I Want Him Dead!

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! My apologies, cough, cough, cough..." Tsunade, having sprayed water all over Li Tong's face, scrambled in a panic, wanting to wipe his face with her sleeve, but she couldn't stop coughing after choking on the water herself.

"I'm fine!" Li Tong shifted to the side, dodging Tsunade, and raised his hand to wipe his cheek vigorously.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was already quite sour, and he glared at Tsunade.

This woman was just causing trouble here!

"You two keep talking!" Tsunade noticed Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze and decisively turned her back, walking away with her water glass, wearing an expression that said, "Don't look at me, I don't know anything, I didn't do anything."

She didn't leave, but instead sat on a sofa to the side, pretending to be invisible while keeping her ears pricked to listen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't bother with her anymore and looked back at Li Tong, his fingers subconsciously tapping on the desk.

"Choked on water?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a low voice.

"Yes! He choked on water, and I seized the opportunity," Li Tong said with absolute certainty.

An unanswerable reply!

As long as one is human, anyone can choke on water while diving, no matter how strong they are. Logically, there wasn't a single flaw in this. Although the reason sounded brainless, it was indeed impeccable.

"Do you think I should believe you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, his gaze cold.

"Hokage-sama, this isn't a matter of whether you believe me or not, but that this is the truth. That assassin you sent was an elite jonin. I didn't know that at the time; it was White Fang who told me, and only then did I understand. He didn't display strength matching an elite jonin to me. As for choking on water, it has nothing to do with strength. As long as one is underwater, anyone can do it, accidentally, inadvertently... just like Tsunade-sama just now, she was only drinking water and still choked. Tsunade-sama... is stronger than the average elite jonin, right?"

Li Tong realized he was a damn genius! After finishing these words, he even felt a bit of admiration for himself.

Hiruzen Sarutobi squinted and turned to look at Tsunade.

Tsunade immediately looked up at the ceiling, as if there were some interesting patterns up there.

"Since you insist on this, I will take it as the truth." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked back at Li Tong and said. His words were very clever; he expressed that he didn't believe it, but also that he didn't want to pursue the matter further.

Li Tong understood, but acted as if he didn't.

"It seems you already have sufficient ability to protect yourself." Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then added: "I have decided! From today on, the Anbu protection over you is canceled. You may move freely within the village as a Konoha genin, and you may also accept missions! I hope you will work hard and contribute more to Konoha!"

"Yes! Hokage-sama!" Li Tong accepted the order, his heart blooming with joy.

He had finally shaken off that bunch of useless Anbu. Over the past half-month, he had faced multiple life-and-death crises, all of which Li Tong had resolved himself. The Anbu had never played any role in protecting him; they were merely monitoring him.

"There is nothing else for you, go!" Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the table.

"Yes!" Li Tong responded, turned, and walked out quickly.

Just as Li Tong reached the door and opened it, but before he could step out, Tsunade, who was sitting on the sofa, stood up abruptly and followed him out.

"Tsunade, don't be ridiculous!" Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded coldly.

"Yes, yes, I know!" Tsunade turned back with a grin, but still followed closely behind Li Tong as she left the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed helplessly.

"This brat has secrets. Given his own strength, the possibility of him killing an elite jonin is very low," Danzo, who had been silent since entering, said hoarsely. "But looking at it from another angle, he is very likely a genius with extraordinary talent. Killing an elite jonin is extremely difficult for him, but if it were just a regular jonin, he might still have a chance."

"Kill a jonin?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo.

"Yes!" Danzo nodded. "On the way here, I tested his strength. He can not only perform B-rank ninjutsu but also a type of close-quarters combat ninjutsu, an A-rank technique. He claims it is self-created. This is incredible, but even if it isn't self-created, being able to master an A-rank technique at this age is by no means ordinary!"

"A-rank ninjutsu, has he recovered his memories?" Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned in speculation.

Li Tong came from Amegakure, so the techniques he mastered should have been learned there. But he had clearly lost his memory; even if he had mastered A-rank ninjutsu before, he would have had to recover his memories to know how to perform them.

"Hokage-sama," White Fang suddenly interjected, "I still feel that the possibility of someone protecting him in the shadows is high. If such a person truly exists, then this person must have been in contact with him. Only then could he re-master those ninjutsu while in a state of amnesia."

"Hmm..." Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered.

"This is a disaster. If he were just a genin, that would be fine, but now..." A cold light flashed in Danzo's eyes. "I think we should eliminate him as soon as possible to avoid future trouble."

White Fang glanced at Danzo but said nothing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained in thought.

The office was silent for a long while.

"White Fang!" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke.

"Subordinate is here!"

"Send more men to monitor the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan. Record any abnormal behavior from either clan! This mission is top secret!"

