"Good! Good! Good!"
Under Wang Hao's persuasive rhetoric about the grand unification of ideas, Danzō gleamed with excitement, and his entire being became thrilled.
Originally, he simply wanted to defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the position of Hokage was merely a means to prove his abilities. However, after Wang Hao's explanation, he realized how short-sighted he had been.
Danzō Shimura's desire to become Hokage stemmed from a genuine desire to save Leaf and then lead it to Leaf the Shinobi World, ultimately ending the war.
Only Danzo Leaf in the entire Danzō Shimura could do this.
"I agree with your principles, old leader, but your methods are rather despicable. You're only good at embezzlement and scheming; otherwise, you wouldn't have been manipulated by Third family!"
Wang Hao unabashedly cast a disdainful glance at him, causing Danzō abruptly. The veins on his forehead bulged again, and his gaze towards Wang Hao turned cold and fierce once more.
Can you please stop talking about Laozi embezzlement?
Even if Laozi embezzled, I did it through my own abilities, okay?
"Old leader, we must be realistic in our work. Don't deny it. After all, Third family have stolen the First Hokage's Will of Fire and modified it into a governing ideology that suits our own needs."
You've fooled generation after generation of naive young people into sacrificing their lives and becoming Third of die-hard loyalists. In this respect, old leader, your understanding of the Root Organization principles is truly far inferior.
Danzō Danzo's fierce gaze that seemed to want to devour him alive, Wang Hao said in Youyou voice, "I do admire the Root Organization's Cursed Seal technique quite a bit, but nothing is absolute. The Cursed Seal technique cannot guarantee absolute loyalty."
For example, that junior colleague's stance isn't on your side, old leader!
As he spoke, Wang Hao casually pointed to a Root Organization ninja behind him. When he first arrived at the Root Organization base, he used the system's Treasure-Seeking Function to distinguish the members' affiliations and found that many of them belonged to the Third Hokage's side.
Even Danzō Danzo's trusted confidants was a spy, and he didn't want this spy to report his information to the Third Hokage.
Everyone turned to look at the ninja. Even the Danzō ninja next to Danzo warily released the insects inside her body to surround the ninja, ready to kill him at the first sign of trouble.
How did you see through me?
After a moment of silence, the ninja seemed to have resigned himself to his fate, staring resentfully at Wang Hao, who had his back to him.
She was truly resentful. She had gone through countless hardships to climb to this position, where she could keep a close watch on Danzō, but now she had been exposed.
She didn't believe this was just the result of the other party pointing casually; clearly, the other party possessed methods she was unaware of.
As for launching a sudden attack, it's not that I don't want to, but that I don't have the ability.
Putting aside the Root Organization Cursed Seal remaining in her body, she couldn't handle just the ring of insects around her.
She is a pure Ninjutsu ninja, with over 90% of her strength in Ninjutsu. However, using Ninjutsu requires hand seals, which puts her at a significant disadvantage.
Clearly, neither the insects on the periphery, nor Danzō Shimura, nor her companions around her could possibly give her time to form hand seals.
Rather than die a pointless death in resistance, she would rather die knowing the truth, at least how Dan Kato discovered her.
" Ding Si!"
Seeing that his trusted subordinate had tacitly agreed, Danzō's old face darkened to the point of almost dripping water, his expression even more ferocious than when he had looked at Wang Hao earlier.
He hated traitors like this the most, and what horrified him even more was that this traitor himself hadn't noticed anything amiss. If it weren't for Dan Kato pointing it out today, he might have been kept in the dark forever.
At that point, all his secrets would be revealed to Hiruzen Sarutobi, putting him in a very passive position, let alone making it possible for him to compete for the Hokage position.
"Although I don't want to admit it, the Third Hokage's Will of Fire is indeed very persuasive, almost capable of influencing or even changing an individual's will, and is comparable to the Uchiha's ultimate Mangekyō genjutsu."
