Why Senju Tobirama Chose Sarutobi Hiruzen

The light rain that had just fallen seemed to be evaporating in the scorching atmosphere.

Shimura Danzō finally arrived late with a few subordinates.

He had been woken from his sleep and wanted to lash out, but upon seeing the atmosphere at the scene and his subordinates tied up on the ground, he understood the general situation.

He exchanged a look with Sarutobi Hiruzen without changing his expression. His subordinates behind him immediately understood and quietly retreated to gather Root personnel.

"What's going on?" Shimura Danzō asked, feigning ignorance.

"Your subordinate attacked a Uchiha child," Sarutobi Hiruzen said coldly.

Shimura Danzō simply replied, "I don't know, I have no recollection."

He believed that Root members would never betray the organization.

Uchiha Sōgaku, seeing his denial, gritted his teeth and said, "Is that so? If he's not from Konoha, then he's a spy from an enemy village. According to the rules, we can kill him on the spot and interrogate him ourselves."

He thought this would force the other party to reveal a clue, but the man remained deathly silent.

For a moment, it became a case of no witnesses.

Just then, Sen yawned and said lazily, "Since Lord Danzō claims not to know him, we'll take him back and interrogate him slowly with Illusion Techniques. Furthermore, since we're going to share the information publicly, why not ask the Yamanaka clan to verify it through interrogation? That would be even more convincing to the entire village?"

At these words, the Uchiha clan members suddenly understood.

It had to be said that the Uchiha clan was truly skilled in combat, but unfortunately, they weren't very good at strategy, and some were even easily manipulated by a few words.

Now, if this information were given to everyone in the village, all of Root's intelligence would become public knowledge!

Shimura Danzō's expression instantly turned ashen. He stared intently at Sen, squeezing out a few words from between his teeth, "You, you are Uchiha Sen?"

He regretted it deeply in his heart. Who had arranged for this idiot to carry out the mission?

In the future, he absolutely had to find a way to control ninjas' emotions and memories, so that even if the mission failed, they absolutely could not leak any information!

After all, the mission was a ninja's life!

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning struck down, and the sky turned dark. Konoha, in late spring, was hit by a heavy rain as if it were summer.

Uchiha Setsuna, who had been silent all along, slowly spoke, his voice sounding particularly chilling in the thunder and rain:

"It seems our person wasn't lying. Danzō, you really intend to attack us Uchiha?"

Shimura Danzō's eyes darted frantically, and in the end, he could only argue, "This is a misunderstanding! I never gave the order to attack the Uchiha!"

"Do you think we'll believe that?"

Uchiha Setsuna's tone changed. His crimson Sharingan spun in the heavy rain, and his aura suddenly shifted, "What happened back then didn't succeed, it's fine to kill Tobirama's disciples today!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The three hundred elite Uchiha behind him activated their Sharingan simultaneously!

Another flash of lightning split the sky. Under the glow of the lightning, hundreds of pairs of crimson eyes, like ravenous beasts in the dark night, were eerie and deadly!

The onlookers recoiled in shock, only a few clan heads dared to remain, but they were already on high alert.

A great battle was about to break out!

Sarutobi Hiruzen knew he could no longer back down, but he still wanted to make a final effort.

He glared hatefully at Shimura Danzō and said to the Uchiha clan:

"I will severely punish Danzō for this incident! Furthermore, I guarantee strict supervision in the future! Or, you can make demands, and as long as they are not too excessive, I can agree on behalf of Konoha!"

Uchiha Sōgaku looked at the dense Anbu and Konoha elite ninjas on the surrounding rooftops, roughly estimating over a thousand people.

If a fight truly broke out, the Uchiha would suffer heavy losses.

He looked at Uchiha Setsuna and shook his head very slightly.

Uchiha Setsuna let the cold rain wash over his aged body.

People his age were no longer like youngsters; a heavy rain could easily lead to a serious illness.

