I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 400 Don't let people take off their shoes casually, because besides smelly feet, there's also the fact that barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes.

"No need to cancel?"

Not to mention Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two elders, even Danzo was completely dumbfounded.

The original intention and purpose of this mission was to trap and kill Hatake Sakumo. Now that the trap has been exposed and Hiruzen Sarutobi has personally called for its termination, Hatake Sakumo is unhappy about it.

But Danzo quickly realized something, turned around, and was about to stop him when Hatake Sakumo said, "Root has done a lot of preliminary work for this mission. If we stop it halfway, it will be a waste of manpower and resources."

Moreover, if this mission succeeds, it will greatly benefit Konoha. Although the mission is difficult, isn't this precisely the meaning of my existence in the Anbu? Hokage-sama, I don't want to leave the Anbu with a half-hearted effort.

How grand and dignified! It's that same old grand and dignified language again.

Danzo felt like he was about to grind his teeth to powder. He glared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still in a daze, and cursed him inwardly for pretending!

Danzo recalled that at the last meeting, Hatake Sakumo had countered his scheme in the same way. With Danzo's level of skill, how could he not see through Hatake Sakumo's true intentions?

This is an attempt to repay someone with their own methods. Root wanted to kill Hatake Sakumo, so Hatake Sakumo wanted to destroy his root, Shimura Danzo!

His premise for plotting to kill Sakumo Hatake was that, after extensive evaluation, he concluded that Sakumo Hatake was a person who valued his comrades, especially after the incident two years ago when Tatsuma almost died.

In the past two years, although Sakumo Hatake has not had many missions, he has always put the safety and health of his comrades first. In theory, he would save even the root if necessary.

But that was on the premise that he regarded Root as a comrade. That was true before, but now that the naked evidence of his crimes has been revealed, how could Hatake Sakumo possibly regard Root as a fellow villager?

When facing people who are not his comrades, Hatake Sakumo never shows any mercy. The name "White Fang of Konoha" is not based on toothpaste and toothbrush, but on the short blade that has taken countless lives.

Given the difficulty and danger of this mission, if Sakumo Hatake doesn't protect them, the chances of Root surviving will be unimaginably high.

As for Sakumo Hatake himself, with his strength, as long as he doesn't want to die, he can retreat calmly even if he faces a Kage head-on. This is not a difficult task for Sakumo Hatake, who does not need to protect his "comrades".

Because he prioritizes protecting his comrades over his mission, this is Sakumo Hatake's weakness, and without weaknesses, no one knows how terrifying Sakumo Hatake could be.

Furthermore, given Hiruzen Sarutobi's current dissatisfaction with him, if Sakumo Hatake gains even the slightest benefit during a mission, Hiruzen will simply ignore the massive casualties suffered by Root.

Hatake Sakumo's goal wasn't simply to complete a mission; he wanted to send his painstakingly trained Root members to their deaths! Losing more than half of them, or even wiping out the entire force, was not out of the question.

And all of this was probably instigated by Hiruzen Sarutobi, wasn't it? By making his actions public and then having Sakumo Hatake confront him face to face, the fact that he didn't deny it proves that the evidence is true.

Then take away his power, then take away his roots, and then... eradicate his roots!

Sarutobi, Sarutobi, you have such a cruel heart, a bastard with absolutely no tolerance for others!

Sure enough, Sarutobi had been watching closely the large-scale replacement of ANBU positions over the past few years, and then found this excuse to let himself sink the costs.

No wonder, no wonder the Dark Division is recruiting so many new members at this strange time. It turns out they've already prepared to fill the positions of those Dark Division members who lost their roots.

In an instant, Danzo's face turned from a deep blue to a deathly gray.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware that Danzo had portrayed him as a narrow-minded person, and he was seriously considering what Sakumo Hatake had said.

The trip to the Land of Earth was indeed risky, but often, risk and reward are positively correlated; the higher the risk, the greater the reward, and this trip was no exception.

The flow of funds allocated by the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, the intelligence on the Jinchuriki of Iwagakure, and the maintenance and re-establishment of the intelligence network are all extremely beneficial to Konoha.

Even if we can only complete one aspect, let alone the entire project, we can mitigate the risks.

With Sakumo Hatake's abilities and Root's assistance, success is not impossible. If there were no chance of success at all, then this action proposal would never have been approved in the first place.

However, when he discovered that the operation was actually a hoax, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally assumed there was no need to continue it. But since Sakumo Hatake didn't mind...

After a moment's hesitation, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Since you have the heart to serve the village, I cannot refuse you. However, you must ensure your own safety. I will have Root fully cooperate with you."

Regardless of the outcome, I assure you that you will retire in glory and become a hero of Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were tantamount to a promise to Sakumo Hatake regarding his reputation after retiring from the Anbu, and that he would help quickly guide public opinion should any negative issues arise.

