Troublesome

Konoha Hospital, special care ward.

After the medical ninjas bustled about for quite some time, the shrill blood pressure monitor finally began to quiet down.

"Lord Hokage, the side effects of this blood pressure stabilizer will make Lord Danzo drowsy in a little over ten minutes."

The Third nodded and waved the medical ninjas out.

He knew that Danzo was not angry because the village had handed this authority to the Police Force.

Rather, Danzo had always wanted to meddle in the village's defenses, and the Third had never agreed.

Now that he had become a mere human stump, while the authority he had long coveted had been seized by the Uchiha, how could Danzo possibly accept that?

Seeing Danzo calm down under the effects of the medicine, the Third Hokage said coldly,

"Isn't it because you have Uchiha Sharingan in your hand? Uchiha Zhengye said that you were the one behind the Nine-Tails Attack."

Danzo's breathing became ragged as he clenched his teeth. "Bullshit! Those Sharingan simply don't have that kind of power!"

The Third Hokage gave Danzo a deep look. On that point, he did believe him.

If those Sharingan could control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Danzo would have no idea how arrogant he would be.

"The Sharingan belong to the Uchiha. Naturally, they can say whatever they want about them."

"Besides, during the Nine-Tails Attack, none of your Root members showed up."

Danzo's rage caught in his throat, and he nearly choked to death on a single breath.

Fortunately, the medicine he had just been given took effect and barely allowed him to steady his emotions.

"Root is merely a training base. How much combat power could it possibly have?"

Danzo snorted.

The Third Hokage did not pay attention to Danzo's excuses. He merely stared deeply at him.

"You obtained Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan. Who were you planning to control?"

Danzo's eyes darted away for an instant.

"Of course I was going to control Uchiha Fugaku. That would have been the best way to wipe out the Uchiha Clan."

His first thought had naturally been to control the Third Hokage.

But in truth, it was extremely difficult for outsiders to use the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Danzo had only just implanted the eye and had not even figured it out before it was dug out. Whatever plans he had were useless now.

Naturally, he could change his story at a time like this.

But the Third Hokage had dealt with him for decades.

That momentary flicker in Danzo's eyes still told the Third Hokage that he had been planning to control him.

The Third Hokage's face instantly turned cold. He rose to his feet.

"Root has been disbanded. Once you recover from your injuries, I'll make sure you retire in peace."

Danzo's face shifted between green and white. He knew that the Third Hokage had definitely seen through his thoughts.

Seeing the other man already walking toward the door, Danzo gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Wait, Hiruzen! The Uchiha are powerful now! You can't abandon me!"

The Third Hokage paused slightly. "In your current state, what can you still do?"

Seeing that the Third Hokage truly intended to abandon him, Danzo said impatiently,

"I still have secret techniques and forbidden techniques that I've researched for many years."

The Third Hokage flicked his sleeve, snorted, and did not stop walking.

They were all unfinished forbidden techniques, not fully developed at all.

Watching as the other man reached the doorway, Danzo rasped,

"Sarutobi Hiruzen! After everything I've done for you all these years, do you think I made no preparations?"

"Senju Nawaki, Dan Katō..."

"Shut up!" The Third Hokage whirled around, his face filled with icy killing intent.

Danzo did not dare continue provoking the Third Hokage. He paused for a moment.

"Now that the Uchiha have changed leaders, how can you guarantee that there won't be internal turmoil within the Uchiha?"

"How will you deal with Uchiha Shisui's Kotoamatsukami?"

"If you abandon me, the Uchiha will become even harder to resist!"

The image of the Uchiha's five Mangekyō Sharingan flashed through the Third Hokage's mind, and he forcibly swallowed his anger.

He walked back over to Danzo. "What do you have in mind?"

Danzo let out a slight breath. "Orochimaru! Bring Orochimaru back."

"My physical problems can be resolved quickly, and research into those stalled secret and forbidden techniques can also be pushed forward rapidly."

"If anything goes wrong, you only need to pin it all on me."

The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment. "Orochimaru will never come back!"

Danzo's eyes flickered. "Why wouldn't he? You and I both know what really happened back then."

"But now the Uchiha have already joined forces with the other ninja clans. We'll only become more passive going forward."

"If the Uchiha run for the position of Fifth Hokage in the future, what will you use to stop them?"

Under Senju Tobirama's teachings, the Konoha higher-ups led by the Third Hokage had all developed deep wariness toward the Uchiha.

The Third Hokage would never allow the Uchiha to obtain power.

[Now that so many ninja clans have been tied to the Uchiha through their methods, the Uchiha will inevitably make further political moves in the future.]

