Chapter 30: Danzo's Interference (Edited)

Then, Hiruzen took his pipe, took a puff and exhaled a ring of smoke, with a bit of coldness on his face.

Even if the Uchiha Clan can't afford to lose a little pride, can they easily resist the Hokage's opinion?

Knock, knock, knock!

At that moment, a ninja knocked on the door and reported, "Hokage-sama! Naito has arrived!"

"Let him in," Hearing Naito's name, Hiruzen's expression softened a little and he put the pipe aside.

Upon entering the Hokage's office, Naito only looked around momentarily and, without further ado, went straight to the Hokage's desk and greeted him respectfully, "Hokage-sama!"

"No need to be so formal, stand up," Hiruzen smiled kindly and asked, "How was your life in Konoha over the years?"

"Not bad," In fact, Naito wanted to add 'it's lucky I'm still alive', but he held back.

However, Naito finally said, "Actually, I think Hokage-sama has completely understood how my life has been, right?"

"Yes," Hiruzen nodded softly, while his eyes showed a hint of praise.

He also summoned Minato earlier.

With just two simple sentences, he already knew how Naito and Minato thought.

Despite being only eight or nine years old, both of them were capable of thinking like adults.

In that case, he doesn't have to talk to Naito in the same way he does with children, "I understand, after all, you are an outsider, and there are often conflicts between the Great Ninja Villages... especially in recent years, there are wars and chaos everywhere."

"Your village was destroyed by Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Ninjas Villages," Having said that, Hiruzen looked at Naito and found that Naito's expression was very calm from start to finish and that his emotions did not fluctuate, so he continued, "It just so happened that the ninja from our village were nearby. After fighting the Sunagakure ninja, they rescued the only survivor of the war and brought you back to Konoha."

"Our people do not see you, the children of the other villages, as one of us and so they oppress you in every way. I know all the grievances you suffered in Konoha."

"You will not receive the same treatment in the future."

After hearing Hiruzen's words, Naito knew that this was simply the Hokage's way of trying to conquer him.

The meaning of his words meant that he need not worry about the past, from now on, he is a member of Konoha.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama for taking care of me," Naito replied softly, with a timely expression of gratitude on his face.

Hiruzen chuckled lightly, stood up from his chair and walked beside Naito, "Although there are many conflicts, at least... there won't be any more war here in Konoha."

"Yes," Naito nodded slightly.

In fact, compared to those small ninja villages that were worried every day, scared of everyone around them, Konoha is a peaceful place, maybe the treatment is not the best, but there is no need to be afraid of being affected by war.

"Let bygones be bygones," Patting Naito's shoulder, Hiruzen smiled kindly, "Your performance was impressive in the exam, you showed me a very exciting battle."

"Your talent is very good, even your temperament is better than many adults, in fact, you are already a good ninja, but...", At this point, Hiruzen paused for a moment, slightly changed his tone, then continued, "Your talent is very good and needs a period of training. You are still immature in some respects. I hope that in the future you can continue to work hard, continue to train and walk step by step, and surely in the future you will become a very powerful ninja."

Hiruzen's words were a bit complicated, as if he was hinting at something.

And when Naito heard it, there was no doubt that it was like telling him: you are still too young and should put effort into your training.

But the real question is... Who can help you to train!

In less than three months, the life and death battle against Uchiha Samui will begin.

After pondering for a moment, Naito guessed Hiruzen's intentions and asked, "Hokage-sama does that mean I should give up the life and death battle with Uchiha Samui?"

A hint of admiration shone in Hiruzen's eyes, his words were ambiguous, but Naito was still able to understand them so quickly, "Yes, that's what I mean. Although you are outstanding, there is still a big gap between you and Uchiha Samui?"

"So this life and death battle...",

Having said that, Hiruzen's words were interrupted by another voice, "Hiruzen, life and death battles cannot be taken back!"

The voice was indifferent.

Danzo was at the door, his eyes shining with an inexplicable light, he walked in with a firm step.

"Danzo," The moment Hiruzen saw Danzo, he frowned, "Naito is just a kid, how can you apply this rule!?"

"Hiruzen, I just know that the rule is that no matter who the two people are, as long as you request a life and death battle, you can't unilaterally refuse. Even if you are the Hokage, you can't break the rules," Danzo looked at Hiruzen calmly, but there was a glint of coldness shining in his eyes.

Since Hiruzen was unwilling to give Naito to train him, he would not see Naito become Hiruzen's right hand man.

Unless Hiruzen was willing to give Naito to him.

Hiruzen snorted coldly, "Rules are just words on a piece of paper, so what if I want to break them?"

As a Hokage who could always pressure Danzo, how could he not guess Danzo's intentions?

It was instantly clear that Danzo just wanted to force him to hand Naito over to him.

"Then, I won't agree."

Danzo stood there indifferently and said, "If you want to change the rules, you must get unanimous consent from the council of elders. I don't think it's just me, even Homura and Koharu, they won't help you so easily."

"You...," Hearing her words, Hiruzen's expression suddenly changed.

The life and death battle comes from the period of the fighting kingdoms, it was abolished by the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and then revived by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

Within a large village like Konoha, there will always be disputes between the major clans.

When there are disputes, there will be conflicts.

And this will always end up with some irreconcilable contradictions.

And such irreconcilable contradictions cannot allow the two sides to fight directly within Konoha, but neither can they be suppressed by force.

Sooner or later, they will try to ambush each other outside the village, and chaos will result!

This rule was created to limit the number of deaths, this way, the only people who get into a fight are the two who had conflicts from the beginning.

That is the reason behind keeping these rules for more than two generations, because the tradition of the life and death battle resolved many conflicts until now.