This clearly permeated the air with a sharp aura.
It can be seen that Chi Guoguo felt a sense of pressure. When facing the moment, Danzo's breathing was slightly stagnant for the first time. Even though he was always unwilling to admit it, deep down he still knew that the personal strength of his best friend surpassed his own!
Even though his expression remained unchanged on the surface, at this moment when he felt the slightly depressing aura emanating from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo's heartstrings tightened slightly, but only a little. As Danzo himself said, he knew the character of his best friend very well. He had done such a 'terrible thing' back then, but in the end he still held it high and put it down gently.
Danzo was not worried at all about what Sarutobi Hiruzen would do to him. He just adjusted his mentality in a moment. Still unhurried, he slowly walked to his seat and sat down. The empty sleeve on the left side, which seemed to be swinging slightly unintentionally, caught Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.
The look in Third Hokage's pupils changed slightly.
However, on the surface, Sarutobi Hiruzen still looked very solemn. He leaned forward slightly and said in a slightly cold tone, "The reason why I called you three here is that you should all know. This is the accountability sent by Iwagakure. Danzo, can you explain why?"
It was obviously a deliberately oppressive atmosphere.
When his eyes turned to Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu in the opposite position also looked at Danzo with very serious expressions.
"Explain? What do you need to explain? Hiruzen Sarutobi, I don't understand what you mean."
Danzo still looked calm and unmoved at all.
"Don't understand? Shouldn't you explain the losses of the two teams Root? Danzo, I have said before that any actions of Root need to be reported to me, but what about you? You still insist on going your own way! Now that such a big thing has happened, shouldn't you explain it!? Do you want to continue to hide it!?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said sharply.
"Report? Hiruzen, have you forgotten the purpose of the original establishment of the Roots? If you have to report again and again, what else should the Roots do? The Roots are the dark side of the village, the most cruel cold front in the village. Any dirty and dark things will be handled by the Roots. I just follow the past It's just a matter of arrangement, what needs to be explained! What's more, this still involves the spy issue we arranged in Yanyin Village. Doesn't the previous feedback about Yanyin Village's strategy in Snow Country still explain the problem? Is there any problem with me sending someone to deal with this companion?"
Opening your mouth means lying. Danzo has long since mastered the ability to tell lies without changing his expression. Anyway, all the Root people he sent out are dead (without any news, it means death by default, and besides, if he really falls into the hands of Iwagakure, even if he is alive, there is no difference from death.)
It doesn't matter what the original intention was. In Danzo's view, this was originally the most normal secret confrontation between villages. Iwagakure just planned to use this to put pressure on them Konoha!
They don't need to pay attention at all.
Sarutobi Hiruzen is making a fuss!
"It is true that there is no problem in doing so, but the premise is that no problems can arise, especially at this juncture, Danzo, let me tell you clearly, Iwagakure has sent additional forces to the Land of Grass border! The number of people that can be detected has exceeded a thousand! And it is still increasing! Do you understand what I mean now?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a hint of helplessness.
Danzo's expression finally changed slightly at this moment. Did he really not expect that Iwagakure would really go to war like this? You must know that if your own response plan fails, that is, including Yakushi Nonō, all Root people will be captured or killed by Iwagakure. Judging from the result, Iwagakure is the one who takes advantage.
There is no reason to continue to raise the issue, right?
But it just so happened that they wanted to do this.
"Is this something certain?"
Danzo frowned, looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and asked in a deep voice.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu in the opposite position naturally knew about this matter before Danzo arrived. This is why they looked so serious.
"There is no doubt about this, Danzo. This is why Hiruzen Sarutobi is so anxious. Our defensive strength in the northeast Land of Hot Springs has been Kumo Ninja is completely suppressed and may lose Land of Hot Springs's frontline stronghold at any time. If a fierce conflict breaks out with Iwagakure Ninja at this juncture, the consequences will be disastrous!"
Mitokado Homura pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and said seriously.
"Fourth Shinobi World War is very likely to break out, and we Konoha are 100% going to withstand the maximum firepower! So, Danzo, if you have anything to hide, you'd better tell it now! Otherwise, it will be difficult for Hiruzen Sarutobi to judge the situation!"
