Danzo's Resentment Ran Deep

Generally speaking, major matters were discussed in small meetings, while minor matters were discussed in large meetings.

Those who accomplished great things feared indecision most. Matters that determined the survival of a ninja village often needed only a few people to hold a Core Meeting before the village's future direction could be decided.

But Mitokado Homura felt that four people was still too many for a meeting.

Hiruzen and Danzo discussed the Uchiha with them every day, yet they had come up with no good way to resolve the Uchiha problem. Their only solution was to delay resolving it for as long as possible.

To let the Uchiha problem explode a little later.

This meeting had been convened because the suspected mastermind behind Nine-Tails Night, the Masked Man, had appeared. Yet Hiruzen and Danzo were arguing over an entirely unrelated Uchiha Youhu.

He was merely a little Uchiha Chunin who was not even a Jonin. Was this really necessary?

After realizing the key point, Mitokado Homura spoke coldly. "Danzo, if you two keep straying from the topic, Koharu and I are leaving. You can figure out how to deal with the Masked Man yourselves."

Hearing this, Hiruzen and Danzo both stopped arguing.

The Meeting Room immediately fell silent again, but none of those present had thought of any particularly good way to deal with the Masked Man.

Space-Time Ninjutsu was simply too unfair.

The way the various ninja villages had struggled with the Flying Thunder God Technique back then was exactly how much trouble the Masked Man's Space-Time Ninjutsu was causing them now.

With their own strength, none of them would have had any trouble fighting the Masked Man one-on-one. Space-Time Ninjutsu was not invincible. As long as his body was pierced by a Kunai, he would bleed and die all the same.

The problem was that Konoha had no way to keep the Space-Time Ninja there, nor did they understand the Masked Man's actual strength.

Danzo thought for a while, then said:

"I have a way to deal with the Masked Man. We only need to ambush him beforehand. If the Aburame Clan's Ninja release their insects where he appears, the Masked Man will be poisoned to death."

Mitokado Homura approved of Danzo's tactic and asked the key question directly:

"The problem is, how do we get the Masked Man into our ambush? We don't know his target this time, or why he came..."

"If his target is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—"

"If we fight beside the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, what happens if we accidentally injure him?"

"After all, he is the Fourth Hokage's son."

"Isn't sacrificing himself for the village the value of being a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Sacrificing one Jinchuriki is better than allowing another Nine-Tails' Rampage to happen. Hiruzen, you—"

Danzo did not care about this at all. He made the most rational judgment.

Utatane Koharu interrupted Danzo and said in a deep voice, "I don't think the Masked Man's target is the Nine-Tails. In the years since Minato's death, he could have attacked the Jinchuriki again at any time."

"But the Masked Man didn't do so. We can't even determine whether he was the Killer of the Nine-Tails Night."

"I suggest sending the Anbu to contact the Masked Man and determine whether he was the culprit."

"Koharu..."

Danzo glanced at Utatane Koharu and corrected her. "With Space-Time Ninjutsu and the Sharingan, I don't believe anyone else in the Ninja World could have caused the Nine-Tails' Rampage. He must be the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage."

"Danzo is right..."

The Third Hokage picked up his pipe and, unusually, agreed with Danzo. He continued, "The Masked Man is most likely the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage. However, he didn't come here for the Nine-Tails this time. He came for the Uchiha Clan."

"The Masked Man has had only one goal from beginning to end: weakening Konoha's strength."

"His Sharingan may have been deliberately exposed to us, specifically to make us associate him with the Uchiha Clan and move against the Uchiha."

"Hiruzen, you..."

Danzo tried to interrupt the Third Hokage, but the Third Hokage interrupted him instead. He motioned for Danzo to be quiet and voiced his true thoughts.

"I plan to have a trustworthy Uchiha contact the Masked Man and find out what he really wants."

"If the Masked Man's goal is to lure the Uchiha into launching the Uchiha Coup, he will definitely reveal something."

"If not, we can still take the opportunity to uncover the Masked Man's true objective."

"As for the candidate..."

"Let's have Uchiha Itachi do it. Itachi isn't an Uchiha whom Danzo values. Giving this mission to Itachi will also let us see Itachi's strengths. You shouldn't have any objections, right?"

"I agree!"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu raised their hands first. They had no way to deal with the Masked Man, so having a relatively sound plan was already good enough.

Danzo was unwilling, but he raised his hand as well.

First, the vote was three to one, so resisting now would be pointless.

Second, having Itachi contact the Masked Man was still better than sending Youhu and Shisui. If those two went, he would not be able to collect any useful intelligence.

The Masked Man had caused the Nine-Tails' Rampage, making the village suffer tremendous losses.

But personally, Danzo had gained tremendously from the Nine-Tails' Rampage. The death of the Fourth Hokage had not only allowed him to return to the village's decision-making circle, but had also made Root's strength greater than before.

If he could contact the Masked Man, and the other party had no interest in the Hokage Position...

Then perhaps they could find an opportunity to cooperate in the future.

The proposal he had made for Uchiha Itachi to contact the Masked Man and gather intelligence had passed unanimously. Naturally, the Third Hokage felt incomparably pleased. It had been a long time since he had passed a decision so easily.

Having Uchiha Itachi contact the Masked Man really was a good idea.

Youhu had inadvertently helped him devise an excellent strategy. Youhu really was a good child, though sometimes he used his intelligence in the wrong places.

His strength and talent as a Ninja were also just right.

A fifteen-year-old Chunin would definitely become a Konoha Jonin in the future, but he would not become so powerful that he could compete for the Hokage Position. Perhaps he should nurture Youhu even more from now on.

With Youhu, Shisui, and Itachi in the future, they would certainly be able to resolve the Uchiha problem.

That way, he could surpass the achievements of Teacher Tobirama and become the first Ninja to resolve the Uchiha problem.

The village had to surpass its predecessors before it could advance toward glory step by step.

At this thought, the Third Hokage took a deep drag on his pipe and smiled in satisfaction.

Danzo was staring at the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage's smile made him sit on pins and needles. He could not understand how Hiruzen could possibly smile.

The village was beset by troubles both within and without entirely because of this Hokage. If he were Hokage, he would have cut through the Gordian knot long ago and led the village toward prosperity.

Moreover, Hiruzen had not even realized the importance of the Uchiha problem.

Externally, there was the evil Uchiha Masked Man watching hungrily, ready to recreate the Nine-Tails' Rampage at any moment.

Internally, there was the evil little brat Uchiha Youhu, who bewitched people's hearts.

Hiruzen, Youhu had already bewitched you. Did you know that?

It seemed that only he, the Root of Konoha, could take action. As long as he quietly eliminated the scourge known as You, the village could return to normal.

And the villagers would no longer gossip privately about his relationship with Hiruzen.