commander was also Hiruzen's way of paving the road for him. When Li Anshi became Hokage, there would be less resistance to implementing those decisions.