The Plan Finally Bore Fruit

After arranging the pursuit force, Hiruzen Sarutobi slumped back in his chair, looking utterly exhausted.

Danzo to the side, rested his hands on his cane, gazing out the window. His expressionless face made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, both with troubled expressions, sat on the bench without saying a word.

Fugaku Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuga stood still. The former was annoyed by the escape of the radical clan members, while the latter remained unmoved, as if everything that had happened that day was insignificant to him.

"The Uchiha Clan..."

In the quiet room, Danzo's voice suddenly rang out.

Upon hearing the other party mention the Uchiha Clan right off the bat, Fugaku's heart leaped into his throat.

At this point, he already knew about Sakumo's serious injury and realized that the duo of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō were likely to make a comeback. Fugaku seemed to be reliving the precarious situation he had been in a few years ago.

Fortunately, Danzo did not seem to have any intention of making a fuss about it. He simply asked Fugaku to compile a list of those who had fled with Yaowan and include them in the list of rogue ninja.

"I think these people can no longer be considered Konoha ninjas or Uchiha members."

Danzo was very dissatisfied with the many unstable factors left behind by Sakumo. If he had followed his advice at the time and secretly executed all these radicals, the disaster we are in today would never have happened.

It was because of their obstruction that the supporting ninjas were unable to arrive in time, resulting in Sakumo being seriously injured and hospitalized.

"Yes, Danzo." Seeing that Hiruzen did not object, Fugaku nodded and agreed to the other's suggestion.

Then, Danzo emphasized again that the Military Police Force must maintain order in the village, before returning to his original position, his eyelids drooping, and falling silent once more.

"In that case, thank you all for your hard work."

Rubbing his Danzo, Hiruzen saw that Danzo had almost finished arranging things and then spoke, signaling to the others in the room that they could go about their business.

Only after Hiashi, the last to leave, closed the door did Danzo open his eyes. To the crisp sound of his cane hitting the ground, he slowly walked to the photos of the past Hokage.

"Hiruzen, I think it's time to recall the Jonin teams that were sent out to search for the Uchiha."

Looking up at Tobirama Senju's photo, Danzo glanced at Hiruzen, who sat silently in his seat, and spoke.

Upon hearing Danzo's words, Hiruzen paused in his act of taking out his pipe, instantly losing his interest in smoking.

"The Fourth Generation isn't dead yet, Danzo. Don't you think it's too early to be planning this?"

Danzo Hiruzen Danzo's intentions, but he believed that now was not the time.

"I've checked with the Medical Unit. The Fourth Generation suffered a severe spinal injury. Even if he survives, there's a high probability he'll lose his fighting ability. Are we really going to make a seriously injured patient the Hokage of Konoha?"

Danzo's words were so blunt that even Hiruzen couldn't bear to listen to them.

"Danzo! The Fourth Generation fought them to protect the village. Straighten your attitude!"

Hiruzen his hand on the table, stood up angrily, and stared straight at Danzo with eyes full of rage.

"I don't mean to deny the Fourth Generation's achievements, but that's the reality. Kumogakure has only just succumbed to pressure, and once they hear about this, it's hard to guarantee they won't rekindle their covetousness. Moreover, we have a rather restless ally beside us..."

Danzo's tone remained unchanged despite Hiruzen's emotional fluctuations, as if the anger was not directed at him. He continued in a low voice, "Don't forget how that nominal ally acted when we were fighting against Kumogakure."

The ally Danzo referred to was Sunagakure, led by Rasa.

During the war between Konoha and Kumogakure, this Kazekage had gathered a force, ostensibly to help his allies, but Danzo and Hiruzen were well aware of his true intentions.

"Or are you saying you don't crave power, but you're planning to reclaim the Hokage position at this time?"

Danzo's last words instantly extinguished Hiruzen's anger.

"The Hokage Position was entrusted to me by my teacher. Now that I have stepped down, I naturally will not covet this position as long as there is a suitable successor. But Danzo, he is still too young, and now..."

"We were young back then too." Danzo turned around and looked directly at Hiruzen.

After a moment of staring at each other, Hiruzen finally chose to compromise.

"Let's recall them first."

Hiruzen slumped back into his chair, knowing that if he didn't compromise, his stubborn old friend might do something irrational while Sakumo was away.

His obsession was so strong that it drove him mad.

"I'll arrange the pursuit force."

Hearing Hiruzen's compromise with his own ears, Danzo's expression finally softened, and he finally saw a glimmer of hope in his years of scheming.

In recent years, the village has developed quite well under Sakumo's management. If he doesn't seize this opportunity and act decisively, this position will probably fall to other outstanding young people.

This is why Danzo insisted on recalling all the teams at this time.

He had to ensure that if anything happened to Sakumo, Kazashiro would be there for everyone immediately.

As the sound of the cane faded into the distance, Hiruzen looked at the closed door and sighed softly, "Please, Fourth Generation, nothing bad must happen to you."

The once prosperous Land of Uzushio was completely reduced to a paradise for bandits and rogue ninjas after that war that destroyed the country.

Rogue ninjas evading pursuit, pirates wreaking havoc, ordinary people forced to flee their homes after offending nobles—people not accepted by the mainland—created their own set of rules in this region devoid of daimyo and nobles.

The law of the jungle prevails.

That being said, to avoid unnecessary conflict, they still maintained a basic level of order and did not indiscriminately kill the ordinary people who had ended up there.

Most of the Uzumaki Clan perished in that war, and the few survivors fled this sorrowful place. As a result, it is now rare to see anyone with red hair here.

Kazashiro and his group boarded a smuggling ship that departed from the Land of Waves and arrived in this country they had never set foot in before in just half a day.

Unlike Kakuzu, Kazashiro and his group did not choose to double-cross them, but instead paid the full fare.

They were only there to gather intelligence and didn't want to cause any trouble.

However, after a day of searching, the group did not obtain any information about the Uchiha.

What bothered them even more was that they hadn't received a reply from the Intelligence Department for a whole week since the battle with Scorpion.

Such a long period of time can no longer be excused by being too busy.