Konoha Notes

Chapter 229 Interrogation
In the original work, what was Xiao doing at this point in time?

Recruiting soldiers and buying horses.

Obito, the only one who was clearly likely to cause trouble, was keeping an eye on the Uchiha from Konoha's side.

There was absolutely no intelligence or information regarding the movements of Sunagakure.

Shuji knew that Rasa would later participate in Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha, but he also had to consider the current situation.

Tsunade shook her head as a response to Shuji's question about Akatsuki.

Shuji pondered, "Only one outpost in the Land of Rivers showed an anomaly, which cannot be used as a standard for judgment..."

“Kakashi has already sent people to monitor the four outposts, and I have also notified the border troops to be prepared,” Tsunade said. “The question now is, how should we handle this situation?”

The matter may involve two major ninja villages.

The current situation is no longer the same as the current Hokage's investigation of uncontrollable opponents within Konoha. Whether it's observation or fishing, the risks are increasing.

The Fifth Hokage made a decision: "Interrogate Danzo directly. Whatever his purpose may be, our current actions have already crossed the line."

Interrogating Danzo, even though he had retired, he was still an elder of the advisory group and the head of the Shimura clan.

Therefore, the retired Third Hokage and the other two elders of the advisory group appeared in the Hokage's office, and the three of them sat on the sofa without saying a word.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe and put it in his mouth.

Kakashi and Shuji stood on the other side.

Shimura Danzo, dressed in a dark kimono, arrived at the Hokage's office, led by two ANBU members.

He calmly looked at Tsunade, who was in the main seat.

"Fifth Boss, you urgently summoned this retired old man. What is it about?"

"Danzo, I need an explanation regarding the medical team leader, Yakushi Nonou," Tsunade said bluntly. "The investigation shows that you re-enlisted her after her retirement. Why wasn't this recorded in the village's archives?"

Danzo spoke in a calm tone, as if he were stating a trivial matter unrelated to himself: "The situation was critical at the time, and the village needed a spy with a strong will and excellent abilities to obtain crucial intelligence."

“Yakushi Nonou meets the criteria. Since she has already retired, I used the necessary means. Considering the impact, I did not update her file, but instead directly incorporated her actions into the Root system.”

Danzo made no attempt to conceal his dishonorable role in the affair, even adding, "Her adopted son, Kabuto Yakushi, was also sent out. The reason was the same: he possessed the potential and will to become an excellent spy."

He knew very well that the information on Nono and Kabuto was intertwined. Exposing one would be tantamount to exposing the other. Under these circumstances, outright denial was pointless.

Danzo's straightforward admission made Tsunade frown slightly. This was different from the scenario she had anticipated, where he would try to argue and deny it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, still sitting on the sofa, was smoking with his eyes downcast.

Koharu and Mitokado remained unfazed.

Tsunade took a deep breath: "Since they were incorporated into the Root system, why wasn't there a handover after Kakashi took over Root affairs? Where are they now? What are their missions?"

"Tsunade, espionage is not such a simple matter." Danzo first mocked Tsunade, "No matter how good a spy is, what kind of information he can get often depends on luck."

"As for Yakushi Nonou and Yakushi Kabuto, I simply issued orders to gather as much intelligence as possible based on the village's possible needs, and assigned a logistics team to handle liaison and support."

"As for where they were, what they obtained, and when they delivered the message, it all depended on their own judgment and opportunity."

"These two haven't sent back any valuable information for far too long. The logistics team assigned to them is just operating according to established procedures, maintaining this line that may have long since become invalid." "While I was handling a large number of classified documents on my own, I lost contact with many of the networks I had deployed in the past. If you hadn't brought it up today, I would have almost forgotten about these two."

At this point, he sneered, "If the Fifth Boss believes that this matter is due to my dereliction of duty or overstepping my authority, I am willing to accept any punishment."

Troublesome guy.

Just as Tsunade was about to continue her questioning, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe.

"Danzo, stop being so temperamental."

"Xiaochun, Yan, and I are all here because this is no small matter."

Danzo is an opponent of the current Hokage's policies, and all three believe that such a person cannot continue to control the power of Root.

As the leader of the Shimura clan, he was once the village's true second-in-command, so it's understandable that he would retain some power.

Tsunade disagreed and insisted that Kakashi investigate thoroughly. If Kakashi could find out something, that was his ability, and they wouldn't interfere.

However, since the matter involves the allied Sunagakure village, it is no longer just an internal dispute within the village.

"Hmph... I have indeed investigated some matters." Seeing that Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu remained silent, tacitly acknowledging Hiruzen Sarutobi's position, Danzo softened his tone slightly. "There is frequent communication between Sunagakure and Iwagakure, which has led to increased investment in undercover agents."

"I do not agree with the idea that infiltrating a few Chunin and Genin can turn Sunagakure into a loyal ally of Konoha."

"Now that Kumogakure has become the most active ally in reality, it is time to put pressure on Sunagakure and make it a complete vassal of Konoha."

"Instead of letting it jump around aimlessly."

"Hiruzen! You don't actually think that you can influence someone like Rasa's judgment with those little favors and conversations with a few genin, do you?!"

Seeing that Danzo was ignoring the existence of the current Hokage, it was as if he had returned to the past when he was still the leader of Root and Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the current Hokage.

Tsunade's anger flared, and she slammed her hand on the table, about to erupt.

"My apologies, Hokage, Third Hokage, and the two advisors."

A calm voice rang out at the opportune moment, and Xiu Si stepped forward half a step and bowed slightly.

"Please allow me to ask a few questions to former advisor Danzo Shimura."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Shuji and nodded slightly. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado also nodded slightly in agreement.

As for Tsunade, he added it only as a courtesy, knowing she wouldn't object anyway.

"Since you approve of the deployment of undercover agents, you must know the whereabouts of Yakushi Nonou and Yakushi Kabuto."

Shuji ignored Danzo's rhetoric attacking Sunagakure's policies.

"Given that you no longer hold any official position, in order to maintain consistency in village information and coordinate subsequent actions,"

"Please hand over all information related to these two spies to Kakashi-senpai."

"Regarding your question about the interactions between the Sunagakure and Iwagakure envoys, thank you for informing us. The village will take this into consideration and make appropriate judgments and arrangements."

(End of this chapter)