Feeling Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze on him, Shimura Danzō frowned.
Combined with what Hiruzen had just said, the meaning behind that look was already obvious.
Hiruzen wanted Danzō to lead two hundred shinobi to the Land of Rivers border and take command there.
Under normal circumstances, such a decision would have been completely reasonable. In the past, Hiruzen had often sent Danzō out of the village to handle similar missions.
But at this particular moment, the implications of such an assignment were far more complicated.
If not for the unexpected events at Kikyō Mountain, Konoha should already have been in the process of electing the Fourth Hokage.
And after such a brutal battle as the Kikyō Mountain campaign, the village would need a new Hokage even more urgently to restore morale.
Therefore, the Fourth Hokage election would not stop. It would likely resume once the shinobi fighting at Kikyō Mountain returned.
If Danzō were sent away from the village now, it would effectively eliminate his chance to run for Fourth Hokage.
After all, Hiruzen had just said that Danzō would need to remain stationed at the Land of Rivers border until the war fully ended.
That meant he would not be able to return until Konoha signed ceasefire agreements with Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure.
By that time, the election for the Fourth Hokage would certainly already be over.
The opportunity would be long gone.
Danzō's expression immediately darkened.
"Hiruzen… you want me to lead the mission?"
Hiruzen nodded calmly.
"At present, nearly every well-known shinobi in the village is outside on missions."
"Even the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, Kushina Uzumaki, has been deployed to the battlefield."
"That leaves only the four of us old people in the village."
"I am seriously injured and must remain here to oversee the overall situation."
"Homura is responsible for coordinating logistics across the defensive lines and cannot leave."
"Koharu, as the head of the Medical Department, will soon be extremely busy as the wounded return."
"So when you calculate it all… you are the only one who can go to the Land of Rivers border to take command."
Danzō fell silent.
Hiruzen's reasoning made it difficult to argue against.
Among Konoha's senior leadership, he really was the only one currently free.
After a long moment of thought, Danzō shook his head.
"It's only Sunagakure. Why would I personally need to go?"
"Just send two elite shinobi."
"If the village is short on manpower, I can dispatch an experienced elite jōnin from Root to oversee the situation."
In truth, the likelihood of Sunagakure expanding the war was extremely small.
Konoha had suffered heavy losses and was still furious.
If other major villages intervened, Konoha might act cautiously.
But if the weakest of the Five Great Villages—Sunagakure—provoked them, Konoha could grit its teeth and crush Sunagakure completely.
So it was very unlikely Sunagakure would poke the tiger's whiskers.
Danzō believed Hiruzen was simply using this mission as an excuse to remove him from the village.
Unable to dismantle Hiruzen's scheme, Danzō decided to confront the matter directly and make his stance clear.
Although doing so placed him at a disadvantage—and would make him appear arrogant—if something really went wrong at the Land of Rivers border, he would also be the first person blamed.
But at least this way, he would not miss the Fourth Hokage election.
Hiruzen gave him a meaningful look.
"If you wish to send someone from Root, I have no objection."
"But understand this—if they are stationed there to command troops, they cannot continue hiding in the shadows."
"Once they take that role, they cannot return to Root afterward."
Danzō frowned.
He knew immediately what Hiruzen was doing.
Since he could not force Danzō to leave the village, he was settling for weakening Danzō's power instead.
Even knowing this, Danzō had little choice but to compromise.
"Very well. In that case, I'll send—"
"Then let Tenzō from Root lead the mission."
Before Danzō could finish speaking, Hiruzen interrupted.
He didn't even give Danzō the chance to choose the candidate himself.
When he heard the name Tenzō, Danzō's pupils shrank.
At that moment, he finally realized—
Hiruzen's target from the very beginning had never been him.
It was Tenzō.
Hiruzen continued calmly:
"Danzō, transfer Tenzō's file from Root to the ANBU."
"Remove all the restrictions placed upon him."
"Everything from his past will be forgiven and forgotten."
"Surely you understand what I mean."
Hiruzen deliberately emphasized the words "forgiven and forgotten."
The rebuttal that had reached Danzō's lips was forced back down.
Of course he understood.
Hiruzen was referring to Danzō's cooperation with Kumogakure in the assassination attempt against him.
Although Danzō had already made careful preparations and believed he could escape blame if the incident surfaced, once such a scandal became public, it would still drag him into a storm of controversy.
And that would severely damage his chances of becoming Fourth Hokage.
If the matter could be resolved privately between him and Hiruzen, that would be the best outcome.
After weighing the pros and cons in silence, Danzō finally spoke:
"Very well."
"After this meeting, I will transfer Tenzō from Root to the ANBU."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
Deep within his eyes, however, a faint trace of disdain toward Danzō flickered.
His old friend was still far too naïve.
He was probably still dreaming of becoming the Fourth Hokage.
But Hiruzen had already made preparations.
Within a few days, Danzō would be forced to awaken from that dream.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, pulling his thoughts back to the present.
"There is one more matter we need to discuss."
Danzō, Homura, and Koharu all looked toward him.
After a brief pause, Hiruzen spoke gravely.
"Earlier, because the frontline situation was urgent, I did not mention this."
"Now that the war has stabilized, there is no reason to keep silent."
"You all know that my primary purpose for visiting the Fire Daimyō's court was to request additional funding."
"However… something unexpected happened."
"The Daimyō did approve a budget of three billion ryō for Konoha."
"But I did not receive that money."
Danzō, Homura, and Koharu all stared at him in confusion.
At first, hearing the figure of three billion ryō, the three of them were shocked.
But when Hiruzen said he had not received the funds, their expressions froze.
They had barely begun to feel pleased before being left completely bewildered.
Homura frowned.
"Hiruzen, what do you mean?"
"What do you mean you didn't receive the money?"
Hiruzen replied with a serious expression:
"At some point, the Uchiha Clan established direct contact with the Fire Daimyō."
"Not only did the Daimyō allocate the three billion ryō directly to the Uchiha Clan…"
"He also stated that all future funding for Konoha will be transferred through the Uchiha Clan as well."
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