Naruto: The Tavern Speech Begins to Make the Land of Rain Great

Underground of the leaf, root base

Twelve ninjas knelt in unison before Danzo.

Danzo, standing at the very front, looked incredibly fierce with the scar on his chin.

He raised his eyes and glanced at the Root ninja kneeling in front of him.

These are all Root ninjas he trained.

After a long period of training and brainwashing, they can all be considered their own loyal followers.

After being marked with the seal of the severing of the tongue, they will be unable to utter anything related to classified information.

This also ensures that his thoughts and whereabouts are not obtained by outsiders.

Today, he has an important task to assign to his subordinates.

He took a step forward, and the dull sound of his footsteps made the Root ninjas prick up their ears and listen intently.

"We are the roots of Konoha, and also the dark side of Konoha."

The dark underground made Danzo's face appear even more gloomy.

"We will appear in the shadows and then remove all obstacles from Konoha; this is our mission."

"You are all brave and righteous ninjas, and you are my proudest masterpieces."

The familiar voice made the Root ninja lower his head even further.

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

"Now, I need you to complete a task."

Danzo narrowed his eyes, then uttered a few words.

"Assassinate Watanabe Toru, the leader of the Land of Rain."

"Of course, his henchmen shouldn't be left out either."

This refers to Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.

Danzo had his reasons for doing this.

In his view, Watanabe Tetsuya was destined to become a major threat to Konoha.

This is evident from previous kidnapping incidents.

Danzo was deeply shocked by the opponent's ruthlessness and audacity, and he began to take this opponent seriously from the bottom of his heart.

According to Root's intelligence in the Land of Rain, the opponent's strength is at the level of an elite Jonin.

And then consider the other person's age?

Only in his early twenties.

At such a young age, possessing such strength is practically a guarantee that this person will become a Kage-level powerhouse.

If they continue to allow the opponent to grow, Konoha will have another Kage-level powerhouse as a potential rival.

This is a situation that Danzo would not want to see.

Therefore, Danzo chose to get rid of this trouble as soon as possible.

Just as Danzo was troubled by Watanabe Tetsu's numerous bodyguards, making it difficult for Root ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Rain and assassinate him...

Watanabe Toru has come to Konoha.

Furthermore, according to the intelligence from the Root, the opponent did not bring a powerful bodyguard this time, but instead chose to bring his disciple.

In other words, the enemy's security detail is quite weak.

Konoha is the main base of the Roots, so a large number of people can be mobilized from there.

This is simply a perfect storm of timing, location, and people!

Danzo had never felt that the heavens were so kind to him.

He realized this was an opportunity.

Therefore, he decisively chose to issue missions to the Root ninjas.

Mission objective: Assassinate Watanabe Toru.

Root says that Watanabe Toru is currently only at the level of an elite Jonin.

At this level, twelve Root ninjas could definitely take him down.

Of course, Danzo had some other considerations besides these.

He had a conflict with Hiruzen Sarutobi when Jiraiya and Tsunade were kidnapped.

That was a dispute over whether to sacrifice some of the village's interests in order to rescue Jiraiya and Tsunade.

In Danzo's view, every ninja was merely a tool.

The most important thing about tools is that they are task-oriented and can be discarded at any time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's reason at the time was that Jiraiya and Tsunade were very important.

But in Danzo's eyes, they were nothing more than useful tools in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands.

It's not that important.

However, after spending so much time together, Hiruzen Sarutobi developed feelings for them.

Clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi considered more than just emotional factors when assessing whether to save the two.

This is a major taboo for ninjas.

Their differing views led to a violent conflict.

He even made some harsh remarks to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hiruzen, you've become weak."

These were words spoken in anger, but also words from his heart.

He couldn't bear to watch Hiruzen Sarutobi gradually weaken and ultimately destroy Konoha's foundation.

He was Hiruzen Sarutobi's colleague and close friend.

It is also the root of Konoha.

He had to personally handle everything that couldn't be done in public.

Clearly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision has already affected the development of Konoha.

In his prolonged state of weakness, Konoha will become a product of his constant compromises.

Danzo recalled the words his teacher, Tobirama Senju, had once spoken to him.

"You can be gentle in your actions, but never be weak."

Yes.

Danzo's other purpose in doing this was to tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that being tough was the right thing to do.

It is useless to negotiate with the enemy verbally; only by defeating the enemy can negotiations be effective.

Hiruzen's recent decisions have been too weak.

This is not the behavior expected of the largest village in the ninja world.

Since Hiruzen can't bring himself to do it, let's leave this step to him.

Let him show Hiruzen what is right through his actions.

Perhaps only after Hiruzen witnesses the consequences of his actions will he finally realize his mistake.

Danzo's gaze gradually hardened as he addressed the crowd.

"Watanabe Toru and the three children with him must be dealt with."

"Don't do any of this in the village. Wait until Watanabe Toru and the others leave the village before you make your move."

Danzo's gaze was ruthless.

Even children must be eliminated completely.

Otherwise, when those children grow up, Konoha will have a few more enemies.

Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

Danzo was aware of this.

He said seriously.

"This mission is extremely important, so don't let me down."

"yes!"

The twelve Root ninjas shouted in unison.

Danzo waved his hand.

Several Root ninjas slipped away, leaving only Danzo behind at the Root base.

Danzo's face darkened; he was keeping a close eye on Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions.

Most notably, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Hashirama Senju's cells to Orochimaru.

This is a red line.

Previously, when he asked Hiruzen Sarutobi for Hashirama's cells, the latter refused.

He recalled the teacher-student relationship between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru.

Danzo unconsciously rubbed his chin.

Is this really a form of trust?

Or is it a form of exile?

If Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude towards Orochimaru is the former, then this is not good news for Danzo.

Danzo Shimura had long coveted the Hokage position.

Every time he fell asleep, he would think of the scene of Tobirama-sensei covering the rear alone.

He was just a hair's breadth away from becoming Hokage.

Just a little bit more...

Now, if Orochimaru receives Hiruzen Sarutobi's recommendation, his competition for the position of Fourth Hokage will be extremely difficult.

This was terrible news for Danzo.

But what if it's the latter situation?

Hiruzen Sarutobi giving Orochimaru Hashirama cells was not an act of trust, but rather an act of exile.

It's a form of charity tinged with disappointment... a gift given after disappointment...

Then the situation is different again.

In this situation, Orochimaru would inevitably be disappointed in his teacher.

At this point, Danzo could take advantage of the situation, win over Orochimaru, and vie for the Hokage position.

Danzo thought it over and over, but he still couldn't figure out Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude.

Then there's only one way left.

Go directly to Orochimaru.

Danzo narrowed his eyes.

The position of Fourth Hokage can only belong to him.