Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

These unstable factors were created because of his leniency towards Danzo, so he should clean them up himself.

When the Third Hokage made such an aggressive move, the Root ninjas who had been hiding in the shadows immediately appeared and joined forces to attack him.

However, before they could successfully surround the Third Generation, a dazzling and cold blade of light appeared in the room without warning.

The blade flashed through the air.

Then, ten Root elites whose strength had been recognized by Danzo fell one after another into pools of blood. Their necks were severed, and after they fell, their heads separated from their bodies, completely losing their life force and becoming cold corpses.

The next moment, a white-haired ANBU ninja holding a white fang dagger and wearing a dog mask appeared on one knee behind the Third Hokage.

It was none other than the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo.

"White Teeth!"

Danzo watched as his subordinates were wiped out in an instant, and he gritted his teeth as he looked at the white-haired ninja holding the White Fang Short Sword, feeling both hatred and jealousy.

The White Fang of Konoha, the sharpest and most loyal blade in the hands of the Third Hokage.

With him around, the safety of the third generation is absolutely guaranteed, because he is a sharp blade that can devour shadows.

There was a time when he tried to win over this sharpest blade in the hands of the Third Hokage, but it was a blade with its own thoughts and the pure will of fire. Even though there was darkness in his heart, he could not find any opportunity to make this blade work for him.

In fact, he knew that Konoha's White Fang was not loyal to the Third Hokage, but only to the person sitting in the Hokage's seat.

Because he is not the Hokage, he is not qualified to wield this blade.

"Damn it, why did I hesitate back then?"

Danzo once again felt remorse for the mistakes he had made back then.

Because he is not the Hokage, he was driven to the brink of defeat today by Hiruzen, who is the Hokage, and Sakumo Hatake. This is truly a disgrace.

If he were only facing the Third Hokage, with his abilities, even if he couldn't defeat the Third Hokage, he would be confident of escaping. But now that there is another Kage-level opponent, White Fang, he has no choice but to be defeated and die, with no possibility of survival whatsoever.

"Hiruzen, do you really trust an outsider that much?"

Danzo had seen it all, and even in this life-or-death situation, he remained calm and fearless in the face of the Third Hokage, who was now aided by Sakumo Hatake, and questioned him.

What do you mean?

The third generation said with a frown.

"Don't you know what I mean? Hattori Masanari is a Rain Ninja, and a rogue ninja who is hostile to Konoha. When has such a rogue ninja ever been worthy of Konoha's trust? Just because he has some information about Sunagakure. It would be better to trust the Uchiha clan's loyalty to Konoha than to trust such a person."

Danzo sneered, using Hattori Masanari's identity to make fun of him.

Hattori Masanari's biggest problem is his illegitimate identity. He is not only a Rain Ninja but also a rogue ninja, and he is hostile to Konoha. If the Third Hokage can seize on these problems, it will not be difficult to shake his confidence in making a deal with Hattori Masanari.

“What you said makes some sense, but Hattori Masanari has already shown his sincerity, which means that he may have a detailed strategic deployment intelligence about the Sunagakure battlefield. If there is such a possibility, I am willing to take the gamble.”

The third generation did not shake his determination to make a deal with Hattori Masashige.

Not long ago, he had already received the terms of the deal proposed by Hattori Masanari from Jiraiya. He didn't ask for much; he only requested a copy of the torture ninjutsu and a batch of resources sufficient to train ten Jonin.

It's clear that Hattori Masanari intended to use this important information to curry favor with Konoha, and wasn't as completely untrustworthy as Danzo claimed.

"Hmph, you're still the same as ever, too trusting. What if this information is fake, a trap set by him in collusion with Sunagakure? Don't forget, Konoha just finished fighting Amegakure, not Sunagakure and Amegakure. They all have a common enemy now, and that is Konoha."

Danzo continued to nitpick, deepening the Third Hokage's distrust of Hattori Masashige.

When the Third Hokage heard Danzo say this, his heart sank. Although he didn't want to believe it was true, he couldn't deny the possibility that it might exist.

But is it really possible?

