Continue to Fool

Emerging from Naruto's consciousness, the entire Ichiraku Ramen stand was already surrounded by Anbu ninjas.

Sarutobi and the two elders stared at Danzo with grim expressions.

Handing the unconscious Naruto over to an Anbu ninja, Danzo yawned.

"Danzo, what did you do to Naruto?" Sarutobi, glancing at the unconscious Naruto, was so angry that his beard bristled and his eyes widened. This old fellow was becoming more and more presumptuous.

Danzo grinned, "As the descendant of that guy, Naruto is a bit weak. I was just trying to motivate him."

"Naruto's identity is too sensitive. Wasn't it agreed that I would take care of everything concerning Naruto? You shouldn't be contacting him!" Sarutobi was truly enraged this time, looking at Danzo with cold eyes.

Danzo was silent. Of course, he knew that this had been agreed upon, but in order to make up for the mistakes of the original body, he could only contact Naruto in advance.

If he waited for Naruto to grow up and mature, his contact would become suspicious.

"You bastard!"

Seeing that Danzo didn't intend to explain, Sarutobi suddenly flashed forward. Danzo didn't even see him form hand seals before he was right next to him, throwing a fierce punch towards his face.

Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son. The Fourth Hokage entrusted Naruto to him before his death, and he hadn't given Naruto a happy childhood.

He already felt sorry enough towards Minato, and he absolutely couldn't allow this old codger to cause further trouble in Naruto's life.

Pa.

Panicked inside, but still calm on the surface, Danzo reached out his arm and opened his palm, steadily gripping Sarutobi's fist.

With a serious face, Danzo warily watched Sarutobi in front of him, paying attention to the surrounding movements.

Body Flicker Technique.

This speed was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye. Luckily, he blocked it.

But as the Hokage, his attack strategy shouldn't be so simple. Perhaps this was a clone?

No, they were old friends, and they were currently within Konoha Village. Sarutobi wouldn't really come at him with full force.

His mind racing, Danzo pondered the sudden attack.

He really hadn't expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to attack directly, without showing any mercy.

It seemed that Naruto really occupied a large part of his heart, probably out of guilt?

Just now, if his physical fitness hadn't improved in all aspects, Danzo might not have been able to react.

He had only inherited the original body's memories, but not the combat experience.

It was like watching a movie. You only saw Ip Man in the movie fighting ten people at once, but if you really had to fight yourself, it would be difficult to do the same, even if you memorized all the movements.

Although he wasn't an ordinary person in his previous life, the battles between these ninjas were different from the high-tech confrontations with hot weapons in his previous life. The elusive Body Flicker Technique was something Danzo couldn't detect.

Not to mention that this group of people would use a Clone Technique to confuse the enemy before using the Body Flicker Technique.

"You"

Sarutobi withdrew his fist, looking at Danzo with some doubt.

He had actually held back just now. With his speed, that punch would have almost hit Danzo. If he hadn't held back and slowed down, this guy would have been sent flying.

Danzo's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected the old guy to see through him. As expected of the Hokage, his battle experience and observation skills were so keen.

Although his heart was turbulent, his face remained unusually calm.

Sighing, Danzo glanced at Sarutobi and said with some helplessness, "Let's talk about it when we get back."

"I'll be waiting for your explanation."

Sarutobi gave him a deep look, replied calmly, and didn't linger. He walked out of the ramen stand first, heading towards the Hokage Building.

Torifu Koharu and Mitokado Homura beside him were a little confused about what had happened, but since Sarutobi didn't pursue the matter, they didn't stay either, following him as he left.

Watching their departing figures, Danzo closed his eyes, pondering how to explain his strength.

In the Hokage's office, Danzo and Sarutobi sat facing each other.

Only the two of them were in the office; Torifu Koharu and Mitokado Homura were not present.

Although the four had been comrades fighting together since they were young, Danzo and Sarutobi were closer, while the other two were relatively distant.

Sarutobi stared intently at Danzo and said, "Explain your strength."

"Consider it the price of regaining my youth," Danzo said helplessly. "My youth isn't like Tsunade's, where only the appearance is restored. All my bodily functions have returned to their prime."

"You..." Sarutobi's pupils contracted. Regaining youth was a fatal temptation for every aging person.

His heart was ablaze at this moment. If he could return to his youth...

Sarutobi had clearly felt his bodily functions declining since the Third Shinobi World War, which was why he had stepped down to make way for Namikaze Minato.

Now, several years later, Sarutobi's strength had diminished by forty percent.

Seeing Sarutobi's expression, Danzo could guess what he was thinking, and he couldn't help but chuckle, "There's a price to pay!"

"This was also an accident, but after regaining my youth, I thought my strength would return to its peak, or even become stronger. But unexpectedly, my memories and this body of mine are mismatched."

"This also led to my thoughts reacting, but my body couldn't keep up."

His words stopped Sarutobi's desire to try.

Frowning, Sarutobi asked seriously, "Is there a solution?"

"I don't know, but I only know that my current strength isn't even ten percent of what it used to be." Danzo silently formed a hand seal in front of him.

The turtle-like speed of his hand seals stunned Sarutobi again, "Is it that serious?"

With such a severe decline in strength, he no longer had the same idea as Danzo to try to regain his youth.

"I've always told you that I don't want to be Hokage anymore." Danzo's heart stirred, intending to take this opportunity to put Sarutobi Hiruzen at ease.

"In this world where strength is paramount, I might not even be as good as a Chunin now."

"With such strength, how could I have a chance to step into the Hokage's seat? I've already given up."

His eyes were complex, with a hint of unwillingness.

Sarutobi's eyes were also complex, filled with sympathy and doubt, "Then you still plan to lead a team to the front lines to fight?"

Danzo suddenly stood up from his seat, his eyes sharply fixed on Sarutobi, "So what if I don't have strength?"

"Even if I don't have the strength, even if I die, I won't let Konoha submit to other villages."

"My teacher taught me many principles, but the one he mentioned the most was to tell me to be ruthless and not to be cowardly."

These words made Sarutobi feel a little ashamed and a little admiration.

Just like before, Danzo had never changed.

Perhaps it was a mistake for the teacher to choose me to be the Hokage in the first place?

This thought emerged in Sarutobi's heart unconsciously, a thought that made even himself a little frightened.

Just to explain, the memories are inherited from Danzo, the body is Danzo's, and the soul is the protagonist's. The protagonist's soul drives Danzo's body, and he can only do the actions of his previous life. He hasn't learned the fighting methods between ninjas yet.