One Year Promise

Morning.

Hokage's Office.

Bang!

Danzo shoved the door open and stormed in.

"Hiruzen, what about the plan—"

Halfway through, he noticed that Chiba Emi, the Hokage's secretary, was also in the office. Danzo suppressed his anger and did not finish what he was saying.

Chiba Emi stood beside the desk, dressed in a short skirt and a tight black top. Her graceful, alluring figure, her pair of long, fair legs, and her impressive chest even dampened some of Danzo's anger.

Danzo watched her with secret envy.

Damn it. When I become Hokage, I'll find myself a young, beautiful, sexy secretary too.

"Lord Hokage, shall I step out for a moment?"

Chiba Emi looked toward the Third Hokage. He gave a slight nod, and she immediately walked out, closing the door behind her.

The moment Chiba Emi left, Danzo's anger flared up again. He loudly demanded of the Third Hokage, "Why has the plan to hunt the Uchiha Clan been stopped?"

The Third Hokage did not answer immediately. Instead, he first checked whether there was any problem with the barrier in the office. Danzo, with that big mouth of his, always said things detrimental to the village's unity so loudly whenever he was in this office. It exhausted him.

Fortunately, he had always cared greatly about his public image.

This time was no exception. The barrier in the office was secure. No matter how loudly they spoke inside, no one outside could hear them.

Even the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan could not see the movements of their lips through the barrier, so there was no need to worry about this conversation leaking out.

"Speak, Hiruzen. Why stop the plan?"

Danzo was deeply displeased. His research plan on the Sharingan was at a critical stage, precisely when he needed a large number of Sharingan. If the hunting of the Uchiha Clan suddenly stopped now, what was he supposed to do about his Mangekyō Sharingan?

Only one of Kagami's Mangekyō Sharingan remained now.

Although he had exhausted every possible method on the other one, it had only lasted until a year ago before becoming unusable.

The right eye currently transplanted into his socket was Kagami's final Mangekyō Sharingan, his right eye.

If he could not find a solution to the rejection between the Sharingan and his body, this eye would not last much longer either.

Once he lost the Mangekyō Sharingan, his strength would be greatly affected, and many of his plans could no longer be carried out smoothly.

That was something Danzo did not want to see, and it was also why he was so furious right now.

Danzo was enraged, but the Third Hokage remained calm.

"Recently, large numbers of shinobi have been mobilizing along the borders of the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Wind. The plan to hunt the Uchiha Clan is temporarily canceled," the Third Hokage said.

Danzo frowned upon hearing this. Since the possibility of war was involved, he set aside the matter of the Uchiha Clan and said gravely, "Do those people want to start another Ninja World War? Lady Mito is still alive."

The Third Hokage sighed. "Lady Mito is old, after all."

No one could withstand the ravages of time. Even Lady Mito, who had protected Konoha like a pillar during the last Ninja World War, was now nearly eighty years old.

At the advanced age of eighty, she still had to constantly expend a vast amount of her own Chakra to maintain the seal on the Nine-Tails. Only because the Uzumaki Clan was born with enormous Chakra reserves and excelled in Sealing Techniques could Lady Mito continue suppressing and sealing the Nine-Tails.

But no matter how powerful Lady Mito was, her life was nearing its end. The shinobi mobilizations by the various nations along their borders—were they not a form of probing?

In the face of such probing, Konoha had to respond with strength. It absolutely could not show even the slightest weakness.

Otherwise... the consequences would be severe.

Therefore, the Third Hokage had to unite every force in Konoha. The plan to hunt the Uchiha Clan had to stop. There was no room for negotiation.

Fortunately, Danzo still understood the bigger picture and did not continue dwelling on the plan to hunt the Uchiha Clan.

You could say Danzo was ambitious and selfish, but his devotion to Konoha was beyond question. At least during this period, Konoha's safety still came first in his heart.

Setting aside the matter of the Uchiha Clan for now, Danzo was more concerned about the succession of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Hiruzen, can that girl take on Lady Mito's responsibility and become the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Danzo had great faith in Lady Mito's reputation and strength, but he did not have much faith in that young Uzumaki Clan girl who had just arrived.

The Nine-Tails possessed such immense Chakra that even shinobi without Chakra-sensing abilities could directly feel the terrifying power contained within it. It was simply not something human strength could contend against.

In the entire ninja world, only Madara Uchiha and Lord Hashirama could treat the Nine-Tails like a pet and beat it around. No one else could do that.

