For Konoha’s Sake, Lord Danzo!

"She really is capable. From the looks of it, Hyuga Kiyomi may even be a little stronger than Kakashi. Whether by status or strength, she is more than qualified to serve as Captain of the Military Police Force."

After receiving Kakashi’s report on what had happened within the Hyūga Clan, Tsunade nodded and praised Hyuga Kiyomi.

During the Jonin Meeting, Hyuga Kiyomi had also been the first to stand up and support her. Now that Hyuga Kiyomi had become the Hyūga Clan Head, if she was willing to lead the Hyūga Clan’s hidden strength in service of Konoha, Tsunade, as the Fifth Hokage, would certainly not mistreat the Hyūga Clan.

Yakushi Kabuto handed Tsunade a document at that moment, pushing up his glasses as he said, "Tsunade-sama, this is the reconstruction plan for the Military Police Force. It follows the Uchiha Clan’s organizational structure, with minor adjustments based on the Aburame, Hyūga, and Inuzuka Clans, as well as Ninja of civilian origin. If you find it suitable, you can summon the heads of the three clans for discussion."

The Military Police Force’s authority was still in the hands of the Anbu, and most of the Anbu were rather disobedient. Once Tsunade had established the Military Police Force, she intended to have it work with Root to weaken the current Anbu or rebuild it entirely.

Their refusal to obey her, the Fifth Hokage, in front of so many Ninja Clan heads had truly enraged Tsunade.

"Good work, Kabuto. But why are you being so proactive this time?"

After taking the document, Tsunade suddenly asked in confusion. Normally, Yakushi Kabuto would only take the initiative to finish something after she assigned it to him.

She had not even mentioned the Military Police Force yet, but Yakushi Kabuto had already completed its operational plan in advance.

"Kabuto, did that guy Orochimaru take this chance to ask you to do something? Is that why you were so proactive in preparing the Military Police Force? Are you trying to use this opportunity to gather intelligence on the Hyūga Clan?" Tsunade asked, one slender brow raised.

Hearing that, Yakushi Kabuto hurriedly scratched his head. "Well, Tsunade-sama, Lord Orochimaru told me not to tell you. He said that if you learned of his plans, you would definitely sabotage them in secret. And Lord Orochimaru said he would not go back on his agreement with you."

"Tch, that bastard Orochimaru doesn’t trust me. That’s really infuriating."

After saying that, Tsunade stormed out. Before leaving, she casually placed the unfinished documents on Yakushi Kabuto’s desk.

Seeing Tsunade leave angrily, apparently off to cause trouble for someone, Yakushi Kabuto finally let out a slight sigh of relief. But after a while, when he saw the extra documents on his desk, he suddenly realized, "Tsunade-sama used an excuse to slip away again!!"

Before leaving Konoha for Daimyo Manor, Sarutobi Hiruzen mulled things over at home for a long time before ultimately arriving at the Shimura Clan’s compound. Though it was called a clan compound, it was small in area and had few houses. When Shimura Danzō’s Root had been restricted and struggled to develop, he had largely replenished Root with members of the Shimura Clan.

As a result, the Shimura Clan had now declined severely. They still had Ninja, but there were very few Jonin among them.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw the Shimura Clan’s current state, he could not help sighing inwardly. His old comrade still had not understood the true essence of being a Kage.

Blindly expanding Root’s strength was useless. With a single appointment order, the Hokage could openly strip Root of its authority. Only the strength of one’s clan, outside Konoha’s Ninja system, could be completely controlled.

If Danzō had used Root to develop the Shimura Clan, then with his status as both a Ninja Clan Head and Root leader, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have been deeply wary of him. He would not have been able to dismiss him whenever he pleased as before.

When he arrived at Shimura Danzō’s house, two Anbu from the Sarutobi Clan stood guard outside. After seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen, they recalled what Kimimaro had said and initially wanted to stop him. But Sarutobi Hiruzen recognized them, nodded, and walked inside.

Seeing this, the two Anbu at the door gave up on stopping him. Though they would soon be transferred to Root, as Ninja from the Sarutobi Clan, they still had some confidence in their backing. Besides, the person visiting Shimura Danzō was the former Hokage. Could Kimimaro really dare to make trouble for him?

Once inside, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his vision darken. Danzō had drawn all the curtains and left the lights off, making the room extremely dim.

Just like his old Root base.

"Danzō."

"Hiruzen, why are you here?" Danzō asked with a slight frown after seeing who had entered.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took out his pipe and lit it. After taking a puff, he slowly said, "There is something concerning you that I need to tell you."

