Hiruko's Astonishing Wisdom

How did things turn out like this?

After listening to that speech, Danzo returned to Root, utterly devastated. He looked as if his colors had been drained, and he sat in silence at his newly replaced desk.

Shimura Danzo remembered how confident he had felt just the day before, when victory seemed assured.

Even the biggest Ninja Clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga had begun to yield to him over business matters.

But in just one day...

The situation had reversed.

Why? Why did this happen?

For the first time, he had a chance to surpass Hiruzen, a chance to step out of the darkness and into the light. Two joys overlapped, and this double joy brought even more and more joy.

It should have been a dream come true.

But why did it turn out like this?!

It's me! It's me who was first! It was clearly me who was first!

Whether it was the dream of becoming Hokage, the resolve to sacrifice everything for Konoha, or the necessary darkness he had to embrace for that hope...

At this moment, Shimura Danzo felt nothing but agony.

"That son of a bitch!"

"How did things turn out like this?!"

He gasped for breath, his single eye scanning fiercely across every trusted subordinate in the office. It was as if he were seeking their advice, and yet also trying to find the source of the problem in them.

Finally, his gaze settled on a figure who seemed slightly more unfamiliar than the others.

Hiruko.

If it weren't for this guy, he would still be the Root of Konoha, doing his job properly, and there wouldn't have been such a huge reaction in the village.

Now look. If he were Hiruzen, he would definitely drag his good brother out and make him a scapegoat.

The longer Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent, the less Shimura Danzo could predict his own fate.

Meanwhile, Hiruko, who was under Shimura Danzo's gaze, had also completely failed to anticipate that their actions would provoke such a strong reaction in the village.

His long-planned scheme not only failed to make him look good in front of Danzo, but instead exposed his rear end. And to make matters worse, he even did a handstand and spun around while pulling his pants down, exposing all his internal, external, and mixed hemorrhoids.

It felt like being shit on!

My lords, who can understand this?

This made Hiruko suddenly have serious doubts about his own intelligence.

However, the current situation didn't allow him to let this doubt fester. On the contrary, he had to come up with a way for Danzo to escape the predicament as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, Shimura Danzo would definitely kill him, the so-called "dog-headed strategist," before dying himself.

Hiruko's mind raced, replaying every scene that had occurred in recent days.

Thud.

The next moment, under the almost suffocating silence, he suddenly knelt down.

"Hiruko, do you have anything else to say?"

It was a question, yet the declarative tone somehow gave everyone the subtle illusion that 'this person is about to die.'

However, Hiruko's voice was unexpectedly firm, and he suddenly raised it:

"Lord Danzo, your death is imminent, yet you are still unaware?!"

Bang.

Shimura Danzo's single eye widened, and he slammed his large hand onto the desk, leaving a large dent.

This old man knows he's going to die, that's why he must drag you bastards who screwed him over down with him!

However, he had heard of this kind of astonishing wisdom unique to strategists. For the sake of his dream of becoming Hokage and his own insignificant life, Shimura Danzo still had to suppress his temper and said coldly:

"Speak quickly!"

Hiruko could almost feel the cold sweat dripping down his forehead, but his expression remained firm:

"Using civilian Ninja as the backbone and gathering civilians as support is unprecedented."

"However, it is remarkably effective against the Hokage system, which is responsible for protecting the populace..."

Before Shimura Danzo even finished listening, his astonishing wisdom immediately kicked in, and his eyes lit up: "You mean, we can also gather a group of civilians to give speeches in front of the Hokage Building?"

"No, no, no, no, no!! Lord Danzo!"

This sentence startled Hiruko so much that his cold sweat increased.

Given Shimura Danzo's thought process, he could almost imagine the terrifying scene of the entire village's population being driven by Root through various forceful means, reluctantly gathering in front of the Hokage Building filled with resentment, and then suddenly turning against them at Lord Third Hokage's command.

Whether it was wise or not wasn't the point; you could certainly call it astonishing.

At that point, not only him, but the entire Root, including Shimura Danzo, would die without a burial place.

Hiruko quickly sped up his speech: "What I mean is, an opponent with such cunning, deep strategy, and fox-like slyness must have already taken us into account when proposing this despicable plan."

"If I'm not mistaken, the encirclement targeting you, Lord Danzo, is likely forming right now."

"We must find a way to break through before their plan solidifies!"

Hearing this, Shimura Danzo realized the young man's thoughts aligned with his own:

"Then tell me, who suggested these strategies to that woman Tsunade?"

Hiruko lowered his head, concealing his slightly guilty expression:

"Lord Danzo, we only need to find the new face that suddenly appeared beside Princess Tsunade."

"Neither Tsunade nor Hatake Sakumo possesses such strategic ability."

"The one who proposed this plan must be a genius!"

As he spoke, his words subtly pointed the finger at a certain unidentified fifteen-year-old boy.

In Hiruko's actual thoughts, the one capable of devising such a scheme was likely that old man Hatake Sakumo, who often remained silent during Jonin meetings, observing everything with cold eyes, as if he had experienced endless hardships.

He had never teamed up with Hatake Sakumo, nor did he know the old man's outwardly reserved but inwardly passionate nature of pretending to be a master by staying silent, much less that he had invented a vulgar Taijutsu technique that targeted the lower body.

Therefore, it was natural for him to have this perception.

But what good would it do if a strong person with both power and intelligence proposed it?

Hiruko could even imagine the classic scene of Danzo pointing at him and saying, 'Go, you kill Hatake Sakumo for me.'

To have a chance to atone for his sins and make up for his mistakes, he naturally had to choose a soft target he could handle!

So, ah!

A finger rose in Hiruko's mind.

When Tsunade gave her speech, there seemed to be a new face standing beside her, a fifteen-year-old boy who had just been promoted to Jonin not long ago...

Yes, it's you!

Come out and fight! He had been annoyed by that little guy for a long time!

"Sahara Mizu?"

However, Shimura Danzo was somewhat hesitant.

For a mere youth to have honed his strength to this level was already remarkable. Could there truly be someone in this world who was born with strategic brilliance?

"Why do I feel like Hatake..."

Before he could finish, Hiruko had already interrupted him, speaking rapidly:

"Absolutely impossible!"

"Hatake Sakumo is merely a useful tool!"

"If he possessed such strategic talent, why would Lord Third Hokage have placed him in the position of Anbu Commander and then released him?"

Thinking about it that way, it did seem quite logical.

Shimura Danzo frowned tightly and nodded slightly.

Seeing this reaction, not only Hiruko, but also Aburame Ryoma and the Root members beside Danzo, all subtly breathed a sigh of relief and cast approving glances in Hiruko's direction.

Please, don't mention that god of death in front of Lord Danzo. You guys just flap your lips, but we brothers are the ones who have to do the fighting.

"Then."

Shimura Danzo turned his head and looked in Hiruko's direction, seemingly feeling it would be a waste not to try, and asked, "Do you have any good countermeasure, Hiruko?"

"Regarding strategy and planning, I have already been defeated by the enemy once, and I couldn't even see through their layout when they were making it."

Hiruko took a deep breath, lowered his head, his voice filled with unprecedented sincerity, yet his expression was utterly ruthless:

"The current plan..."

"Is only to kill!"

His tone was extremely firm:

"By killing, we will sever one of Tsunade's arms, and only then can we return the situation between enemy and ally to the beginning."

"Please, Lord Danzo, give me this opportunity to atone for my sins with merit!"

(This picture is inexplicably hilarious, so I put it here ↑)

The next chapter will be after midnight.