Konoha: Uchiha Shisui's Strategist Alliance

In the northwest corner of Konoha, near the Hokage Rock, lies a dense forest. This place is deserted year-round, except for the puppets of the Barrier Team who come here to inspect.

But tonight, this place is unusually lively.

Under the chilling moonlight, two masked ninjas carefully shielded Danzo behind them.

"Enemy attack! Lord Danzo, be careful!"

Behind the two, Danzo narrowed his single eye, calmly scanning the forest before him. Enemies hidden in the woods had nowhere to hide under the Sharingan.

"Looks like someone can't hold back any longer."

Danzo knew that his recent activities were becoming increasingly prominent, which inevitably attracted attention. However, he hadn't even left the village yet, and these people dared to make a move, which showed that they didn't take Shisui seriously at all.

"That's true. What could that foolish Uchiha possibly know? I still need to control Konoha!"

Whoosh whoosh~

A cold wind blew by, and several kunai with explosive tags attached shot out from the front. Seven figures rushed towards the three of them at the same time after the kunai were fired.

The ninjas hiding in the forest clearly hadn't expected Danzo and his two companions to discover them so quickly. They had no choice but to change their plans and strike first to prevent their targets from escaping, since Danzo's whereabouts weren't always easy to track.

Danzo curled his lips slightly and gave a disdainful snort.

Two Root members beside him immediately drew their swords and were about to meet him.

"Don't interfere, I'll handle this!"

Danzo formed hand seals and inhaled forcefully. A powerful aura, like that of a weasel, swept across the area, instantly knocking down the kunai and slicing several people in half at the waist. Blood and internal organs splattered everywhere.

"They sent ninjas of this caliber to assassinate me? How naive!"

"You won't be smug for long!"

A ninja with only half a body landed in front of Danzo, using his last strength to roar.

"At this level, I'm not even qualified to move my body."

As soon as he finished speaking, Danzo and his two companions suddenly leaped up, only to see the ground suddenly sink into the ground as dozens of shuriken flew out of the forest.

Danzo ripped off the bandages, used his Sharingan to observe the angle at which the shuriken were flying, formed hand seals again, and instantly swept away all the shuriken with wind blades, then followed the angle of the shuriken to find the positions of the ninjas.

Moments later, Danzo plunged his long sword into the heart of the last man.

"This long-awaited real combat experience allowed my body to get a little moving."

Danzo hadn't experienced this feeling of fighting someone in a long time, but he clearly felt that his strength was far inferior to what it used to be. Unfortunately, the invasion of the First Hokage's cells was too terrifying, and even he dared not try it lightly.

Orochimaru has been taking money without doing anything for a long time, but for the sake of the power of the First Hokage's cells, he can only tolerate him for the time being.

"Lord Danzo, shall we take them back to Root for inspection?"

With the abilities of ninjas, they can obtain a lot of information even from corpses.

"unnecessary."

Danzo covered his eyes with bandages again, calmly replied, and then slowly walked away, leaning on his wooden cane through the blood.

He knew very well who his enemies were this time. There were so many of them that he didn't need to confirm their identities; they were everywhere. Only by joining forces could these people make a move against him within Konoha.

The two immediately followed, and the three of them concealed their tracks and returned to the Root base.

In truth, Danzo was not confident he could survive against those people. The people who came today were merely testing him; they would only unleash their true killing move once they had gauged his strength.

Danzo was fortunate that Shisui still valued him because of the Third Hokage, and with Shisui's support, he was able to firmly control Root.

However, the threat from those people remains, and he needs to improve his defenses in order to find a way to deal with them.

"Owl, I've already made contact with most of the Chunin in the village. What do you think I should do next?"

"Owl" was Hattori Ryozo's new title when he joined Root. At this moment, Owl knelt in front of Danzo, his once beautiful long hair now cut short.

"Lord Danzo, the village has a large number of Chunin. Even if it's only a small fraction, it's still a formidable force. Since those people have already discovered us, let's immediately select some to infiltrate and strengthen Root. Then, we can openly recruit them. After all, we have the Hokage's instructions. Everything Lord Danzo has done is for Konoha; they can't resist!"

Those words were a wake-up call!

Danzo paused, then realized that he hadn't given Chunin ninjutsu to spread it; he had only wanted to win them over. Since the ninja clans had discovered this, he might as well just monetize it and convert his reputation among the Chunin into strength.

With that kind of strength, he can contend with those ninja clans and the Hokage, and then he will have more power to continue to win over others.

