I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 383 Some athletes' injuries always seem to strike at the most opportune time.

Looking at Danzo's pimp-like expression, Tatsuma felt an overwhelming sense of rejection. This place was not a place for normal people, and it was the first department that Tatsuma rejected for employment.

Upon hearing Tatsuma's refusal, Danzo's expectant expression darkened, and he said, "Is there something you're worried about? Or are you unwilling to serve me?"

Tatsuma doesn't often directly refuse his superior's "good intentions." Even if he doesn't accept them, he will refuse tactfully. But he can't do that with Danzo.

He wanted to forcefully convey his goodwill even with a firm refusal; if he were to be more tactful, Danzo would probably just pretend he didn't understand.

If Tatsuma had politely refused, perhaps by starting with something like "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Danzo," Danzo would probably have gone straight to the Hokage's office and asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to approve Tatsuma's transfer to Root.

However, when faced with Danzo's interrogation, one must be careful and tactful in answering. Tatsuma's approach was to remain silent for several seconds, then, with a troubled expression, say, "To be honest, I do have concerns."

Danzo narrowed his eyes, pondering what Tatsuma's concerns were. Was it Sarutobi? Tsunade? Or the will of the Senju clan?

If it were the former, Danzo was confident he could handle it, but if it were the latter two, even Danzo found it extremely troublesome, especially the will of the Senju clan.

Although several years have passed, Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, "You have failed your teacher's clan," still resonate in people's ears. Even Danzo would not deny that it was his impulsiveness that led to the near-total loss of life for the Senju clan's fighting force.

Given Tatsuma's current status and importance within the Senju clan, if he were to join Root, he would inevitably face a great deal of opposition and resistance, all of which would be crucial sources of support for him.

Tatsuma observed Danzo, and seeing that he seemed to have come up with enough reasons, Tatsuma continued, "I'm sorry, Lord Danzo."

"No problem."

Danzo spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse, then sighed and said, "It was my oversight, and the timing of letting you join Root recently was indeed wrong."

"Is the timing wrong?" Tatsuma looked up, and seeing the doubt in Tatsuma's eyes, Danzo said perfunctorily, "I need to recuperate from my injuries recently, and I will temporarily hand over the operation of Root to others. If you come, I will not be able to take care of it."

Tatsuma nodded, but inwardly he felt something was very wrong!

The sugar he had just ingested was now being converted into energy and rushed into Chenma's brain. His brain started working at lightning speed. One second, two seconds, three seconds, and Chenma understood.

Why did Danzo's old wounds relapse at this time? Because he still harbored evil intentions!

Danzo temporarily relinquished his position as leader of Root due to injury, handing over the work to other members of Root. This temporary leader then agreed to the conditions previously proposed by Sakumo Hatake.

Since the temporary custodian is not the true leader of the organization, he cannot fully assume responsibility. However, because Sakumo Hatake holds a high enough position, he tacitly agrees to share the risks with this unfortunate fellow.

Afterwards, if something unexpected happens to Sakumo Hatake's mission, and everything proceeds according to Danzo's plan, Sakumo Hatake will still have to shoulder a huge burden of blame, along with that unlucky Root temporary manager.

After such a major revelation, Danzo, who was recuperating from his injuries, returned to take charge of Root again. He then ruthlessly dealt with the temporary manager, providing a "reference answer" with the most severe punishment.

At this point, Sakumo Hatake, who shares the risk with this unfortunate fellow, must also follow suit! In other words, if Danzo executes the unfortunate fellow, then Sakumo Hatake should also receive the same punishment.

Tatsuma swallowed hard. Danzo, that old bastard, is really something else.

Let alone whether Sakumo Hatake could outmaneuver Danzo, even Tatsuma, who seemed to be unsuspected by Danzo, only realized now that this might just be part of Danzo's plan.

If it weren't for today's visit, this ticking time bomb would have been impossible to defuse once Hatake Sakumo's next meeting ended and he accepted the "risk-sharing" strategy that Tatsuma had previously told him.

Tatsuma previously suggested that Sakumo Hatake apply to share the risk with Root because the person he was sharing the risk with was Danzo, and Danzo would certainly not be willing to trade one life for another. However, if it were just the life of a single member of Root...

Let alone one, Danzo might be willing to sacrifice half a Root or even more in order to eliminate Hatake Sakumo.

Chenma's brain raced, trying to find a solution, but he discovered that this time, compared to the previous time, it was almost unsolvable.

Last time, Danzo probably believed that Sakumo Hatake's political talent was insufficient to resolve the trap he had set, so he focused on misleading Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, because Sakumo Hatake "dismantled" Danzo's scheme, in this new situation, Danzo clearly focuses more on targeting Sakumo Hatake, and adjusts his approach according to Sakumo Hatake's previous demands.

