Danzo! I'm Warning You!

In his previous life, Hiruko had utterly despised that unfilial Obito. Minato and his wife had treated him so well, yet how had he repaid his own teacher?

Hiruko was determined to give him a proper beating.

Besides, Rin Nohara was adorably pretty and had quite a lot of screen time in the original story. Hiruko intended to nurture their relationship properly and win her over.

"Please help me keep an eye on Pakura."

"O-Okay, I'll be careful!" Rin Nohara instantly blushed all the way to her ears.

She knew perfectly well how Hiruko treated Pakura.

Every day, Hiruko tormented Pakura in those humiliating positions, trying to grind away her pride.

Whenever she thought of those embarrassing scenes, Rin Nohara felt her heart race as though it were about to leap from her throat.

And every day, when Pakura needed to use the toilet, Rin Nohara had to help her with that too.

That was also the only time this tough-boned woman got to rest each day.

Hiruko gently rubbed Rin Nohara's little head, then lay back comfortably on the bed.

Before long, the small figure climbed up and began massaging him with her soft, warm hands.

Under such a comfortable massage, Hiruko quickly drifted off to sleep.

Not long afterward, however, Hiruko's brows furrowed, as if he had dreamed of something troubling.

Seeing this, Rin Nohara gently soothed him for a while. Once his sleeping expression gradually calmed, she stopped moving.

After obtaining the experimental data he wanted, Orochimaru temporarily stopped disturbing Hiruko's comfortable life.

He himself needed time to digest and organize the data Hiruko had given him.

Danzo came looking for him several times, wanting Hiruko to produce more results as soon as possible, such as technology for safely applying the properties of Hashirama Cells to the human body.

Although Danzo looked down on human-enhancement drugs cultivated from inferior Hashirama Cells,

if Hiruko could continuously produce valuable experimental results, then the day he acquired the true First Hokage's Wood Release would not be far away.

Naturally, Hiruko agreed readily, even swindling a large amount of experimental funding from Danzo in the process.

As for the Third Hokage, he was currently handing over the position of Hokage and was naturally swamped with work, leaving him no time to concern himself with Hiruko.

He was working hard to familiarize Minato with government affairs, explain high-level secrets inaccessible to ordinary ninja, and handle every aspect of ensuring a smooth transfer of power.

Maintaining the balance of power between ninja and civilians was not something that could be resolved overnight.

Over the following days, Hiruko completed his work methodically every day.

After work, he returned home and thoroughly enjoyed the attentive care of his maid, Rin Nohara.

During his free time, he would also teach the extremely disobedient Scorch Release ninja Pakura a lesson.

It had to be said that the environment of the Hidden Sand Village was truly harsh. Most ninja who came from there were hard-boned and would rather die than submit.

But Hiruko was in no hurry. He had plenty of time to wear her down slowly.

Yet Hiruko did not care much about such things afterward. He remained immersed in his own world, madly pursuing power.

His childhood experiences had left a deep shadow over Hiruko, filling him with fear of the outside world.

On top of that, as a transmigrator, he had a clear understanding of the future. He could only possess Kage-level strength for a short time, so what was there to be proud of?

By the later stages of the Hokage era, Six Paths-level powerhouses would be everywhere. He had to make haste.

Thus, he continued devoting himself wholeheartedly to the path of pursuing power, casually creating quite a few useful things along the way.

In Konoha's dim underground, an old man leaning on a cane hid beneath flickering candlelight.

He revealed one uninjured eye and looked at the subordinate kneeling before him. "You said Orochimaru went to see Hiruzen?"

"Yes. We observed Orochimaru entering the Third's residence. He spoke with him for a long time before leaving."

The ninja kneeling below lowered his head and answered with utmost respect.

"I understand."

The old man nodded. As he watched his subordinate rise and leave, his gaze flickered uncertainly, as though he were pondering something.

An old man leaning on a cane pushed open the Hokage's office door.

His cloudy yet shrewd eye swept across the room. The Third Hokage was working, while on the other side, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, silently handled official matters as well.

After exchanging glances with the Third, the old man's attention settled on him.

"What did you come to see me about?" The Third took a puff from his pipe and asked.

"Why have you been suppressing Root lately?"

After a moment of silence, the Third rubbed his forehead with a headache and said helplessly, "Do you know what Orochimaru did?"

"What could he possibly have done?" Danzo stood before the Fourth Hokage's office desk, casting a somewhat disdainful glance at Minato Namikaze, who was silently working.

"What could he want to do? My conscience is clear." Danzo snorted coldly and spoke seriously.

"Why do you think our teacher chose me as Hokage instead of you?" The Third suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

"Only because you got ahead of me and said you would stay behind first."

The moment the Third said this, Danzo, who had remained composed until then, suddenly became agitated and shouted angrily.

"No. It was because our teacher knew very well that you only understood how to fight for benefits but not how to compromise. You had a little cleverness, yet completely disregarded the bigger picture.

You were shortsighted and had no long-term plans. If someone like you became Hokage, you would only become a disaster for the village." The Third's gaze was resolute as he answered without mercy.

Minato Namikaze watched the show from the side.

Hiruzen Sarutobi emphasized every word, completely unconcerned that Danzo was losing face before Minato Namikaze.

Danzo's cane struck the ground heavily several times as he roared, "Nonsense!"

The veins on his hands bulged as he was nearly instantly enraged by this old friend.

"Take a good look at what you've done! How dare you lay hands on people in the village? First Sakumo, then Hiruko. Are you going to come after me next?" The Third snapped back angrily.

Danzo's previous attack against Hiruko had not been concealed in the slightest. At the time, Hiruko had directly poisoned more than thirty ANBU to death.

Although Hiruko had already reconciled with Danzo because of resources, the Third now wanted to suppress Danzo's Root to pave the way for Minato Namikaze, so naturally he brought up the old matter again.

It was also because Hiruko's strength had grown increasingly formidable over the years with Danzo's support, making Hiruzen Sarutobi feel that things were slipping beyond his control, that he rebuked Danzo so fiercely.

Danzo stared deeply at the Third's furious face, then suddenly fell silent.

"From now on, the village's peace will be handled by the Hokage's ANBU. Your Root only needs to handle matters outside the village."

"Danzo! I'm warning you!"