Targeting Hatake Sakumo

There are quite a few secret medicines in the ninja world, some of which can even greatly advance a ninja's strength at the cost of damaging their physical foundation.

For example, Uchiha Sasuke, after seeking out Orochimaru, consumed many harmful forbidden drugs. Similar forbidden drugs exist in many ninja clans, and perhaps the most potent among them is the Akimichi Clan's Three-Color Secret Medicine.

Ninjas will come up with all sorts of methods to enhance their strength, and secret medicines are one of them.

Compared to health supplements, these are much simpler than secret medicines—they just restore some stamina and maintain the body—so Ikemoto readily agreed.

However, he is a ninja and clearly didn't think about what Uchiha Yoichi wanted these medicines for. He only knew that this task wasn't difficult for him, and that Uchiha Yoichi's compensation was very generous, worth three S-rank rewards.

Jonin Ikemoto had originally planned to just do a little research, but since Uchiha Yoichi valued him so much and offered such generous pay, he couldn't afford to be careless. He had to live up to his client's trust.

The next day.

Uchiha Yoichi went to find Elder Kenji again, explained the situation, and also planned to sell the medicines confiscated from the Shimura clan.

The Shimura clan had originally intended to sell the medicines to Konoha. Whether Danzo and Utatane Koharu had coordinated this or not, that was what the Security Force's interrogation revealed.

But now Konoha wouldn't be receiving them. Medicines are a hot commodity in the ninja world, easy to sell anywhere.

Medicines worth tens of millions of ryo could likely fetch even more money if sold outside.

Uchiha Kenji nodded and told Uchiha Yoichi that he would send someone to handle it.

Then Uchiha Kenji asked further, mentioning that they had just discovered a Shimura clan warehouse stronghold trying to relocate. While the goods inside weren't as much as what was seized in Konoha, there was still a considerable amount of money. So he asked Uchiha Yoichi if he wanted to go take a look.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yoichi naturally agreed immediately. If you asked who in Konoha held the deepest grudge against Danzo, it would definitely be him.

Danzo had been domineering in the village for so long, and now he had the audacity to bully the Uchiha Clan.

Although the Shimura clan didn't have many members, they still had some ninjas outside. So Uchiha Kenji planned to send two squads over to teach Danzo another lesson.

Most of the money the Shimura clan earned from their businesses went to fund Danzo, after all, the Third Hokage couldn't possibly provide large funds for Root while neglecting his own Anbu.

If Danzo wanted to develop Root, he had to pay out of his own pocket. But Uchiha Kenji clearly wasn't going to give Danzo that chance!

"Hiruzen!"

The door to the Hokage's Office was violently shoved open with a bang. Those inside couldn't help but frown at the entrance, and then Danzo walked in with a gloomy face.

Behind Danzo were the other two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly, then said to Minato Namikaze beside him, "Minato, you may leave first."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Minato Namikaze had already received his mission. This was no longer something he could be involved in, so he left the Hokage's Office directly.

After he was gone, Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe and asked with displeasure, "Danzo, what is it now?"

"It's not what's wrong with me, it's the Uchiha Clan. They're about to rebel!"

Danzo's face was extremely ugly. He tapped his cane hard on the floor twice, then nearly shouted at Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Another one of the Shimura clan's outside businesses has been destroyed, and they killed seven of my Shimura clan ninjas!"

"Is that so?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi really didn't know about this. The Anbu had fewer than a hundred members; half of them were needed just to gather intelligence from the ninja world, and the rest weren't enough to monitor all the ninja clans in the village.

"Was it the Uchiha Clan?"

Danzo said with a dark expression, "Who else could it be? This is the Land of Fire, could it be Kumogakure? Hiruzen, this is the second time!"

"Who told you to use that method? Utterly foolish. Now Sakumo is very dissatisfied with you. You nearly killed his son!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was equally grim as he scolded Danzo. He had trusted Danzo and given him authority, only for him to do something this stupid.

Leaking information to other villages? If he hadn't forbidden the news from spreading, once it circulated in the village, how would Konoha's ninjas view them?

"For an Uchiha—"

Danzo started to say that any method was acceptable for dealing with the Uchiha, that they were an unstable factor. But seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's bad expression, he swallowed the words.

"Now is not the time for that, Hiruzen. If you can't make the Uchiha stop, then I'll have no choice but to have Root take action!"

"Nonsense!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the table in anger and shouted, "Danzo, do you want to start a civil war in the village!"

Danzo refused to back down, saying, "Even if it's a civil war, the Uchiha started it. Hiruzen, don't forget that the Shimura clan has already lost forty-six people!"

In truth, Danzo didn't want Root to fight the Uchiha either. The Uchiha were too strong right now. The Security Force alone had several hundred members. While not all of them were radicals, they still outmatched Danzo's Root.

In terms of both ninja numbers and strength, Root was inferior to the Uchiha. If a fight broke out, his decades of effort would be destroyed in an instant.

After hearing Danzo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent. By that count, the Shimura clan had indeed suffered heavy losses, even if what Danzo did was incredibly stupid.

After both fell silent, Utatane Koharu interjected, "Hiruzen, the medicines the Shimura clan bought last time were meant to be sold to the village as war reserve supplies. It's been a long time since the Security Force confiscated them. When will they return them to the village?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked helpless and shook his head, saying, "Koharu, forget about that. Those medicines have probably already been sold by the Security Force. It's better to just repurchase them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi almost said "it's a good thing we didn't pay," but with Danzo right there, he changed his words.

Right now, the loss was the Shimura clan's, not the village's. Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't that distressed about it. Besides, the Shimura clan had made plenty of money in the village before; this wouldn't cripple them.

"I'll go talk to Fugaku and have him put a stop to this. Danzo, you behave yourself for a while. Root is not to operate in the Land of Fire for now. Go investigate Kumogakure instead."

"Koharu, repurchase the medicines. Homura, you handle the Daimyo's Mansion. It's best if you discuss that matter with the Daimyo personally."

"That matter? Hiruzen, you mean the Yunhe Iron Mine in the Land of Rivers?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his pipe before speaking slowly: "Mm, the Daimyo couldn't reach an agreement with the Land of Rivers' Daimyo, so he's preparing to have us handle it. I intend to send Sakumo."

'Hatake Sakumo?'

'He already has such high prestige. If he succeeds in this, won't he even surpass me, the Hokage's Assistant? And last time, Hatake Sakumo was with the Uchiha...'

Danzo thought darkly to himself, his gaze icy cold.

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