As expected, they truly lived up to their reputation as the Dark Side of the Ninja World. Having been caught off guard once, their second comeback was far more meticulously planned.

Tatsuma didn't have a good solution for breaking the deadlock in the short term, but it was easy to come up with a middle and a bad strategy. The middle strategy was for Sakumo Hatake to take a mission, go out and avoid the limelight, and retire as soon as his probation period was over.

Although the Anbu often seeks assistance from other departments or functional teams when carrying out missions, such as when Tatsuma carried out the mission of expanding the intelligence network of the Land of Water, he asked thirty ninjas from the intelligence department for assistance.

However, the key point is assistance. To put it bluntly, they are there to help. Unless they intentionally sabotage the mission, they will not be held responsible even if they mess it up.

If Sakumo Hatake manages to avoid the investigation period, then even if Danzo wants to bring him back into the conspiracy after he retires, as long as Sakumo Hatake can protect himself, Danzo's plan will be rendered ineffective.

The reason this is considered a middle-ground strategy is that it's unlikely that Sakumo Hatake would happen to encounter a mission that matches his level and requires a long execution period.

The only tasks that can be found are those with a matching level but a mismatched time, or those with a matching time but a mismatched level. With such a large task pending, if Hatake Sakumo wants to perform other tasks backwards, Sarutobi Hiruzen might not allow it.

Of course, if Sakumo Hatake's personal attitude is firm enough, or if he gives a reasonable reason, then given Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, he will most likely agree.

The worst option would be to refuse outright, but neither the village nor Hatake Sakumo himself would be happy with that approach.

After all, Hatake Sakumo was a loyal ninja who knew it was a dead end, but his first reaction was "it's not bad to die for the mission." Such people have a different mindset than ordinary people, and they don't value their own lives too much.

After thinking it through, Tatsuma maintained his composure and said, "In that case, I will not delay Lord Danzo's recuperation any longer. I will connect with Root after I have completed the preliminary work."

"Yes, Root will complete the restart of the Wood Release laboratory in the next few days. You can go there directly then, and I will have someone grant you the necessary permissions."

Danzo waved his hand, and when Tatsuma stood up, he couldn't help but say, "Tatsuma, I'll give you one last piece of advice: if you want to become a true strongman, you must have the heart of a tool and the eyes to find tools."

To achieve one's goals, "I" can be a tool, and others can be tools too; emotions, especially weak emotions, will only ruin things.

Thank you for your guidance.

After Tatsuma bowed and left, the office lost its vibrant atmosphere once again. Apart from the two bright pink yogurt bottles, the two bottles seemed increasingly out of place after Tatsuma left.

A moment later, the Root member walked in somewhat timidly and asked, "Lord Danzo, I've come to clean up."

Danzo nodded, his gaze falling on the two bottles, which made the member even more terrified. But Danzo didn't say anything until the member picked them up and turned around, which relieved him.

"etc."

The sudden words made the Root member tremble. He turned around shakily, bowed, and asked, "Lord Danzo, what are your orders?"

"Keep some on hand, both at the base and in the lab."

Danzo's order startled the Root member. If he weren't afraid of death, he would have loved to touch his superior's forehead to see if he had a fever, but he didn't dare. He could only respectfully say:

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

Watching the departing figures of the Root members, Danzo's face darkened once more. With his sharp eyesight, how could he not see the "inappropriate thoughts" his subordinates had just had?

"It seems the work on improving the cursed seal should begin. That damned Orochimaru, how can he be so greedy?! He doesn't care about Konoha at all!"

Danzo leaned back slightly, closed his eyes, and the mask of pain reappeared on his face. The financial information from Root kept flashing in his mind.

Restarting the Wood Release laboratory would cost a lot of money, and Root would also be responsible for the subsequent maintenance costs. Orochimaru provided a list of various experimental consumables, with purchase quantities measured in "batches".

Danzo suddenly felt his heart clench; he sensed that his feigned injury was about to become real.

Fortunately, that fool Hiruzen Sarutobi solved the major expenses directly. If it weren't for the Wood Release laboratory, they would have sold off all of Root and wouldn't have been able to take care of Orochimaru.

Not only Orochimaru and Tatsuma also need to use the laboratory. If it's just for cultivating organs, that's fine. But if that little guy suddenly gets the urge to do some research, how can I refuse?

The base is now just an empty shell. Apart from a few members who are necessary to maintain the base and the trainees, everyone else has been sent out to take on shady jobs. Otherwise, Danzo wouldn't know who to ask for money from.

Unfortunately, the time for taking on illegal jobs is running out. At most, it will only be a month and a half before we have to retreat again to focus on the plan to eliminate Hatake Sakumo.

Hopefully Orochimaru will conserve his resources and at least wait until his Root team completes its mission and returns, or perhaps those trainees should also begin their training?

(End of this chapter)