Shimura Danzō's Recruitment Attempt

"Sir, Minamoto Takuya has been brought here," the Root ninja said respectfully, kneeling on one knee before Shimura Danzō.

"Mm." Shimura Danzō nodded, then looked at Minamoto Takuya.

"May I ask what this is about?" Minamoto Takuya asked. He was not worried that the other man would make a move against him. Many ninjas had seen him follow Root here, and Shimura Danzō did not possess Kotoamatsukami yet.

If they truly fought, Minamoto Takuya felt that he probably would not be his opponent. After all, Shimura Danzō was a ninja whose Wind Release had reached extraordinary heights—someone capable of cutting through Susanoo with Wind Release.

Moreover, Shimura Danzō already had a Sharingan. His right eye should now be Kagami Uchiha's Three Tomoe Sharingan, and he had somehow acquired the Secret Technique of Izanagi as well. He would be very troublesome to deal with.

But as long as Minamoto Takuya kept an eye on that Sharingan and did not entertain thoughts of killing him, escaping would still be possible.

"Mm, I already know about what happened at today's meeting. Your proposal was quite good," Shimura Danzō said in a deep voice.

"It was simply what I should do for Konoha," Minamoto Takuya replied.

"Mm." Shimura Danzō nodded, then took a scroll from his kimono. "These are some Sealing Jutsu. Consider them your reward."

"This... isn't that inappropriate?" Minamoto Takuya asked.

"There is no problem. This is a reward from the leader of Konoha's Root." As he spoke, Shimura Danzō tossed the scroll in his hand to Minamoto Takuya.

Minamoto Takuya caught the scroll and, after 'hesitating' for a moment, said, "Then I'll gratefully accept it."

"Mm. Since it is a reward, just take it. Continue working for Konoha in the future, and I will have even more rewards for you," Shimura Danzō said.

"Then thank you, Lord Danzō." Minamoto Takuya smiled.

"Mm. You may return and continue your research. Remember what I just said—do more for Konoha, and I will not treat you unfairly." With that, Shimura Danzō turned and left with the Root ninjas.

Minamoto Takuya was left standing there alone, looking at the scroll in his hand.

Slowly, a mocking curve formed at the corner of Minamoto Takuya's mouth. He made it sound so nice, but wasn't it simply because he had seen Minato Namikaze promote him, and that he showed signs of rising further, so he was trying to sow distrust in advance?

Minamoto Takuya himself was not that important. What mattered was that Minato Namikaze should not have his own trusted subordinates.

But the problem was, Minato Namikaze was not that kind of person.

Shimura Danzō was the sort of person who assumed that because he himself would be suspicious, everyone else would naturally be suspicious too.

And if Minamoto Takuya had guessed correctly, the Sealing Jutsu scroll in his hand was not useful at all.

Minamoto Takuya casually opened the scroll. After taking one look, the mockery in his eyes deepened. He was unwilling to put in more effort even when recruiting someone. If he had given Minamoto Takuya the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing, then he might actually have considered it.

After all, what did the bad things the other man did have to do with him?

Well, that did not seem quite right. Whether Shimura Danzō even knew the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing at this point was questionable.

In any case, the man was extremely stingy. Even the Sealing Jutsu he gave away was something Minamoto Takuya had long since finished researching. Perhaps the only decent thing was that he knew Minamoto Takuya liked Sealing Jutsu.

So how should he deal with the scroll in his hands?

Actually, it was very simple. He could find an opportunity later and give it to Minato Namikaze.

From what he knew of Minato Namikaze, the man would not suspect him over something so minor, but Minamoto Takuya could not simply keep failing to defend himself, could he?

He did not want to test Minato Namikaze's limits of tolerance. This was not an issue of a girlfriend throwing an unreasonable tantrum; it was a matter of genuine attitude.

Minamoto Takuya yawned and headed back toward the Sealing Team. He truly had little regard for Shimura Danzō.

The man had done so many terrible things and even styled himself as Konoha's darkness in the night, yet Minamoto Takuya felt he was still not ruthless enough.

People said that the Third Hokage was exceptionally indulgent toward Shimura Danzō. As long as many of the things Shimura Danzō did remained within certain limits, he would turn a blind eye. And that did seem to be the case.

But if Minamoto Takuya were Shimura Danzō, once he obtained Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, even though its effects were limited, it would still be enough to work with.

First, send Root to prevent Konoha from contacting Jiraiya and Tsunade. Then, using the Third Hokage's 'indulgence' and Kotoamatsukami, would it really be difficult to kill him without implicating himself?

At that time, Minato Namikaze would be dead, Orochimaru would have defected, and Jiraiya and Tsunade would be outside the village. Who else could threaten his position as Hokage?

It could not possibly be the immature Asuma Sarutobi or Kakashi Hatake, could it?

Even becoming acting Hokage would have been a success. Once he possessed the Hokage's authority, he could combine Root and Anbu, then simply remove the word "acting."

So why had Shimura Danzō not done that?

Wasn't it because he was not ruthless enough? Hiruzen Sarutobi was his close friend, and his feelings for Hiruzen Sarutobi ran deep. That was why he would not make a move against him or use Kotoamatsukami on him.

He was already in the darkness, so why not walk all the way into blackness?

He was... nothing more than a complete clown.

As Minamoto Takuya walked back, the mockery in his eyes had yet to fully fade.

He thought about how Shimura Danzō had spent his entire life striving for the position of Hokage, only to serve as Hokage for a few days before dying, earning himself the derisive title of the 5.5th Hokage.

Thus, Shimura Danzō was an absolute negative example to him. He could not be like that man. Whatever he wanted, he had to obtain it.

Even if the methods were a little extreme, that was acceptable!

Over the following days, the modifications to the Konoha Great Barrier entered their final stage. At last, it was time for Minamoto Takuya to take charge.

He handed the simple yet complicated repetitive tasks to his subordinates, while the precise work had to be completed personally.

After inspecting what his subordinates had completed, Minamoto Takuya nodded. Though their Sealing Jutsu skills were not particularly outstanding, with guidance from the Uzumaki Clan, their foundations were indeed solid.

After finishing the inspection, Minamoto Takuya began working as well. The modifications to the Konoha Great Barrier had to be as perfect as possible. Ideally, it would never need to be modified again, and only one hidden entrance could remain.

After all, the current Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was also a top-tier Sealing Jutsu expert. The more hidden entrances there were, the more loopholes there would be. The more loopholes there were, the more likely Minato Namikaze would personally inspect the barrier.

Then there would be a very high chance that he would discover the hidden entrance Minamoto Takuya had left behind.

For now, Minamoto Takuya did not want to fall out with Minato Namikaze, even if he left later.

It was not because he feared Minato Namikaze, but because he was wary of Konoha's two protagonists.

Behind them stood the Sage of Six Paths. Even if those two died, the Sage of Six Paths might kick them back from the Underworld.

For example, after Sasuke Uchiha fought Haku, his heart had stopped, yet he came back to life.

When Naruto Uzumaki fought Kabuto Yakushi, even his heart's vessels had been severed and the Nine-Tails was nearly dead, yet he was soon lively again.

Minamoto Takuya seriously suspected that if he was too ruthless toward those two, the Sage of Six Paths might directly appear and slap him into the Underworld...