As Danzo said, the spy investigation behavior between Five Great Nations is simply not normal. When the spies are exposed, the Ninja Village dispatches corresponding support troops. The confrontations here are almost all regular collisions between Five Great Shinobi Villages in peacetime. Logically speaking, if one party is exposed and is noticed by the other party, this will almost never be brought to the table.
If you really want to do something with this, it also depends on the timing.
Iwagakure's threatening behavior made Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu have to doubt whether Danzo He did something that really harmed the fundamental interests of Iwagakure and stimulated the nerves of that Third Tsuchikage. This is what caused Iwagakure to assume such a posture.
The most important point is that based on the three of them's understanding of Shimura Danzō, it is really possible for this close friend of theirs to do something similar. Let alone the incident of the Uchiha Clan a year and a half ago, this is The three of them chose to suppress the issue that was related to the reputation and overall interests of the village and not talk about it. But in fact, all three of them knew that the reason why Uchiha Clan reached such a strong point was that Shimura Danzō had the greatest 'contribution'.
Taking this into account, it is difficult for them not to doubt Danzo about this Iwagakure espionage incident, and what the two teams of Root elites sent out were going to do.
Danzo is also a human being. How could he not hear the implication of Mitokado Homura's words? Especially when he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu both had almost similar expressions. Danzo frowned and snorted, "How could I still have this? What he was hiding? He just responded to Nonō and didn't do anything more! From my point of view, this was Iwagakure's deliberate deception. I, Root, directly lost eight elite members and let the most important intelligence personnel like Nonō fall into their hands!"
"Iwagakure is the one who benefits. In my opinion, this is a provocative behavior by Iwagakure, and I seriously doubt that it must be related to the Uchiha Clan, especially that Uchiha Shōji. Didn't the previous intelligence show that Third Tsuchikage trusts Uchiha Shōji!?"
It must be said that in this matter, Danzo was really unjust. Iwagakure would make such a decision. Although Danzo had some connections, it was not the main reason. This is because Ōnoki became more courageous after seeing that his Ninja Village was indeed getting stronger!
I want to use the battle between Konoha and Kumogakure to make some preparations in advance!
Regardless of whether there is such a thing, in the future, Ōnoki will definitely find an opportunity to test Konoha, and this time he will use his strength to fight!
But from the perspective of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, this is not the case. The problem probably lies with Danzo, otherwise they feel that they cannot explain why such a thing happened!
But now seeing Danzo's determined look, the three of them looked at each other again, with a hint of suspicion in their pupils.
This is mainly because Danzo's reputation in this area is really low.
"Danzo, you must understand that now is not the time for joking. If you really have something to say, you must say it. Otherwise, it will be difficult for us to judge Iwagakure's intentions and the next situation!"
Utatane Koharu narrowed his eyes slightly and said in an extremely solemn tone.
"Do you still doubt me!?"
Danzo clearly showed a trace of anger at this moment.
It is true that he has done some "extreme things" in the past, but those were not all for the village!?
Just because of such small things, I don't believe in myself!
This made Danzo very uncomfortable. Their expressions became increasingly gloomy, but it still made Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu feel a little unsure. This really cannot be blamed on the two of them. When they looked at each other, Mitokado Homura was about to speak and continue to say something.
"Since Danzo you said so, then to rule out this possibility, Iwagakure is most likely planning to use this incident to test our Konoha's current physical condition!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was in the main position, took a fixed look at Danzo and said, unlike Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, just like Danzo knows Hiruzen Sarutobi very well, Third Hokage also knows Danzo very well. Although there is no evidence to prove it, when Danzo spoke just now, Sarutobi Hiruzen had an intuition deep in his heart telling him that this time Danzo was probably not deceiving him!
If this is true, then we really need to carefully consider what Iwagakure's intentions are. We can't really just intend to intimidate them Konoha, right? Such a method is too inferior, and there is absolutely no need to further deploy so much force at the border. There should be some temptation, but it is unlikely to be just this!
Sarutobi Hiruzen always feels that there is something fishy here.
