I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 396 When there is a conflict of interest, even the most agreeable people can become disagreeable.

"I understand, children. You've all worked hard. Satoru and Gendo, you don't need to go back either. Shinnosuke, take them to rest."

A week later, at the Hokage's residence, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a complicated and forced smile, spoke to the disheveled Shinnosuke. Yamanaka Satoru and Gendo stood beside him with their heads bowed, while Tatsuma sat to the side, expressionless.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to get rid of Shinnosuke and the others so he could talk to Tatsuma about topics that Shinnosuke and the others shouldn't be involved in, something Tatsuma had already anticipated.

Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't old enough to suffer from dementia yet. This whole affair is full of illogical coincidences. The most plausible explanation is that Shinnosuke and the other two were used as pawns.

The gunman is most likely Sakamoto Tatsuma, the junior whom Hiruzen Sarutobi favored the most. And the bullet fired by Shinnosuke's gun is aimed directly at his close friend Shimura Danzo, which also involves one of the village's generals, Hatake Sakumo.

The complexity of this matter was so great that even Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on after hearing about it.

Danzo Shimura instructed Root to attack Sakumo Hatake, and even gave a clear order to "kill" Sakumo Hatake. This was discovered by his son, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was at a loss for words.

Guilt towards Sakumo Hatake, anger towards Danzo, and feelings towards Tatsuma. But the most complex emotion is towards Tatsuma.

Resentment towards Tatsuma for using Shinnosuke as a pawn to pressure him? Yes, admiration for Tatsuma's tactful yet incisive approach? Yes, also.

Even though Tatsuma had clearly done the right thing, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't be happy at all; he wanted to have a deeper conversation.

It's not about discussing the plot to murder Hatake Sakumo, but rather why Tatsuma did it, what his motives were, and so on. These involve too much darkness, and it's not something Shinnosuke should be listening to right now.

Shinnosuke, however, turned stern, completely failing to understand Hiruzen Sarutobi's meaning. He adopted an expression reminiscent of Hiruzen's usual reprimand of Asuma when he made a mistake, and said to Hiruzen:

"Father! This matter is so clear and the evidence is irrefutable. You have also seen the memories copied from the minds of the Root members. Shouldn't you immediately order the arrest of Shimura Danzo?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face stiffened. He wanted to slam his fist on the table and yell, "Are you trying to teach me how to do things?!" But he couldn't, because this was his son.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that this was his own child, and besides, the child hadn't done anything wrong. After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke:

"Shin-chan, I know you care about the village, but this matter is of great importance and involves many things. It cannot be decided with just a word. I also want to discuss it with Tatsuma in detail."

Let's discuss and come up with a suitable solution. You need to understand Dad's difficulties, and you must trust Dad, okay?

Shinnosuke's expression clearly showed his incomprehension. People who are inexperienced in the ways of the world tend to see things as isolated events and find it difficult to understand the phrase "widespread connections".

Moreover, at this moment, Shinnosuke didn't quite trust his father. He even turned to look at Tatsuma, and under Hiruzen Sarutobi's complicated gaze, Tatsuma nodded.

Without saying a word, Shinnosuke turned and left with Satoru Yamanaka and Haramichi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent. Over the past few years, he had hoped that his son could get closer to Tatsuma, especially after he was fully aware that his son had no talent to catch up with Tatsuma.

However, Tatsuma and Shinnosuke had not interacted much before due to a lack of opportunities and environment. But Shinnosuke knew about Hiruzen Sarutobi's admiration for Tatsuma and always thought it was a good thing.

However, since his son had only known Tatsuma for less than half a month, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that his position in Shinnosuke's heart was not as high as Tatsuma's.

This is undoubtedly a huge blow to a father, after all, fathers all hope that they will always be the omnipotent person in their children's eyes and the person their children admire most.

He tried to reason with Shinnosuke, but Shinnosuke wouldn't listen. Tatsuma just nodded, and Shinnosuke happily skipped away.

After processing his pent-up emotions for a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a sip of the tea—which had cooled down but didn't chill his heart—and looked at Tatsuma, saying, "What are you thinking?"

"Hokage-sama, does it matter what I think?"

Tatsuma gave a polite smile, took a sip of tea, put down his cup, and met Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze.

"Important, of course it's important. You're much smarter and more mature than Shinnosuke. He doesn't understand the far-reaching implications of this, but you do, and even knowing that, you still made this choice."

I want to know, why? Surely Sakumo Hatake isn't enough to make you pay such a high price?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words contradicted the Will of Fire he usually preached, but Tatsuma, who had already come into contact with and even deeply involved himself in the darkness, didn't need to be coaxed into speaking.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi got straight to the point: Sakumo Hatake was a valuable asset to the village, and a respected strongman to most of the villagers.

However, the degree of this reverence is different for everyone. Tatsuma should not, and will not, take such a risk simply because of his reverence for Sakumo Hatake.

