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

Meanwhile, Danzo, accompanied by several Root ninjas, arrived at a forest north of Konoha.

All four Root squads he sent out to assassinate Watanabe Toru and his group have vanished without a trace.

This made Danzo feel uneasy.

After he issued the order for all Root members to expand the search area, he indeed found a series of corpses in a forest north of Konoha Village.

However, the bodies had been burned beyond recognition.

Their foreheads were pierced by kunai, but the bones in their bodies could still be roughly pieced together to form twelve corpses.

Twelve corpses...

Danzo was particularly familiar with this number.

It was he who sent the twelve Root ninjas to assassinate Watanabe Toru.

Danzo clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.

The Root ninja standing beside him behind him dared not utter a single word.

They knew that Danzo was angry.

It's obviously not a good idea to talk to Lord Danzo about anything at this critical juncture.

Danzo's gloomy gaze swept over the surrounding environment.

Rows of trees fell neatly, stretching for hundreds of meters.

The earth was also blasted into a deep crater.

How did they do that?

Danzo was an advisor to Konoha Village, and he considered himself to have considerable knowledge.

He knows a little about all kinds of ninjutsu, and even the rarest sealing techniques, he has some knowledge of them.

The scene before him was completely inexplicable using any of the theories and knowledge he had learned.

If I had to put it into words... perhaps Wind Release could cause this result.

However, based on his intelligence, Watanabe Tetsu clearly did not possess such strong Wind Release skills.

So, there must be a third party involved...

Or did Watanabe Toru use some other method to deliver this terrifying blow?

Regardless, his actions resulted in the loss of twelve crucial ninjas for Root.

These twelve people were all elites he had trained.

He was also an absolutely loyal assassin ninja who upheld the Root's ideals.

Danzo roared angrily.

"Investigate, keep investigating."

"Yes."

His eyes darkened.

If Watanabe Toru possessed such strength...

It is clear that it has surpassed the level of an elite Jonin.

Judging from this attack alone, his strength is probably not much different from his.

In that case...

Is it at the level of a film star?

Danzo only regretted that he hadn't acted sooner.

If I had acted sooner, I wouldn't have suffered such a huge loss now.

but...

Danzo recalled the ninja from another village with whom he had recently had potential interactions.

Perhaps we could utilize the power of other ninja villages to clash with Watanabe Toru.

Since it's a dog-eat-dog situation anyway, it's best to let both sides fight to the death, and then let Danzo reap the benefits.

Danzo unconsciously rubbed his chin, his mind beginning to process various plans.

It's commonly said that Danzo has another idea.

Just then, a voice came from behind Danzo.

"Lord Danzo, the Third Hokage requests your presence."

Danzo turned around and saw the ANBU's attire; his heart sank again.

He snorted coldly, and then said.

"I see."

That damn Hiruzen, he'll definitely use this opportunity to lecture me again.

But Danzo did it all for Konoha!

Everything he did was for Konoha!

Danzo, too, possessed his own Root Consciousness!

Danzo's expression turned cold, and he then walked towards the Hokage Building.

...

"Danzo, how's the Root organization doing lately?"

The third generation head lowered his eyes and slowly put down the pipe in his hand.

"Hmph, everything went smoothly."

"Really?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slightly raised his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping over Danzo Shimura.

"How come I heard that your base suffered heavy losses, with a total of twelve members killed?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's calm voice sent a shiver down Danzo's spine.

Damn it, the secret service is watching him again.

"That was just a minor mistake. The roots will recover quickly and continue to clear away all obstacles in Konoha."

"Yeah?"

This answer made Hiruzen Sarutobi lower his head again as he tidied his tobacco.

His tone then gradually turned cold, even carrying a hint of anger.

Why didn't you tell me about this?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's angry tone made Danzo snort coldly.

"Because I know you too well."

Danzo stepped forward and straightened his back.

"You only know how to back down, but you don't know how to eliminate threats in advance."

"Threat? Back down? You mean kill Watanabe Tetsuya, let them kill the hostages, and then kill Jiraiya and Tsunade?"

"As I said, Jiraiya and Tsunade are just ninjas; they have to make sacrifices when necessary."

"That's enough!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the table, unleashing a powerful aura as he roared at Danzo.

Realizing his loss of composure, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly sat down, his gaze fixed on Danzo.

"I already spoke with Watanabe Tetsu during the peace talks, and he promised to release Jiraiya and Tsunade if he returned to the Land of Rain."

"We also negotiated a project worth several billion ryo, which can greatly alleviate Konoha's financial pressure."

Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled Watanabe Tetsu's performance at the meeting.

He also basically figured out the Xiaoguang Society's background.

The first kidnapping by the other side was more like gathering leverage for them to defeat Amegakure.

The other party's main attitude is still inclined to resolve the issue peacefully and to prioritize cooperation.

This idea coincided with that of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Furthermore, cooperation with the Xiaoguang Society can, to some extent, boost the development of Konoha.

Of course, the premise of cooperation is that the other party no longer harbors any hostility towards Konoha.

Therefore, everything will have to wait until Jiraiya and Tsunade are released.

If the other party can truly demonstrate that they have no intention of harming Konoha, then cooperation is not out of the question.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo again.

"Look at you! You almost messed everything up without knowing anything!"

"I!"

Danzo wanted to refute, but found himself speechless.

Then he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"I did it all for Konoha."

Seeing Danzo's appearance, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally softened.

He scolded.

"Danzo, do you still remember the purpose of establishing the Root?"

"Of course, the roots are the roots of the leaves, the tissue that removes any potential obstacles for the leaves."

No, you're wrong.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then added.

"The root is, first and foremost, the organization that cultivates talent in the shadows."

"In other words, all the Root ninjas eventually end up joining the Anbu."

These words immediately alerted Danzo, who narrowed his eyes.

But the Third Hokage didn't care what Danzo thought; he gave the order.

"From now on, Root will be required to send 20 ninjas to the Anbu every year. This is a mandatory requirement."

What?

How many people are there in the entire root group?

If I give you twenty ninjas a year, will I still have my own team?

"impossible!"

Danzo roared, never imagining that Hiruzen Sarutobi's ambitions this time were so grand.

However, his attitude did not cause any reaction from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage."

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

Danzo looked at the calm Hiruzen Sarutobi and knew that the outcome was unlikely to change.

He turned around and slammed the door shut.

"Bang!"