Chapter 39: The Divide Deepens

"Hiruzen!" Danzo's cold voice sounded. "I want to add... No, I want to expand the Roots!"

The Third Hokage raised his eyebrows, as he smoked a cigarette. After a long time, he sighed deeply and said: "Okay, I will give the order. The logistics department will provide you with the corresponding supplies."

Danzo was not surprised. He said slowly: "I still need a group of ninjas to join the Root."

This time, the Hokage did not hesitate and asked directly: "Who?"

Danzo handed over a list of names.

After reading it, the Third Hokage crossed out a few names with a pen and then returned the list to Danzo.

Danzo didn't care, picked up the list and left. He only left one sentence as he left: "I will help you warn the Hyuga clan!"

"Ah…" The Third Hokage sighed deeply.

The Root suffered a big loss this time. Of the twenty jonin and special jonin, only five belonged to the ANBU, and all the others were from the Root. The Root had suffered a great blow.

Faced with the constant advance of the Uchiha, the power of the Root was crucial. But, thinking of that list, he couldn't help but sigh deeply. He knows Danzo's methods. How many ninjas on the list can survive?

"Ah..." The Third Hokage stood up, looked out the window at the streets of Konoha, sighed deeply, and said: "Why is this happening?"

…

After Danzo left the Hokage's office, he went directly to the Hyuga family.

At the Hyuga clan, Hiashi was furious and almost had a head-on conflict with Danzo.

But Danzo stood his ground. Although he came to the Hyuga clan alone, he threw threatening words in front of everyone and did not take the Hyuga clan seriously at all.

He was sure that the Hyuga clan would not dare to resist. That's what Konoha's higher-ups thought of the Hyuga clan. They had always been like this.

"Hyuga clan, don't make a mistake, otherwise, only destruction awaits you!" Danzo threw these last words and left.

Looking at Danzo's back, Hiashi showed a cold look. Over the years, Danzo has also recruited many people from the Hyuga clan to join the Root.

Although the Root also belongs to the ANBU, and it seems glorious, but after joining, you completely lost your dignity. This is why a large number of ninjas reject the Root.

A member of the Hyuga clan asked with concern: "Leader, what is going on? Why is Danzo targeting the Hyuga clan?"

They had always been obedient. They had even expelled and sacrificed the leader of the family branch. What else do you want?

The elders of the clan were also a little angry.

Hiashi said coldly: "He hints that someone in the Hyuga clan is collaborating with the Uchiha."

"That's impossible!"

The Hyuga clan elder exclaimed: "Who would associate with those madmen? And furthermore..."

And furthermore, the village leaders had made it clear that they wanted the Hyuga clan to lead the crackdown against the Uchiha. They weren't stupid, they could see it clearly. And they were willing to do it.

One of the reasons is to gain the favor of the village's higher-ups, in addition to wanting to become the strongest clan in Konoha.

Both clans possessed powerful dojutsu, which is why the Hyuga clan was not willing to be suppressed by the Uchiha clan.

How could their two clans that had been holding each other back for years collaborate?

Hiashi frowned slightly and said in a low voice: "According to Danzo, it seems that I am collaborating with the Uchiha."

"This…" The Hyuga clan elder was surprised and asked cautiously: "Leader, are you really collaborating with the Uchiha?"

Hiashi looked at the Hyuga clan elder, with a mocking smile: "What's wrong, elder? Why do you think I would collaborate with the Uchiha?"

The clan elder was embarrassed, but a bit of doubt could still be seen in his eyes.

Why? The answer was simple: Hyuga Hizashi. Hiashi's younger brother. As the head of the branch family, he was sacrificed by the Hyuga clan for the sake of Konoha.

At that time, Hiashi caused a huge stir, which was quelled by the Hokage and the Hyuga clan together. Could it be that he wanted to avenge his brother?

"Leader, what should we do?" the clan elder asked: "Danzo is asking us to prove ourselves, does he want us..."

"Hmm!" Hiashi said indifferently: "He wants us to take the initiative to deal with the Uchiha clan."

"Then what should we do?" The clan elder asked directly.

Hiashi looked at him and said coldly, "What? Do you really want to take action against the Uchiha clan?"

The clan elder said matter-of-factly: "This is an order from the top, how can we disobey it?"

Hiashi's words were even colder: "That is the Uchiha clan."

"And what?" The elder of the Hyuga clan didn't care at all: "We are a clan with one of the most powerful dojutsu, how could we be in a worse position than the Uchiha? Plus we have more than thirty Jonin."

"Very well said!" Hiashi said approvingly: "In that case, how about we let the Elder lead the team?"

The clan elder showed a hesitant expression and frowned. "Clan leader, I am from the main family. My existence is to protect the Byakugan and promote our lineage."

"The branch members are the ones who should go into battle and protect the main family. That is their responsibility."

"Oh really?" Hiashi responded nonchalantly, "It must be very hard for you to take on such a heavy task, Elder."

"You... hum!" The clan elder waved his sleeves fiercely and said: "And what do you plan to do with the Uchiha? Hiashi, don't forget that you are the head of the Hyuga clan... Everything you do must focus on the clan."

Hiashi took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Don't worry, I am well aware of my position. Therefore, at this time, the Hyuga clan should remain calm and not provoke the Uchiha."

The clan elder frowned and said, "But the higher-ups in the village..."

Hiashi said coldly: "The Uchiha clan is already giving them enough trouble, how are they going to have time to cause trouble for the Hyuga clan?"

"Also, compared to that, what I'm most curious about is why Danzo thinks I have an alliance with the Uchiha."

Hiashi frowned, his expression filled with confusion. Among all the leaders of the big clans in the village, he was the most dissatisfied with the Hokage and the others.

