I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 260 The Minato Squad's New Mission!

"No!"

Upon hearing Shimura Danzo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even have time to carefully consider them before directly rejecting the other party's request.

They were both afraid that Danzo would suffer and that he would rebel.

That refers to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As the "wise and mighty" Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi governed Konoha for decades. How could he not see just how special and bizarre the "Root" organization was?

Within the Anbu organization dedicated to the Hokage, a separate so-called "Anbu Training Institute" was established, which carries out dark missions for Konoha that cannot be seen in the light of day, and possesses a very high degree of self-governance.

This is the root.

Sometimes, even the Hokage himself doesn't know the specifics of Root's activities.

Only Shimura Danzo, the supreme leader of Root, is qualified to know all the activities of Root.

The root is the dark "claws" of Shimura Danzo.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi is the "Emperor" of Konoha...

Danzo Nashimura must have been at least a "nine thousand years old"!

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had to entrust the "Darkness of Konoha" to Danzo Shimura because of his own lack of ability.

However, suppressing the power of Root and preventing "Root in the Dark" from affecting "Konoha in the Sunlight" was a consistent principle and policy of Hiruzen Sarutobi after establishing Root!

Hiruzen Sarutobi was extremely wary of the expansion of the Root's dark forces.

Under such circumstances, how could he possibly allow Shimura Danzo to touch something like a "Tailed Beast"?!

Having witnessed the power of the Nine-Tails firsthand, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very clear about the kind of evil and terrifying dark power that the "Tailed Beasts" symbolized.

Once Shimura Danzo and his "Root" obtain the power of the Tailed Beasts.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't even imagine what terrible consequences that would cause.

When the Third Hokage spoke, the other two elders exchanged a glance and immediately responded.

Mitomon Homura argued vehemently, "Danzo, your Root organization's power is already large enough; there's no need for another Three-Tails."

Koharu Utatane also spoke up, saying, "Instead of coveting the Three-Tails' power, we should focus more on cultivating talent. Isn't Root also an ANBU training institution?"

Whether it's the "Root" or the "Elders," they are all "parasites" that live off the power of the Hokage.

The biggest difference between Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo is that the latter controlled a separate ninja force, while the former two were merely "advisors" without any real power.

Danzo Shimura, who was in charge of the "Root," could confidently show his displeasure to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu could only serve as Hiruzen Sarutobi's "echoes".

Danzo Shimura seemed not to have anticipated that his desire for just one Three-Tails would be met with the united opposition of his three old colleagues in the office.

His original plan was to first seize the Three-Tails, and then secretly plot against the Eight-Tails.

But now it seems that even three tails are in doubt, let alone eight tails!

A moment of silence.

Danzo Shimura coldly looked at the other three with his single left eye.

To be precise, they were looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, the only one who could make the decision.

"Hiruzen".

Danzo Shimura stared intently at Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face, raised his healthy left hand, and gently placed it on his suspended right arm.

"Now that things have come to this, Konoha has four tailed beasts!"

"Nine-tails, eight-tails, five-tails, three-tails.

"Does Root not even deserve a single Tailed Beast?"

Following Shimura Danzo's movements, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze focused on the latter's seemingly powerless right arm, a hint of pity flashing across his eyes.

This extremely subtle change in emotion was precisely captured by Danzo Shimura.

Hiruzen wavered!

The thought flashed through Shimura Danzo's mind, and his angry and uneasy feelings calmed down along with it.

As one of the few people in Konoha who knew Hiruzen Sarutobi best, Danzo Shimura was very clear about his old friend's weakness—a soft heart!

Because of his soft heart, Hiruzen Sarutobi was unable to bear all the darkness of Konoha.

Because of his soft heart, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned a blind eye to most of Danzo Shimura's overstepping of authority.

For a ninja, "soft-hearted" is almost synonymous with "weak."

According to Danzo Shimura's observation, Hiruzen Sarutobi's weakness worsened with age.

As long as he cried pitifully and played the victim, Danzo Shimura could always get what he wanted from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Just as Shimura Danzo was about to strike while the iron was hot and finally settle the issue of the ownership of the Three-Tails.

Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately averted his gaze.

Even Danzo Shimura knew about his soft-heartedness, so how could he not know it himself?

The power of the tailed beasts is of utmost importance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want to be fooled by Danzo Shimura's sob story and hand over the Three-Tails to him.

I haven't finished speaking yet.

Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the subject.

"Although Shikaku reported that Nara Rinka had successfully tamed the Three-Tails and planned to hand the tailed beast over to the village."

"But Nara Rinka also has conditions. He hopes that the village can 'buy' the Three-Tails from him, just like Kirigakure bought the Three-Tails from our Konoha back then."

"Nara Rankasu dares to make a deal with a village?"