If we take it a step further and allow a small portion of the Chunin to become Jonin, then he could also secure a place in the Jonin Council. At that time, he could surpass Shisui to become the Sixth Hokage, wipe out the Uchiha clan, save Konoha, and even slap the Second Hokage in the face!

"Your thoughts coincide with mine. Shisui only cares about himself. In the end, Konoha's future can only depend on us!" Danzo nodded, in high spirits.

Upon hearing this, everyone exclaimed in unison, "Lord Danzo is wise!"

So the next day, Danzo had someone bring Shisui and allocate him funds to start recruiting people everywhere.

Previously, most Chunin only had a vague impression of Danzo; they couldn't say he was bad, but they could say he was very bad.

After Danzo returned from the Land of Grass, he began to send ninjutsu to the Chunin he valued. Thanks to the ninjutsu given by Danzo, the Chunin's strength improved, and their impression of Danzo has now changed dramatically.

Based on this, the Roots' private recruitment efforts yielded 30 confirmed intentions in just one morning.

This delighted Danzo, as Root had never seen such a grand occasion before. The reactions of these ninjas made him realize that his actions were correct.

It should be noted that the ninjas invited by Root were all carefully selected by him. With proper training, they would be qualified to become Jonin in the future.

"Hahaha, good, Owl, you did a great job. Choose whichever of these ninjutsu you value."

Danzo laughed, a very happy laugh. With a wave of his hand, he not only gave Owl a sum of money in addition to ninjutsu, but also increased the bonus for joining Root.

An elder from Root looked at Danzo laughing and sighed, "It's been a long time since I've seen Lord Danzo laugh like this."

However, while Danzo was happy, others were naturally unhappy.

Although the recruitment by Root was conducted in private, thirty people directly agreed, which shows that the scope was not small, and the ninja clans quickly became aware of it.

However, they had no reason to stop the roots, so the matter was referred to Shishui.

When Nara Suzaku delivered the items with a helpless expression, Shisui had just placed on the table in front of him the information that Uchiha Teru had sent the day before, regarding the attack on Konoha's advisors within the village.

Seeing this, Nara Suzaku knew with just a glance who Shisui intended to help, so he immediately changed his attitude and adjusted his words to explain the situation.

"Lord Hokage, that's the situation. What should we do next?"

Suzaku Nara remained impartial; although he did not explicitly state the interests involved, he hinted at many things.

"I remember that Root's missions are always dangerous and result in heavy personnel losses, but replenishment is very difficult. I even heard Danzo, the advisor, complain about it before. Now that they've finally managed to recruit people, what reason do I have to stop them?"

Zhi Shui sighed, looking troubled.

Is it illegal to hire people from the root sector?

Is it illegal to teach ninjutsu?

Even the Uchiha clan cannot punish Danzo for these two actions under existing laws.

So Nara Suzaku could only laugh awkwardly. He didn't want to get involved in this matter, but there was no way to avoid it.

"As for what they said about forcibly recruiting people, I'm not sure about that. Here's what we'll do: invite Advisor Danzo and the ninjas from each division, and also call in a few ninjas who have agreed to join Root. After all, it concerns the stability of Konoha, so it's best to clarify things."

"Yes."

Nara Suzaku agreed, and under his arrangement, Danzo and the various ninjas quickly arrived.

A significant portion of the ninjas from each division were very excited, as this scope of discussion gave them the illusion of participating in decision-making.

Danzo's feelings were somewhat complicated. Although he was doing it for Konoha, if Shisui didn't support him, then everything he did would be untenable.

"Lord Hokage, Danzo has repeatedly forced village ninjas to join Root, which goes against the Will of Fire. His crimes are truly heinous!"

As soon as everyone quieted down, some people couldn't wait to start criticizing Danzo.

In their view, Shisui was unwilling to protect even Koharu Utatane, so he certainly wouldn't be willing to protect Danzo either. Koharu Utatane deserved to die, and Danzo deserved to die even more.

Danzo snorted coldly and glanced at the man. Someone actually dared to frame him. He had never seen anything like it before.

Shisui remained silent. He knew that Danzo had done such things before, and quite a few times, but those were all things of the past.

"What does Danzo's advisor think?"

"Ignorance. Root is the sword hidden in the darkness that protects Konoha. Joining Root is their honor. How could some rats understand the greatness of Root?"

Bathed in sunlight, how could someone as ignorant as you possibly see the guardian of darkness?

Danzo's cold voice rang out, but it made Shisui's lips twitch.

