Danzo acted swiftly.
Just as he was arranging for Kazashiro and the others to return to the Konoha Village, that very night, the home of a nobleman in a certain town, who possessed mining qualifications, was robbed by mountain bandits.
A large family of hundreds was slaughtered, leaving only an infant alive.
As for the samurai who closely protected the nobles—
It turned to ashes along with that magnificent mansion.
Fortunately, the people living around the mansion did not suffer any real harm, and the fire was brought under control by Konoha Ninja just before it spread to the civilian area.
Ultimately, the sole survivor of the family, with the help of a butler, successfully inherited the family's power and immediately dispatched a mining team to the Land of Rain.
No one questioned this.
In this chaotic era, the lives of nobles were indeed frequently threatened, and the samurai who had served the nobles for generations seemed so vulnerable in the face of the cunning and unpredictable ninjas.
Apart from the Daimyo himself, who enjoys free protection from Konoha, other nobles need to pay for ninjas to protect them.
Of course, Kazashiro was unaware of all that had happened. After handing over the letters and contact information of Yahiko and the others to Jiraiya, he led his team on their journey back to Konoha.
Danzo also withdrew his Root organization from the Land of Land of Rain, abandoning his plans to take action against the Akatsuki Organization.
However, when he returned to Konoha before Kazashiro, filled with the joy of his son sharing the same ideals, he soon received another "good news" from Hiruzen.
Hiruzen successfully persuaded Ōnoki to agree not to pursue Iwagakure's responsibility in exchange for unconditional peace between the two sides.
The battle at Iwagakure has successfully ended.
"This is a desecration of the victims, Hiruzen! I cannot accept this condition!"
Danzo slammed his hand on the table, once again expressing his dissatisfaction with Hiruzen's decision.
His actions quickly displeased the other two advisors.
"Danzo, no matter what, Hiruzen is the Hokage. You've gone way too far!"
The two repeatedly emphasized that they did not oppose Danzo's decision to question Hiruzen, but they would never turn a blind eye to Danzo's rude attitude.
Danzo completely ignored the two advisors who expressed their dissatisfaction to him, and looked straight at Hiruzen.
"Continuing the war would be fatal for the exhausted Konoha as well; this is a compromise made out of necessity for the sake of peace."
Hiruzen remained calm, clearly having anticipated Danzo's attack. "Besides, I will take responsibility for this."
He had already made all the preparations; all that remained was for things to go according to plan.
How do you plan to take responsibility?
Danzo maintained his aggressive attitude.
"I will resign from my position as the Third Hokage and hand it over to the Fourth Hokage."
Hiruzen's words struck everyone present like a thunderbolt.
A moment of silence fell over the scene.
"So that's why you summoned Sakumo back to the village."
After the two advisors left, Danzo, who was still sitting in his seat, was still somewhat indignant, but his tone was much better than before.
"That's right, I've already spoken with him, and he'll be taking over as the fourth generation. I don't think you'll object, will you?"
Holding his pipe, Hiruzen looked at his seat not far away, feeling no regret whatsoever.
"Hmph, your departure will give new life to the decaying Konoha, how could I possibly object?"
Danzo closed his eyes, picked up the teacup on the table, smelled the aroma of the tea, and said softly.
"That would be perfect." Seeing that Danzo's reaction was as expected, Hiruzen finally breathed a sigh of relief. What he needed to do next was to gradually withdraw the older generation from the center of power.
The most difficult one is Danzo, who is right in front of us.
Although the Root organization is officially composed of sixteen people, Hiruzen had already confirmed through various means that the power controlled by his old friend far exceeded the limits he had set for him.
However, for the sake of the village, he has not stopped it all these years.
With power about to be transferred to the new Hokage, he must find a way to limit the power in the other party's hands.
His only bargaining chip was naturally his youngest disciple.
After finishing his tea, Danzo left the room without looking back.
"Next up are Kumogakure and Kirigakure."
Having dealt with the most troublesome Iwagakure, Hiruzen's next task was to completely drive out the Mist Ninja entrenched on the border.
On the other side, at the Konoha.
Kazashiro and his group finally returned to the village.
"Uncle Sakumo?"
Before he even entered the village, he saw a familiar figure standing at the village entrance.
"Dad?"
Kakashi also spotted the other person and hurriedly followed behind Kazashiro.
"It's been a long time, Kazashiro. Many years have passed since we last parted." Sakumo smiled and reached out to touch the top of Kazashiro's head, which had grown a bit taller.
With that same gentle smile and the familiar touch on his head, Kazashiro smiled sincerely.
Seeing that his father was only looking at Kazashiro and ignoring him, Kakashi was somewhat annoyed, but he couldn't show it. He could only stand there blankly, just like his name suggests.
"Oh right, Uncle Sakumo, look! I've taken good care of Kakashi. I haven't let you down!"
Suddenly remembering that Sakumo's biological son was behind him, Kazashiro proudly pulled Kakashi over.
"Who's taking care of whom?"
Kakashi, his face darkening, said this as he approached Sakumo.
"Thank you for your hard work these past few days, Kakashi."
Even after several years apart, Sakumo still managed to suppress his emotions well, though his slightly reddened eyes betrayed his state of mind.
"Hmph, it must be tough, taking care of two idiots after all."
Kakashi put on a smug expression, and even with the mask on, Kazashiro could still see through his true thoughts. Ignoring the fact that Sakumo was right in front of him, he threw a punch directly at him.
"You arrogant Kakashi, what are you talking about! I'm your captain!"
"You damned Kazashiro, stop right there!"
"Hehehe, I'm not going to stop here. If you're so capable, try and catch me!"
Watching the two playfully bickering, Sakumo chuckled, which somewhat dispelled the sadness in his heart.
"Uncle Sakumo, you don't have to leave again now that you're back, right?"
After freezing everything except Kakashi's head, Kazashiro finally remembered to ask Sakumo the purpose of his return.
"Yes."
Recalling Hiruzen's words, Sakumo nodded. Indeed, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he wouldn't be leaving the village for quite some time.
The prerequisite is that you can get past the daimyo.
After all, the failure of the last mission would likely make the daimyo remember him.