Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

As expected, starting today, this powerful Root leader and Hokage advisor will fall from power.

After this, even if they don't die, they will still be punished. The best outcome will probably be to send them to the most dangerous battlefield to give them their last bit of strength.

At that time, many people will definitely hope that something bad happens to him.

"Keeping this guy around is just asking for trouble. Maybe we should suggest the teacher execute him."

Kirito's thoughts were surprisingly aligned with those of Homura Uchiha at this moment.

Danzo's tenacious spirit, like that of a cockroach, is something no one dares to underestimate, especially since he is also a man of great cunning and action, with a group of ninja warriors willing to die for him. Keeping such a person around would only be a disaster.

Danzo was indeed very efficient. He realized that things were beyond repair, so he didn't stay any longer and turned around to leave with his group of Root ninjas.

Seeing this, Kirito hesitated whether to follow.

Based on his understanding of Danzo, the other party was definitely making a last-ditch effort. This Dark One of Konoha would not give up until the very last moment, and even if he died, he would try to take the enemy down with him.

Without a doubt, Danzo now hates Mito to the core, and might even lose his mind and do something to harm her.

The next moment, he suddenly looked at the third generation with new respect.

Just as Danzo was about to leave with his men, the Anbu surrounded him and the other Root ninjas. The Anbu leader, Sarutobi Takashi, the eldest son of the Third Hokage, said, "Lord Danzo, please stay here for now."

"Are you going to stop me?"

Danzo stared at Sarutobi Takashi with a frosty expression.

"The Third Generation Lord has ordered that the surrounding area be sealed off, and no one may enter or leave without his permission."

Sarutobi Takashi said without any fear.

"you……"

Danzo recognized Sarutobi Takashi by the voice. He didn't expect that a mere head of the Anbu would actually dare to stop him, and even use a trivial matter as an excuse. His murderous aura was immediately revealed.

Mito, the Third Hokage, and Homura Uchiha were all fine, he couldn't afford to offend those people, but now even the Third Hokage's son dared to humiliate him.

Is he, a powerful figure at the Kage level, really so lacking in prestige?

As soon as Danzo unleashed his killing intent, Sarutobi Takashi and the other Anbu ninjas drew their swords from their backs and stared coldly at Danzo and the two Root ninjas beside him, releasing their own terrifying killing intent.

There are more than thirty ANBU ninjas here, including ten Jonin.

Besides, this is Konoha. As long as we send a signal, reinforcements will arrive in less than a minute.

Therefore, they are not afraid of Danzo at all.

"Lord Danzo, please reconsider."

Sarutobi Takashi pointed his ninja sword at Danzo and said coldly.

Unlike his father, he wouldn't indulge Danzo. He had long disliked Danzo, who always gave his father a hard time. People who didn't know better might have thought he was the Hokage.

Moreover, their methods were extremely despicable.

He just personally confirmed that he instructed others to secretly destroy the Senju clan's sealing barrier, intending to harm Lady Mito and the Senju clan. Such a person who attacks his own people behind their backs is an absolute black sheep and should be punished.

He will absolutely not let Danzo leave now, giving the other party a chance to escape.

Danzo is the leader of Root and an advisor to the Hokage. He holds many secrets of Konoha, and if he were to defect, he would cause great harm to Konoha.

To be honest, he now hopes that Danzo will make a move against him. As long as Danzo dares to make a move against him, Danzo is doomed. Even if his father is magnanimous, he will not let Danzo off the hook.

Because his mother also hated Danzo, hated him very, very much.

"Good, you are very good, you have the demeanor of your father back then."

Danzo laughed in exasperation, giving Sarutobi Takashi a forced smile before withdrawing his murderous intent.

He wasn't afraid to fight the Anbu members on the spot. As a Kage-level expert at his peak, he didn't take the Anbu members in front of him seriously at all; there was simply no need for them.

Because he didn't want to die, and he had no intention of defecting; he still wanted to continue protecting Konoha.

And his dream of becoming Naruto will absolutely not end here.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Takashi was somewhat disappointed and sheathed his ninja sword, replying indifferently, "You flatter me, Lord Danzo."

The brief standoff thus came to an end.

"Kid, well done, you've got guts."

Uchiha Homura praised Sarutobi Takashi, then looked at Danzo with a regretful expression.

He originally planned to signal his clan to come and help as soon as Danzo appeared, then release the shadow clones to notify his main body to come back and deal with Danzo, killing him fair and square. But Danzo, that treacherous old turtle, didn't fall for it.

"He's ruthless, thick-skinned, flexible, and incredibly good at hiding his true nature. This guy is truly a menace."

Kirito looked at Danzo with the same regret, his desire to kill Danzo growing stronger.

People like Danzo will cause endless trouble sooner or later as long as they don't die.

Chapter 59: His Heart Is Despicable

Danzo calmed down, and the Anbu members, including Sarutobi Takashi, also ceased their combat stance. However, the encirclement remained, with the Anbu still eyeing Danzo and his Root ninjas with predatory intent.

Moreover, the number of ANBU ninjas arriving later continued to increase.

These ANBU ninjas were all masters of concealment. If Kirito hadn't been able to sense souls within a 1-kilometer radius using his soul perception, it would have been difficult for him to detect them completely using only his perception of chakra through natural energy.

As a Kage-level ninja, Danzo was also quite skilled in sensory ninjutsu, so he naturally noticed Sarutobi Takashi's little trick of secretly mobilizing ANBU ninja reinforcements.

He merely snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and stared in the direction where the Third Generation and the others had left, his eyes cold and deep.