After all, Tatsuma wasn't that irrational to risk incurring the wrath of another high-ranking official in the village just to befriend Sakumo Hatake, with whom he already had a good relationship.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Tatsuma was undoubtedly a good kid who inherited the Will of Fire, but he was also an excellent ninja, and weighing the pros and cons was an essential ability for an excellent ninja.

Tatsuma has shown this on many occasions before, and has even made some cold-blooded and dark decisions after weighing the pros and cons.

Therefore, the straightforward sense of justice that ordinary teenagers, like Shinnosuke, have doesn't apply to Tatsuma. There must be another reason why Tatsuma did what he did.

"Hokage-sama, just as you said, there are some things Shinnosuke doesn't understand, but you should understand as well. If Root dared to plot against Sakumo Hatake, who was from the same village, what will he do next? Plot against me? Plot against the rest of the village?"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was speaking frankly and openly with him, Tatsuma was too lazy to play games with him and directly expressed his concerns, or rather, the things he had witnessed Danzo doing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback. Thinking of Danzo's attitude towards Tatsuma, he wanted to comfort his best friend, saying that Danzo would definitely not attack Tatsuma.

But he didn't say it aloud, because in an instant he realized that just because Danzo wouldn't attack Tatsuma didn't mean he wouldn't attack others.

Moreover, Danzo's preferential treatment of Tatsuma was because Tatsuma had never truly harmed Danzo's interests; Hiruzen Sarutobi was all too aware of Danzo's obsessions.

If Danzo knew that his vision for the village's future did not include him, but rather that he would continue to rule for another ten years before relinquishing power to Tatsuma's generation, it would be a mistake.

At that time, Danzo and Tatsuma had a direct conflict of interest, and it was hard to say whether Danzo would still treat Tatsuma well.

At this stage, perhaps only Sakumo Hatake is harming Danzo's interests and hindering his progress, but what about in the future? Let's not even talk about the younger generation like Tatsuma, but just about Sakumo Hatake's generation.

If his disciple, one of the Sannin, also grows to the point where Danzo finds him an eyesore, would Danzo then take action against his disciple? Or perhaps, one day Danzo might feel that even he, the Hokage, is hindering his progress.

"Sigh~"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply, then asked, "So, what do you think is the best way to handle this matter?"

"Does the Hokage intend to issue a minor punishment as a warning, or to clean house?"

"Danzo, after all, did serve Konoha well."

Tatsuma understood. Hiruzen Sarutobi was ultimately reluctant. After Hiruzen finished speaking, he bent down and refilled his teacup. Tatsuma obligingly took a sip and then said:

"Since Lord Hatake Sakumo has not yet truly entered the game and has not been truly harmed by Root, it is indeed not appropriate to use the purpose to deduce the sentence."

Before Tatsuma could finish speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression softened. Tatsuma's words had set the tone for the whole thing.

Danzo, or rather Root, did indeed intend to harm Sakumo Hatake, and was already making preparations. His intention to kill his comrade was thus confirmed, but Sakumo Hatake was not yet dead.

Since nothing has happened yet, it's impossible to be certain whether Root's plan will succeed or whether Sakumo Hatake will die as a result. It might fail or be terminated. Although the probability is almost zero, it's also possible that Danzo might suddenly change his mind and join forces with Sakumo Hatake to build a better Konoha.

Therefore, using the purpose of sentencing to reverse the course of punishment is indeed unacceptable!

With this tone set, the punishment Danzo will have to accept is actually within an acceptable range.

Seeing the change in Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, Tatsuma was somewhat disappointed, but apart from relying on Hiruzen's power, he had no other way to deal with Danzo. Even if the result was not satisfactory, he could only continue:

"But there is no doubt that Shimura Danzo intended to harm his colleagues, and the root of this was the fact that his cronies were rampant under his control, which became the evil hand that Shimura Danzo extended to his colleagues."

Therefore, I suggest that control over the root should be taken back, and Shimura Danzo's activities should be restricted. He should be kept in the village for observation. If he can realize his mistakes, he can continue to serve the village.

Of course, this is just my suggestion. I think the specific approach depends on your opinion, Hokage, and the opinion of the person involved.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been nodding repeatedly, frowned, not because Tatsuma addressed Danzo by his first name, but because of Tatsuma's suggestion. He said, "Inform Sakumo? But wouldn't that... further escalate the conflict between the two?"

"Isn't that better?"

"What makes it better?"

"Let Lord Sakumo become a sword hanging over Danzo Shimura's head."

As soon as Tatsuma finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly understood and was somewhat tempted. Tatsuma seized the opportunity to add, "Besides, does the Hokage-sama think Shimura Danzo is more obedient, or does Sakumo-sama do you think is more obedient?"

"Naturally, it's Sakumo... cough cough... considering the bigger picture."

(End of this chapter)