Chapter 34

"What's going on?"

Having returned home, Sarutobi Hiruzen heard the uproar coming from outside, causing him to furrow his brow.

The Hokage's work is extremely busy, there's no doubt about that, especially since Sarutobi Hiruzen is a man of great confidence.

He believes he can manage every aspect of Konoha with perfect order, so almost all of the village's documents pass through his hands, allowing him to make judgments.

Undoubtedly, thanks to this approach, even though he's not the strongest Hokage in the history of Konoha, he definitely holds more power than most.

Perhaps only his teacher, the Second Hokage, was stronger than him.

In recent years, Sarutobi Hiruzen has had much to deal with, particularly since he asked Hyuga Hiashi to give up Hyuga Hizashi, after which his work became incredibly hectic.

On the one hand, he had to make various efforts to restore Konoha's credibility. His decision regarding Hyuga Hizashi had affected Konoha's reputation in the entire ninja world.

This blow also led to a drastic drop in the share of missions for Konoha, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had to work hard to restore Konoha's image in the ninja world.

On the other hand, there was pressure from the Hyuga clan.

In fact, not only the Hyuga clan, but probably every ninja clan in the village had some reservations about him in their hearts.

To put it bluntly, there's even a certain hostility!

If he dared to take action against the Hyuga clan this time, who knew whose head the butcher's knife would fall on next time?

The death of one can cause sorrow for another, this is inevitable.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not without solutions. To keep Konoha peaceful and these clans in check, the best method would be to make an example of one!

What could be more deterring than the disappearance of an unstable major clan, especially one which he himself didn't favor and for which he had ample information?

However, such an act, as the Hokage, he absolutely couldn't commit. Moreover, in order to maintain the village's stability, he had to show his willingness to compromise from all aspects.

Hence, at this point, the value of Danzo became entirely apparent.

Although all of this stemmed from him surrendering Hyuga Hizashi as a compromise, he did not regret his actions.

He was very clear about the choice between war and peace. If temporary weakness and compromise could give Konoha a chance to recover, he would not hesitate even more!

"For Konoha, even if it means bearing the brunt of criticism, this old man can accept it!"

"Knock, knock, knock."

Just then, the door to Sarutobi Hiruzen's room was knocked. Quickly, an ANBU ninja, after obtaining his permission, briskly walked in.

This ANBU ninja had silver hair. Wearing a mask, he kneeled on one knee upon entering, and said in a calm and low voice.

"Hokage-sama, there has been a fire at Training Ground Three, and it was caused intentionally."

"Caused intentionally?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen furrowed his brows, then he continued to ask.

"You should have received more information. Tell me, let me know what exactly is going on."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

This ANBU ninja nodded, then he continued to speak.

"According to the information, someone launched an attack on Uchiha Kaito of the Uchiha clan. However, those people were all taken down by Uchiha Kaito.

Many ninjas from Konoha have already rushed over. According to the description from the scene, the ones who were taken down were a group of people disguised as ANBU."

Uchiha Kaito was attacked? Had this youngster returned? And there were people disguised as ANBU?

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen realized that something was amiss. His eyebrows furrowed deeper: "Apart from this, is there any other information?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The ANBU operative continued to speak: "According to the information, today Uchiha Kaito was seen dining at Ichiraku Ramen and had a conversation with Naruto."

As he said this, the ANBU operative stopped, and Sarutobi Hiruzen understood the whole picture.

The so-called people disguised as ANBU were in fact operatives from the Root. Danzo was just trying to put pressure on Uchiha.

There were ANBU operatives within the Uchiha, but the ANBU's way of doing things was completely different from that of the Root.

Even if the Uchiha determined that the Root had made a move, if Kaito had gone missing without a trace, everything could be denied.

And the Uchiha, having suffered such a huge injustice, might take some radical action.

And that would be Konoha's opportunity to intervene. It might even lead to a split within the Uchiha between those who were peace-loving and those who were more assertive.

However, while the idea was nice, the reality was brutal.

The people Danzo sent were all taken down, which was indeed troublesome.

"I see." Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his temples in frustration, then stood up and said, "In that case, I'll go and see for myself."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The ANBU operative nodded, standing up and preparing to leave, only to be called back by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Did Danzo go?"

"He had already left when I arrived."

"What's the situation over there?"

"It seems, a standoff has already formed."

...

"Kaito, are you sure about what you said?"

Upon his arrival, Shisui looked at the shattered corpses on the ground and the clothing on the mangled bodies. He couldn't help but swallow.

He couldn't quite determine how many people were lying on the ground since the bodies were too terribly torn apart. Still, he knew there had to be more than ten people here.

Over ten people were taken down by Kaito alone, and they died so horrifically, which says a lot about the terrifying strength of Kaito.

What's most alarming is their attire - these people were obviously dressed as ANBU!

Not just Shisui, but the large group of Konoha ninja who arrived with him were stunned. Some of them had already subtly surrounded Kaito.

To attack ANBU so harshly would not be a pleasant thing within Konoha; it could even be considered extremely malicious.

However, after Kaito explained the situation, Shisui and the other ninjas couldn't help but furrow their brows.

"What else could it be?" Kaito shrugged, his expression helpless. "You're an ANBU, I naturally understand some of the ANBU's operational guidelines. And if these guys really had an issue with me, they wouldn't have sent so many people. Clearly, they were prepared to attack."

"Indeed." Kaito's words made Shisui nod in agreement.

Likewise, the surrounding ninjas sighed in relief. Even those who hadn't had dealings with the ANBU understood one thing.

Such a large group coming together was obviously not a simple matter of questioning or investigation. A team of this scale clearly aimed to corner someone to death!

"Everyone, step back."

However, at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out. Following that, a cold old man, his body wrapped in bandages, strode in.

Upon seeing this man, both Kaito and Shisui couldn't help but furrow their brows. Although they had different reasons for their displeasure, it was evident that neither of them liked this old man.

This old man was Danzo Shimura!

Danzo Shimura swept his gaze over everything around him, and his expression also became unsightly. He then glared coldly at Kaito and Shisui and growled.

"Uchiha Kaito, you attacked the Konoha's ANBU with such severity. Are you truly a shinobi of Konoha?"

"And who are you, spouting off here?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow at Danzo's words, disregarding Shisui's attempts to stop him, and retorted disdainfully.

"Whether I'm a shinobi of Konoha or not isn't for you to decide, is it?"

"Whether it's up to me or not, you can give it a try. All of you, listen to my command, seize him!"

Danzo seemed to have grown angry at Kaito as well, and he directly ordered all the ninjas present to take action.

However, unfortunately, Danzo Shimura was just Danzo Shimura. As the leader of the Foundation, he rarely made public appearances.

This resulted in the majority of the shinobi present hardly recognizing him. Under such circumstances, how could they heed Danzo's words?

At this moment, Kaito couldn't help but reveal a mocking smile. Just then, the chakra within his body began to surge, and his eyes turned blood red.

"Giving commands like a barking dog, without understanding the circumstances, without clarifying what has actually happened.

Who do you think you are, the Hokage?"

//

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