Bonds Are the True Driving Force

Bonds Are the Driving Force [Please Vote]

Back in the Hokage Office.

Unlike before, they now knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had made his decision.

Although the two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, had voiced their opposition, that was all they could do: offer advice. In the end, the one who made the decision was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage.

At the moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite powerful, and he had complete confidence in himself. Once he had made up his mind, no one else could oppose him.

Of course, there was one exception.

Thump—

"Rizhan, why didn't you let me say what I wanted to say just now?" Danzo lightly tapped his cane against the floor and stared straight at Hiruzen Sarutobi, speaking slowly and deliberately.

His hands rested on the desk. The tobacco in his pipe glowed and dimmed with each breath.

"I know what you wanted to say, so I stopped you." After a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his pipe and calmly met his old friend's gaze.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew this old friend very well, just as Danzo knew him well.

Danzo refused to let it go. He strode up to the desk and stared at him, his voice low. "If that's the case, then you should understand!

"Keeping this Jinchūriki could be both good and bad for us. But if we use him well, the benefits will far outweigh the drawbacks. With your personality, you'd never have the heart to do something like this, so you should have handed him over to me from the start! Let me shoulder all the guilt and blame.

"Give that child to me! Three years—no, one year! I'll give you back a weapon of war that you can control completely!

"Besides, this Jinchūriki belongs to Root in the first place.

"According to our agreement, you can't interfere too much or ask too many questions about Root's affairs!"

There were only a few people in the office. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were their friends and the current Hokage Advisors, so they already knew about this.

And Shikashin Nara, as the Hokage's strategist, was naturally entitled to know about Root's existence.

Smack!!

Hiruzen Sarutobi slapped the desk and stared at Danzo without backing down. "Danzo! You need to remember who the Hokage is!"

"You!"

Those words left Danzo speechless.

That was right. He was the Hokage!

He had the final say in all of Konoha's affairs. Even Root's special privileges had only been granted after he approved them.

His hand, hidden beneath his robe as it gripped the cane, tightened around it until his knuckles slowly turned white.

The Hokage!!

"Danzo, don't rush. If Hiruzen has said this, he must have his reasons." Mitokado Homura spoke up from the side. Whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō clashed, that was when their role came into play.

Danzo slowly relaxed his grip on the cane.

"If that's the case, then tell us how you plan to deal with that Jinchūriki. As Hokage Advisors, surely we have the right to know!

"Besides, Jinchūriki are extremely important. I don't think we should make this decision lightly!" Danzo forcibly suppressed his anger.

He hadn't coveted the Hokage Position for only a day or two, and he had his reasons.

"Puff—puff—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't answer right away. Instead, he kept puffing on his pipe, not even noticing that the tobacco inside was almost burned up.

Only after that blissful, floating feeling came over him did he lower his pipe.

"This kid isn't ordinary. Do you really think just any child could leave the Land of Lightning so easily? Could he cross such a long distance and make it all the way to the Land of Fire?

"Are Kumogakure's Anbu all useless? The Two-Tails went missing, and they still haven't found a single trace of it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice wasn't loud, but his words struck everyone like a thunderclap!

Only after hearing him say that did they realize it.

Seeing Toneri's appearance and his innocent expression, they had all subconsciously thought of him as an ignorant child.

But soon, a smile slowly appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's serious face.

"What an interesting kid. I don't know what method he used, but it seems he has the potential to grow into a towering tree. As long as we guide his views properly—especially his opinion of Konoha because of Root—he might still turn out to be a good seedling."

At that, Danzo frowned. "Hiruzen, if you've already realized that the Jinchūriki has his own ideas, why not just hand him over to me?!

"I'm absolutely confident I can train him into a weapon of war, one that won't be influenced by emotions and will still be able to protect Konoha in the future!"

Hiruzen waved a hand, rejecting Danzo's proposal once more.

Danzo's suggestion might have been a straightforward way to solve the problem once and for all.

"No. How do you know how he communicates with the Two-Tails? What if what the Two-Tails values is him as a person, his thoughts?

"If you force him under your control and the Two-Tails goes berserk, we'll have made a terrible mistake.

"Besides, what we need are strong people—true strong people with their own consciousness and ideas, not puppets!

"Don't bring up this proposal again!

"Since we've chosen to keep him, and he's a native of the Land of Fire, we can't just disregard his rights!