The moment I arrived here, I saw the hidden Will of Fire within you. After all, I was once fooled by the Third's Will of Fire!
Wang Hao casually bluffed.
He naturally wouldn't reveal the existence of the system, so he steered the conversation towards the so-called Will of Fire.
" The Will of Fire!"
Danzō's expression grew even more somber; in this respect, he was indeed far Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He didn't doubt Wang Hao's words. He had initially recognized the man's talent and used various means Vice Admiral acquire him from Hiruzen Sarutobi. He then subjected him to brutal training, turning him into his strongest trump card.
Prior to this, the man had indeed been influenced by Hiruzen Sarutobi's so-called Will of Fire, so his words were quite credible.
He waved his hand, signaling the oil-dwelling ninja beside him to deal with Ding Si; he would never allow such a traitor to live.
"Old leader, this is not right of you. Fighting and killing is not good. Why not invite this junior who has been misled by the Will of Fire to come up and discuss the Dao? This will also allow you to have a clearer understanding of the power of the Will of Fire."
This is called "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated!"
Wang Hao stopped the oil-skin ninja who was about to attack, waving his hand and saying, "Go, bring me a chair!"
When Wang Hao said this, he didn't treat himself as an outsider at all, acting completely like the host.
"What are you standing there for? Get up and go!"
Seeing all his subordinates looking at him, Danzō said irritably.
He was willing to give Wang Hao, his trusted subordinate, some face, and at the same time, he was also very curious about Hiruzen Sarutobi's Will of Fire!
"No!"
Ding Si shook his head slightly, walked forward to the other side of the table, and gently stepped on the ground with his foot, instantly forming a stone chair.
Powerful Ninjutsu requires hand seals to perform, but this simple method of manipulating the earth with Earth Release Chakra does not.
"Tsk tsk... Junior, your skill in Earth Release techniques is quite impressive!"
Wang Hao glanced at the formed stone chair and clicked his tongue in amazement.
This technique may seem simple, but it's not something just anyone can do; even Kage Level ninja who isn't a specialist in Earth Release wouldn't be able to do it easily.
Clearly, this junior has reached the threshold of Kage Level in Earth Release techniques, making him a highly promising talent.
"Thank you for the compliment, senior!"
Nodding, Ding Si sat down, his voice no longer as cold as before, but became gentle, like a woman's.
"You're a woman?"
Wang Hao was surprised. He hadn't noticed before that this person was actually a woman, and subconsciously looked at her unremarkable chest.
This is the real Princess Taiping!
"Senior, you seem to be thinking about something impolite!"
Sensing Wang Hao's strange gaze, Ding Si's tone turned cold again.
So what if I have flat chests? Does it bother you, or did I eat your rice?
"Ahem... Well, my former boss and I are both completely aboveboard, so it seems a bit impolite of you to be wearing a mask!"
Wang Hao coughed lightly, feeling slightly embarrassed, and changed the subject, while also genuinely curious about the younger man's appearance.
He had heard a legend that women with flat chests have a high chance of being very beautiful. This girl was obviously super flat-chested, so she must be quite pretty.
After a brief silence, Ding Si removed his mask, revealing his previously concealed face.
The moment the mask was removed, Wang Hao was indeed amazed.
This girl is a score of 90 or above. If her figure were up to par, she could definitely score over 95.
"To send a beauty like you to be a spy for the Root Organization, the Third's heart is truly black!"
Wang Hao shook his head slightly, clearly disapproving of the Third Hokage's actions.
The work of a spy is extremely dangerous, especially within the Root Organization. Once exposed, it's difficult to even have a complete corpse, and one might even be subjected to cruel torture before death, which is far too cruel for a woman.
The fact that such a Pretty girl could be a spy clearly shows that the Third is no good.
"No, joining the Root Organization as a spy was entirely my own choice, and it has nothing to do with the Third Lord!"
Upon seeing that Wang Hao dared to slander and insult the Third Hokage, Ding Si immediately became enraged.
