Do Not Forget: This Old Man Brought You to Konoha

Shimura Danzō was furious.

People always hated it when others talked behind their backs.

Even Shimura Danzō was no exception, especially when the one talking about him happened to be Hiruzen Sarutobi, the man Shimura Danzō hated most in his life.

The moment he heard that Hiruzen Sarutobi had mentioned him to Akihara Kagura, he could not even be bothered to continue brainwashing Akihara Kagura. He only wanted to know what that old bastard had said.

"The Third Hokage did not say anything..."

Akihara Kagura seemed somewhat frightened by Shimura Danzō's gaze and hurriedly tried to cover it up with clumsy words, lest his superior become too angry.

"Kou, tell me everything exactly as it happened!"

Shimura Danzō saw through Akihara Kagura's thoughts at once and said in a deep voice, "Do not hide what happened tonight. Monkey has always been hypocritical. If you are not careful, he will deceive you..."

"Yes."

Akihara Kagura slowly nodded.

"After passing the second stage of the Chunin Ninja Exams, it was already late. On my way back, I ran into the Third Hokage and a brat named Naruto Uzumaki..."

"The Third Hokage wanted me to go fishing with them. I was worried Lord Danzō would be angry, so I only wanted to hurry back to the base..."

"But the Third Hokage would not let me return. He told me that in the village, even Lord Danzō had to obey his orders..."

When Akihara Kagura said this, he seemed somewhat upset and uneasy. "I was worried that defying the Third Generation's orders might bring trouble to Lord Danzō..."

"Hmph..."

Shimura Danzō snorted coldly and said, "You will not need to worry about bringing me trouble in the future. No one in the ninja world can bring me trouble."

"Yes."

Akihara Kagura hurriedly agreed.

Whether his superior had been boasting or not, as long as his superior had made a promise, it was best to remember it first. That way, if something went wrong in the future, the blame would not fall on him, the subordinate.

"Oh, right."

Akihara Kagura keenly sensed that his superior was about to lose his temper, so he could only temporarily reverse the order and say something his superior would like to hear.

"The Third Hokage also said that he and Lord Danzō were old friends..."

"The Third Hokage also seemed to bring up some things from the past. He seemed to say something about the Hokage, but I never really understood it..."

Akihara Kagura rubbed his brow. As he recalled it, he casually shifted the blame elsewhere. "Naruto Uzumaki kept shouting beside us about becoming Hokage, so I did not hear everything clearly. I do not know whether I remembered it wrong..."

"Just tell me."

Shimura Danzō did not suspect that Akihara Kagura would lie.

That Nine-Tails Jinchuriki brat, Naruto Uzumaki, had indeed been fed ideas about the Hokage by Hiruzen Sarutobi since childhood. He was always making a racket about becoming Hokage...

This sort of thing...

Many people knew about it.

"The Third Hokage said..."

"The Hokage is not a position to be fought over. It is someone who must bear the hopes and recognition of the entire village, someone who must bear the responsibility of protecting the village..."

"When the Third Hokage said that, he even mentioned that Lord Danzō had once wanted to compete with him to become Hokage. But the Hokage needed to shoulder the responsibilities of many people. Lord Danzō believed he did not have the commitment or responsibility to become Hokage, so he later gave up the idea of becoming Hokage..."

"..."

Shimura Danzō's face immediately darkened.

It was bad enough that Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old bastard, liked to instill the Will of Fire into all those brats in the village. This time, he had even taken the opportunity to attack him!

Who said this old man did not have the commitment and responsibility to become Hokage?

If this old man became Hokage, this old man could shoulder Konoha's responsibilities too—and do a better job than that old bastard Monkey!

"I got a little angry, so I argued with them..."

Akihara Kagura carefully glanced at Shimura Danzō and continued, "I told them that Konoha could be without anyone, but it absolutely could not be without Lord Danzō. Only Lord Danzō could become Konoha's next-generation Hokage."

"...Mm."

Shimura Danzō nodded slightly.

This was the most satisfied Shimura Danzō had felt that night. Those were words Shimura Danzō himself had always wanted to say, yet he had never dared say them to anyone's face.

"Continue."

Shimura Danzō wanted to hear more.

"I remember after I said that..."

Akihara Kagura's expression became somewhat strange as he continued, "The Third Hokage's expression seemed rather frightening, but he quickly smiled again..."

"Hmph, still as hypocritical as ever!"

Shimura Danzō immediately attacked his old friend.

That bastard Hiruzen had become so unhappy when Akihara Kagura said he would be the next Hokage. He had never intended to let this old man take the position of Hokage at all!

"What else did you say?"

Shimura Danzō looked at the hesitating Akihara Kagura and continued, "Monkey... did he not talk about anything else? For example, did he mention who in the village could shoulder the responsibilities of a Hokage?"

"..."

Akihara Kagura felt that Shimura Danzō wanted to know a little too much.

Sometimes, superiors became curious about certain matters. That curiosity could bring trouble to subordinates, so it had to be stopped in time.

Besides...

The more one said...

The easier it was to expose flaws.

Most importantly, today was not about sowing discord. It was about reminding this superior that he still held a fatal weakness in his hands.

Akihara Kagura wanted to tell Shimura Danzō that as long as this weakness existed, he had no reason to suspect that Akihara Kagura would betray him after entering the Anbu.

"The Third Hokage did not mention those things."

"And something strange happened..."

Akihara Kagura frowned, looking as though he could not quite figure it out. "Tonight was rather chaotic. Maybe it was because Naruto Uzumaki was making noise beside us, but I do not know why I brought up the secret of my origins with the Third Hokage..."

"What!"

Shimura Danzō's face immediately tightened.

"I was wondering why he suddenly met you!"

The old man could finally no longer sit still. He cursed coldly under his breath, "That bastard Monkey actually used inducement tactics on you, trying to discover your origins. If he found out..."

"I only told him that I came from an orphanage."

Akihara Kagura immediately soothed his superior and regained control of the conversation's pace. "The Third Hokage already knows that I was a child from an orphanage and that I was taken away to undergo Wood Style human experimentation..."

"That is good."

Shimura Danzō slowly nodded, and his expression softened. He quietly studied Akihara Kagura and finally remembered something important.

This brat could not possibly betray him!

Because this brat was not a child of the Konoha Orphanage at all. He was one of Orochimaru's test subjects, and Shimura Danzō held the lifeline that could threaten him at any time.

"Go rest."

Shimura Danzō waved Akihara Kagura away. His attitude became cold, and he even returned to the lofty manner he had displayed when they first met.

"This old man believes..."

"You will not disappoint this old man in the Anbu either."

"Do not forget one thing: this old man was the one who brought you into Konoha."

First update.

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