Leaving the Village, Danzo's Glorious Past

Kawaki Aoba was somewhat surprised that they were leaving the village for a mission so soon. After all, with him being a "wounded patient," it was impossible for his team leader, Yuhi Shinku, not to take his condition into account, let alone deny him any time to recover.

Thus, the only possibility was that Yuhi Shinku had a reason he was forced to take him out of the village in such a hurry, and there was a 99 percent chance this reason was related to the Hyuga clan.

Considering this was a long-term mission, it meant the entire team was taking him out to "take refuge."

This was truly... leaving one at a loss for what to do.

Ever since the moment he had completely burned his bridges with the Hyuga, Kawaki Aoba had prepared for the worst. However, the current situation was far better than he had anticipated and completely different from what he had imagined.

There were no brainless Hyuga clansmen coming to cause trouble, nor were there any rats in the gutter questioning him about the Byakugan.

All there was to show for it was the concern Yuhi Kurenai had shown by running around for him these past few days, and the days of running about by Master Yuhi Shinku.

Oh, right, there was also the help from that guy Sarutobi Asuma. Although that idiot probably didn't even know what role he had played, without his status as the Hokage's son, Aoba would never have been able to stay this secure until now.

It seemed he owed a massive favor this time.

Even though he felt it was a bit sentimental, Kawaki Aoba still etched this kindness into his heart.

Hmm, he had decided: once his strength grew in the future, if he ever encountered Hidan, he would absolutely have to hack him into pieces and bury him beforehand.

And then there was Master Yuhi Shinku. In the original story, his role only appeared in flashbacks; he hadn't died in the Third Shinobi World War, but he hadn't escaped that night of the Nine-Tails' rampage either.

Of course, he couldn't forget his grudge against the Hyuga clan either.

There was much to be done and many people to help, so he had to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

Following Yuhi Kurenai to the assembly point, he found Yuhi Shinku and Sarutobi Asuma already packed and ready to go.

"Very good, everyone is here, so let's set off. I'll tell you the details of this mission on the road." Looking at his three disciples, and lingering for a moment especially on Kawaki Aoba, Yuhi Shinku finally issued the order.

The four-man team headed straight toward the village gate. During the journey, Yuhi Shinku intentionally or unintentionally kept glancing to the side.

This small movement was "seen" only by Kawaki Aoba. He knew that what Yuhi Shinku was paying attention to were the Hyuga clan ninjas hidden in the shadows.

The facts were exactly as he thought. After discovering the Hyuga ninjas lurking in the shadows, Yuhi Shinku felt depressed, but a sliver of relief also rose in his heart.

He hadn't expected the Hyuga clan to be watching so closely. He had already tried his best to speed up their departure, but in the end, they had still been spotted.

However, he was fortunate that he had already accepted the mission. No matter how bold the Hyuga clan was, they couldn't possibly ambush them on the road while Sarutobi Asuma was still in their team.

Back at the village, the moment the four-man team left, the Hyuga clan received the intelligence.

"They accepted a mission and left the village? That is certainly a clever method." After reading the report, the Second Elder, Hyuga Huoshu, merely sighed with such a remark.

However, the Third Elder sitting beside him didn't have such a good temper: "Damn it! Since when has our Hyuga clan fallen to this point? A mere Jonin who specializes in genjutsu dares to oppose us.

And Sarutobi Hiruzen, what is that junior trying to pull! Burning bridges after crossing them? Don't forget, there are still members of our Hyuga clan in his Anbu."

The Hyuga Third Elder was absolutely furious, and he had every reason to be. After all, the bulk of the Hyuga's losses had fallen on his branch; nearly eighty percent of the elite ninjas from his line had been wiped out in one fell swoop.

And of those lost eighty percent, more than half had been stuffed into that bastard Shimura Danzo's so-called Anbu training unit.

Among all the ninja clans in Konoha, that junior Danzo was notorious. His damn Root was established during the Second Shinobi World War.

At the time of its founding, every ninja clan thought it was a department meant to share power with the Anbu, so they scrambled to shove their own clansmen into it, hoping to grasp some authority.

However, who could have guessed that Danzo was such a trap? The first mission the elite ninjas from the various clans were sent on was to infiltrate behind enemy lines for assassinations.

It was the middle of the Second Shinobi World War, after all. One could imagine the survival rate for such a dangerous mission; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the chances of survival were slim to none.

Fortunately, those ninjas were the elites of their respective clans, and quite a few were able to complete their missions.

Although the losses were a bit heavy, the clans could accept it as a way to avenge the Second Hokage; they could hold their noses and understand it.

But that guy Danzo truly didn't act like a human being. He was incredibly slick at burning bridges and discarding his tools once they were used.

While the clan ninjas were risking their lives to complete missions, Danzo was busy branding the rest of their clansmen who had entered the Root with curse seals. He didn't even spare the elite ninjas who had luckily returned alive; one by one, they all became Danzo's private ninjas.

How could the various ninja clans not be furious at such behavior? But anger was useless, because by then, the Second Shinobi World War had basically subsided, and Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had led the charge on the front lines, had gained enough prestige. The various clans had lost their final bargaining chips.

Unless they could unite as one and set up a leader to guide everyone, but such a thing was impossible to even imagine. Besides, no one was a fool; the first one to jump out would definitely be the one who died the most miserably.

And so, the matter of the various clans suffering a huge loss at Danzo's hands was left unsettled.

Since then, the name Shimura Danzo had risen to the level of being hated by both man and dog among the upper echelons of the various clans.

Moreover, relying on Sarutobi Hiruzen's inaction toward him, that guy's actions became increasingly excessive. Although every time he visited the various clans, he mostly ended up being rebuffed, he still managed to get a few clans to symbolically send him one or two clansmen through various means.

Of course, the result was that Shimura Danzo's reputation became even more notorious among the upper echelons of the ninja clans. But did Shimura Danzo care about that?

The only thing he might care about was growing his Root. Of course, there was also that "dream" of his, which no one else knew about.

Besides, he heard that recently, that guy Danzo seemed to have plans to cultivate his own ninjas from childhood, and it seemed he had set his sights on the Konoha Orphanage because of it.