"Old leader, did you see that clearly? This is the brainwashing power of the Will of Fire. Any idiot who isn't quick-witted will definitely be brainwashed and fooled."
Wang Hao shrugged and gave his former leader Danzō Shimura, a helpless look.
There are countless ways to get a simple-minded idiot like that to volunteer as a spy, let alone a cunning old fox like the Third Hokage.
"No, I haven't been brainwashed. Wait, who are you calling an idiot?"
Ding Si hurriedly tried to explain, but only realized his mistake halfway through his sentence, and glared angrily at Wang Hao.
However, a beautiful woman is still a beautiful woman; even when she's angry, she doesn't evoke disgust but rather appears quite adorable.
This sight sent another chill down the spines of the surrounding Aburame ninjas. Was this guy really an elite ninja from their Root Organization?
"In short, I believe that under the leadership of the Third, Leaf will inevitably continue to decline, and in the end, it may even be difficult to choose a successor to the Hokage. We shouldn't push an elite Jonin into the position; that would be a laughingstock for the other four great ninja villages."
Ignoring the angry Ding Si, Wang Hao told his old leader his final conclusion.
"Nonsense! Leaf has grown stronger under the leadership of the Third Hokage; how could it possibly be weakening!"
Ding Si stared wide-eyed at Wang Hao, arguing vehemently against his words.
She would never allow this despicable man to insult the Third Lord.
"Hmph! Old leader, how many Jonin did Konoha have when the Second Leaf was in power, and how many do we have now?"
With a sneer, Wang Hao asked his former superior Danzō Shimura, across from him.
Jonin are the backbone of a ninja village and the strongest indicator of its strength. By ascertaining the number of Jonin, one can determine the foundation of a ninja village's power.
"When our teacher was in charge, there were 1,835 Jonin in the entire Leaf. Now there are 1,127 Jonin!"
Danzō uttered two chilling numbers. As an elder of Leaf, he naturally knew Leaf's own strength very well, even down to the individual members, including the Anbu.
" The Second Great Ninja War has just ended, Third Hokage..."
Ding Si was about to retort again, but his face suddenly turned pale halfway through his sentence, while Wang Hao smiled and revealed Ding Si's thoughts.
"We've been through the Second Great Ninja War, but the Second Hokage's era also saw the First Great Ninja War! And back then, the four great ninja villages all attacked Leaf, making the battle far more brutal than the Second Great Ninja War!"
War is cruel, especially a super war like the Great Ninja War. Even Kage Level shinobi may not be able to save their lives, let alone Jonin. Therefore, the sacrifices are considerable.
However, the ninja Body Refinement is most suitable for war, almost to the point of using war to sustain war, which can accelerate the growth of ninjas.
Therefore, for every Jonin who dies, there will be a successor who breaks through to become a Jonin, maintaining an overall dynamic balance.
Even if there is an overall decline, it will be kept within a certain range.
It is an undeniable fact that the number of Jonin in Leaf did decline significantly during the Third Hokage's tenure.
Danzō glanced at Wang Hao with a strange expression. He knew that the number of Jonin lost was mainly due to the Senju Clan.
The defeat at the Battle of Land of Whirlpools was orchestrated by him, with Dan Kato orchestrating it. How dare this guy bring that up?
However, regardless of the circumstances, the Senju Clan's affairs were tacitly approved by the Third Hokage, and the Third bears some responsibility for them.
"Hmph! Don't try to fool me. You were the one who caused the defeat in the Land of Whirlpools battlefield back then. Otherwise, Leaf wouldn't have lost so many ninjas."
Ding Si also realized that Tsunade had already discovered what Wang Hao's predecessor Dan Kato, had done. Although it was not made public, any Jonin was qualified to know.
Not to mention, she was a high-ranking Root Organization, so naturally she knew even more.
Danzō watched Wang Hao with great interest, wanting to see what the kid would say next.