He had never craved youth as much as he did today. If he could, for the sake of his clan, he would be the first to launch a surprise attack and take Sarutobi Hiruzen down with him!

What if he bore the infamy of ten thousand generations?

As long as his clan could prosper, he would do anything!

Unfortunately, his body no longer allowed it.

He slowly turned around, using all his strength to suppress the unwillingness in his heart, and sighed, "Fifty million ryo in compensation, and hand this person over to us!"

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzō almost lost control and shouted.

Fifty million! That was enough for Root's expenses for several months!

Sarutobi Hiruzen grabbed him and stopped him with a look, then decisively nodded, "I agree!"

With a satisfactory reply, Uchiha Sōgaku and several elders breathed a sigh of relief.

But Uchiha Setsuna wasn't finished yet.

He called Sen to his side, patted his shoulder, and then loudly said, "Danzō, I'm known throughout the village as a petty man. You'd best pray that nothing happens to the Uchiha's young people over these years. If any accident occurs, I'll assume you're behind it, and the outcome won't be like this!"

"You mean I have to send people to protect him?!" Shimura Danzō roared in anger. This was blatant blackmail!

As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Setsuna suddenly turned around. He and the three hundred clan members behind him, like a pack of wolves discovering prey, locked their cold killing intent onto Shimura Danzō.

The few Anbu standing behind Shimura Danzō were so affected by this palpable killing intent that they involuntarily took half a step back, their legs going weak.

Moreover, the main target of this killing intent wasn't even them, but Shimura Danzō in front!

"I will personally assign people to be responsible for the safety of the Uchiha clan members! You don't need to worry!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said immediately upon seeing this, defusing the impending conflict.

Uchiha Setsuna let out a cold snort, turned, and left with his clansmen, leaving behind only a chilling remark: "Take away that Anbu ninja! And Hiruzen, control your dog!"

Watching the Uchiha clan's retreating figures, Sarutobi Hiruzen suppressed his anger and announced to everyone, "Disperse, it was just a misunderstanding."

After everyone had left, he took Shimura Danzō back to his office.

"Are we just going to be suppressed by the Uchiha like this forever? How much longer will your plan take?!" Shimura Danzō questioned as soon as he entered.

"My plan was proceeding smoothly! It was you! You insisted on interfering, making me lose face in front of all the major clans!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said angrily.

But thinking of how much dirty work Danzō usually handled for him, he finally suppressed his rage.

"So what? The Uchiha clan is inherently an evil clan. Didn't you forget what Teacher Tobirama said? Why are you like a sixty or seventy-year-old man? Completely lacking in combat effectiveness?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen lit a cigarette, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips: "You don't understand my methods. Uchiha Setsuna has considerable influence within their clan. But fortunately, he has no heir. Once he dies, his power will return to Uchiha Sōgaku."

"And then?"

"I will support Uchiha Sōgaku's son, Uchiha Fugaku, to become the next clan head. After years of indoctrination with the Will of Fire, even if he isn't one of us, he will definitely be a controllable moderate."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, getting excited, took another puff of his cigarette: "This way, boiling the frog slowly generation after generation, constantly influencing their descendants with the Will of Fire, it won't take two generations for the Uchiha to completely integrate into Konoha and become the sharpest blade in our hands. At a necessary moment, we can even use their own people against them!"

This was his plan, hidden for many years, and the fundamental reason Teacher Tobirama chose him over Danzō. Because Sarutobi Hiruzen had sworn that for Konoha, he could sacrifice everything, including his own family!

Shimura Danzō's pupils contracted as he listened. After a long pause, he gave a wry smile: "It seems Teacher had his reasons for choosing you. I'll endure a few more years. As for Uchiha Setsuna... I don't think he'll live much longer."

His eyes became increasingly sinister: "That brat named Uchiha Sen, we don't need to act ourselves. How about we use the teacher's old method from back then, assign him some impossible missions, and let him die accidentally on the battlefield?"

"After all—

Didn't those disobedient guys back then die the same way? Right, Monkey?"