Chapter 346: If You Dare Do It, Don't Be Afraid of Me Saying It

This is becoming troublesome.

Sorry, we can't help you; Danzo, you're on your own.

Koharu Utatane shot Danzo a look that said, "You're on your own now."

She began to think about how to make Hatake Sakumo abandon his idea of retiring.

If Sunagakure truly declared war on Konoha, they would be in serious trouble.

While Konoha could still send out a considerable number of shinobi to repel Sunagakure, as the saying goes, "Generals are rare, though armies abound."

Without a strong enough leader to oversee the battle, no matter how many thousands of shinobi Konoha sent, they might still fail to stop Sunagakure.

With someone like the Third Kazekage, unrestricted, he would be a nightmare for any enemy on the battlefield.

Hatake Sakumo was the best candidate to counter Sunagakure, but if he retired...

If war broke out in the west, they'd be left scratching their heads.

No wonder the Third Hokage was so angry.

Had this happened during peacetime, the Third Hokage would have been upset but eventually moved on.

But during a war? There was no room for such chaos.

Not to mention the potential impact on morale, just the threat from Sunagakure was enough of a headache.

"Danzo, this is the last time. If you pull another stunt like this, I'll have you thrown into Konoha's prison. I mean it!"

With the interference of the elders Koharu and Homura, the Third Hokage ultimately let the matter slide.

Though they were a motley bunch, the reinforcements had managed to establish a small but passable camp in the Land of Bears.

"Chirp!!!"

A ninja eagle let out a call, and Takuya looked up at the sky in confusion, whistling.

Hearing the special whistle, the ninja eagle descended, landing steadily on Takuya's arm.

He removed the scroll from the eagle's leg, raised his hand, and the eagle took off again, returning to Konoha.

Did something interesting happen in the village?

Before even opening the scroll, Takuya began to speculate.

Tsunade wouldn't send a scroll through the intel department's ninja eagle just for trivial matters.

Takuya was certain something significant had happened in the village.

Deciphering the code on the scroll, Takuya opened it and burst out laughing within seconds.

"Hahaha, this is killing me. Danzo, that old man, he's just here for laughs."

Takuya laughed so hard his stomach hurt.

What happened?

What was Takuya-sama laughing about?

Everyone around looked curiously at Takuya, who was sitting alone on a rock, clutching his stomach in laughter. Beside him lay a scroll that had just been opened.

Though everyone was curious about the scroll's contents, no one dared to sneak a peek.

"Mikoto, take this and read it out loud for everyone! How can we keep something this good to ourselves?"

The higher-ups probably wanted to keep this hidden, and Hatake Sakumo's retirement application might not even get approved.

But Takuya had no intention of keeping it hidden; instead, he wanted to make it public.

After all, joy shared is joy doubled.

If there's something worth celebrating, why not share it with everyone?

Uchiha Mikoto picked up the scroll, glanced at it, and began rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure you want me to read this out loud?"

"Of course, why not? Everyone's curious. Just skip the first few sentences; read the rest!"

Tsunade's report—given her personality, the first few lines were surely not kind words.

It was all mocking Danzo.

But as for the rest of the content, there was no need to worry.

"I..."

Mikoto hesitated, regretting having approached Takuya. Now she was being pulled into this.

Should she read it or not?

Even if she was just following orders, it could easily offend people. The Uchihas were in a precarious position, and Mikoto feared causing misunderstandings.

"Forget it; I'll do it myself. Better than you offending the higher-ups and causing trouble for your clan leader."

Realizing Mikoto wasn't the right choice, Takuya took the scroll and spoke loudly:

"Everyone, something interesting happened in the village. First, our elite jonin, Hatake Sakumo, has been slandered. Someone has been spreading rumors and tarnishing his name."

"Uh..."

Over a hundred people stared blankly at Takuya.

Something this terrible had happened in the village?

While Kirigakure kept accusing Hatake Sakumo of attempting to assassinate the Third Mizukage, everyone knew it was just an excuse for war.

Hatake Sakumo was still a strong hero of the village.

But now, the hero hadn't received the treatment he deserved. Instead, he'd been slandered. So who did this?

A young recruit raised his hand.

Takuya looked at him for a few seconds, then clapped his hands:

"Your name's Kumaji, right? Do you have a question?"

The nervous Kumaji stood up, rubbing his chubby hands and nervously asked:

"Takuya-sama, Hatake Sakumo is clearly a hero of the village, so who has been slandering him?"

"That's a good question."

Takuya couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course, it was our most cunning, deceitful, and shameless Hokage advisor, Danzo Shimura. No one else in Konoha would do something like this, nor would anyone dare."

The most cunning, deceitful, and shameless Danzo Shimura?

Many of the newer recruits didn't know who Danzo was, but when they heard he was a Hokage advisor, they understood—he was a big deal.

But to describe such an important figure with words like "cunning," "deceitful," and "shameless"—was that really appropriate?

These young, inexperienced recruits looked at Takuya in confusion.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha members were all stunned.

They hadn't expected Takuya to describe Danzo like that. It wasn't just a description—it was outright slander.

"Perhaps you're all wondering why I'm slandering such an important figure in our village."

Takuya didn't fear Danzo's retaliation.

After all, he wasn't wrong—Danzo really was cunning, deceitful, and shameless.

"Because I'm also one of his victims. It happened a few years ago."

Takuya-sama was also slandered? Also a victim?

And it was all that same cunning, deceitful, and shameless Danzo Shimura's doing?

Many were taken aback, then began discussing among themselves.

What's going on? Is it really okay to air all this dirty laundry?

Uchiha Fugaku admired Takuya's boldness. He wouldn't dare do something like this.

No matter how much he hated Danzo, no matter how often Danzo targeted the Uchiha, Fugaku wouldn't dare say such things.

This could easily be seen as slandering the village's leadership.

One wrong move, and things could escalate quickly.

And with how openly Takuya was saying all this, Fugaku believed it wouldn't be long before word spread across the entire eastern front—perhaps even back to the village.

That's when the real drama would begin.

He was sure that once the higher-ups learned about this, they'd be furious.

As for Orochimaru, who was indirectly insulted, Fugaku figured he wouldn't care much.

Compared to the higher-ups, Orochimaru had enough self-awareness to know who he could mess with and who he couldn't.

By that afternoon, word had already reached the shoreline camp.

The Uchiha members wouldn't rat to Orochimaru, but the reinforcements he sent were a different story—there were probably spies among them.

After all, Orochimaru was skilled at grooming spies.

Even those who had followed him would eventually be captivated by his charisma, becoming fiercely loyal.

"Cunning, deceitful, and shameless, huh?"

"What a fitting description."

Upon hearing about this, Orochimaru laughed on the spot, showing no signs of anger.

Even though Takuya's words indirectly mocked him, Orochimaru didn't mind.

...

Yagami Takuya sure had guts!

___________________________

(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at Patreon com/ Emik01. 

___________________________

The next goal is 2000 for a bonus

____________________________