[If the Uchiha forcefully propose selecting a new Hokage then, how should I handle it?]

[No. The family has only just begun to develop. Sosuke and Asuma have yet to grow up.]

Seeing the shifting emotions in the Third Hokage's eyes, Danzo finally breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

"If it's inconvenient for you to show yourself, I'll contact Orochimaru."

Danzo seemed to be giving the Third Hokage a way out.

The Third Hokage looked at Danzo, who had already become a cripple, and slowly shook his head.

"I'll have Jiraiya contact Orochimaru. Your body is too weak right now. Rest properly first."

Danzo was somewhat unwilling, but in his current state, it truly was difficult for him to do anything.

"Fine. I'll wait for your news."

After saying so much, the side effects of the medicine he had been injected with earlier gradually surfaced.

Danzo's eyelids grew heavier, and before long, he sank into darkness.

The Third Hokage stood and pressed the call bell beside him.

A medical ninja quickly entered the room.

"Lord Hokage."

"Do everything you can to restore his body's functions."

"Yes."

The Third Hokage looked at Danzo, who had already fallen asleep.

[The Uchiha are indeed troublesome now. I need to find more allies.]

Uchiha Clan Compound.

Meeting room.

After dispelling his Shadow Clone, Zhengye's head swam for a moment. He rubbed his brow tiredly.

[I wonder how much that tsundere Nine-Tails actually took in. Next time, I should just go in person.]

[The expenditure from a Shadow Clone isn't too great. Next time, I can try making two more.]

Zhengye came back to himself and gave the elder before him an apologetic smile.

"Elder, please continue."

Elder Tenghong did not mind Zhengye's distraction and continued,

"The metalworking formula you gave us has already been handed to Cat Granny in Cat Village."

"They are experimenting with it now. There should be results within two days."

"If the data is correct, we can immediately open a high-end ninja tool shop."

Zhengye tapped the tatami beneath him.

"Replace all of the Uchiha's ninja tools first before considering external sales."

"Unless they are clan members without ninja talent, don't waste too much effort on this."

"It's fine to leave the sales to others. It's only a matter of earning more or less."

Elder Tenghong greatly admired Zhengye's steady style. He repeatedly stroked his beard and voiced his agreement.

Zhengye turned to Fugaku.

"The Uchiha need to maintain combat awareness year-round, so rotate the Police Force duties directly."

"Fugaku, reassign any Police Force members who are reported for violent law enforcement in the village."

"If the complaints are truly too severe, rotate them with those assigned to missions outside the village."

Fugaku nodded repeatedly. By now, he had basically grasped Zhengye's way of doing things.

"Each squad has been assigned at least one scout from another clan."

"Hiashi and Luhe have already drafted a complete patrol route map."

"The new patrol routes can begin tomorrow."

As he spoke, Fugaku handed the documents to Zhengye.

Zhengye took them and studied them carefully, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile.

[For the sake of their own clan interests, the Hyuga Clan and Ino-Shika-Cho have indeed gone against the Third Hokage.]

[Will the Third Hokage choose to retreat or strike back?]

"Arrange a squad leader for me tomorrow. I'll lead a patrol."

Fugaku trusted Zhengye greatly now and did not ask further questions. "All right. I'll make the arrangements."

Konoha Hospital, special care ward.

Danzo sat with his single eye open, studying the Police Force's latest patrol route map brought by Yamanaka Fu.

"This Uchiha Zhengye is the most troublesome one."

He muttered under his breath.

In such a short time, his Root was gone, and so were all four of his limbs.

Falling from heaven into hell had been entirely arranged by Uchiha Zhengye.

It could be said that the person Danzo hated most was Uchiha Zhengye.

After committing all the information to memory, Danzo closed his lone eye.

"How many people can we still mobilize?"

Yamanaka Fu was silent for a moment before answering, "No one. Everyone else is in prison."

"The Third Hokage has postponed the interrogations, but he hasn't released them either."

Danzo slowly opened his eye. "What about the informants in the village?"

"Those informants are only civilians. They aren't of much use."

Root not only maintained professional intelligence personnel; it had also cultivated some villagers within the village.

"Civilians will be enough." A trace of malice flashed through Danzo's eye.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen's most sensitive nerve is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"The Police Force's patrol routes have expanded so much that they will certainly encounter him."

"Have those civilians deal with the Jinchuriki, then have someone seek help from the Police Force."

"Let's see how the Uchiha handle it."

Yamanaka Fu stood up. "Understood, Lord Danzo. I still have a list of informants. I'll make the arrangements now..."