See Him Alive, See His Body Dead

Therefore, Dodai could only change the subject, and the change was very clever, targeting another of Hiruzen Sarutobi's weaknesses:

"Alright, Lord Hokage, let's put aside the question of who is to blame for the war for now, and just talk about the war itself!"

To date, three Shinobi World have occurred in the human world, and both of our villages have participated in all three, and we have been enemies in each one.

During the war, the two sides fought a bloody war, and their hatred ran deep.

Not only have many of our Kumogakure ninjas been killed by you, but many of your Konoha have also died at the hands of our Kumogakure. The hatred between the ninjas of both sides is irreconcilable.

"The Third Lord Hokage, perhaps it was a Konoha ninja who harbored ill will and hatred towards our Kumogakure ninjas, and that's why they secretly attacked our Kumogakure delegation and killed Morui!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was rather unpleasant:

"Dodai Tsuchitai, in the end, this is just your guess, isn't it? We can't even be sure whether that Kumogakure ninja named Morui is dead or not."

Perhaps he's just held up by something and can't come back for the time being.

Dodai simply waved his hand:

"Lord Hokage, there's no need for you to say such things and make such speculations. What could possibly hold up our excellent ninjas from Kumogakure for a day or two, and for a day or two without any news coming in?"

In this situation, it is highly likely that he was murdered. I urge the Third Lord Hokage to take this matter seriously and answer my demands directly!

By the way, as far as I know, there's not only the Anbu in Konoha, but also the Root, which goes even deeper than the Anbu.

This Root is notorious, having committed many heinous and immoral acts in the Shinobi World. These people are exceptionally evil and unsettling.

"Perhaps, Morui's disappearance was orchestrated by your Root forces!"

Honestly, of all the things Dodai has said so far, this is the one that Hiruzen Sarutobi most wants to hear.

What? Root did this? That's incredible! Absolutely! It must have been Root! Only they would do something so inappropriate. Danzo has already taken the blame for so many things, one more won't make a difference!

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought this subconsciously.

But suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized something was wrong.

In the past, when similar things happened, or when all sorts of bad things happened in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi could always Danzo Root.

Let them become the best scapegoats. It has nothing to do with Hiruzen Sarutobi. He, the Third Hokage, is still great and righteous. The victims can only throw their hatred and resentment at Danzo and Root.

But this time the situation is different. This time it's not an internal matter of Konoha; this time it involves external factors of Kumogakure.

Regardless of whether the blame is shifted to Danzo and Root, Danzo are still part of Konoha Root. In other words, even if the blame is shifted, the responsibility still rests with Konoha, and they remain in the Konoha.

Damn it! Danzo and Root are utterly useless and more of a hindrance than a help. It's such a shame they can't play their part now!

That's such a shame! That's such a damn double standard!

If there were conflicts within the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously make Danzo take the blame, and subconsciously make Root drink the dirty water, while he remained clean and innocent.

However, this incident is not an internal matter of the village, Root and Danzo cannot carry it on their shoulders. Even if they could, it would be useless. Root and Danzo are more trouble than they are worth.

When did Hiruzen Sarutobi become so disgusting? Or has he always been this disgusting?

After calming himself down, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

He thought to himself Danzo, regardless of whether Root or not, the problem was... could Danzo really have been Danzo the disappearance of that Kumogakure ninja named Morui?

This... doesn't seem entirely impossible. Danzo, that gloomy guy, sometimes even he himself can't figure out what he's thinking.

In particular, Danzo suffered significant losses in his Root organization recently. According to reports from his Anbu planted within Root, Danzo's mental state has reportedly undergone some changes.

Under these circumstances, it seems not impossible that he would do something so outrageous that he would dare to attack the Kumogakure delegation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi grew increasingly worried as he thought about it. "Please, please don't let it be you, Danzo. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to sacrifice you. Sacrificing you would have a huge impact on my future."