Upon hearing this, the man didn't argue with Danzo, but gritted his teeth and affirmed, "The Hokage has also heard it. Advisor Danzo has admitted his actions. For the sake of Konoha, please, Hokage, stop him immediately!"

"Please, Hokage-sama, stop this!"

Their probing has only just begun. If the Root's strength increases, it will be very troublesome for them to deal with. Once they incur the Hokage's displeasure, they will pay an even greater price.

"When did I ever say that Root forced ninjas to join? All ninjas who joined Root did so voluntarily. They all came to Root because of their ideals. How could I possibly use such despicable means?"

Danzo, without batting an eye, calmly suppressed the pleas of the crowd.

Knowing that Shisui had already made arrangements, Nara Suzaku suggested before any other objections could be raised: "Lord Hokage, wouldn't it be better to just summon those ninjas and ask them directly?"

Shisui nodded, then looked at the crowd and asked, "What do you all think?"

"this"

Everyone was dumbfounded and full of doubt; this was not what they had expected.

Shisui's perception of Danzo was so strong that he didn't directly confront him even though he had a pretext.

"The Hokage is wise!"

However, someone quickly realized what was happening and was the first to sigh.

The crowd followed closely behind, but their voices were not as loud; only a few remained calm and composed.

After Nara Suzaku led the people into the office, the group immediately knelt down and bowed to Shisui.

"Hmm, not bad, you are all the future of Konoha. Get up. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Just answer them truthfully."

Zhi Shui's gentle expression immediately calmed the tense group.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

"I've heard that Danzo's advisors used despicable methods to force you to join the Root sect. Is that true?"

"That's not true! Lord Danzo is a good person! We joined Root voluntarily!"

As soon as Zhi Shui finished speaking, someone hurriedly explained, and the two people beside him nodded in agreement, but one person kept his head down and did not react.

The ninjas from each division felt a jolt of fear upon hearing this, while Danzo felt as comfortable as if he were sitting in the chair in the Hokage's office.

Only Shisui's eyes flickered slightly, and then he looked at the last Chunin who kept his head down.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, Danzo did indeed threaten me to join Root. If I don't agree, Root will harm my family. Please, Hokage-sama, save my family!"

Before Shisui could ask any questions, the Chunin began to cry.

Danzo's smile vanished abruptly, and the various ninjas were also taken aback, then looked at Danzo with astonishment.

Danzo stared intently at the man, then fell into deep thought.

"Could it be someone who threatened you before?"

Seeing that Danzo did not immediately deny it, someone shouted, "Such behavior is a violation of Konoha's laws! We urge the Hokage to investigate this thoroughly!"

Upon hearing this, Nara Suzaku's forehead immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly looked at Shisui, his eyes revealing a rare mix of panic and confusion.

"A thorough investigation?"

Shisui gave Nara Suzaku a look to calm down, then frowned slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between Danzo and the Chunin. After hesitating for a moment, he finally sighed and said, "Then let's investigate."

Danzo narrowed his eyes, and his aura changed drastically.

Instantly, a group of secret agents appeared and surrounded the area.

At that moment, Danzo thought of Koharu Utatane.

He felt as if he had been bewitched by Shisui, daring to appear alone in the Hokage Building, a building bathed in sunlight but also hiding countless deadly blades.

Should we ask that guy for help?

Everyone was overjoyed, but then they heard Zhi Shui softly call out, "Hui."

"clear."

Although it was only one word, Hui immediately understood Shisui's meaning. He activated his Three Tomoe and went straight to the Chunin. The moment their eyes met, he pulled the other into a genjutsu.

Seeing Uchiha Teru's behavior, everyone had different expressions.

Are you really going to investigate?

Did Danzo's advisor force you to join Root Church?

"no."

hiss~

The Chunin, controlled by the Sharingan, revealed the truth, causing everyone to gasp in shock.

"Then why did you say that just now?"

"Someone threatened my family, saying they would harm them if I didn't say this."

"Hmph, how dare you! You dare threaten the village's ninjas? You have no respect for me at all!"

Danzo was naturally the most furious, but those familiar with Danzo's past inevitably felt a sense of unease.

Shisui did the same, but he quickly turned his attention to the threat.

His expression was stern and his demeanor imposing. He stood up abruptly and said, "Threatening the villagers, framing the advisor—Daohuo and Hui, you two investigate immediately. I want to see who dares to act so recklessly!"

"yes!"

The situation kept turning around, and everyone finally noticed something was amiss.

"Advisor Danzo, I remember the Root organization only had seventeen openings, right? Even though this is a false accusation, is it really necessary for the Root organization to recruit so many people?"