"What is it? It seems the Fifth Hokage is finally going to punish Old Man. Go on, then. What does she plan to do with Old Man?"

Danzō snorted and asked. She wanted nothing more than to use the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki as an excuse to punish him. But now that he had been stripped of all his positions, what else could Tsunade do to him?

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly sighed. Even for him, persuading an old comrade to voluntarily die was difficult to say aloud.

"Since the Third Hokage finds it difficult to speak, why not let me persuade Lord Danzo instead?"

Suddenly, someone else entered from outside. The room was so dark that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō could not identify him at first. They only found his voice extremely familiar. But once he turned on the lights, the two of them clearly saw who he was.

"Yakushi Kabuto!"

Hearing Danzō pronounce his name one syllable at a time, Yakushi Kabuto smiled as he pushed up his glasses. "It seems Lord Danzo holds quite a grudge against me. But this time, I have come on Tsunade-sama’s behalf to persuade Lord Danzo, because the Third Hokage seems unable to say this matter aloud."

This matter?

Danzō glanced suspiciously at Sarutobi Hiruzen. Noticing his old comrade’s gaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen slightly turned his head away.

"Say what you came to say. Old Man may have fallen low, but I am not someone a person like you can toy with." Danzō rapped his cane against the floor and spoke coldly.

Yakushi Kabuto had originally come from the Konoha Orphanage. He had been recruited into Root by Danzō, survived mutual slaughter with Yakushi Nonō, and later been assigned to investigate Orochimaru’s whereabouts. But he had never found any trace of Orochimaru, until he learned that Yakushi Kabuto had gained Tsunade’s favor and become the Hokage’s assistant.

He climbed aboard Tsunade’s ship, and now he has come here to mock Old Man, Danzō thought disdainfully. Back then, he had been nothing but a minor figure whom Danzō had manipulated. Now that he had risen to power, this was all he could do.

"Since Lord Danzo has that resolve, then I will speak."

Yakushi Kabuto said with a smile, "Konoha truly cannot wage another war. During the Jonin Meeting, Tsunade-sama decided to negotiate peace with the Saudi Federation. But to quell the Fifth Kazekage’s anger, Lord Danzo will need to make a small personal sacrifice. After all, Root’s Ninja killed the Saudi Federation’s Kazekage’s Assistant. With Lord Danzo’s resolve and love for Konoha, you should agree, shouldn’t you?"

A personal sacrifice?

Danzō narrowed his eyes slightly, and a thought instantly formed in his mind.

Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses and continued smiling. "That’s right, just as Lord Danzo is thinking. To quell the Saudi Federation’s anger, Lord Danzo should follow Hizashi Hyuga’s example. That way, Lord Danzo can preserve his own good name while also sparing Konoha from a wartime disaster. It is simply… perfect."

"What do you think, Lord Danzo?"

Like Hizashi Hyuga? They wanted to force him to die?

Danzō narrowed his eyes and looked toward Sarutobi Hiruzen. But Sarutobi Hiruzen did not step in to save him. When Danzō’s gaze fell upon him, he turned his head elsewhere.

"Hiruzen, is this what Tsunade means?"

"Danzō… Konoha truly cannot continue starting wars," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a sigh. Though he did not answer directly, he had told Danzō what the village meant.

There was no helping it. Sarutobi Hiruzen truly could not save Danzō, unless he was willing to personally assemble a Ninja troop and funding to wage war against the Saudi Federation.

"Fine… fine…"

Danzō was so furious that his chest heaved like a bellows. He had never imagined that one day, he too would be forced to die for such a reason. Root was gone, the Hokage position was gone, and now they wanted him to die for Konoha.

Thinking of this, Danzō gripped his cane tightly and stared at Yakushi Kabuto with eyes full of Killing Intent.

"Ah…"

Two muffled groans of pain suddenly came from outside, and then Kimimaro pushed open the door and walked in.

Upon seeing Kimimaro, Yakushi Kabuto asked, "You used the Curse Mark so quickly?"

"Yes. Root’s tasks require secrecy, and they did not understand the rules," Kimimaro said flatly. The Curse Mark he had just used was taught to him by Lord Orochimaru. It was very similar to the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, except Kimimaro could control it to take the lives of those marked by it.

This was Kimimaro’s first time testing it on two Ninja from the Sarutobi Clan. Later, he would place Curse Marks on every Root Ninja. This Curse Mark would also overwrite the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal, making Danzō completely lose control over the Root Ninja.

