Jealousy

Fire Country, Daimyo's Estate.

Ever since Sarutobi Hiruzen had ascended to the Hokage's seat, the Fire Country Daimyo had immediately sent an invitation to Konoha's new man in charge.

To maintain the relationship between the village and the daimyo, Sarutobi Hiruzen brought his guards along and attended by invitation.

At the banquet, carved platters, exquisite dishes, rare delicacies, and fine cuisine were naturally all indispensable.

More importantly, beauties had to be there to liven things up. The Fire Country Daimyo had long heard of the new Hokage's fondness for women, so he simply catered to his tastes. He clapped his hands, clappers tapped lightly, strings and flutes played softly, and several gorgeously dressed dancing girls swayed out gracefully. After kneeling and bowing to those seated, they swept their long sleeves aside, drifted into formation, and began to dance.

After three rounds of wine, everyone was flushed and tipsy. Riding the strength of the alcohol, a group of bloated, potbellied, fat-headed dignitaries fawned over Sarutobi Hiruzen to the utmost.

A potbellied official raised his cup and flattered him. "Lord Third Hokage, from now on, our Fire Country's national defense will depend entirely on you, old brother. As for the budget and the like, you needn't worry. Even if we have to sell everything we own, we'll give our full support."

"Of course, of course. This is all for the protection of our homeland. Konoha will certainly do everything in its power."

At first, seeing the Fire Country officials so enthusiastic, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had only just become the Third Hokage, felt somewhat overwhelmed by the favor and acted rather reserved. But very soon, that restraint crumbled under one respectful address of "Third Hokage" after another, and he became carried away.

He could not help sighing inwardly. Power really was a wonderful thing. No wonder the adults at home had instilled in him from childhood that he had to become Hokage when he grew up. So this was what they had meant.

Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen's blissful expression, Danzō, who sat cross-legged in some out-of-the-way corner, wore a sour, deadpan face. His hands rested on his knees, tightly gripping his pants, and his heart was filled with unwillingness.

Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen had been childhood friends who grew up competing against each other, but for some reason, he lost to the other man every single time. This made him extremely unhappy.

And some time ago, Danzō had lost to Sarutobi Hiruzen yet again. This time, what he had lost was the most important dream of his life—the position of Hokage.

The specifics were that before the Second Hokage made the decision to stay behind and cover the retreat, he had posed a difficult question to several of his disciples, asking which of them was willing to remain as the rearguard.

As a ninja, Danzō possessed a high level of resolve and immediately expressed his desire to stay behind. But in the end, because he was afraid, he chickened out...

And at that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had stepped forward, declaring with righteous resolve that he would stay behind and sacrifice himself.

In an instant, Sarutobi Hiruzen's image became radiant, great, and upright.

Everyone was incomparably shocked and admired his personal charisma. (Except Danzō.) The Second Hokage was very satisfied with this and immediately announced that Sarutobi Hiruzen would be appointed as the next Hokage, while he himself would stay behind to cover the retreat, sacrificing himself to save the others.

Originally, with this matter, losing was losing. Who told Danzō to chicken out in the end? He was not someone who could not afford to lose.

But after returning and thinking it over carefully, he discovered that something was just a little off.

After going a whole night without sleeping, he understood.

His childhood friend, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had played dirty. His victory had not been honorable.

So it turned out that all of this had been arranged in advance.

From the time when the Second Hokage had deliberately assigned the First Hokage's granddaughter to Sarutobi Hiruzen as a disciple, one could already glimpse the truth.

The Second Hokage had in fact long planned to choose Sarutobi Hiruzen as his successor. He had simply lacked a suitable opportunity all along.

So he had seized this chance and deliberately said those words.

Konoha had been founded jointly by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan.

If the Hokage were chosen from within their clans, most of the Ninja Clans in the village would have no objections.

But the reality before them was that the Senju Clan no longer had a leading figure and was not up to the task.

As for the Uchiha Clan, they did have a leading figure, and his strength was sufficient, but an Uchiha who possessed the Sharingan was very likely to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, go to extremes, and become a ticking time bomb.

If Hiruzen of the Sarutobi Clan took the position of Hokage, everyone would certainly have criticisms. It would be detrimental to internal unity, and one careless slip might even allow outside enemies to seize the opportunity and inflict irreparable damage on Konoha.

