Inside the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still working overtime, processing documents.
Seeing Danzo enter, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "Root has lost two members, is that correct?"
"Yes. Given the killer's strength, he could have destroyed the bodies, but he deliberately left them for me, attempting to pressure me."
Danzo placed a scroll in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the scroll; it was in the Second Hokage's handwriting, recording his evaluation of the Uzumaki clan's secret technique, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
He didn't understand why Danzo was showing him this and patiently continued reading:
This is the sealing technique most compatible with the Anbu. It allows for the control of a group of puppets who only know how to obey, without needing to consider the Anbu's loyalty.
Due to its excessively cruel nature of erasing emotions, it was classified as a forbidden technique by the Uzumaki clan.
Only for an absolutely righteous purpose can such a dark method be used. After much consideration, I ultimately decided not to request this forbidden technique from the Uzumaki clan leader.
Konoha is developing rapidly and temporarily does not need such extreme means;
The Konoha Anbu are ninja who use dark methods to bring light to Konoha. Ideals are enough to drive their actions; methods like the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal are unnecessary.
After finishing, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up and asked, "What? Are you saying you want this sealing technique?"
Danzo nodded and said:
"Absolutely loyal subordinates require years of training.
No one offers absolute loyalty the first time they meet me.
My subordinates have suffered continuous deaths and injuries, and they cannot be replaced in a short time.
Root's strength cannot drop this much in a short period. I must replenish the roster to 10 members as soon as possible.
I want to see the Uzumaki clan's Scroll of Seals and obtain this forbidden technique."
Otsu was Aburame Ryoma, such a good subordinate, died inexplicably in the Land of Whirlpools.
Tei was his nephew, Shimura Kō, died just outside the Land of Fire's border.
These subordinates, all of whom he had spent years training, were dead.
"The Uzumaki clan's Scroll of Seals? Impossible." Sarutobi Hiruzen said:
"I asked Senju Hanaki last time. Both the Senju and Uzumaki Scrolls of Seals are in Tsunade's hands.
Senju Hanaki is the nominal clan head, but she only handles miscellaneous and trivial matters.
The true person in charge of the Senju clan is Tsunade, the strongest among them.
Even I cannot get the Scroll of Seals from Tsunade."
"Tsunade is a stubborn, arrogant, spoiled foolish woman. Of course, you can't just ask for it; we must take some measures."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Danzo, don't do anything too excessive to Tsunade. She is different from others."
Danzo completely ignored him, turned around, and left the office.
He was here to inform Sarutobi Hiruzen, not to seek his permission.
After returning to Root, Danzo summoned Hei: "Hei, any results from the surveillance on the Senju clan, the Sakumo faction, and the Uchiha clan?"
"My apologies, Lord, nothing for now. All three parties are behaving, and none have the time to commit the acts."
"Did I recruit you into Root to hear you say 'sorry' to me? It must be one of the three! Keep investigating!"
He then summoned the four members Kō, Shin, Jin, and Ki.
"You four, set a trap to lure out that killer. You must kill him!"
"Yes!"
Shimura Danzo had never been so angry before.
Someone was actually targeting his organization to kill. If it weren't for the death of a Sarutobi Yutaka, Danzo might even have suspected Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Every day when Yōkō entered the Anbu, he marveled at how peaceful the Anbu was; it was really comfortable.
Danzo still hadn't traced it back to him. The "Darkness of the Shinobi" wasn't so great after all.
After leaving the Anbu, Yōkō, wearing his mask, moved stealthily through the night in Konoha.
A drunkard came out of a certain izakaya, swaying unsteadily. He found an alley and, seeing no one around, prepared to go in to relieve himself.
He thought to himself, 'I better not get caught by the Uchiha from the Military Police Force. Damaging Konoha's village appearance leads to fines.'
The sound of urination echoed. Only a man who has drunk alcohol knows how satisfying it is for the bladder to go from full and tight to relaxed.
Suddenly!
A pair of Sharingan flashed in the darkness!
He was so scared he lost the urge to pee, held half of it back, and immediately ran away.
Running out of the alley, he saw two villagers approaching from the opposite side and felt a sliver of security.
"Have you heard? Lord White Fang went to Kumogakure and fought the Jinchūriki! His white tanto slashed through the Tailed Beast Ball, the Tailed Beast's strongest attack!"
"Nonsense, what I heard is that Lord White Fang went to the Land of Lightning's capital, stood on the city wall, and slashed through three Tailed Beast Balls with one strike!"
"Impossible, that's too exaggerated. The Tailed Beast Ball is a terrifying attack that can destroy half a village. How could he slash through three with one strike?"
The drunkard's head was foggy. He wanted to catch up and ask if Lord White Fang was really that powerful, but when he turned his head, he found that the two villagers had disappeared into some alley.
He went to a second izakaya for his second round of drinking that night. At the table, he started bragging:
"Do you know? Lord White Fang, standing on the city wall of the Land of Lightning's capital, slashed through five Tailed Beast Balls with one strike!
Do you know what a Tailed Beast Ball is? It's the Tailed Beast's strongest attack! One ball can destroy the entire Konoha!"
The others didn't believe him, saying, "Then wouldn't Lord White Fang be able to protect five Konohas with one strike? What you're saying is too exaggerated."
In the darkness, Yōkō deactivated his Sharingan.
The genjutsu of the Two Tomoe Sharingan was quite effective against ordinary Konoha villagers.
Every night, he would cast genjutsu on at least 5 people, making them brag about Hatake Sakumo within the village.
The effect was good. This kind of bizarre yet pride-boosting story was extremely popular among the villagers.
Yōkō had his Anbu identity, making his presence anywhere seem reasonable, and he acted extremely covertly.
If asked, he was just gathering village intelligence for the Hokage.
Over ten days later, legends about Konoha's White Fang were everywhere in the village.
The only regret was that some drunkards had low standards; when they bragged, they knew no bounds, eventually claiming that Konoha's White Fang slashed through dozens of Tailed Beast Balls with one strike.
The inflation of awesomeness was too severe. If he had known, Yōkō would have made the first version of the rumor more modest, so it wouldn't have become so absurd now.
One morning, Yōkō was summoned by the Third Hokage.
Entering the Hokage's office, he saw the usual trio: Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and Danzo.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind the desk, Orochimaru stood beside him, able to see the contents of the scrolls on the desk at any time.
It was said that Orochimaru stood there all day, only having time to return to his experiments at night.
Power was the best stimulant; Orochimaru didn't find standing all day tiring.
Anyone entering the Hokage's office understood that the Third Hokage was grooming Orochimaru.
Danzo sat on the sofa, lost in thought about something.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Fox, there have been rumors about Hatake Sakumo in the village. What are your thoughts?"
He directly asked Yōkō such a sensitive question right off the bat.
As if Yōkō was involved...
Fortunately, Yōkō was already accustomed to the emotion-erasing mindset of the Anbu; his heart didn't waver in the slightest. He said:
"Lord Hokage, the person spreading the rumors has poor skills. The rumors are getting more and more false; any ninja can tell they are fake just by hearing them.
Slashed through dozens of Tailed Beast Balls with one strike? That is absolutely impossible."
***
Dive deeper into the story with 50+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)