"Yes!"

"Go and arrange it!"

White Fang bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi and then vanished in a flash.

"Do you really want to use this brat as a breakthrough point?" Danzo took off his mask, placed it on the table, and tilted his head to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Hiruzen, you are playing with fire! If the Uchiha and Hyuga clans find out about everything you've planned, you know the consequences!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and gazed at the bustling Konoha outside.

"A catastrophe is coming! If internal troubles are not removed, how can we win the Great Ninja War?" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

"Compared to the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan is the true root of the disaster. As long as you... if you agree, this matter can be handled by Root. I can guarantee that before this all-out war breaks out, all problems will be solved!" Danzo walked to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side and also looked out the window.

"And what about after?" Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo. "If the Uchiha Clan declines because of this, the Hyuga Clan will be the only one left standing. By then, their power might even exceed mine as Hokage!"

Danzo fell silent. Hiruzen Sarutobi was right; two powerful clans could check and balance each other, but if one declined and the other became dominant, it would not only be unfavorable for control but could even threaten the Hokage's ruling position!

Especially for an ancient and prestigious clan like the Hyuga Clan, the internal rules are strictly enforced. The head of the Main House can represent the will of the entire clan; in many cases, the laws of Konoha do not reach into the internal affairs of the Hyuga, and the clan head holds the power of life and death over other clansmen, which is unimaginable in other clans.

"But this brat, he is very unstable." Danzo spoke again in a hoarse voice. "He deceived us with clumsy lies. If we cannot completely control him, he might cause the situation to spiral out of control."

"Do not overestimate him." Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately replied. "The news of him killing an elite Jonin has already spread. The Anbu will no longer protect him, and the Uchiha Clan will surely intervene immediately to win him over, using him as a bargaining chip to strike at the Hyuga Clan. As for the Hyuga, they will launch a new round of assassinations against him. Caught between two great clans, he is certain to die! Since he is going to die... it doesn't matter."

Danzo fell silent again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo sideways. In truth, he knew that Danzo did not have such a strong opinion about Li Tong; he simply disagreed with his plan.

Danzo was very hostile toward the Uchiha Clan! He believed that the way to resolve Konoha's internal conflicts before the war was to directly strike at the Uchiha Clan, rather than engineering a head-on conflict between the Uchiha and the Hyuga to give the Hokage a reason to suppress and punish them.

Therefore, Danzo wanted Li Tong to die. As long as Li Tong died, Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan would be forced to terminate, and he would have to adopt Danzo's plan instead.

"However, I am afraid that..." Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke again.

"Afraid of what?" Danzo asked immediately.

"Afraid that there is truly someone behind that brat. In that case, the uncertainty is too great."

"We can test him! I will arrange for people to assassinate him and see if we can draw out the person behind him."

"And if there isn't one?"

"Then knock him unconscious and bring him back to the Anbu, claiming he was rescued by Anbu ninjas after falling into a coma."

"Hmm..." Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Very well, go and make the arrangements!"

Not long after, somewhere in Konoha, the base of the Root organization.

In a gloomy, dimly lit stone cavern.

Danzo, wearing a black robe and a mask, appeared out of thin air in front of the stone wall. A huge brazier to the side burned with a raging fire, its tongues of flame leaping and twisting, stretching his shadow into a long, slanted shape that swayed constantly like a ghost.

"Gui Qi! Shanjia!" Danzo shouted coldly.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two mysteriously dressed figures appeared out of thin air, both kneeling on one knee with their heads bowed, saying coldly, "Subordinates are here!"

"By order of the Hokage, Gui Qi is to go and feign an assassination of Li Tong, the Rain ninja defector recently admitted into the village, to attempt to draw out the ninjas protecting him from the shadows. Shanjia is to follow secretly and monitor. If no one else appears to protect Li Tong, knock him unconscious and bring him back to the Anbu. If someone protecting Li Tong appears, Gui Qi is to fight to the death, and Shanjia is to return and report to me!"

"Understood!" The two Root ninjas acknowledged the order.

"Wait!" Danzo called out to the two who were about to leave. "The following is my order! If no one else is found protecting Li Tong, kill him! Make it look like a mistake! I want him dead! Do you understand?!"

"Understood!" The two Root organization ninjas acknowledged the order once more!

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not have the authority to directly command the "Root." Although Hiruzen Sarutobi could assign tasks to Danzo, and Danzo would then have the "Root" execute them, in the hearts of the "Root ninjas," the orders received from Danzo were the only true orders! When the orders of the Hokage conflicted with the orders of Danzo, they would prioritize Danzo's commands!

"Go. You have one month. Success is the only option, failure is not permitted. Seize the opportunity!"