Therefore, at that time, in order to help this disciple secure the position, the Second Hokage had directed and acted out this entire play himself.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had probably guessed this layer of the Second Hokage's thinking, which was why he had been able to act so righteous and fearless in the face of life and death. After this incident, everyone would be moved by Sarutobi Hiruzen's spirit of sacrifice, and there would no longer be any objections to him becoming Hokage.

Heh...

Teacher Tobirama, how ruthless you are!

To think you would go this far for Hiruzen.

I, Shimura Danzō, am also your disciple.

Teacher Tobirama, you're biased!

Thinking of this, Danzō felt as if he were being roasted by flames called jealousy, his whole body unbearably uncomfortable.

But what could he do if he refused to accept it? Things had already reached this point, and the boat had already sailed. For the stability of the village, Danzō had to consider the greater good, forcibly suppress the jealous rage in his heart, and even use the power of his clan to spare no effort in recommending Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Danzō took a deep breath and gave the Sarutobi Hiruzen currently being flattered a meaningful look. A thought grew in his heart: he could be replaced...

When the banquet ended, and all the necessary pleasantries had already been exchanged, Danzō urged Sarutobi Hiruzen to leave the Daimyo's Estate and return to Konoha to take charge of the overall situation.

"Eh, we're leaving so soon?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes showed reluctance as he looked somewhat infatuatedly at the scantily dressed dancing girls.

Lust. This was his weak spot.

Ever since marrying Biwako, he had restrained himself quite a bit in this regard. At the very least, he did not dare fool around like that inside the village. And now that he had become Hokage, he had to pay even more attention to his image.

Every word and action represented the image of the village.

"Nonsense. What time do you think it is? There are still many important matters in the village waiting for your decision, especially the Uchi..."

At this point, Danzō paused and did not continue.

The subject of the Uchiha was not suitable to bring up and discuss here. They had to return to the village and carefully discuss it with the other two advisers, Torifu Akimichi and Utatane Koharu.

These two were promoted directly to adviser positions after Sarutobi Hiruzen became Hokage.

"I understand..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a few last, lingering looks at the dancing girl and was just about to leave.

"Lord Hokage, please wait..."

At the sound of that voice, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his head and looked over. He saw a middle-aged man with thick brows and large eyes, someone who gave an immediate first impression of being honest and sincere.

"Your Highness, Prince Huang Ren."

Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled the other man's identity, carefully weighed his words, and addressed him.

Huang Ren was the elder brother of the current Fire Country Daimyo. He was honest and sincere by nature, treated people with genuine warmth, and had good relationships with the ministers of the court. Deeply trusted by the Daimyo, he personally handled affairs great and small throughout the country.

A kind smile hung on Prince Huang Ren's face. He spoke unhurriedly, giving off a feeling as pleasant as a spring breeze. "My deepest apologies. During our conversation just now, there was one matter I neglected to mention."

Sarutobi Hiruzen acted magnanimous. "Your Highness, Prince Huang Ren, you are too kind. Please, what is it?"

Prince Huang Ren smiled. "This is not a suitable place to talk. Please come with me."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "Then let us go."

Hearing this, Danzo and the other guards prepared to follow.

"Um..."

Huang Ren glanced at Danzo and the others as they prepared to set off with them, then hesitated as if he wanted to speak.

Sarutobi Hiruzen understood at once. "Danzo, all of you wait here for me."

According to the rules, wherever the Hokage went, guards like them were supposed to follow. That was their duty. Yet Danzo accepted Sarutobi Hiruzen's order without a single word of complaint.

For one thing, this was the Daimyo's Estate. It was very safe, and there could not possibly be assassins.

For another, even if there were assassins, Sarutobi Hiruzen's strength would be more than enough to deal with them. Otherwise, he might as well not be Hokage at all.

Besides, deep down, Danzo was actually eager for Sarutobi Hiruzen to be assassinated. If that happened, the position of Hokage might just fall into his hands.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Danzo and the others being led away by servants, confusion in his heart. What exactly was this matter that required Danzo and the others to be deliberately sent away? He did not ask further and silently followed behind Prince Huang Ren. Before long, they arrived at a room.