Political Demands

The entire morning passed without incident, and no uninvited guests came calling again.

Even the bloody stench in the corner of the Training Hall had completely dissipated, as though nothing had happened.

After lunch, Kawafune did not go out. He had a feeling that something important would happen today.

He spent the afternoon focused on guiding Nawaki, making his movements more fluid.

His Flying Thunder God training could also be considered complete. It was now perfectly viable in actual combat.

Nawaki did not ask about what had happened that morning. He knew it was not something the current him could involve himself in.

In Kawafune's eyes, this sunny boy was becoming increasingly sensible.

After training all afternoon, Nawaki dragged his exhausted body home under the escort of skilled Samurai.

Kawafune was simply taking precautions. Who could guarantee that madman Danzo would not do something else?

Human lives were not worth much in his eyes. That was something Kawafune had not understood before.

That evening, after washing up and preparing to rest, Kawafune was informed by the butler, who had hurried over, that a visitor had arrived—and did not seem to be a friendly one.

"Where's my brother?"

Kawafune chuckled. Everything was as expected.

"The eldest young master is already waiting in the front hall."

"Bring him to the Quiet Room. I'll be there shortly."

"Yes."

Kawafune returned to his room and changed out of his nightclothes. Proper respect still had to be shown, even if he disliked the man.

After changing, he arrived at the Quiet Room. Shimura Danzō sat across from Sakumo, with two Root ninja standing behind him.

This was Kawafune's first time meeting Danzo. They had never dealt with each other before.

But the man before him matched the one from the original story. He did not yet possess Shisui's eye, nor did he have Hashirama Cells or arms full of Sharingan.

Kawafune sized Danzo up, and Danzo did the same to him.

At such a young age, he already managed the enormous Hatake Clan estate. Few people knew that the one truly calling the shots in the Hatake Clan was this younger brother, not the increasingly renowned Hatake Sakumo.

"Lord Danzo, may I ask what brings you here tonight?"

Kawafune sat beside his brother with a smile and raised his hand to pour Danzo a cup of tea. As for the two men behind him, he chose to ignore them completely.

"Heh heh, why ask when you already know?"

Danzo smiled as he drank his tea, though his laughter was unpleasant to the ear.

"Oh? Why do you say that, Lord Danzo?"

"You did not say what it was about in your letter."

Kawafune was completely unafraid that killing that Root ninja would anger Danzo. That was the confidence strength gave him.

"You killed one of my men."

"Are you still going to play dumb?"

Danzo's expression suddenly changed. He slammed his teacup onto the table, his voice stern and fierce.

"Heh heh, no need to get angry. Say what you came to say."

Without changing expression, Kawafune held down his brother, who looked ready to fight at the slightest disagreement.

"Hahaha, Kawafune-kun may be young, but this old man is ashamed to admit he falls short of you in composure."

Seeing that Kawafune was not falling for it, Danzo cursed him as a little fox inwardly while piling an ugly smile back onto his face.

"I heard Kawafune-kun intends to build a hospital with the Senju Clan?"

"That's right. Don't tell me Lord Danzo is interested as well?"

Kawafune put on a surprised expression, as though he had only just learned of it.

"I'm short on funds right now. You've truly come to help in my hour of need."

He knew perfectly well that Root was entirely supported by Danzo. Where would he get such a large sum of money?

"The Hatake Clan has vast wealth. I do not believe you need this old man's help with funding."

Danzo did not take the bait.

"However, I am indeed interested in this hospital."

"I want to be its director."

Danzo did not conceal his purpose in the slightest. He leaned forward and stared directly at Kawafune.

"My Root can safeguard the hospital."

"I will not participate in the hospital's operations or profit-sharing."

Danzo's request was not excessive at all. It was even beneficial to Kawafune.

Root's strength was plain for all to see. They were far more reliable than his family's Samurai.

Setting aside his promise to make Tsunade the director, there was another issue: he needed to conduct certain research experiments at the hospital, things he did not want outsiders to know about or participate in.

"A figurehead director?"

"Public prestige?"

"Lord Danzo, you certainly know how to calculate."

"What if I say no?"

By the time Kawafune spoke that last sentence, the smile had vanished from his face, and killing intent had begun to spread from his body.

You think you can just open your mouth and claim a piece of the Hatake Clan's cake?

"You should know that I came in good faith. You may not yet understand the strength of my Root."

Danzo had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood during the war. He was not afraid of Kawafune's little bit of killing intent.

"You would do best to agree to my request. It would be good for you and for the Hatake Clan."

That was practically an open threat.

"Remember this. My name is Hatake Kawafune."

As his words fell, Kawafune appeared behind Danzo alone, his right hand hooked around Danzo's throat.

The two ninja behind him had already had their throats slit by Sakumo's Kunai, slowly collapsing against the wall.

Who knew whether the faces behind those masks regretted following Danzo to visit the Hatake Clan?

"Y-you... are you trying to betray Konoha?"

Danzo could no longer maintain his composure. He could not die yet. He had not become Hokage yet.

"Heh, can you, Danzo, represent Konoha?"

"The Third Hokage approved the land for my hospital."

"I am paying 100 Million Ryo in cash."

"And you want to be director with one word?"

"What, do you have more heads than everyone else?"

As he spoke, Kawafune's hooked fingers tightened. Danzo began to experience suffocation, his face twisting in agony.

The Chakra within his body had somehow been scattered by an unknown method. His entire body was numb, leaving him completely unable to resist.

The strength of these two brothers was actually so terrifying. Had he known, Danzo would never have walked willingly into the tiger's den.

"Spare me, and we can discuss the hospital again."

Danzo forced a few words out through his throat. Perhaps he did not believe Kawafune would kill him. Even with death looming over him, he still did not forget about the hospital.

"Hahaha, Danzo, go discuss it with the Death God."

Kawafune laughed in anger. It was his first time seeing someone so obsessed with power that they would disregard their own life.

His grip continued to tighten, and Danzo's eyes had begun rolling back.

"I... I... give... give up."

Danzo used every ounce of strength he had to force out those few words. He gulped down fresh air, completely ignoring the bloody stench filling his breath.

"You should have said so earlier, Lord Danzo."

Kawafune returned to his seat and set Danzo's cup upright. Several drops of blood remained inside.

He filled it to the brim with tea.

"Please."

Danzo had yet to recover from the brink of death. He drank the bloodstained tea in one gulp, and even his breathing eased somewhat.

"You know, killing you would be troublesome for me, but that does not mean I would not dare to kill you."

"My name is Hatake Kawafune. I hope you will truly remember it this time."

"See yourself out."

Kawafune drained the water in his own cup and was the first to leave the Quiet Room, with Sakumo following close behind.

His big brother was truly ruthless. He had not said a single word, yet he had taken two lives the moment he acted.

No wonder he would one day earn the name Konoha's White Fang.

In an instant, only Danzo and two corpses remained in the Quiet Room. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Supporting himself against the wall, he rose to his feet, fear mingling with hatred in his eyes.

"Hatake Kawafune, I, Danzo, will remember you."

The teacup in his hand had been crushed to powder without him noticing.

Without bothering with the two corpses, Danzo staggered out of the Quiet Room and left the Hatake Clan.

The confrontation with Danzo had temporarily come to an end, but Kawafune knew full well that this man would not let the matter go so easily.