Danzo remained utterly unfazed.
What a joke!
Every faction contained countless smaller factions. The Uchiha had moderates, centrists, and radicals; naturally, Konoha was no different.
Utatane Koharu had her own ideas, Mitokado Homura had his own, Sarutobi Hiruzen had his own, and Danzo certainly had his own as well.
Even the Major ninja clans below had differing views between the large Shinobi Clans and minor ninja clans. The Civilian faction and the Shinobi Clans did not think alike either.
The current situation was no exception!
To Danzo, was taking down the Uchiha important, but smearing Sarutobi Hiruzen unimportant?
One had to know—
For someone who wanted to become Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a mountain standing in his way.
Now that he had a chance to throw mud at Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was already generous enough that Danzo had not added fuel to the flames. And they expected him to come up with a solution for Sarutobi Hiruzen?
Bullshit!
As for getting mud thrown at himself too?
Heh.
Danzo himself was already a cesspit. Would he care about this little bit of filth?
They were seriously overthinking it!
As for whether Sarutobi Hiruzen could withstand these "rumors," Danzo had boundless confidence. This little matter might leave Sarutobi Hiruzen scrambling and even damage some of his reputation...
But bring down Sarutobi Hiruzen for good? The possibility was minuscule!
The reason was even simpler!
Konoha was simply too weak right now. If they truly forced Sarutobi Hiruzen out, who would take over as the Fifth Hokage?
Therefore—
Even if the Shinobi Clans hated Sarutobi Hiruzen enough to grind their teeth, they still had to grit those teeth and support him at this time. Otherwise, were they really going to let the Uchiha become the Fifth Hokage?
It was precisely because he understood this that Danzo was not anxious at all.
"Sorry, Hiruzen!"
"Public opinion cannot be stopped. The more you try to suppress it, the stronger the backlash will be."
"Leave everything to time. We must trust the villagers!"
After saying that—
Danzo rose to his feet, preparing to leave directly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was dumbfounded.
Still, he instantly understood Danzo's intentions. With a livid expression, he ground out, "I authorize you to draw five members from every Shinobi Clan."
"Can you speak now?"
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen still chose to take a step back.
He had no choice!
Danzo was an expert at public opinion wars. Sarutobi Hiruzen truly could not handle this sort of thing.
Of course, a more accurate way of putting it was that Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want to get involved in this sort of thing. How could the flawless, righteous Hokage-sama soil himself with such filthy methods?
If he handled this kind of crap personally, then what was the point of having Danzo as his black glove?
Meanwhile—
The moment Danzo heard Sarutobi Hiruzen's terms, his eyes lit up.
"Ten members from every Shinobi Clan!"
"Bullshit! Absolutely not!"
"I'll compromise. Nine!"
"No, just five!"
"I'll compromise again. Eight. Otherwise, I'm leaving right now!"
"Seven. Refuse, and get lost!"
"Deal!"
Danzo sat back down in his seat, his face filled with barely concealed delight.
Seven was enough!
After all, while Konoha's bloodline families might not compare to the Uchiha, every one of them was exceedingly powerful.
Among those Shinobi Clans, Danzo favored the Yamanaka and Aburame clans the most.
Meanwhile—
Compared to Danzo, who was completely satisfied, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was utterly livid, and his heart was bleeding.
Fuck.
His reputation was already terrible. Once this Hokage Order was issued, one could imagine just how deeply the Shinobi Clans would hate him.
But there was no other way!
Compared to the resentment the Shinobi Clans would bear toward him, resolving the current matter was more important.
After all, his reputation among the Commoners was what Sarutobi Hiruzen valued most.
"Fine, speak."
"I've given you what you wanted. This matter must be resolved as soon as possible."
"Otherwise..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke coldly.
He had truly paid a heavy price to resolve this matter. If Danzo could not handle it, he would let Danzo know...
Why he was called the Shinobi Hero!
At that—
Danzo could not help shuddering. Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was far too terrifying.
After clearing his throat, he slowly spoke.
"If you want to resolve this matter, there is only one method."
"Spread more, even more outrageous rumors. Never mind whether those rumors are true or false; spread all of them at once."
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not joking."
"The villagers are ignorant. Their sources of information are limited, so they have no way to determine the truth behind the rumors. As long as they are barely logical, that is enough."
"Only by spreading rumors in such large quantities can we possibly divert the attention of those ignorant villagers."
"I know this business. Just trust me!"
Danzo slowly laid out his idea.
Of course—
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were doubtful, if Uchiha Jin were here, he would definitely give Danzo a thumbs-up.
That was seriously impressive!
It was just like the tactic capital used in his previous life to bury trending topics. One had to admit that Danzo, the Darkness of the Shinobi World, had truly learned a few tricks after doing dirty work in secret for so many years.
"Fine, leave it to you!"
"But this must be handled quickly, and don't forget about Uchiha Jin."
"I do not want to see that guy again. Find a way to make him disappear completely within a month!"
"How you do it? I don't care!"
"I only want results!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth and issued his final ultimatum.
Clearly—
His hatred for Uchiha Jin had already exceeded the limits of his endurance. All he wanted now was to see Uchiha Jin dead.
He did not care about the process or the methods at all!
"One month?"
Danzo pondered briefly before nodding. "Fine, no problem!"
After saying that—
He left directly, leaning on his cane. This time, he did not slam the door. On the contrary, he politely closed it behind him.
Inside the Hokage Office—
After Danzo left, Mitokado Homura said worriedly, "Hiruzen, Danzo's power is growing stronger and stronger."
"Yes, Hiruzen!" Utatane Koharu frowned slightly. "If Root keeps developing like this, aren't you afraid it will become too powerful to control?"
They could not help it.
They were all comrades, so they understood Danzo's nature very well.
Root had become so powerful. If Danzo truly became Hokage?
No, absolutely not!
Because that would become a disaster for all of Konoha. Danzo's personality was even worse than the Uchiha's.
At that—
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed before speaking helplessly.
"You think I don't know what you're saying?"
"I didn't see either of you objecting just now. Only now you remember that Root is difficult to control?"
"But forget it!"
"We have no choice right now. We can only trust Danzo with the matter of public opinion."
"Besides, he has to face Uchiha Jin. How could dealing with a powerhouse of that level be as simple as talking about it?"
"Even if he really kills Uchiha Jin, how many people will Root have left..."
"Hard to say!"
Before you continue