188. Go Ahead and Do It While You're Still Young

Having obtained what he wanted, Danzo naturally had no intention of causing further trouble.

Although he was radical, he also did not wish to see the village fall into a state of division.

Such a situation would only lead to unnecessary depletion of the village's strength.

Of course, if someone refused to listen, Danzo would have no choice but to show them what it meant to be the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

In any case, with both Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen taking a step back and compromising, the war clouds that had loomed over Konoha in recent days finally dissipated.

Many people were unaware that, in the blink of an eye, a great disaster had narrowly passed them by.

If either Danzo or the Third Hokage had refused to back down, Konoha would have been plunged into complete division.

At that point, Konoha's formidable power would have split into two factions, engaging in a terrifying battle.

No matter who won, Konoha would inevitably be left weakened.

Once Konoha showed signs of weakness, the nations that had just signed treaties with it—such as the Land of Water and the Land of Wind—might not have been so willing to honor their agreements.

Danzo believed that, given the personalities of Rasa and Yagura, they would most likely have torn up the treaties and even launched a new round of attacks on Konoha.

This external environment was also one of the reasons Danzo chose to compromise.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Danzo went straight to Minato Namikaze's home.

After numerous collaborations, Danzo and Minato had developed a fairly amicable relationship.

They had moved beyond the typical superior-subordinate dynamic and had instead formed a relationship more akin to that of a mentor and protégé.

Minato was quite surprised by Danzo's visit but warmly invited him in.

"Kushina, Lord Danzo is here," Minato called into the house.

As the Jonin Commander, Minato did not live in a luxurious mansion but rather in a modest apartment.

Though small, it was cozy.

Hearing Minato's call, a head popped out from inside.

"Lord Danzo is here?"

Kushina's red hair was a mess, and she looked far from the image of a proper housewife.

She still seemed like the mischievous girl she had been in her youth, and her clothes were not even properly arranged.

Seeing this, Danzo frowned and coughed lightly.

Hearing this authoritative sound, Kushina's face stiffened.

She hurriedly closed the door, leaving Danzo and Minato outside.

Then, from behind the door, her voice rang out:

"Please wait a moment."

Hearing this, Minato helplessly rubbed his forehead.

"I'm really sorry, Lord Danzo. Kushina is just like this—impulsive and careless."

Danzo glanced at Minato and said, "It must be tough being Kushina's husband."

Hearing this, Minato chuckled. "Actually, Kushina has quite a few good qualities..."

Before he could finish, the door opened again.

Kushina, using her immense strength, pulled Minato inside.

She gave Danzo an apologetic smile and said, "Lord Danzo, please wait just a little longer!"

Then, with another slam, the door closed.

From inside, Danzo could hear Kushina's voice.

"Help me clean up, Minato! There's too much stuff!"

After about five minutes of frantic tidying, the door finally opened again.

"Welcome, Lord Danzo!" Kushina said with a polite smile.

Minato stood beside her, smiling awkwardly.

Danzo's gaze swept past them and into the room.

With the help of the "Yellow Flash," the room had been cleaned up spotlessly.

Danzo rubbed his temples and sighed.

"If the enemies you killed on the battlefield knew that the 'Yellow Flash' was using his proud speed to do this, they'd probably be so frustrated they couldn't sleep in the Pure Land."

Minato scratched his head awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

Kushina, however, boldly slung an arm around her husband's shoulder and said cheerfully, "If Minato can't even keep the house clean, how could he sweep through enemies on the battlefield?"

"Right, Lord Danzo?"

Faced with Kushina's antics, Danzo simply smiled.

"It's getting late. I'll shamelessly impose on you for a meal," Danzo said without hesitation.

Kushina's face lit up with joy.

"Great! Then I'll let Lord Danzo experience my cooking skills today!"

Hearing this, Minato, the battlefield hero, paled slightly.

It seemed that Kushina's cooking was something he found particularly terrifying.