Danzo simply could not rest easy about placing such a terrifying monster as the Nine-Tails in the hands of a little girl. Would that not be the same as entrusting his own safety to that girl? It left him uneasy.

"How about we restart the Wood Release Restoration Plan?" Danzo's eyes suddenly flashed as he proposed it.

Wood Release's suppression of tailed beasts was plain for all to see. As long as Konoha possessed Wood Release shinobi once more, not only could the Nine-Tails be properly dealt with, but even the tailed beast Jinchuriki of the other ninja villages would be nothing to fear.

And... it could also solve the rejection between his Sharingan and his body.

Danzo had long since discovered this property of Wood Release through his research.

But he did not dare transplant the First Hokage's Cells into himself. He was afraid of dying.

Only once the Wood Release Restoration Plan succeeded and the First Hokage's Cells could be transplanted safely would he dare undergo the transplant.

Then, he would be able to possess the Mangekyō Sharingan forever.

Hehehe!

Danzo's mental abacus clattered away, but the Third Hokage refused to indulge him. "Don't worry. I asked Lady Mito—so long as she doesn't fight, she can hold on for at least another ten years."

"Ten years is enough time for Kushina to grow."

Compared to the plan to restore Wood Release, the Third Hokage had greater faith in the Uzumaki Clan's constitution.

He had seen the girl named Kushina. Within her body indeed lay the same Adamantine Sealing Technique Chakra as Lady Mito's.

This Adamantine Sealing Technique Chakra, passed down and refined through generations of the Uzumaki Clan until it could practically be considered a special Kekkei Genkai inheritance, could not only awaken through one's bloodline, but also made the user's sealing techniques far more powerful than those of ordinary people.

Only this enhanced sealing technique Chakra, combined with the corresponding sealing techniques, could produce such terrifying sealing power and firmly suppress and seal a massive Chakra creature like the Nine-Tails.

"Ten years...!"

For some reason, Danzo felt inexplicably disappointed upon hearing that Lady Mito could live another ten years. Fortunately, he quickly realized that was not an emotion he should have had and immediately asked the Third Hokage, "Then how should we respond now?"

The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo, picked up the pipe in his hand and tapped it against the table. After lighting it and taking a puff, he said, "Two Root squads will also join the intelligence gathering along the border. The Anbu commander will assign their missions."

"What about me?"

As soon as the Third Hokage finished speaking, Danzo frowned and fixed him with a hostile stare.

This old bastard wasn't planning to discard him after crossing the river, was he? Now that they were no longer dealing with the Uchiha Clan, was he going to immediately take back Danzo's authority over Root?

"Don't worry. I won't disband Root."

The Third Hokage gave Danzo a reassuring look, and only then did Danzo let out a breath. As long as Root was not disbanded, the same old truth remained: he was the man best suited to lead Root, without equal.

"What results have you gotten from researching that little boy I handed over to you?" The Third Hokage suddenly brought up Li Yao.

"What little boy?" Danzo looked utterly bewildered.

He genuinely had not remembered anything about Li Yao. For the past few years, his mind had been entirely occupied with the Sharingan. How could he have spared any attention for some child?

"..." The Third Hokage's mouth twitched at that. After taking a deep drag from his pipe, he said with annoyed resentment, "Do you really care so little about the things I assigned you?"

"Cough, cough..." Danzo found himself unable to handle the Third Hokage suddenly wearing such a resentful expression and tone.

The Third Hokage's expression now was just like when they had played by the river as children, gotten tired, and Danzo had flicked the Third Hokage's dick while he was taking an afternoon nap—the exact expression the Third Hokage had worn after waking up. It was too much to bear.

For a moment, Danzo's old face actually reddened. He felt as though he had done something to wrong the Third Hokage and grew somewhat guilty.

"Um... I'll go back and study him right away."

Danzo hurriedly said this, then turned to leave at once, intending to rush back to the headquarters and see what was so special about the little boy the Third Hokage had mentioned.

"Wait."

The Third Hokage stopped Danzo and solemnly reminded him, "That little boy is very dangerous. I'll give you one year at most. If you still can't research anything of useful value after a year, kill that little boy immediately."

Deep down, the Third Hokage had always been wary of Li Yao.

After all, he knew nothing about Li Yao's past. That unknown made him deeply uneasy.

A year from now, whether Danzo had researched Li Yao or not, the Third Hokage intended to kill Li Yao outright and eliminate any future trouble.

Danzo paid no attention to the Third Hokage's solemn warning. He casually said he understood, then went back.