The Master of Konoha's Legacy

The pitcher plant slowly sank into the tree trunk.

"Maybe it's just my imagination."

Half an hour later.

On a mountaintop at the edge of the battlefield, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo stood side by side on the cliff edge, looking down at the ninjas who were clearing the battlefield below.

Danzo glanced sideways at Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose expression seemed unfocused, and said in a deep voice:

"I feel I need to remind you."

Sometimes you can refuse to contribute, but you can't personally harm the village's interests.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and murmured:

I can distinguish between what is important and what is urgent.

Given his current strength and his status as a perfect Jinchūriki, I will no longer be his enemy.

Besides, if I continue to oppose him like this, I feel like I'm letting Konoha down too much.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had expressed his opinion, Danzo nodded slightly, then turned and walked down the mountain without saying a word.

Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice came from behind.

"Danzo".

Danzo paused, turning his head with a puzzled look on his face.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi was staring at him intently, and said in a deep voice:

"Do you believe in the love that Tu Nan speaks of?"

Danzo pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"For the sake of power, I will try to understand it."

However, people like us...

Only Konoha is the most suitable candidate.

After saying that, he turned around and continued walking down the mountain without looking back.

At the mountaintop, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, turned around, and glanced at the sun shining brightly in the sky.

Then he slowly reached into his pocket, took out two photos, and examined them closely.

After a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply, tore the two photos to shreds, and let the breeze carry the fragments away.

"Everything for Konoha."

The hatred that had been building up for years was finally put aside.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if he had suddenly become much more relaxed.

Afternoon, Hokage Building.

In the conference room, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Tonan Uchiha sat around a round table.

In Konoha now, the three of them can be said to have reached the pinnacle of power.

He holds the power of life and death over many ninjas.

Every word and action of every person can cause a major earthquake in Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took one puff of his cigarette after another, quietly waiting for the two of them to speak first.

Danzo tried to speak several times, but then held back.

After all, at this point, it's customary to discuss the enemy first, and then talk about what comes next.

The masked man exposed his Uchiha clan identity in full view of everyone.

Therefore, this matter will definitely affect the Uchiha clan.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Tonan was a member of the Uchiha clan.

Both of them pondered repeatedly how to bring up the matter without offending Uchiha Tonan.

After a long silence, Uchiha Tonan spoke first:

“I have adopted Naruto, and from now on I will be his guardian.”

I want to give him enough fatherly love on behalf of Mr. Minato so that he can grow up healthy and strong.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded with a smile:

"Tu Nan, you are still the most loyal and righteous."

You have more experience taking care of children than we two old men do.

I trust you completely with Naruto.

Does Naruto inherit the Uzumaki surname, or the Uchiha surname?

Uchiha Tonan pondered for a moment, then said solemnly:

"Naturally, it is the surname of Whirlpool."

Kushina taught me all the sealing techniques she knew while she was alive.

I also plan to teach it to Naruto in the future.

This way, we can at least give Kushina-senpai an explanation.

The current Naruto is no longer a Jinchūriki, and his parents are both dead.

A baby with no connections, nobody cares what happens to him.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, how Naruto was dealt with was not as important as Uchiha Tonan's reputation.

I'd be happy to adopt Naruto as a daughter, let alone a son.

Danzo's composure was clearly inferior to Hiruzen Sarutobi's, seeing the two of them still discussing a trivial baby at this moment.

He immediately tapped the table with his finger and said in a deep voice:

"Let's talk about the masked man first."

Last night when that masked man appeared.

I have already arranged for Root ninjas to inform Fugaku Uchiha.

Under the watchful eyes of the Root ninjas, Fugaku Uchiha took a headcount of the clan members.

Since none of the members were absent, we can largely rule out the Uchiha clan as suspects.

As for the Uchiha members on the Hidden Mist battlefield, we won't know the exact information for another two days.

Seeing Danzo's direct approach, Hiruzen Sarutobi was worried that Uchiha Tonan might be displeased, so he quickly coughed lightly and said:

"Ahem, Tu Nan, it's not that we don't trust your family."

Instead, the masked man possessed the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan.

This suggests that he must have been a genius of the Uchiha clan in his previous life.

Such a person should logically receive a lot of attention, but we couldn't find a single clue about him for a while.

"You've also activated the kaleidoscope; I wonder if you noticed anything when you fought him."

After saying that, he stared intently at Uchiha Tonan's expression, fearing that Uchiha Tonan would get angry at this critical juncture.

Now that Minato has died, Konoha is in a power vacuum.

At times like these, the importance of reputation becomes apparent.

Especially now that Hiruzen Sarutobi has no real power, and Danzo only has a handful of members in Root.

Uchiha Tonan, however, held great power, with several departments under his command and a wealth of talented individuals.

If Uchiha Tonan were to raise his voice, Konoha would probably be out of the picture.

However, after listening to their story, Uchiha Tonan did not show any anger on his face. Instead, he fell into deep thought and said with a solemn expression:

"Actually, it was right after Kushina-senpai finished giving birth."

I confronted that guy.

However, he didn't seem to want to fight me and used a space-time ninjutsu to escape.

During the standoff, he also told me his identity.

Danzo's expression hardened upon hearing this. He leaned forward and said in a deep voice, "Who is he?"

Then Uchiha Tonan tapped the table with his finger and said, word by word, "Uchiha Madara."

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo were both taken aback upon hearing this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't say anything, but he smoked much more frequently.

Danzo, on the other hand, jumped to his feet, looking incredulous, and said:

"Impossible! So many years have passed, how could Uchiha Madara still be alive?"

Uchiha Tonan shook his head slightly, tapping his fingers incessantly on the table, and said calmly:

"Whether it is or not is not that important."

As long as I'm in Konoha, if he dares to come, I can easily seal him away.

Upon hearing this, Danzo immediately fell silent and sat back down in his seat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a long puff of smoke, set his pipe aside, and a warm smile appeared on his face as he said:

"Since you're certain, Tu Nan, that he is Uchiha Madara, then the suspicion of him being a member of the Uchiha clan is eliminated."

"Have the Root ninja evacuate the Uchiha clan shortly."

But how could Uchiha Tonan miss such a great opportunity?

The reason for sparing the lives of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo was to make them play the good cop in their attitude towards the Uchiha clan.

As for myself... naturally, I'll play the good cop.

He can't possibly hold all the power and then lead the way in ostracizing the Uchiha clan.

To highlight one's importance, one must instill a sense of crisis in the Uchiha clan.