Of course, he didn't know that he was overthinking it. Leaving aside Shōji, Ōnoki's original purpose was really just to test Konoha's depth and see what Konoha's current attitude and situation was!
It has been nearly four years since the end of Third Shinobi World War.
Except for Sunagakure, who is very slow to recover and was beaten violently by Iwagakure last year, it is difficult for him to have any power to make waves. The other Four Great Shinobi Villages (the current internal situation of Kirigakure, the other Three Great Shinobi Villages is not clear, naturally it is inferred based on the situation that Third Shinobi World War just ended.) all have the ability to start a war again!
Based on this situation, Kumo Ninja and Konoha are still fighting so fiercely. In the past two years or so, the competition between the two sides in Land of Hot Springs has entered a relatively intense stage, with the number of casualties exceeding a thousand.
Even with the size of Konoha and Kumogakure, it is a bit painful. You must know that this is not a full-scale war, but a local war. That is to say, the position of Land of Hot Springs is a little too important. The most critical point is to worry about Kumo Ninja will take advantage of it, otherwise if it is true that active retreat can end this local war, Sarutobi Hiruzen may also completely withdraw the power of his ninja village from the Land of Hot Springs area and transfer the ownership of this area to Kumogakure!
Therefore, in such a situation, Ōnoki will definitely have ulterior motives, and Sarutobi Hiruzen will have to think more!
"Testing our attitude? Is this because the battle between Land of Hot Springs and Kumo Ninja lasted too long?"
Mitokado Homura pursed his lips and said with a very distressed look on his face.
"This should be one of the main reasons. For details, it depends on the next movements of Iwagakure. The note sent by that Third Tsuchikage stated that a mission will be sent to us Konoha in the near future. Even if we don't know what the other party's intention is now, there will be a great chance to find out when this mission arrives!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, then changed the topic and said.
"Envoy?"
"Then it is indeed certain that Third Tsuchikage has other intentions!"
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also frowned slightly at the same time, each speaking in a different tone.
Danzo in the opposite position fell into deep thought at this moment.
He has always suspected that Nonō must have hidden secrets. This is the biggest reason why Danzo ordered his subordinates to arrange for Yakushi Kabuto to deal with Nonō after he felt that he had squeezed out the value of Nonō!
Now Iwagakure's behavior has strengthened Danzo's own thoughts.
It must be that after Nonō was arrested, Iwagakure searched for content related to his village, which made Iwagakure take action, Danzo can't believe that he acted like this just to test their Konoha's attitude and see the situation between Konoha and Kumo Ninja!
I have to say that Danzo's own 'imagination' is still very new and special!
The most important thing is that he himself still firmly believes in this. As for whether Nonō has the possibility of rebellion, Danzo judges others by himself, and feels that Iwagakure cannot really believe this. Such a high-level spy who leaked so much information about his own Ninja Village. Secondly, the value of Nonō, in the eyes of the "far-sighted" Danzo, is really only one point. There is no need to care whether he rebels or not.
As for the children left in the orphanage established by Nonō, this Shadow of Konoha has long since forgotten them. After all, Danzo really has never cared about the existence of those he considered to be 'ants'.
This is why Yakushi Kabuto in Original Work can actually get rid of Danzo's control so easily and join Orochimaru's command. In the final analysis, it's because Danzo is too smart and doesn't really care!
It was the same in Original Work, and it is the same in this life.
'It seems that further action is still needed, Iwagakure, Uchiha, humph, I won't let you act as you please! '
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen in the first position does not know what Danzo is thinking, he knows Danzo very well, especially after he received the news from his direct subordinate Anbu before Danzo arrived.
It was also before the end of this high-level meeting.
He looked at Danzo with very deep eyes and said, "Iwagakure The arrival of the mission is something that must be faced seriously. The specific principles, Yan, are left to you to deal with. Danzo, in the next few days, you have to be careful One point, including all personnel at Root, I order you not to allow Root to take any action without my permission. Next, I will let Anbu, my direct subordinate, monitor Root's actions!"
"You? Hiruzen Sarutobi! You can't do this!"