"Kimimaro, you actually dared to do that to your comrades in the village…"

"Placing Curse Marks on Root’s Ninja is a village rule, isn’t it, Third Hokage?" Yakushi Kabuto interrupted Sarutobi Hiruzen with a cheerful smile. "After all, it was Lord Danzo who started the rule of placing Curse Marks on Root Ninja."

But those were Ninja from the Sarutobi Clan!

Sarutobi Hiruzen fumed inwardly. He knew he could not say that out loud. Otherwise, the Sarutobi Clan’s Ninja would likely have no future in any village position. They could not even endure receiving a Curse Mark for the sake of contributing to the village? Then they should go home and stop being Ninja.

Yakushi Kabuto smiled. "All right, I have conveyed the matter. Given Lord Danzo’s resolve and love for Konoha, he will surely agree. The negotiation team will depart in two days. I will leave the rest to you, Kimimaro."

"Yes. I will dispatch Root Ninja to escort him," Kimimaro said calmly. With a few simple words, Danzō’s death sentence had been pronounced. Before departure, they would certainly seal Danzō’s entire chakra network and brain, then have him follow behind the negotiation team.

If the Fifth Kazekage agreed to negotiate peace, the Root members would give Danzō a stab and send over his corpse. If she refused, they would likely encounter an attack by Suna-nin.

Before leaving, Kimimaro paused and turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Third Hokage, if you intend to visit someone guarded by Root in the future, please submit an application. Other than Tsunade-sama, everything must follow the rules."

Except Lord Orochimaru… and Lord Mirai, Kimimaro silently added in his heart. He then left directly. The guards outside were also replaced with a small squad of Root Ninja. Before the replacement, Kimimaro had placed Curse Marks on them as well.

This way, the lives of the Root Ninja were completely under Kimimaro’s control. Orochimaru had asked Uzumaki Ayaka to research this Curse Mark. Though he knew some Curse Marks himself, he could not create one capable of overwriting the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

After Kimimaro and Yakushi Kabuto left, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know what to say to his old friend. Some time ago, when he learned that something had happened to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he truly had wanted to kill Danzō. But seeing Danzō’s current treatment, all his anger had vanished.

"Danzō, take care of yourself."

With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen prepared to leave. He too had to head for Daimyo Manor to discuss funding.

"Hiruzen, wait." Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to leave, Danzō suddenly called out to him in a low voice. "Help me one last time."

Although Kikyo Castle was still under Konoha’s control, if reinforcements did not arrive soon, this important stronghold would be worn down bit by bit by the Suna-nin.

After receiving news that the village intended to negotiate peace with the Saudi Federation, Kikyo Castle’s commander immediately breathed a sigh of relief. If the fighting continued, he would have no choice but to lead all the Konoha Ninja and die here.

The front-line commander of Kikyo Castle then hurriedly sent an envoy to the Saudi Federation, informing them that the peace negotiation team was on its way and hoping for a temporary ceasefire.

After considering it, Pakura also decided to agree to a temporary ceasefire. But if Konoha did not give her a satisfactory answer, then even at the cost of the Kazekage’s prestige, she would make Konoha pay the price.

Hyuga Mirai did not concern himself with the war on the front line. Instead, he went to the Saudi Federation, intending to extract some Tailed Beast Chakra from Gaara.

Gaara was now in his third year at the Federation Ninja Academy. After Second Pillar and Uzumaki Naruto enrolled, they would join Gaara’s class. Furthermore, without Rasa’s ridiculous schemes, though Gaara and his siblings had lost their parents, they had received no shortage of care in their daily lives.

No matter how busy Yashamaru was, he returned every day to make dinner for the three siblings. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were also the Kazekage’s disciples, so no one in the Federation bullied them. Since the seal on Gaara had been reinforced, no one spoke cruelly to him about the Tailed Beast either.

It was just that Gaara’s personality was a little too kind, like a younger version of Obito. He often liked helping others and forgot to train.

The Anbu around Gaara were no trouble at all for Hyuga Mirai. Android 18’s surveillance over the Saudi Federation was second only to Rōran. If the Anbu protecting Gaara blinked a few times, Hyuga Mirai knew it perfectly clearly.

After infiltrating Gaara’s home, Hyuga Mirai cast an Illusion Technique on the three siblings, then extracted half of the Tailed Beast Chakra from Gaara’s body.

Doing so might leave Gaara weakened for a while, but Hyuga Mirai used Yang Release to treat him, allowing him to recover completely. This way, only Shukaku himself would remain weakened for some time.