Naruto: I, the villain template, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 71 You Regret My Shadow (Seeking monthly votes! Almost 2000!!)

Inside the Hokage Building, in an office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, eyes lowered in silence, puffing out smoke from his pipe.

The air was as stuffy as a clay pot under high pressure, making one want to smash the walls or open the lid to escape.

"Ahem!"

The unbearable silence was broken only when Xiaochun, who was turning over in her new room, coughed.

"Hiruzen, about this matter..."

Mitokado Homura breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Danzo who was stubbornly refusing to back down, and then looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of him, advising, "This time, Danzo did indeed go a bit too far..."

"Is it just a little excessive?"

Before Mitokado Homura could continue to defend Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted expressionlessly, saying, "Root was originally just the training department of the Anbu, and it gradually evolved into an intelligence organization."

"Anbu," short for "Assassination Tactics Special Forces," was established by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and is a special force directly under the Hokage.

Each member of the Anbu is an outstanding ninja selected from the village. Their main responsibility is to protect the Hokage and prevent foreign enemies from invading Konoha. However, during special periods, they are also responsible for reconnaissance and assassination missions.

They wore white masks that resembled animals during the operation, and all information regarding the nature of the mission and other details was kept secret.

Under normal circumstances, it has four squads, each with seventeen people, and one squad leader. Each squad has four platoons.

Each class consists of four ninjas, divided into a class leader and three members.

Danzo's "Root" was essentially a clandestine organization.

As the squad leader, he led four squads, totaling seventeen people, which conformed to the organizational structure of the secret service.

But now...

"Root dares to withhold such important information from me, the Hokage, does that mean...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, narrowed his eyes at Danzo, and questioned, "Has it become an independent organization controlled by certain people for their own profit?"

This is an interrogation.

An inquiry that cannot be ignored.

Such harsh questioning is tantamount to impeachment.

The person he was questioning was his close friend and classmate, Danzo Shimura.

"...What did you say?"

Upon hearing this, Danzo, who had been expressionless, looked at Sarutobi in disbelief, several veins bulging on his forehead, and said in a deep voice, "You can say I did something wrong, but you can't say I did it out of selfishness!"

"You should know that everything I've done is for Konoha!"

Hearing his old buddy's resounding response, Hiruzen Sarutobi silently exhaled a puff of smoke, his face shrouded in a hazy white mist, appearing unpredictable from Danzo's perspective.

"Hiruzen, isn't that a bit much?"

Koharu Utatane couldn't help but speak up, gently advising, "Danzo's intentions were good; after all, it was for the village. We really don't have the ability to help the Land of Whirlpools..."

"Enough." Hearing the two pleading for Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand impatiently, signaling them to stop talking.

He knew Danzo's thoughts, of course.

Their relationship was so intimate that they knew each other inside and out; they could tell what position to switch to just by patting each other's butts.

After Tobirama died due to a plot by the Hidden Cloud Village, he was appointed Hokage in a time of crisis.

But the "Hokage" position was different from his youthful fantasies. Upon taking office, he faced the pressure of war and the ninja clan, which shattered his illusions about the Hokage position.

Both the Hyuga and Uchiha clans initially treated him as someone who obeyed orders but not commands.

Fortunately, as Hokage, he had a sense of righteousness when vying for power, and in addition to the Sarutobi clan, he also had the support of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

Therefore, he adopted a strategy of attacking one group and then recruiting another. With Danzo's assistance, he used some special methods to put the two powerful ninja clans, Uchiha and Hyuga, into conflict.

Finally, he secured his position as Hokage and grasped the power that belonged to him.

His initial intention in agreeing to Danzo's establishment of the Root organization was to deal with those dirty, shady things.

Since it cannot be handled under the name of the Hokage's directly subordinate Anbu, the only option is to create a Root branch under the Anbu.

However, during this process, the Roots were also growing rapidly, and under Danzo's influence, their actions became increasingly sinister.

If Root is allowed to continue developing in this way, it will completely degenerate into his personal armed organization.

—It must be restricted.

Orochimaru wants us to send two ANBU teams to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flickered slightly as he looked intently at the three people before him, and calmly asked, "What are your thoughts on this?"

Upon hearing this, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado's eyes widened in surprise.

"impossible!"

Mitomon Homura frowned and said in a serious tone, "One squad has already been taken to the Land of Rivers battlefield by Hatake Sakumo. If we send out two more squads, we'll only have the guard team and one squad left, which will make our defenses too weak."

"Yan is right." Koharu Utatane nodded. "No matter what, we must always leave at least two squads of ANBU behind!"

Is the defense force too weak?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was unreadable. He shook the pipe in his hand and looked at Danzo noncommittally, asking, "What do you think?"

Danzo's gloomy eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of silence, he said in a low, hoarse voice, "I don't trust the Uchiha clan."

The excuse that their defenses are too weak is just that—an excuse. They are actually afraid of the Uchiha clan.

One squad is used to defend against external threats, and another squad is used to defend against the security forces.

"The Uchiha clan is also a member of Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his cigarette and warned, "They are all members of the Mirror Clan. You shouldn't have such a clear prejudice against them."

Can prejudice be categorized as either explicit or implicit?

"Mirror is Mirror, and Uchiha is Uchiha. Have you forgotten Uchiha Setsuna?"

Danzo frowned, instinctively retorting, "The Uchiha are a naturally evil clan. There are quite a few clan members who have inherited Madara Uchiha's radical ideology. They all pose a potential danger, and we must always be on guard against them..."

He suddenly stopped talking.

Because he actually saw Sarutobi nodding in agreement.

"In that case..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and stared at Danzo in a gentle tone: "You will take 'my' Root and go to the border to aid Orochimaru."

"...What?" Danzo and the other two were stunned.

"Is there a problem?" Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, speaking meaningfully, "Or do you want me to order Tsunade to personally visit your Root organization?"

Upon hearing this, Danzo's pupils instantly contracted, and a chill ran through him.

What does that mean?

What does he mean?

Why bring up Tsunade?

Danzo's expression was uncertain. Looking at his old friend, he suddenly felt a sense of lingering fear.

Wood Release experiment.

Does he know?

How much does he know?

"...Hmph! Fine, I'll go!"

Danzo's mind was in turmoil, so he simply snorted and turned away, avoiding the gazes of Koharu and Utatane.

He strode to the door, then suddenly stopped, saying resentfully, "Remember your choice today, you'll regret it, Sarutobi!"

"Watch your attitude, Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exuded an unassailable aura, so powerful that even Homura Mitokado and the other man felt a sense of oppression. Hiruzen declared in a deep voice, "Remember, I am the Hokage!"

Upon hearing this, Danzo's blood rushed to his head, and his old face turned red with anger.

"Then you should just be a good Hokage!"

Bang! !

Danzo let out a low shout and left without looking back. The loud bang of the door slamming shut made Koharu Utatane shudder.

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura sighed, feeling a pang of regret that Danzo was still in Hiruzen's hands.

Hopefully, Danzo will learn his lesson this time and behave himself...

"Oh, right, Hiruzen."

Mitokado Homura seemed to have thought of something, suddenly frowning as he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, and asked in a low voice, "Is it really okay to let Tsunade and the others go unchecked?"

If those things fall into Tsunade's hands, these high-ranking officials probably won't benefit from them.

"It's alright."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag of his cigarette and said calmly, "Danzo had already sent people over there a long time ago."

However, at the same time, the situation in Wochao Village was not what they had imagined.

"What exactly happened here?"

Tsunade and the others stared at the scene before them, falling into an eerie, stunned silence.

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(End of this chapter)