Hattori Masanari has a grudge against Sunagakure now. His information comes from the son and daughter-in-law of that old woman Chiyo. Given Chiyo's personality, how could she possibly let her son and daughter-in-law take such a big risk?

Therefore, the chances of Hattori Masanari joining forces with Sunagakure are very low; it's more likely that he will provide Konoha with accurate information.

After all, Amegakure is now powerless to fight against Konoha. If they dare to betray Konoha again, Konoha won't even need to lift a finger. To prevent Amegakure from suffering Konoha's retaliation, Hanzo of the Salamander would be more than happy to personally deliver Hattori Masanari's head to them.

Hattori Masanari is very strong in the Land of Rain, but Hanzo is even stronger.

So the Third Hokage simply ignored Danzo's provocations once again and issued an ultimatum: "I'll say it again: have Root cease all activities in the Land of Rain. If I find that Root is obstructing the transaction between Konoha and Hattori Masashige, then you and Root have no reason to continue existing in Konoha. Don't doubt my words; I mean what I say this time."

"you……"

Danzo was so enraged by the Third Hokage's threat that his face turned red with anger, and a murderous aura unconsciously emanated from him.

But White Fang, standing behind the Third Hokage, immediately drew his White Fang short sword again, staring intently at Danzo. If he detected even the slightest sign that Danzo was about to make a move, White Fang would drink the blood of the Root leader before him with his short sword.

Danzo felt a chill run down his spine when White Fang stared at him. He quickly suppressed his murderous aura and then tried to provoke him again: "Hiruzen, Hattori Masanari is not trustworthy. If he were truly sincere about trading with Konoha, he should have offered Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law to us instead of trading with Iwagakure."

"That's because he wants to befriend both Iwagakure and Konoha at the same time. You don't need to sow discord here anymore. I've made a decision. I will definitely make a deal with Hattori Masanari to have all your people evacuate from the Land of Rain by tomorrow morning."

The Third Hokage, too lazy to continue arguing with Danzo, retorted.

After saying that, he turned to leave.

He came here in person to give Danzo a final ultimatum, to make Danzo understand his resolve, not to listen to Danzo's nonsense.

"Wait a minute, take a look at this, you'll definitely be interested."

Seeing that the Third Hokage was unwilling to talk to him anymore, Danzo knew that this was his last chance to fight back. He decisively took out his latest trump card, quickly took out a scroll from the table drawer, and said to the Third Hokage.

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage, who had his back to Danzo, immediately smiled.

He knew that his old comrade-in-arms might still possess something valuable, and unless he was pushed to the brink, it would be difficult to get him to reveal his valuable possessions.

As expected, Danzo's value can still be squeezed out.

When he turned around, the slight smile that had just appeared on the Third Hokage's face had vanished without a trace. He stared coldly at Danzo, then looked at the scroll in Danzo's right hand and asked impatiently, "What is this?"

"You'll see when you watch it. Trust me, Hiruzen. You'll definitely regret it if you don't watch it."

Danzo spoke mysteriously, then threw the scroll at the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage, quick-witted and agile, took the scroll. With White Fang present, he wasn't worried that Danzo might have set a trap on the scroll. He immediately opened it.

There were no traps on the scroll, but the contents recorded on it were quite astonishing, causing the Third Generation to breathe slightly faster.

Is this intelligence report accurate?

The third generation closed the scroll and questioned Danzo.

The scroll contains the various strategic deployments of Sunagakure on the battlefield, as well as some combat plans that have not yet been launched.

If this information is true, Konoha could use it to severely damage Sunagakure and cause them a lot of trouble.

The only pity is that the scroll contains very little information, only recording the locations of five secret warehouses of Sunagakure and two unlaunched battle plans.

"Of course it's true. This is precious intelligence that my Root team painstakingly collected in Sunagakure."

Danzo said proudly.

This intelligence was relayed by one of his moles planted in Sunagakure. This mole had recently made great contributions to Sunagakure and had risen to a high position, gaining access to a lot of useful information.

Therefore, the intelligence he transmitted back was absolutely accurate.