Koharu, who was turning over the door, was very unhappy and fired off a series of questions like a machine gun.

"Does he still care about the village? Does he still care about the Hokage? Is he still a ninja trained by Konoha?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt somewhat uneasy.

This was the first time in his entire career that a Konoha ninja had engaged in trade with the village!

They don't talk to the village about dedication or sacrifice.

But they only talk to the village about buying and selling, about transactions.

Hiruzen Sarutobi seriously doubted the purity of Nara Rinkei's belief in the "Will of Fire"!

"I think that Nara Rinka's decision is very much in line with the way their clan has always lived."

At this moment, Mitokado Homura offered a defense of Nara Rangsuke.

"We all know that the Nara clan has never truly been 'one of us'."

"Previously, Nara captured the five-tailed beast, and now it's the three-tailed and eight-tailed beasts."

"The Nara clan's power base alone is not enough to support so many tailed beasts, even if Nara Rinka is indeed an unparalleled monster genius."

"Under these circumstances, I think Nara Rinka's plan to 'sell' the three tails to the village is actually a gesture of goodwill."

"The Nara clan does not intend to have too many disputes and conflicts with the village over the issue of the tailed beasts. Selling the tailed beasts to the village is both simple and easy, and it also clarifies their stance."

When Mitokado Homura said "one of their own," he was obviously referring to the "Hokage lineage."

The meaning of "Hokage lineage" varies from era to era.

But they are basically communities of interest that are closely linked by blood, relationships, and so on.

The most core force in the current "Hokage lineage" is naturally Hiruzen Sarutobi, followed by the Sannin, Minato Namikaze, then the three elders including Danzo Shimura, and finally the Sarutobi clan.

As for other ninja clans or ninjas from commoner backgrounds, they can only be considered "outsiders".

The Ino-Shika-Cho clan and the Sarutobi clan have indeed maintained friendly relations for generations.

But what does this kind of "friendship" even mean?

Just as Mitokado Homura just said, the Nara clan has never been a true "Hokage lineage".

The other three people present all felt that Mitokado Enoki's remarks made some sense.

This is the situation within Konoha.

The Hokage lineage, clan ninjas, and commoner ninjas together constitute the entirety of Konoha Village's power.

The power of the Hokage lineage is the strongest, followed by the power of the ninja clans, and lastly, the power of the commoner ninjas.

The three forces intersect with each other.

However, overall, there is still a certain boundary between the Hokage lineage and the ninja clans.

When Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha founded Konoha, their original intention was to use this large village to connect the various ninja clans and eliminate the barriers and divisions between them.

Even now, apart from the Senju clan, there are no other cases of ninja clans and villages completely integrating.

They pinned their hopes on Nara Rinka, a ninja from a ninja clan, who would donate the tailed beast he had personally captured to the village free of charge.

It would be better to fantasize that the Uchiha and Hyuga clans would hand over their Sharingan and Byakugan to the village for research!

After all, compared to the power of wild tailed beasts, the power of ordinary Byakugan or Sharingan is simply insignificant.

"Forget it, let's not dwell on what Nara Rinka's true intentions are... Without him, we wouldn't be able to regain the power of the Three-Tails and the Eight-Tails."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, skipping the topic of the trade.

"Whether it's a three-tailed or an eight-tailed creature, it cannot be lost."

"After all, the Eight-Tails is the form of a Jinchūriki, so there's no need to worry about it too much for now."

"But the Three-Tails... Now that Nara Rinka has successfully tamed it, I plan to start the selection of the Three-Tails Jinchuriki ahead of schedule at the front line."

"Sealing the Three-Tails as soon as possible will minimize the risk of it going out of control, lest things get complicated."

So you had already decided how to deal with the Three-Tails all along!

A faint glint of anger flashed in Shimura Danzo's eyes as he quietly tightened his grip on his cane.

"Choosing a Jinchūriki isn't that simple, Hiruzen!"

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha is Kushina Uzumaki, a special genius from the Uzumaki clan.

Brubi, the previous Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure, was the cousin of the Fourth Raikage, A.

The new Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, yet to be born in Sunagakure, is also Rasa's biological offspring.

In other words.

Only genius ninjas with exceptional bloodlines are qualified to bear the chakra of tailed beasts.

"I am well aware of that."

Hiruzen Sarutobi responded calmly.

"I just wanted to try it out in advance. I've already assigned the relevant tasks to Minato and his team."

"Minato Namikaze?"

Danzo Shimura gritted his teeth slightly.

"You plan to make the Yellow Flash the new Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, offering no further explanation.

"Let's wait for news from the front!"

This is the second update from yesterday.

And today's update might be this afternoon (or evening?).

In short, it shouldn't be as late as before.

(End of this chapter)