Konoha Could No Longer Afford to Gamble

Inside an office in the Hokage Building.

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, his eyes lowered in silence as he puffed on his pipe.

The air was as stifling as a clay jar under high pressure, making one want to smash through its walls or pry open its lid and escape.

"Cough, cough!"

It was not until Utatane Koharu could no longer hold back a cough that the unbearable dead silence was broken.

"Hiruzen, about this matter..."

Mitokado Homura finally let out a breath. He glanced at Danzo, who stubbornly refused to lower his head, then turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen and advised, "This time, Danzo did go a little too far..."

"Secretly conducting Wood Release Experiments, hiding research results and a Wood Release ninja. Is that not excessive enough?"

Before Mitokado Homura could continue making excuses for Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen cut him off expressionlessly. "That is Wood Release. Do not tell me you do not understand what that means!"

At those words, Mitokado Homura's old face flushed slightly, and he looked helplessly toward Shimura Danzō.

Yes, that was a Wood Release ninja.

Who could have imagined that Danzo had become bold enough to hide a Wood Release ninja?

If not for the investigation into Orochimaru's defection, they still would not have known that Wood Release had reappeared in the Present World.

Danzo's current control over Root was enough to unsettle even Mitokado Homura.

"Root is Konoha's root, the Anbu's root, and my root. Yet now, it dares conceal such important intelligence from me, the Hokage. Does that mean..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, narrowing his eyes at Danzo as he demanded, "It has already become an independent organization for certain people to profit from?"

Hearing that, Danzo, who had worn an expressionless face until then, said in a deep voice, "Everything I have done was for Konoha."

Listening to his old comrade's forceful reply, Sarutobi Hiruzen silently exhaled a cloud of smoke. His face was veiled by the misty white haze, making his expression impossible to read from Danzo's perspective.

"Hiruzen..."

Utatane Koharu, who had remained silent all this time, could not help speaking up as well.

"Enough." Hearing that they were about to plead for Danzo again, Sarutobi Hiruzen irritably waved a hand, signaling for them to stop.

After his teacher Tobirama had died due to Kumogakure's treachery, he had assumed the position of Hokage in a time of crisis.

But being Hokage was nothing like the dream he had held in his youth. From the moment he took office, he had faced war and pressure from the ninja clans, instantly shattering all his fantasies about the position.

Whether it was the Hyuga Clan or the Uchiha Clan, their initial attitude toward him had been to obey orders but not authority.

Fortunately, as Hokage, he had righteousness on his side in the struggle for power. Aside from the Sarutobi, he also had the support of Ino-Shika-Cho.

Thus, he adopted a strategy of suppressing one group while winning over another. With Danzo and the others assisting him, he used certain special methods to set the two great ninja clans, the Uchiha and Hyuga, against each other.

Only then had he secured his position as Hokage, seized the power that belonged to the Hokage, and placed his trusted subordinates in key departments.

During Tobirama Senju's era, Root had actually been nothing more than a training division for the Anbu.

It was only after he placed Danzo in charge of Root, using it to handle dirty matters that could not be handled under the Anbu's name, such as monitoring ninja clans, that it gradually evolved into an intelligence organization.

The Root under Danzo's command was essentially equivalent to an Anbu squad. Under the Anbu structure, as squad captain, Danzo should have been able to lead only four teams, seventeen people in total.

However, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's deliberate or unconscious indulgence, Root had continued to expand. Under Danzo's influence, its methods had also grown increasingly sinister, until it became what it was today...

If Root were allowed to continue developing like this, it would inevitably grow too powerful to control and become Danzo's personal armed force.

It had to be restrained.

"There is no need to discuss the matter of the Wood Release ninja, Kinoe, any further. I have already had him join the Anbu. Now, there is another matter."

Ignoring Danzo's resentful expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked deeply at the three before him and asked, "Intelligence from the border indicates that Kumogakure appears to be mobilizing its forces. They may be planning another little move."

"What are your thoughts on this?"

At those words, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura frowned at the same time.

"Again? Disgusting!"

Mitokado Homura furrowed his brow tightly and said sternly, "No matter what, we cannot act rashly."

"Homura is right." Utatane Koharu nodded. "No matter what they intend to do, we only need to remain on guard. We cannot give them any reason to start a war!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen neither agreed nor disagreed. He tapped the ash from his pipe and looked toward Danzo. "What do you think?"

Danzo's gloomy eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of silence, he said bluntly in a deep, hoarse voice, "Naturally, we hit them until it hurts!"

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said nothing. With his pipe between his lips, he took a deep breath, drew the smoke into his lungs, held it, and finally exhaled.

Although the Third Shinobi World War had ended, the situation in the Ninja World was far from stable.

The main reason was Konoha's severe shortage of top-tier combat power. First, Konoha's White Fang, who had earned tremendous renown during the Second Shinobi World War, had committed suicide. Then Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and Kushina Uzumaki, the Jinchuriki, had died during Kurama.

The forces that had suffered heavy losses while fighting on all fronts during the Third Shinobi World War had yet to recover, while many more ninja had died during Kurama, which the masked man had single-handedly unleashed. No matter how vast Konoha's foundation was, it could not endure such losses.

Anyone could see Konoha's awkward predicament, with the older generation fading and the younger generation yet to rise. Kumogakure and Iwagakure had been beaten badly by Konoha, but faced with such a rare opportunity, they could not help becoming restless.

Thus, the two had constantly tested the borders of the Land of Fire. Nearly every few months, Kumogakure and Iwagakure's provocations would trigger a border conflict, and the number of casualties kept increasing.

There was no helping it. Konoha had consistently projected an image of weakness that could be bullied, greatly encouraging Kumogakure and Iwagakure's arrogance.

Fortunately, not much time had passed since the end of the Third Shinobi World War. The people of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth still strongly detested war, so Kumogakure and Iwagakure did not dare defy public opinion by declaring war on Konoha unilaterally and without cause.

However, they lacked only one legitimate reason to escalate the conflict and start a war.

A "legitimate" reason that could stir the Daimyo, Nobles, and common people into supporting war.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want to give them that reason, which was why he had chosen to endure their provocations time and time again.

He truly did not dare gamble.

Konoha could no longer afford to gamble either.

"Huff."

At that thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled smoke and lowered his gaze to the intelligence report submitted by the Anbu.

His increasingly aged face was shrouded in smoke. Even with sunlight streaming through the window, his expression could not be seen clearly for a time.

"Iwagakure, Kumogakure..." After a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "For now, endure it. Gather a group of ninja and send them to the border to guard against Kumogakure."

Danzo frowned and instinctively objected, "If you do this, those damned bastards will only become more arrogant!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at him and said calmly, "In that case, deploy some people from my Root to support the border."

"What?" Danzo froze.

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully, "Is there a problem?"

If there were any more problems, Danzo would be removed from his position as Root's leader.

Realizing this, Danzo's expression darkened and shifted. He snorted coldly, turned away, and said resentfully, "Hmph. What problem could I have? After all, that is your Root!"

With that, he turned to leave, then suddenly halted. In an unwilling tone, he said, "Sarutobi, remember the choice you made today. You will regret it!"

"Watch your attitude, Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe and said in a deep voice, "Remember, I am the Hokage!"

Upon hearing that, Danzo's face twitched.

"Then be a proper Hokage!" he snarled through gritted teeth, grabbing the doorknob.

Bang!!