"It seems Danzo really can't leave. There are so many Anbu ninjas, including 20 Jonin alone. Even if he is a Kage-level ninja, he wouldn't dare to make a move. There's also a shadow clone of Uchiha Homura next to him. If a real fight breaks out, this Uchiha clan leader would definitely be happy to call on the Uchiha clan ninjas to help him."

Kirito watched Danzo's helpless decision to give up and leave, and thought with satisfaction.

In this way, he wouldn't have to secretly follow Danzo anymore.

The Root's headquarters is still very dangerous. Who knows if there are any sealing barriers there that can detect souls, or ninjas that can sense souls?

He absolutely did not want to follow Danzo, that cunning old fox, unless absolutely necessary.

"Ah, the safe time for astral projection is almost up, it's time to go back."

Kirito suddenly felt a slight pain in his soul and frowned slightly as he thought to himself.

Time flies, and before he knew it, his nighttime stroll was coming to an end.

Without further hesitation, he manipulated his spirit body to turn around and fly quickly towards the Rope Tree's house.

A minute later, at the Nawaki family's house, Kirito in the basement reopened his eyes and stood up somewhat stiffly.

……

Meanwhile, in Mito's room, the Third Hokage, Mitokado Homura, Uchiha Koharu, and Hyuga Kazuma were gathered, kneeling obediently on the tatami mats, listening to Aburame Ryoma recount the details of how the Root ninjas destroyed the Senju clan's sealing barrier that night.

With Mito, a master of sealing techniques, present, the seal of the tongue-twisting Root of Trouble on Aburame Ryoma had been removed. Next, he was controlled by Uchiha Homura, who was proficient in genjutsu, using his Sharingan, and then he obediently told her everything he knew.

According to Ryoma Aburame, Danzo chose to destroy the Senju clan's sealing barrier in order to lure out Ebizo, the head of the Sand Village's intelligence network.

Danzo did a lot of work on this.

Among these actions was the use of a discovered Sand Ninja spy embedded in the Ninja Academy to leak information about Kushina Uzumaki, and the secret dissemination of information on the black market that Mito Uzumaki was nearing the end.

Afterwards, he secretly cooperated with Orochimaru to break the Senju clan's sealing barrier, and then deliberately revealed this information and his intention to obtain the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to a Root member who had already been discovered to be a Sand Village spy.

Danzo's entire plan was quite ingenious, with each step tightly linked and seamlessly integrated, leaving almost no flaws. He made full use of all the pawns at his disposal, even his own infamous reputation.

The Third Generation and the others asked themselves honestly, if they were Ebizo, they would probably have already been tricked.

However, Danzo had overlooked one crucial detail: Kirito, who had mastered the art of spiritification and spent his nights wandering around.

He probably couldn't have imagined that Kirito would learn the Spirit Transformation Technique in such a short time.

After all, which S-rank ninjutsu doesn't require a significant amount of time to master?

According to his intelligence, Kato Dan spent a full year learning the Spirit Transformation Technique. Before practicing, he used many precious resources to nourish his body and reach the best possible state for practicing the Spirit Transformation Technique.

Who knew that Kirito's talent for cultivating the Spirit Transformation Technique was so abnormal? In less than a month, he successfully mastered this terrifying S-rank soul ninjutsu. Moreover, thanks to the abundant training resources provided by the Senju clan, his cultivation of the Spirit Transformation Technique progressed by leaps and bounds.

Not to mention Danzo, even Mito was shocked by this. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she probably wouldn't have believed that anyone could master the Spirit Transformation Technique so quickly.

In short, Danzo was tricked by empiricism this time.

Kirito, who doesn't play by the rules, is the one who appears, forcing his plan to fail.

"Damn Danzo, you've kept so much important information from me. How many other important things have you been hiding from me?"

After hearing Ryoma Aburame's account of his plan, the Third Hokage was shocked and developed a deep resentment towards Danzo.

For example, he had no idea that there were Sand Ninja spies in the Ninja Academy, and Danzo actually concealed this fact, which made him feel heartbroken and terrified.

After all, the Ninja Academy is a very important institution that cultivates young talents of Konoha and spreads the Will of Fire. If a Sand Village spy were to infiltrate the teaching staff of the institution, it could very well lead to the destruction of countless young talents if something were to happen.

Not every student at the Ninja Academy is a super kid like Kirito, Chizuru, or Nawaki, possessing the strength of a Chunin. Most are just ordinary kids who don't even have the strength of a Genin.

If that Sand Village spy were to launch an attack and secretly cause a major disaster, the precious young shoots of Konoha might very well suffer heavy casualties.

At that time, he, as the Hokage, will be held accountable.

Behind every child lies the hope of a family, and if that hope were to vanish, many people would go mad.

These people, having nowhere else to vent their anger, will inevitably direct it at him, the Hokage.

After all, the Hokage is the number one protector of the village.

If he doesn't take responsibility for such a major mistake, who will?

Even if he becomes a scapegoat immediately afterward, most people will probably continue to blame him, thinking that he is incapable of protecting everyone and is unworthy of being Hokage.

If you can't even protect the tender leaves and buds of the school, how can you expect to protect others?

Who believes it?

Danzo, that bastard, actually refused to tell him such important information; his intentions are truly despicable.

Given Danzo's character, the Third Hokage believed that Danzo would do such a thing.

Upon realizing this, the Third Hokage felt an unprecedented fear of Danzo, thinking that his old comrade-in-arms was truly ruthless and cruel in order to bring him down.

"You bastard, good luck to you."

The Third Hokage thought angrily, deciding that he had to severely punish Danzo this time and abandon his plan to plead with Mito.

It wasn't that he didn't want to plead for Danzo, but Danzo had gone too far this time, and the sword was clearly starting to backfire on him.