Meeting

"Knock, knock, knock."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." Sarutobi Hiruzen's dignified yet hoarse voice rang out.

Danzo opened the door and strode into the room. His gaze swept indifferently over the people inside as he said, "Everyone's here."

"I never thought a guy like you would actually knock." Utatane Koharu frowned at Danzo with her aged face. "And what experiment did you conduct this time? You actually became younger."

Her eyes remained fixed on Danzo's face.

Although she was a Hokage Advisor, she was also a woman.

Seeing her old friend suddenly return to his youthful appearance after only a few days apart, Koharu was clearly feeling complicated.

"Is that why you called me here?" Danzo glanced at her without answering, then looked directly at Sarutobi Hiruzen in the seat of honor.

Beneath his pale hair, his face was covered in age spots and deep weariness. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had achieved such remarkable feats in his youth, was now merely an old man in his twilight years.

No matter how powerful he was, he could not resist the erosion of time.

Sarutobi Hiruzen also looked at the youthful Danzo with mixed feelings. Nostalgia filled his cloudy eyes as he said, "I never expected to see you looking like you did when you were young again. When I saw you this afternoon, I was quite shocked. I thought my old eyes were playing tricks on me."

"If this is just for reminiscing, there's no need." Danzo walked to the table and sat down, speaking without the slightest courtesy.

This was not because of the influence of Danzo's memories. He had always been this kind of person.

"As forceful as ever." A smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. With that face and that temper, Danzo was exactly the same as he had been back then.

Yet there was also a trace of dimness in his eyes.

Danzo's personality had remained unchanged, but he himself had become somewhat indecisive.

"The reason I called you here is to discuss Kumogakure." Sarutobi Hiruzen cast off his earlier weariness, his face turning serious.

"The Kumogakure Delegation sent a ninja to abduct the Hyuga Clan's little princess after arriving in Konoha. Hyuga Hiashi discovered and killed him. You all know about this, right?"

Sarutobi looked at the people present.

Danzo frowned deeply and asked, "Kumogakure intends to start a war over this?"

The original story had not mentioned this incident much, but he still remembered it.

Hizashi Hyuga would commit suicide because of this, which would in turn affect the life of his son, Neji Hyuga.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was startled. His gaze toward Danzo became somewhat complicated, but he still nodded. "A small number of ninja forces have already gathered at the border of the Land of Lightning. The Raikage intends to use this incident as grounds to launch an attack on Konoha."

"How long has it been since Minato died, and these bastards are already jumping out to make trouble?" Mitokado Homura sighed. "If Minato were still alive, those people wouldn't even dare fart."

"What are your thoughts on this? Should we fight, or should we seek peace and swallow this humiliation for now?" Sarutobi looked at Danzo across the long table, then turned to Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.

"With Minato gone, and Jiraiya and Tsunade absent as well, this war will not be easy to fight." Koharu shook her head.

"What is the Feudal Lord's Mansion's stance?" Homura asked.

Sarutobi Hiruzen replied, "The Feudal Lord means for us to recuperate for a while first."

His tone was somewhat low. To recuperate for a while meant they wanted Konoha to do everything possible to seek peace, placate Kumogakure, and swallow this humiliation.

"Danzo, what do you think?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the silent Danzo and asked. Rarely, Danzo had not voiced his opinion.

That was unusual.

In past meetings, Danzo had always been the first to state his thoughts. Yet this time, he had quietly sat there and listened.

Something was off.

Koharu and Homura exchanged glances. They too felt that Danzo seemed somewhat different.

"Does my opinion matter?" Danzo glanced at him, then at the other two. "You'll definitely choose peace. We aren't confident about starting a war this time, and Koharu and Homura won't gamble on it either."

"Since you've already made your decision, does my opinion matter?"

Those eyes seemed to have seen through all three of them.

"Cough, cough."

Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed awkwardly and said, "After all, we agreed back then that the four of us would vote together to make decisions. Of course your opinion matters."

Danzo said nothing and merely stared at him expressionlessly.

He had already seen through Sarutobi Hiruzen's true colors in the anime, but judging from the memories, Sarutobi had treated the few of them rather well.

Danzo no longer had any interest in the position of Hokage, so he did not continue making things difficult for him.

"Then, in that case, notify the various clans in the village to come for a meeting tomorrow." Seeing that Danzo did not object, Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief.

The village's initial decisions were discussed by the four of them.

Then the Clan Heads would discuss them and make the final decision.

Danzo rose calmly to his feet. "I won't be attending tomorrow's meeting. You can discuss it yourselves."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Danzo."

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly called out to him. His old friend's behavior today had surprised him, and he was even more suspicious that Danzo might be plotting something again.

"Hm?" Danzo turned back in confusion.

"After Minato's death, the village's situation is not optimistic. I hope you won't force me into making a choice." Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was serious and carried a strong threat.

"I will never hand the position of Hokage to you. Your personality is unsuitable for that position, and it will remain unsuitable. Even after I step down, you will never have the chance to sit in that seat."

His words were blunt, and he did not avoid saying them in front of Koharu and Homura.

They had all been old teammates for many years. Most of the time, they could guess what was on each other's minds.

Minato's death and Orochimaru's defection from the village.

One incident after another had already given Sarutobi Hiruzen a terrible headache. If Danzo chose this moment to stir up trouble as well, he swore that this time, he would not spare any thought for their old friendship.

Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen's stern face, Danzo said calmly, "I'm no longer interested in the position of Hokage."

Staring directly at Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo spoke with a seriousness he had not shown since entering the room. "Power? I'm no longer interested in something so boring. Find an opportunity to let me step down."

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned at Danzo, unable to understand what he meant.

This old friend before him, restored to his youthful appearance, felt unfamiliar to him.

"I mean Root."

Danzo explained, "Simply put, I don't want to be Root's leader anymore. Find someone to take my place, or disband Root."

"What kind of joke is this?!" Koharu slammed her hand on the table and rose to her feet, glaring furiously at Danzo. "Danzo, now is not the time to throw a tantrum."

"What is Root? What kind of people are inside it? Do I really need to spell it out?"

"You alone hold every one of them in your grasp. Who would dare take over those people?"

Clearly, Koharu had misunderstood. She believed Danzo was trying to use Konoha's current situation, along with Root's existence, to threaten Sarutobi.