This kind of work might not have been very familiar to Hiruzen Sarutobi before, but after experiencing things like elevating Tsunade's status and currently carrying out tasks such as lowering the reputation of potential Uchiha clan leader candidates, he gradually got the hang of it.

If he says he'll protect Sakumo Hatake's reputation, then he definitely will.

Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo's wide eyes relaxed, returning to their usual deadpan expression, and he said with a smile, "I was just making the decision that every Konoha ninja would make."

After saying that, Sakumo Hatake felt goosebumps all over his body. Where did Tatsuma come up with so many lines? So cheesy!

However, the results were very good. Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly showed a satisfied smile, seemingly having forgotten the dissatisfaction he felt towards Sakumo Hatake when he suddenly made his move.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile faded as he looked at Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who had remained silent, and asked, "Do you have any other opinions?"

"I have witnessed Sakumo Hatake's sincere heart, and I have no reason to refuse a Konoha ninja who serves the village."

"I have no objection either. Sarutobi, you handled it very well."

The two nodded. Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, not even glancing at Danzo, and continued to turn his back to him, saying, "Danzo, from now on, you should stay in the village and reflect on your actions."

"When you truly realize the mistakes you've made, the village isn't necessarily going to deny you a chance to serve it again."

"snort!"

Danzo snorted in dissatisfaction, but he was actually slightly relieved. Although Sarutobi had taken away his Root, he had not shut down his access to the Wood Release laboratory.

He could no longer mobilize Root, but he could still mobilize the peripheral ninjas who were attached to Root. As long as those ninjas could provide him with money, he could let Orochimaru continue his research.

As long as Orochimaru can successfully develop the research projects he lists, he won't be afraid of even Hiruzen Sarutobi in the future!

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not completely revoke Danzo's authority, partly out of consideration for their past relationship, but also because the Wood Release laboratory was not just a project team from the Root.

If even Danzo's right to use the Wood Release laboratory is taken back, then another process will have to be followed to report the whole story to the Daimyo's office. This would require informing more people of Danzo's crimes, which Hiruzen Sarutobi was unwilling to do.

Meanwhile, the Wood Release Laboratory was shut down again. To allow Tatsuma's experiments to continue, the application process had to be repeated, which would greatly delay various original plans.

Therefore, the simplest way is to save face for Danzo, allow other arrangements in the village to proceed smoothly as scheduled, and let Danzo continue to have the right to use the Wood Release laboratory.

"Danzo, I believe you are a sensible person. After you return, hand over the affairs as soon as possible, and do not delay Sakumo's journey."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, released his grip on the staff, and the Vajra Staff turned into smoke. Within the smoke, the Monkey King Enma stood with his elbows folded, looking around.

Danzo was provoked by Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, because Hiruzen Sarutobi's words today were much harsher than last time. You know, last time he killed almost all of the Senju clan's fighting force.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed very angry that time, but he didn't feel much blame or reprimand, because Danzo's actions that time were dereliction of duty, unlike today, where the problem arose from personal actions.

Taking a deep breath, Danzo hunched over slightly and said, "I understand."

The monkey demon, watching the spectacle, shook his head and said with a hint of disappointment, "I thought I'd finally get to witness fratricide firsthand today, since it's a tradition in your Konoha, isn't it?"

"Ape Demon!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed his dissatisfaction, but Enma rolled his eyes and said, "Don't tell me you never had that thought. You secretly asked me if I had any way to deal with Baku."

As soon as Enma uttered those words that seemed to stir up trouble, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo's expressions changed simultaneously. Danzo turned around, gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a deep look, then flicked his sleeve and left without looking back.

"Ape Demon, you've been far too outspoken today."

Hiruzen Sarutobi reached out to stop him, but to no avail. He lowered his hand and said to Enma with some dissatisfaction, Enma's tail swayed, and he said, "Next time, remember to find an interesting opponent so I don't have the energy to talk."

After saying this, the ape demon made a farewell gesture, and its body turned into smoke and disappeared.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head helplessly. He couldn't control Enma. The two were originally partners who fought side by side. However, since Enma came of age, he rarely showed his mischievous monkey side. But now...

I wonder if Enma suddenly had a bad mood, or if he also disliked Danzo?

Hiruzen Sarutobi then looked at Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado and said, "Let's finish what needs to be done today. I don't want to find out what happened here from elsewhere. Do you understand?"

"Of course, we're not big mouths either."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu exchanged a glance, knowing it was time to leave. They rose, said their goodbyes, and departed, leaving only Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hatake Sakumo in the meeting room. Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent for a moment before speaking:

"You should know what's going on with the members of Root. Some are just forced by circumstances, and some haven't even really gone astray yet."

"Lord Hokage, I understand."

(End of this chapter)