Although Hyuga Hizashi had the responsibility of protecting the clan, it was still his younger brother who was sacrificed like that. Where is the Will of Fire that the Hokage wrote in the ninja school textbook?

The clan elder tried to probe: "Are you really collaborating with the Uchiha?"

Hiashi looked at him coldly.

The Clan Elder had a stern expression and whispered: "Clan Leader, I think we should still obey the village's orders, at least cause some trouble to the Uchiha clan and let the village superiors see our attitude, otherwise ..."

Compared to the Uchiha clan, he seemed to have a greater fear towards the Hokage and the others.

"Hmph!" Hiashi snorted coldly and said, "We don't know what the current strength of the Uchiha clan is. If we act recklessly, do you really think those red eyes are easy to bully?"

Are Uchiha easy to deal with? Crap! If it were that easy, Danzo would have already taken action. The Darkness of the Shinobi doesn't understand what it means to be merciful.

Oh wait, that's already happened. They simply failed and were harshly counterattacked.

Danzo came to visit him, probably because of this. Therefore, the orders of Konoha's leaders meant nothing to Hiashi.

Back to the original question again, why do people like Danzo think that he is collaborating with Uchiha? Hiashi instinctively felt that there was something strange. Looking at the clan elder who wanted to say something else, Hiashi sighed.

"Elder, let me tell you the truth, the Hyuga clan not only cannot be enemies of Uchiha, but to some extent, they must also support Uchiha."

"Why?" The clan elder was dumbfounded.

Are you trying to go against the village?

Hiashi spoke in a low voice. "Do you think, if Uchiha falls, who will be the village's next target?"

"The Hyuga Clan!" The clan elder responded immediately, but then broke out in cold sweat. "No way? They would attack the Hyuga clan…"

Hiashi said, "Of all the clans in the village, which one has more than thirty Jonin? Only the Hyuga and the Uchiha. That fact alone is enough to make them distrust us."

"So, we can't touch Uchiha, but we have to help each other secretly, so that the other party can continue to be in front and face the Hokage and others."

Watching the clan elder silently. Hiashi said, "I know what you mean. That the Hokage and the others wouldn't do something like that. But I will also tell you that I am the leader of the Hyuga clan, and I must consider all possibilities."

"There is no room to take risks, so maintaining the status quo is best."

"All right..." The clan elder was persuaded.

Seeing this, Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief, but secretly complained in his mind.

Could the Hyuga clan compete with the Uchiha? That someone believed those words. Devils! Is it a pig perhaps? If the Uchiha take out fifteen Jonin, that would be enough to take down the thirty-odd Jonin of the Hyuga clan.

Especially in terms of elite forces. In the entire Hyuga clan, there are few elite Jonin, including Hiashi. Hizashi who was sacrificed was one of the few high-level fighters in the clan. As for Kage level shinobi, that was many years ago.

On the other hand in the Uchiha clan, Fugaku and Funan are probably all Kage level. During the chaos earlier, Hiashi had briefly used his Byakugan to secretly watch them. And what he saw left him amazed. There are also Uchiha Yashiro and others, who are proper elite jonin.

This is the ninja clan that Konoha's top leaders need to be afraid of. As for the Hyuga Clan... hehehe.

"However, if I really reveal that I want to cooperate with the Uchiha clan, will you be anxious Sarutobi Hiruzen? You are forcing me to do this. Who makes Shimura Danzo come to be an eyesore in the Hyuga clan?" Hiashi's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness.

…

[Bang!]

Yamanaka Inoichi hit the table hard, shattering it instantly. Everything on the table fell to the floor, creating a mess.

Nara Shikaku said with evident agony in his voice: "That was an excellent tea I bought in the Land of Tea."

Inoichi looked at him sternly and said angrily: "Are you still thinking about that tea at a time like this?"

Shikaku drank his tea calmly and replied, "This is something I've thought about for a while."

Everything was happening exactly as Shikaku had anticipated.

Just now, a list had been sent to them from the Root ordering all the people on that list to report immediately.

If they asked for just a few people, Ino-Shika-Cho wouldn't say anything. This is to be expected, after all, the Root losses are huge, and Danzo is in urgent need of personnel replacement. At this time, it was also not possible for the Hokage to abandon the Root.

However, that list is really too long.

Inoichi couldn't help but lose his composure. "Stop talking nonsense!"

Inoichi said coldly: "It's fine for both of your clans. But my Yamanaka clan is Danzo's main recruiting target. Look at this list. From the juniors to the adults, he doesn't intend to leave anyone."

"Why don't he take me too? Or better yet, why don't I take the entire Yamanaka Clan to the Root and let Danzo become the leader of the Yamanaka Clan?"

Shikaku sneered: "Danzo is very picky and won't accept ordinary people."

Akimichi Choza glanced at the list and shook his head: "It's really excessive. If we send the people on the list to the Root, the Yamanaka Clan will suffer a huge blow and will not recover for decades. Shikaku, this won't work."

"I know!" Shikaku said calmly: "Let us reject this. Let us sign on behalf of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans."

"In other words, if people from the Ino-Shika-Cho clans are needed, there will not be any. If money is required, not a single Ryo will be given."

"Good!" They both seemed more confident.

They all know what this means. The Ino-Shika-Cho clans had a gap with the Third Hokage. This time, the gap will continue to widen.

The two of them couldn't help but feel a little worried. At a time when the conflict between the Hokage faction and the Uchiha is likely to break out, Ino-Shika-Cho's behavior is equivalent to a backstab.

If the Uchiha clan is destroyed, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans will definitely be punished. They might even be eliminated before the Uchiha were eliminated.

Shikaku noticed the concerns of both of them, smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, this time, Ino-Shika-Cho are not the only clans that will reject Danzo."

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