Chapter 22: As the Hokage, My Power is Limitless

"188..."

"189..."

"200!!!"

 "Bang!"

 Naruto once again slammed his face into the ground.

 The nosebleed that he had just managed to stanch now gushed forth again, but he no longer had the strength to wipe it away.

 He had to let the blood flow freely on the ground.

 His entire body was practically in a state of near exhaustion.

 "Gurararara! Can you only do 200 push-ups? Cough, cough—" 

 Whitebeard coughed twice. His aged body, which hadn't been hydrated for days, finally began to feel a bit uncomfortable. 

 However, he paid no attention to his own discomfort.

 Wearing a smile, Whitebeard sat near the river and playfully joked. "You fooish a son! With this level of endurance, you'll never become the Hokage of Konoha!"

 Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes.

 Who would have thought that becoming the Hokage would be so challenging?

 He clenched his teeth and struggled to get back up.

 Surprisingly, he was able to stand up, although he appeared unsteady and could fall over at any time. 

 "Pops!" Naruto's determination to become the "Hokage" was profound.

 He wiped the blood from his face with determination and said, 

 "I've rested enough! Please, let's continue with the next phase of training!"

 "Gurararararara!" Whitebeard exclaimed with satisfaction. "You're growing up, my foolish son!"

 On the other side, Uchiha Itachi didn't follow Whitebeard's training method for Sasuke, which left the slightly competitive Sasuke feeling a bit disappointed.

 Then, much to Itachi's surprise, 

 Sasuke voluntarily adopted Naruto's training approach.

 "Sasuke, you might hurt yourself," Itachi said, completely caught off guard by his younger brother's determination.

 After all, Naruto was a Jinchuriki, and his physical constitution was quite special.

 As for Sasuke, he was an Uchiha, and his most distinguishing feature was his Sharingan. How could he compete in terms of physical fitness?

 "Hmph! If my brother won't teach me to be a ninja, I'll do it myself!" Sasuke thought he was pretty capable, but he soon realized he wasn't as skilled as he had believed.

 A few minutes later.

 "Ah!!!!" Wah, wah, wah! Brother, my wrist hurts so much!"

 "Brother, my arm hurts!"

 "Brother, my foot hurts!"

 "Big brother" "I can't move!"

 Itachi : "..."

 .....

 Meanwhile,

 At the Root Base.

 Even though it was broad daylight, the Root Base was still dim and damp inside, making it look like nighttime. It was difficult for anyone with normal sense to stay there for an extended period.

 Clearly,

 There were no ordinary people within the Root Base.

 "Danzo-sama!" Several Root ninjas brought several large buckets and placed them in front of Danzo. These buckets were left uncovered, and a strong stench of blood wafted from them.

 One of the Root Jonin lowered his head and reported to Danzo, "We've found all our people, they're all in these buckets."

 Looking at the buckets, 

 Danzo fell into silence.

 He walked up slowly and glanced at one of the large buckets. Inside, he could clearly see human body parts soaked and turned pale. Getting closer, he could even detect the smell of a sewer.

 It was disgusting!

 "We interrogated some of the residents on that street. They mentioned that there was indeed significant commotion last night. The 'wind, fire, flood,' and such that they talked about, we believe those were jutsu our people used."

 The Root Jounin paused, then continued, facing Danzo's intense gaze. "However, they also mentioned there was an earthquake that devastated the entire street."

 "Earthquake?" Danzo asked with a sidelong glance. "Was it an Earth Release jutsu?"

 The Root Jonin shook his head. "According to our thorough investigation, it doesn't appear to be an earthquake caused by Earth Release jutsu."

 Danzo's brow furrowed deeply.

 His complexion didn't look good at all.

 One of the Root assassination teams that he had painstakingly cultivated had now turned into chunks of flesh in those buckets. Such a situation would be deeply upsetting for anyone.

 Especially...

 The deaths of these dozen or so Root ninjas were unknown. How could they be overpowered by an outsider? 

 What a bunch of incompetents! !

 With this group of incompetents in the Root, how could they ever protect the well-being of Konoha?

 Their deaths were deserved!

 In truth, Danzo knew he had been careless. He hadn't taken the time to gather intelligence on this Whitebeard, but who could have foreseen such a formidable figure being placed in Konoha?

 "Danzo!" Just at that moment, a voice unexpectedly broke in, sounding quite familiar to Danzo.

 "Sarutobi"

 Danzo was taken aback. The Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had found his way here, entering the Root Base without any formal announcement.

 Indeed, the visitor was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen!

 He had come to demand answers.

 "Danzo-sama, I'm sorry..." A few of the Root members standing behind Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered their heads, unable to meet Danzo's gaze directly because they knew they had no authority to stop a Hokage of Konoha.

 Danzo waved his hand.

 All the Root members inside the base immediately vanished from view. Now, it was just him and Sarutobi Hiruzen in the room.

 Danzo furrowed his brow. "Sarutobi, how did you get here?"

 "What do you think?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned cold. "You won't deny that you've done something, right? Danzo, do you understand the consequences of your actions? Once the tailed beast inside Naruto goes on a rampage, Konoha will repeat the chaos of the Nine-Tails Incident from five years ago!"

 "As the one who initiated it, you will become the scapegoat for all of Konoha, nailed to the pillar of history's shame!" Sarutobi Hiruzen clenched his teeth. "And you haven't even restrained your subordinates, and they nearly dragged Naruto into it."

 "Minato and Kushina entrusted their child to me before they died. They want me to take good care of their child. Whether it's for the sake of two Konoha heroes or for another reason..."

 "...I must ensure that nothing harms Naruto! Do you understand?" 

 Listening to Sarutobi Hiruzen's stern reprimands, Danzo felt a simmering anger rising within him.

 He didn't bow down to admit his wrongdoing but instead retorted, "If you know how crucial a Jinchuriki is, why did you choose to let him roam freely? If you had entrusted the Jinchuriki to me, I would have nurtured him into Konoha's mightiest weapon!"

 "I wouldn't have allowed an outsider to exploit the situation and form a bond with the Jinchuriki!" Danzo argued,

 "I wanted to eliminate Whitebeard for the sake of Konoha!"

 "Who isn't working for the sake of Konoha? Sarutobi Hiruzen, you act so self-righteous! You think you're extraordinary! You believe you're morally superior!"

 "Hmph! ! !"

 Danzo snorted and fell silent.

 He didn't say another word.

 Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent for a few seconds, not delving into this argument any further. Instead, he emphasized, "The Uchiha clan is reaching a critical stage. The situation inside Konoha is becoming increasingly complex."

 "Danzo, I can't allow the Root to keep causing disturbances during such a critical time."

 Danzo suddenly had an uneasy feeling. 

 "What do you mean?" he asked.

 "Danzo, I've discussed this with Koharu and Homura. For a period of time, we need to impose restrictions on the Root. Henceforth, any actions taken by the Root must be informed with the three of us before decisions are made."

Danzo was infuriated, shivering with rage. A cold chill ran down his spine, 

and he couldn't accept this. "You've overstepped your bounds! You have no right to do this! You'll regret it if Whitebeard isn't eliminated!"

 "I'll only regret it if the tailed beast is released. Danzo, I am the Hokage, the Hokage of Konoha."

 Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression remained devoid of emotion. "Don't challenge me. As the Hokage, my power is limitless."

 Danzo felt like his teeth were about to shatter!

 .....

 ..... 

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