"The more people who are willing to burn themselves like Hikari, the stronger the young saplings will grow in the future."

At the height of his power, the Third Hokage spoke with great authority.

In his view, even in the worst case, he could suppress the Two-Tails. It wouldn't be all that difficult.

So as long as Toneri was in Konoha, he couldn't cause too much trouble.

Besides, this was just after the Second Shinobi World War had ended. Even if another war broke out in the future, it wouldn't happen for some time. They had plenty of room to maneuver and could observe him for a while first.

"Even so, Hiruzen, I don't think we should take this kid lightly. Like you said, if we want him to become a towering tree, then his attitude toward Konoha is what matters.

"Leaving Danzo's Root aside, we need someone who can keep him in check and help him gradually accept Konoha. And that goes for both him and the Two-Tails inside him." Utatane Koharu also spoke up.

Since the Hokage had made his decision, the Hokage Advisors' job was to help refine it.

The Third Hokage nodded, a smile appearing on his face as though he had thought of something pleasant.

"Come to think of it, Orochimaru and the other two should be back soon, shouldn't they?

"Though Hanzo held back, earning the title of the Three Sannin at his hands has still raised Konoha's prestige by quite a bit!"

After all, Hanzo of the Salamander was a demigod who could protect an entire country on his own. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't certain he could defeat him. He was one of the few exceptionally powerful shinobi in the Shinobi World at the time!

As they spoke of the newly named Three Sannin—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—the atmosphere in the office immediately eased.

Of course, Danzo was the exception.

The stronger Hiruzen Sarutobi's students became, the farther away the Hokage Position seemed to Danzo.

"So you mean you want one or even several of the three to keep an eye on this Two-Tails Jinchūriki and gradually change his attitude toward Konoha?" Mitokado Homura's eyes lit up.

The others also thought it was a good idea.

After all, they were all the Hokage's students, and they had watched them grow up. They were trustworthy.

"What about before they get back?" Danzo was still unwilling to give up.

The prize had been right there in his grasp, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi had snatched it away.

At that, Hiruzen paused to think, then looked at Shikashin, who had been quietly watching from the side. His smile grew even more satisfied.

"Until they return, he can stay with your family, Shikashin. I'm sure that with your intelligence, you'll be able to see what kind of person this kid is, and what he thinks of Konoha."

After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help congratulating himself on his own cleverness.

With the Nara Clan's high intelligence, dealing with a child would be a piece of cake.

Shikashin Nara: "!!!"

Shikashin Nara was stunned. This was a Jinchūriki! The Nara Clan made its living with brains; they had no way to suppress the Two-Tails if it went berserk.

But before he could speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued, "Oh, and even though he's a Jinchūriki, let him attend the Ninja Academy. It'll help him fit in with Konoha and make more friends.

"Bonds are the driving force!"

"Oh, and remember: no one is to reveal that he's a Jinchūriki! You know what the consequences would be!

"All right, that's the end of the meeting."

"Hmph!!"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had settled the matter, Danzo turned and left at once.

His head was lowered, and an unfathomable gleam flashed in his narrowed eyes.

I need to speed things up!

Otherwise, the Hokage Position will slip farther and farther away from me. And the ones I need to worry about now aren't just Hiruzen Sarutobi and his three students!

There's also... Do they really think the people Root sends out can just be reassigned whenever they feel like it?

Hiruzen, you're still living in a world of ideals. You're too softhearted!

Jin Mu is sobbing—none of you gave me any votes, but when I stopped sobbing, you did! Is this a distortion of human nature or a collapse of morality?

I'm holding out a little bowl, though I feel like you won't fill it. If you know what to do, comment 1 or 2!

Remember to check in, like, and send some hearts! Our book club is almost at level two, and the goal is level three!

Thanks to Black Ling for the generous reward! Thanks to Xiao Xianrou, Mk Yu Jie Kong, Wei Jie Sai Gao, Gebi o Liu Yang, EMEI, Gai Ge Ming Ba Jiu Jiao Shu You Bu Hao Ren, Feng Yun Zai, Mo Xiao Nian Ya, and all the other benefactors for your gifts!

By the way, the voice acting by Yao Yao Ling, Grand Marshal Mo Xiao Nian Ya, and a few others is really good. Go give it a listen! There's a surprise!