Chapter 4: Danzō: Hiruzen! You Will Regret This!

Chapter 4: Danzō: Hiruzen! You Will Regret This!

"'Uchiha Madara controlled Kurama with his Mangekyō Sharingan and used him as a mount. After the First Hokage defeated Madara, he held back immensely, subdued Kurama effortlessly, and finally, Uzumaki Mito sealed him within her body.'"

Menma's words were enough to make the listener grieve and the hearer weep.

"Hmph!"

The Nine-Tails turned away in displeasure, figuring 'out of sight, out of mind'. It took back its earlier thought – this guy was utterly detestable. Making its past sound so miserable.

If it weren't for the Sharingan, Wood Release, and Sealing Techniques being natural counters to Tailed Beasts, how could it possibly have been handled so easily by them? it grumbled internally.

As for little Naruto, his smile had vanished at some point, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

The big fox's plight resonated deeply with him.

Clearly a creature with emotions like humans, yet feared and hated for its appearance and power, treated as an unfeeling monster.

The big fox's suffering was even more tragic than his own.

First controlled by genjutsu, then sealed inside a body, deprived of freedom for decades.

For Kurama, who had endured such experiences, it was only natural to harbor negative emotions like aversion, anger, and hatred towards the humans who forcibly inflicted all this upon him.

"Big fox, how pitiful..." Naruto mumbled, looking up at the towering Nine-Tails.

The Nine-Tails, whose ears were pricked up eavesdropping, heard this and instantly bristled.

"ROAR! Brat! Who do you think this old fox is? I am the strongest Tailed Beast!!"

The Nine-Tails bared its teeth ferociously: "Your tiny body wouldn't even be enough to get stuck in my teeth, even sprinkled with cumin!"

Submissive towards Uzumaki Menma, but striking hard against Uzumaki Naruto! That was the Nine-Tails' current approach.

The Nine-Tails' voice was loud, making Naruto's ears ring.

But Naruto didn't show fear or terror as the Nine-Tails expected.

Because he empathized with the big fox.

He could sense the loneliness hidden deep within the big fox's tough exterior.

...

Hokage Tower, Hokage's Office.

Fierce arguing could be clearly heard from inside.

"Sarutobi! Why are you unwilling to hand the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki over to Root!?"

Shimura Danzō, leaning on his cane and covered in bandages, questioned furiously.

The only things that could agitate him like this were the Hokage position or the Uchiha.

And concerning the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, the reason was undoubtedly the former.

The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki – once he controlled this "nuclear bomb," the Hokage seat would be within his grasp.

"Danzō, I've said it many times."

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke calmly, detachedly: "Because he is the son of a hero, Minato's child, and also the inheritor of the Will of Fire."

Hearing this, Danzō grew even more furious.

This sanctimonious, utterly hypocritical guy, always talking about the Will of Fire.

But who didn't know the truth?

Konoha's Will of Fire had long become *your* 'Will of Fire'!

"Hiruzen, you're busy with administrative affairs daily, you simply have no time to teach him..." Danzō became increasingly agitated, spit flying, waving his cane.

"Only in Root can he receive better development! Only there can he realize his full potential!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored him, simply taking a slow drag from his pipe.

"Sarutobi! Are you even listening to me? You must hand the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki over to Root today..."

"Shimura Danzō!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen used his full name, interrupting Danzō's semi-threatening words and startling him.

"Are you finished?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes were clouded, his expression complex.

"If you're finished, go prepare to receive the delegation from the Cloud Village. Have your Root forces on alert at all times. I don't want a repeat of what happened three years ago."

Without waiting for Danzō's reply, he stood up and walked towards the window.

Smoke rose, obscuring the Third's face.

Danzō couldn't clearly see his expression or eyes, but those words sent a jolt of fear through his heart.

Three years ago, the Nine-Tails Rampage...

Root ninjas hadn't rushed to provide support immediately but instead followed Danzō's orders, choosing to monitor and obstruct the Uchiha clan.

"Sarutobi, what do you mean?"

Numerous thoughts flashed through Danzō's mind. Although extremely panicked internally, his face remained impassive.

"Three years ago, didn't you see the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes? It must have been the Uchiha who controlled the Nine-Tails! Everything I did was for Konoha!"

"I hope so."

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained noncommittal: "Naruto will not be handed over to you. Don't mention this matter again, otherwise, I wouldn't mind thoroughly investigating your Root."

Although Hiruzen didn't press further, Danzō didn't dare to persist.

Even with his face as thick as a city wall and his shrewdness, he was now both annoyed and guilty.

Colluding with the Rain Village, collaborating with Orochimaru, the First Hokage's cell experiments, plotting during the Nine-Tails Rampage...

If Sarutobi Hiruzen really wanted a thorough investigation, any one of these could get him killed eight hundred times over.

Although Sarutobi had tacitly approved of most of it, he had never directly interfered from start to finish.

This hypocritical fellow...

Danzō threw out a sentence in impotent rage: "You will regret this, Sarutobi!"

"Danzō, *I* am the Hokage!"

Hearing this, Danzō completely lost his composure, angrily slamming the door as he left.

Their conversation ended unpleasantly, once again concluding with Danzō's defeat.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe.

He knew his "friend" too well.

To say Danzō had no hand in the Nine-Tails Rampage was absolutely impossible.

For the Hokage position, he even dared to assassinate him, the Third; let alone the Fourth.

During the Nine-Tails Rampage back then, who leaked Kushina's delivery time?

And how did that masked man bypass Konoha's layered defenses?

If someone high up really colluded with outsiders, only Danzō was capable of such a thing.

If not for that incident back then, the Minato couple wouldn't have died, his wife Sarutobi Biwako wouldn't have died, and there would be no need to wait for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki to grow up again.

In that case, with the Minato couple acting as intermediaries, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Konoha wouldn't be as tense as it is now.

Danzō's calculations had worked out perfectly.

Eliminating the Fourth Hokage, framing the Uchiha clan, even depleting ANBU's strength while preserving Root's full combat power – it was more than killing two birds with one stone.

But despite all this, the Third hadn't imposed any punishment on Danzō.

Konoha needed darkness, needed Root, and couldn't afford any more loss of combat strength.

"Hooo~"

The Third's face was heavy and weary, seeming to age significantly in an instant.

He now only hoped that the alliance with the Cloud Village in the coming days would proceed smoothly.

Konoha truly couldn't afford any more losses.

"However, little Naruto is about to reach school age. If we can hold on until he grows up, Konoha will have a much easier time, right?"

Thinking of this, the Third took out a crystal ball.

Looking at the image on the crystal ball, he saw Naruto lying on Hokage Rock, taking a "short rest."

Seeing this, a gratified smile appeared on the Third's face: "It seems little Naruto has been quite lonely lately. Perhaps it's time for me to make an appearance."