Different from the previous verbal warnings, which were mostly loud and clear, this time Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was really aware of the crisis, planned to take some coercive measures, and restricting Root's actions was one of them. I'm afraid that Sarutobi Hiruzen really believes that Danzo did not do anything unnecessary in this incident, but he still needs to be on guard against what will happen next after the Iwagakure delegation comes to the village!
The current situation in the village is already very dangerous, Sarutobi Hiruzen will not allow the situation to get worse!
For this reason, he must restrain Danzo!
"Danzo, this is the Hokage order, you must obey it!"
Therefore, Sarutobi Hiruzen rarely retreated this time, just like three years ago when Minato and his wife died in battle, Naruto became Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Danzo asked Naruto to be trained by Root, but Sarutobi Hiruzen flatly refused.
This Third Hokage still has his own bottom line, and he really will not allow Shimura Danzō to cross this line.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also stood on the side of Sarutobi Hiruzen with expressions of "should be so". The big difference between this life and Original Work is that Shōji led Uchiha Clan to defect. This is a huge loss for Konoha!
Not to mention that Uchiha Clan's overall lack of strength is itself an unpredictable loss for Konoha. In that Separation War, the ninjas who died in the battle were already a headache for Konoha. Although the number of people who died in the battle did not seem to be many, it must be clear that these people who died in the battle were almost all Chunin!
The number of Jōnin who died in the battle was even dozens, even though the vast majority of them were Special Jōnin and ordinary Jōnin.
But it is Jōnin after all!
Also, even though he was old, Torifu Akimichi, a member of the Secret Medicine family, could explode into a strength that surpassed ordinary Kage Level. The death of Torifu Akimichi made the battle losses extremely tragic!
The original top-level combat power of Konoha has been decreasing over the years. White Fang before Third Shinobi World War, Minato and Kushina after the end of Third Shinobi World War, and Orochimaru who defected. These are four super-Strong Kage characters, plus Tsunade and Jiraiya who left the village. This is why Konoha is becoming more and more declining!
No matter how much quality and quantity the ninjas below you have.
It can't withstand the lack of top power!
Otherwise, take the Land of Hot Springs front line as an example. If it is placed in front of Third Shinobi World War, and any Kage Level strongman except Kushina mentioned above is sent up, he will definitely fight against Kumo Ninja!
Konoha has entered a period of decline!
Uchiha Clan's departure made matters worse, and the trigger for all this was Shimura Danzō.
After all, Uchiha Clan was destroyed in Original Work. Even if you don't have it, others won't get it. Now it's better, you have less of it, and more of others.
Once it comes and goes, the loss is calculated as doubling!
The different development from Original Work naturally caused the three people to look at Shimura Danzō with different attitudes.
And facing Sarutobi Hiruzen, who is rarely so strong.
Danzo There is really no way to counter it. He can only take a deep breath and forcefully suppress the anger in his heart.
"Hmph!"
After snorting coldly.
Danzo also stood up immediately, then threw up his sleeves and left.
Looking at Danzo who left the table angrily, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't say much. He just sighed secretly deep in his heart. Although Danzo did do a lot of things that he shouldn't have done, his Sarutobi Hiruzen still keeps his achievements in mind. He has always felt that Danzo is a necessary side of Konoha. It is also because of this that he has been tolerating Danzo.
Just hit him when necessary.
This is the most suitable way of balance for him as Hokage.
"Danzo, you still need to worry about it, Koharu, and Yan, if nothing happens, Iwagakure's mission is likely to arrive next week. Before that, you must be aware of it, especially on the front line. They must not let them get too much information!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu and said.
"Well, we understand, don't worry, Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also nodded and left Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to his position to write a reply. After all, this involves the relationship between the two major countries, and because of the existence of the Uchiha Clan, the relationship between Konoha and Iwagakure is more subtle than any other country.
We must also take into account the current Shinobi World situation.
Sarutobi Hiruzen The wording of the palindrome must be chosen carefully.
Even though the focus still depends on the development and final results after the visit of the Iwagakure delegation, the initial surface engineering must not be ignored.
And this can be regarded as another way of response from Sarutobi Hiruzen.