Just as he was about to say something, Kushina tightly wrapped her arm around his neck.

Her murderous gaze silenced whatever Minato was about to say.

Seeing this, Danzo felt a sense of foreboding.

Soon, his premonition was confirmed.

Looking at the blackened dishes on the table, Danzo's expression stiffened.

"I heard from Minato that you live alone, Lord Danzo. You probably haven't had a home-cooked meal in a long time, right?"

"Today, eat to your heart's content! My cooking will definitely make you feel the warmth of home!"

Kushina stood with her hands on her hips, full of confidence.

Danzo swallowed hard, a rare look of discomfort on the face of the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

"Actually... I'm not very hungry."

Hearing this, Kushina frowned.

"Does Lord Danzo dislike my cooking?"

Danzo rubbed his temples and reluctantly picked up his chopsticks.

Since Kushina had put it that way, it would be impolite not to at least try.

But after taking a bite, Danzo felt that sometimes, it wasn't necessary to be so concerned with politeness.

Because the food was... unbearably salty!

It was so salty that Danzo felt as though he had taken a bite of pure salt.

"How is it, Lord Danzo?" Kushina asked eagerly.

Danzo forced a stiff smile.

"Not bad."

Then, he glanced out the window, his eyes narrowing as a cold, murderous aura emanated from him.

"However, it seems there's an urgent matter at the Root that I need to attend to!"

"Forgive my rudeness!"

With that, Danzo stood up and headed for the door without giving Kushina a chance to respond.

Seeing this, Minato glanced at the dishes on the table and quickly said to Kushina, "I'll see Lord Danzo off. I'll be back soon!"

Before Kushina could stop him, Minato demonstrated the incredible speed of the "Yellow Flash."

In an instant, he was out of the house and caught up with Danzo.

"I'm really sorry, Lord Danzo. Kushina's culinary skills are... somewhat limited," Minato said apologetically as he caught up at a street corner.

No matter what, serving such food to a guest was incredibly rude.

Danzo licked his still-salty lips and sighed.

"It's fine. I didn't come here for the meal anyway."

Hearing this, Minato became serious.

With the village currently in a critical period of power struggle between two factions, Danzo's personal visit was certainly not a trivial matter.

Although Minato was reluctant to be drawn into the vortex of power struggles, he had a better impression of Danzo, with whom he had fought side by side.

"Does Lord Danzo have any instructions for me?"

Danzo looked at him, as if seeing through Minato's thoughts.

"Are you worried that I'm here to ask you to pick a side?"

Minato was momentarily speechless, then wiped his nose and admitted honestly, "A little."

Danzo chuckled.

"Don't worry. The Third and I have reached an understanding. The village won't be divided, and you won't be put in a difficult position."

Hearing this, Minato breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, his greatest concern was that the two titans above would clash, ultimately affecting the entire village.

If they could reach a compromise, that would be for the best.

But then, Danzo said something that made his heart skip a beat.

"The Third and I have agreed to nominate you as the next Hokage."

Hearing this, Minato was stunned.

Winter was approaching, and the cold wind blew against him, but he didn't seem to notice.

After a long while, he pointed at himself.

"Me? As Hokage?"

Becoming Hokage had always been Minato's dream, but no one had said it would happen so soon!

He had only been the Jonin Commander for a few months.

Now, he was being directly promoted to Hokage? This was faster than a rocket!

Even those who got positions through connections weren't this fast!

It took Minato a while to recover.

"Why me?"

"There are many in the village with more experience, right?"

"Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru..."

"And you, Lord Danzo."

Seeing Minato's self-doubt, Danzo patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry. If we've chosen you, it means you have the potential and ability to become Hokage."

"From now on, if there's anything you don't understand, I'll teach you."

Danzo looked into Minato's eyes, as if carrying a sense of historical mission.

"Go ahead and do it while you're still young!"

"If anything goes wrong, at least we old folks will be here to back you up, right?"

_

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