Not Fast Enough, Not Ruthless Enough

That afternoon, just before the end of the workday, the heads of departments under the Anbu, such as the Intelligence Department and the Torture Department, received notification of their leadership change.

From this day forward, they will no longer belong to the Anbu, but will become the Internal Affairs Department, led by Aburame Ryoma and solely responsible to Kazashiro.

The new uniforms were also delivered to them. The style was unchanged from before, except that they were decorated with blue stripes to distinguish the Anbu Division from the Internal Affairs Department Division.

The new department's first task was to uncover the spies from other villages lurking in the village.

This task was quickly implemented after the original Root ninjas intervened.

Lists were sent out from the Internal Affairs Department office, and the long-awaiting Internal Affairs Department ninjas, led by their respective squad leaders, headed towards the target location.

That night, the torture chambers in the Torture Department were crammed full, and screams of agony echoed throughout the underground prison.

"The efficiency is too fast. Whether it was during the Anbu period or the Military Police Force period, we have never caught so many spies."

The head of the Intelligence Department Yamanaka Inoichi, had already read the memories of more than a dozen people and was now resting in the lounge.

"It's not over yet, I see two more squads have gone out."

Nara Shikaku, who had been called to help, leaned against the door frame and pointed outside.

"That's understandable, after all, those who made the move were originally ninjas belonging to Root, those guys..."

Leaving the doorway, Nara Shikaku patted Yamanaka Inoichi on the shoulder, a bitter expression on his face as he thought of his family, "I really can't stay any longer. If I don't go back, I'm afraid I'll be sleeping on the streets."

"Let's go back, I can hold on a little longer."

Yamanaka Inoichi was well aware of the Nara Clan's ancestral fear of their wives, and smiled to indicate that the other party should not mind.

Shimura Residence.

"You've done a good job holding your own sharp knife in your hand."

Danzo's preconceived notions about Kazashiro have been greatly changed today.

But there was still one thing he didn't understand: who was the first target of the sharp blade in Kazashiro's hand?

Both Hiruzen Sarutobi and he himself would give their full support to the other.

In other words, either his son was extremely insecure, or he harbored an ambition that even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't accept.

"The affairs of ninjas should be decided by the ninjas themselves."

Kazashiro turned to look at Yamato behind him, signaling the other to take out what he had prepared.

Shisui stood next to Yamato, listening to their conversation, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Judging from Kazashiro's words, he seemed to want to break free from the constraints that the daimyo imposed on ninjas.

Is this something I can hear?

Yamato spread out a map of the Land of Fire between Kazashiro and Danzo, with many areas circled in red ink.

"The business at the Root isn't fast enough, not ruthless enough, Dad."

Kazashiro placed his finger on several locations around Konoha, and all the places he pointed to were famous commercial cities in the Land of Fire.

Danzo's one eye suddenly widened.

Her son seemed even bolder than she had imagined.

No, all of this was foreshadowed. From the day the Fujiwara Clan was destroyed, he should have known about his son's courage.

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat awkward.

Since the Warring States period, ninjas have been employed by daimyo and nobles from various states to fight on this land.

Hashirama later founded Konoha, but the ninja village remained under the rule of the daimyo.

The daimyo and nobles are supreme; this is a principle ingrained in the bones of ninjas.

Ninjas do not engage in production; they live off commissions and military funds, and this has been the case for hundreds of years.

"I see. No wonder you need my Root ninjas to join the so-called Internal Affairs Department."

Danzo had already guessed Kazashiro's purpose.

"Here, here, and here—if we can control these three towns, Konoha will reap the enormous profits." Seeing that Danzo had guessed his intentions, Kazashiro directly revealed his plan:

"Since the Daimyo's Mansion already knows about the attack on Konoha, the deaths of a few dozen nobles around Konoha shouldn't be too surprising."

"Leave it to me, I'll do it without anyone noticing."

Danzo reached out and stroked the town names printed on the map, already having made up his mind.

"Then I'll have to Advisor Danzō Danzo."

The conversation between father and son ended with Danzo accepting Kazashiro's mission.

For a moment, only Kazashiro, Yamato, and Shisui remained in the living room.

Shisui was not good at hiding his thoughts; his face was filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"Do you love Konoha, Shisui?"

Seeing Shisui's expression, Kazashiro chuckled and rubbed his eyes, asking her a question.

Shisui nodded honestly.

"In that case, you can rest assured and follow me. Everything I do is for Konoha."

The other person's voice seemed very persuasive. Looking at the other person's delicate face, Shisui didn't think too much before nodding in agreement.

"But I still don't quite understand."

Shisui hesitated for a moment, but still managed to express her thoughts.

"Don't you understand why I want to free Konoha from the Daimyo's control?"

Kazashiro seemed to know exactly what Shisui was thinking.

"Yes, this would likely provoke retaliation from the Daimyo's Mansion, and we would also be attacked by several other hidden villages."

Shisui, who came from a prominent family, was well aware of the rich heritage of the Daimyo's Mansion.

They have money, people, and a solid foundation.

If Konoha truly refuses to obey, then we should support a new, more compliant regime.

For the Daimyo's Mansion, this was not a difficult task.

Moreover, the people living on this land are used to the rule of the daimyo. If they knew that the ninja village was trying to rebel against the daimyo, they would definitely side with the Daimyo's Mansion.

At that time, Konoha will be in a helpless situation, and new conflicts will inevitably break out among the Ninja Clan within the village.

"Therefore, this is not an easy task. Konoha cannot openly rebel against the Daimyo's Mansion right now. What we need to do now is to extract benefits and then use those benefits to unite the Ninja Clan in the village."

"Everyone is tied to one chariot; even if things are exposed, jumping off is impossible."

Kazashiro had considered all of Shisui's worries. Having lived in the Shinobi World for so many years, his understanding of the Daimyo's Mansion's residence was in no way inferior to Shisui's.

"As for the other hidden villages... isn't our neighboring ally also engaging in some clandestine activities behind the Daimyo's Mansion?"

Doing something alone is considered heretical, but what about doing it with someone else?

Looking at the confident Kazashiro, Shisui felt a moment of disorientation.

The once Jonin Konoha before me seems to have matured instantly after the Fourth Generation was seriously injured, but his ideas also seem to have become more radical.