A Conspiracy

What he hated was not Naruto.

It was the Nine-Tails within Naruto.

As time passed, coupled with the gossip from the shinobi around him and the immense damage the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had inflicted upon Konoha, he too had begun to loathe young Naruto.

Hiruzen was the Hokage. There were many things he could not show.

He could only bury them silently in his heart.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." Sarutobi Hiruzen dispelled the Telescope Technique.

The crystal ball returned to stillness.

An elderly man dressed in white, with bandages wrapped around his right eye, slowly entered the Hokage Office.

His expression was stern and rigid, and he exuded a cold, sinister aura.

When he looked toward Hiruzen's Hokage seat, intense jealousy rose in his heart.

The visitor was none other than Shimura Danzō, the leader of Konoha's Root.

He had once had the chance to sit in the Hokage's position!

At present, he was also Orochimaru's nominal superior.

"So it's you. What a rare guest." Upon recognizing Danzo, Hiruzen took a deep drag and exhaled a ring of smoke.

As an old fox himself, Danzo naturally heard the mockery in Hiruzen's words. He sat down on the sofa and spoke expressionlessly.

"As the village's highest leader, personally appointed by the Daimyo, Lord Hokage, I may be the leader of Root, but I am also your subordinate. Surely you would not refuse to discuss work with a subordinate?"

Danzo had once sent men to disguise themselves as Rogue Ninjas and assassinate Hiruzen, only for the latter to see through the scheme with ease.

Yet Hiruzen had not pursued the matter.

After all, the two had once fought side by side through life and death, forging a deep bond.

However, their relationship had also become delicate.

Hiruzen extinguished his pipe.

He rose and sat on the sofa to Danzo's left before asking, "What is it? Just say it."

Conspiracy

Danzo spoke slowly.

"Only the Uchiha clan in Konoha can control the Nine-Tails. More than a year has passed since the Nine-Tails Incident, yet the Uchiha have never been able to prove their innocence."

"On top of that, after the Uchiha were relocated to the outskirts, the relationship between them and the village has grown worse."

"Lord Tobirama once said that the Uchiha are an evil clan. Rather than wait for them to rebel, it would be better to eliminate them early!"

As he spoke.

Danzo made a throat-slitting gesture.

He had always hated the Uchiha.

He wanted nothing more than to get rid of them!

Upon hearing those words.

Hiruzen frowned deeply.

During the Nine-Tails Incident a year ago.

The Uchiha truly had been unable to clear themselves of suspicion.

Hiruzen shook his head in refusal, then explained.

"The Uchiha are, after all, one of Konoha's founding clans. They have also produced powerful shinobi like Kagami Uchiha and Uchiha Shisui, who were willing to sacrifice themselves for Konoha. If we move against the Uchiha, clans like the Hyuga and Ino-Shika-Cho will surely be disheartened. We cannot do this."

Danzo struck the floor with his cane and said angrily, "As Hokage, you cannot be merciful! Only by destroying the Uchiha can Konoha be better protected!"

Hiruzen clasped his hands behind his back.

He also knew the Uchiha were a threat.

Hiruzen seemed to ponder for a while before muttering, "It is not yet time. Or rather, even if we exterminate the clan, the blame cannot fall on us. Do you understand?"

A glimmer flashed through Danzo's eyes.

It seemed the other man was hinting at something.

A conspiracy emerged in Danzo's heart!

"I understand!"

Although Hiruzen had not given a clear answer, the fact that he had offered a hint proved that he had tacitly approved.

Danzo continued, "There is one more matter I came to discuss."

His gaze fixed on Hiruzen with longing.

"Lord Hokage, hand the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki over to me for training. I will definitely turn him into the village's most powerful weapon of protection!"

Hiruzen turned around, his gaze cold. "You're dreaming! Impossible!"

Without a second thought, he rejected Danzo's proposal.

First.

The power of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was extremely unstable.

If it was used carelessly.

The natural disaster from a year ago might happen again.

Countless people would die or be injured.

Other hidden villages might even seize the opportunity to attack Konoha.

Second.

Hiruzen knew full well of Danzo's wolfish ambitions.

If Danzo gained complete control over the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's power.

It would not only be a threat to the village.

It would also threaten his own position.

He absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen!

Danzo persuaded him, "Hiruzen, are you really going to let the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki grow up like this, attend school, and become an ordinary shinobi?"

"The Natural Disaster took away the Fourth Hokage and his wife, two of our greatest combat forces. Konoha is now beset by troubles both within and without. Hand the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to me, and before long, I will train him into a war machine that obeys Konoha completely!"

Hiruzen gave a cold laugh, and a trace of mockery appeared on his aged face.

"Obeys you, more like."

Though Hiruzen was old, he was not muddleheaded.

Truly handing young Naruto over to Danzo.

Would be no different from raising a tiger that would bring disaster upon them.

He would never agree to this.

Hiruzen also took the chance to warn him.

"If anything happens to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, I will personally lead Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Anbu to raze your Root to the ground!"

"You..." Danzo's face reddened with fury upon hearing those words.

He had not expected the other man to be so stubbornly old-fashioned.

"Guards, see him out." Hiruzen issued an order to dismiss his guest.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two sounds rang out.

Then two Anbu shinobi instantly appeared in the office.

"Lord Danzo, please leave."

The Anbu shinobi made a gesture of invitation.

Anyone with eyes could see it.

If Danzo dared make any move, they would attack.

"Fine, Hiruzen. Just remember this!" Danzo flicked his sleeve and left.

Thinking of all these years.

Of how many unspeakable things he had done for Hiruzen in the shadows.

Only to now be driven out of the Hokage Office.

Danzo's chest filled with blazing rage.

Just before leaving through the office doors, Danzo turned slightly and spoke expressionlessly, word by word.

"The Nine-Tails is the embodiment of evil. Letting it run unchecked will only harm the village. Hiruzen, you will eventually regret what you did today."

"The Nine-Tails is an enemy. It cannot be treated kindly; it can only be controlled. If it cannot be controlled, then it can only be destroyed. Everything I, Danzo, have done has been for Konoha. I have never complained."

After Danzo left.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gazed toward the distant Hokage Rock and scoffed. "You think you can control the power of the Nine-Tails?"

"Wishful thinking!"

Late at night.

In a deep underground chamber within Root headquarters.

"Ahhh!"

Piercing screams rang out from time to time.

Inside the underground chamber.

A pale-faced middle-aged man with a tall, slender frame was using a scalpel to cut into and dissect a living person.

Crimson blood flowed across the operating table.

Excitement shone in his golden vertical pupils, making him look especially sinister.

The anesthetic had worn off.

The Konoha shinobi lying on the experiment table let out a miserable scream.

Orochimaru remained expressionless, wholly focused on his dissection and research.

Before long.

The shinobi stopped screaming.

His breath was faint.

The life in him steadily faded away.

"Orochimaru, there are not many test subjects left. Use them sparingly."

At the sight of the cruel scene.

Danzo's expression did not change in the slightest.

"The meaning of a shinobi's existence lies in being useful. Konoha has never lacked people. When the time comes, just have Root's shinobi capture some more."

"Am I right, Lord Danzo?"

Danzo did not refute him, merely giving a faint snort.

Orochimaru's attainments in research were exceptionally high.

He was of great help to Danzo.

He would not create a conflict with his partner over such a trivial matter.