Although he thought this in his heart, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no sign of it. He took a puff of his pipe, his expression remaining righteous and indignant.

"Dodai Tsuchitai is joking. Konoha does indeed have Root organization, but it's not as evil as you say. They just do some shady things. These kinds of things happen in all the great ninja villages, and I believe you can understand that."

Furthermore, although Root is not under my command, I am the Hokage, Root will absolutely obey my orders. They would never do such a thing; I can guarantee that."

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Dodai became even more disdainful, and his attitude worsened.

"A guarantee? What guarantee do you have, Lord Hokage?"

To be honest, I don't believe your guarantees, nor do I believe in Konoha's reputation.

What I need now is an explanation! I need to see him alive or dead! I need to see our comrade Morui!

If he is not dead, I need our comrade Morui to appear before me immediately, and I also need you, Konoha, to ensure its safety at all costs.

If he is already dead, I need to see his body immediately, and his body must be well preserved.

And most importantly, I need to know the cause of our comrade Morui's death, and whether Konoha was behind it.

Konoha must investigate the reasons behind this incident. Once the investigation is complete, the murderer of Morui must be handed over to us for punishment!

Dodai finally revealed his true intentions and demands.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew immediately that things were going to get bad, that the situation was already out of control.

He was in a terrible mood, feeling irritable and angry. His mind was racing as he tried to figure out what was going on and how to handle the situation.

Damn it, I have absolutely no idea where this Morui went! Who the hell knows where he's gone?

I knew absolutely nothing about this from beginning to end. Where am I supposed to find it for you? Where am I supposed to find it, dead or alive?

Wait... Could this be a conspiracy by the Kumogakure delegation? Could this whole thing be orchestrated by Dodai himself? Are they using this to launch an attack on me and Konoha?

It's not impossible, though. It's quite possible that these bastards did it on purpose. After all, the bastards from Kumogakure are capable of anything.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Dodai in front of him with a serious yet somewhat sinister expression.

Dodai, on the other hand, stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi with an imposing aura that was in no way inferior, remaining as domineering and rude as ever.

The two sides were locked in a standoff, locked in a tense standoff, and the atmosphere in the Hokage's office was extremely heavy, as if a fight was about to break out at any moment.

However, the two managed to restrain themselves, and a fight was ultimately avoided, or perhaps the place was simply not suitable for a fight.

After taking several puffs of his pipe and letting out a deep sigh, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no better ideas for the time being and could only resort to stalling tactics to keep the Kumogakure Group in check.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi solemnly promised Dodai:

"Alright, in any case, this Morui disappeared in our Konoha, so we Konoha bear some responsibility."

"Dodai Tutai, I will immediately begin investigating this matter and help you find the whereabouts of that Morui."

Having received this attitude from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Dodai knew that his next move after softening his stance would most likely be to back down. He was satisfied and knew that it was time to stop and not push Hiruzen Sarutobi too far.

So Dodai nodded, his expression softening slightly, and added:

"Alright, then please investigate quickly Lord Hokage."

To reiterate, I and everyone in our Kumogakure delegation need an explanation, we need the truth about this matter.

If the truth of the matter is not satisfactory to us, and if Konoha's handling of this matter is not satisfactory to us, it will inevitably affect the subsequent negotiations.

Therefore, I urge the Lord Hokage to carefully consider this matter, for the sake of the relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure."

Having said that, and after leaving behind a final, unspoken threat, Dodai turned and left the Hokage's office.

Even when he left, he didn't close the door to the Hokage's office; the door was wide open, and Hiruzen Sarutobi could see into the hallway from behind his desk.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was extremely ugly, and he even seemed to be gritting his teeth.

This is outrageous! This delegation from Kumogakure is incredibly arrogant! They actually dared to threaten me! They even dared to use negotiations as leverage!

The negotiations are clearly going against Konoha's interests. If this matter cannot be properly arranged and handled, then let's just stop talking and Konoha might as well just declare the negotiations a failure!