Seeing Danzo's proud demeanor, the Third Hokage's doubts vanished. Although Danzo's Root organization was not a good thing and sometimes even threatened Konoha, they were indeed adept at gathering intelligence, and Danzo had been specializing in that before.

Given Danzo's recent demeanor and current predicament, the accuracy of this information is assured.

However, Danzo clearly had such important information, yet he didn't bring it out immediately. He's a real scoundrel.

Didn't he know that if this intelligence had been delivered to him sooner, fewer casualties would have been suffered by his comrades who were fighting the Sand Village on the battlefield?

Upon realizing this, the Third Hokage angrily shouted at Danzo, "Then why didn't you give me this information sooner?"

"I only recently received this information, and besides, I am currently a serious criminal. I don't have the right to directly ask you, the Hokage."

Danzo finally remembered his current identity and brought it up in his defense.

However, he wasn't really making excuses; he had only obtained this information from his subordinates yesterday.

He would hand over this information to the Third Hokage sooner or later, but he didn't expect to do so so soon, because this information was his backup plan after his mission to capture Hattori Masanari failed.

Instead of receiving news of Hattori Masanari's successful capture or mission failure, he received an ultimatum from the Third Hokage.

Left with no other choice, he used this precious intelligence to deal with the third generation.

"It seems you still remember your identity. But if you really do, then you'd better stay here obediently."

The Third Hokage was well aware that Danzo was making excuses, but he couldn't refute them, so he could only use this to satirize Danzo's actions as being inconsistent with his current status.

Danzo's face turned ashen from the Third Hokage's sarcastic mockery. He was furious, but he could only endure it for the time being.

Only through patience will he have a chance to preserve his and Root's strength from the now incredibly powerful Third Hokage.

"If there is any more important intelligence, you must tell me immediately."

Seeing that Danzo didn't argue back, the Third Hokage softened his tone slightly and said coldly.

"Actually, if you want to obtain more important information, letting me leave is the best option. You know, I face many inconveniences here, and a lot of important information cannot be transmitted to me."

Danzo stated his request.

"You know that's impossible."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage remained silent for a few seconds before rejecting Danzo's tempting offer.

Indeed, locking Danzo up here greatly diminishes his personal effectiveness. If he were to get out, Root would immediately become extremely aggressive, and many spies who maintain one-on-one contact with him or even require him to personally contact them could be reactivated.

At that time, a large amount of information about Sunagakure will be continuously transmitted to Danzo, allowing Konoha to regain the advantage in intelligence.

However, Danzo had made a grave mistake and was now a criminal deprived of his political rights for life, making it impossible for him to be released.

If he were released and others found out, he probably wouldn't be able to remain Hokage.

Besides, Lord Mito is not dead yet, so how could he be so stubborn as to release Danzo?

It wasn't that he coveted the Hokage position; it was simply that he was the only one capable of stabilizing the situation in Konoha.

After years of working day and night, he is fully confident that no one understands Konoha better than him now.

"Why insist on those rules? This is wartime, so we should use special methods. I took such a big risk to gather intelligence for the good of Konoha. Do you think I'm never coming back?"

Danzo, annoyed that the Third Hokage had refused his request, said...

He desperately wanted to leave this place. Here, he felt constrained and his talents were suppressed to ninety percent.

Moreover, after losing his personal leadership, Root's intelligence network is shrinking rapidly. Now, it can only effectively control the forces in Konoha and the surrounding areas. The intelligence network that it had painstakingly built up in the outside world is almost completely paralyzed.

The situation is changing too fast, especially with the Third Hokage releasing the beast that is the Uchiha clan, and the Night organization that continues to target Root. If he continues to be trapped here, it won't be long before Root's intelligence network outside will be completely destroyed, and it will be countless times more difficult to rebuild it than before.

The enemy will not stand idly by and watch Gen rise again.

"Without rules, there can be no order. Konoha is a place that values ​​rules. As the Hokage, I naturally have to set an example. If even I, the Hokage, break the rules, how can I command respect? You should continue to stay here obediently."