Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

At the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, unusually, lost his temper.

"boom!"

The documents scattered across his desk, and he angrily berated the person opposite him:

"Danzo, what are you trying to do? Just because your people went to investigate on their own and I temporarily detained them, you resort to this despicable act?"

Danzo stood before the desk, his single eye expressionless, half his face hidden in shadow.

"Hiruzen, I don't know what you're talking about. Do you always blame Root whenever there are rumors that are bad for the village?"

"Getting to the root of the problem?" The Third Hokage laughed angrily.

"Besides you, who else would bring up the fact that the child is a 'fox demon' at this critical juncture to stir up trouble?"

"Besides you, who would deliberately incite the villagers to target Kakashi, to target a child?"

"Besides you, who else would slander and smear the reputation of the Shadow Guard?"

"They were heroes who came off the battlefield not long ago. Now, by taking advantage of the Shadow Guard and that child's bond, do you want to destroy them?"

"Are you trying to force all of my Shadow Guards to become rogue ninjas?"

The Third Hokage stood up, his aged body exuding a terrifying aura. "Danzo, you have disappointed me greatly."

……

Chapter 160 Reverse Psychic Communication

Danzo looked at the enraged Third Hokage, a cold glint flashing in his single eye:

"Everything I've done is for Konoha."

Instead of downplaying the issue, he admitted that he had done it, but he used the same reason that had always worked for him.

"For Konoha?" The Third Hokage's chest heaved with rage.

"At this crucial moment when Konoha and Kumogakure are negotiating peace, and when the war between Konoha and Iwagakure is escalating, you're destabilizing the village internally, and you claim it's for Konoha's sake?"

Danzo said in a deep voice:

"That kid has grown too fast. He was able to escape unscathed from the clutches of a Jinchūriki. I must find his weakness."

“Hiruzen, I don’t want such a brat to get out of control, just like Kurama.”

"So, I sent people to investigate, hoping to obtain information that would allow me to control him. Am I wrong?"

"Don't be so quick to anger. You just mentioned rogue ninjas. What I've done is precisely to prevent such things from happening."

"Qian Shou Qingwu, his growth rate is too fast. As far as I know, he left the village without a word this time and did not report it. Is such a person really loyal?"

The third generation sneered:

"Don't make it sound so righteous. Kakashi came to report to me when Qingwu left the village. Also, he went out to find a way to heal his teammates."

"This is the Will of Fire of Konoha, the bond between comrades."

"Loyalty? Do you need to measure the loyalty of my Shadow Guard?"

Danzo's tone remained cold and indifferent:

"Hiruzen, you always act impulsively, but I believe that only true mastery constitutes control! Otherwise... you'll end up like Orochimaru, with endless consequences!"

"Endless troubles?" The Third Hokage took a few quick breaths, suppressing his anger. "Danzo, you should know Orochimaru's situation better than I do."

"What?" Danzo sneered, "You're blaming me for even your own disciple's defection?"

When Orochimaru was mentioned, the Third Hokage was no longer as self-righteous as before. He only felt a splitting headache, as his old friend was becoming more and more unscrupulous.

The third generation leader let out a long breath, suppressing his anger, and said:

“You sent people to investigate first, and they were arrested and brought to me. I didn’t say I wouldn’t release them, after all, they are from the Aburame family. But you can’t use rumors to tarnish my Shadow Guard.”

Danzo remained expressionless and repeated, "Everything I've done is for Konoha. I'd like to see how your Shadow Guard will respond to this situation."

The third generation opened his mouth, saying incredulously, "What exactly do you want to see?"

"Only if you can withstand the test will I acknowledge your impulsiveness," Danzo's tone softened slightly. "I will not joke about the stability of Konoha; all destabilizing factors must be eliminated."

After saying that, he turned and left, his black robe sweeping across the papers on the floor, stirring up a gust of cold wind.

"boom!"

The door to the Hokage's office slammed shut with a dull thud.

The third generation looked at the closed door, took a heavy breath, and slumped back into his chair, his aged face full of exhaustion.

He disagreed with Danzo's ideas, or rather, their ideas had always been different.

However, sometimes things don't go as we control.

He only detained a few Root ninjas, including Ryoma Aburame, but he didn't expect Danzo to make such a big fuss.

Danzo was right about one thing: the village's stability!

For the sake of the village's stability, he had no choice but to swallow his anger for the time being and deal with him once the peace talks with Yunyin were over.

"..." A ruthless glint flashed in the Third Hokage's old eyes. The Root! It needs to be taught a lesson.

He clapped his hands, and a member of the secret service silently knelt down.

The Third Hokage said in a deep voice, "Go, tell Danzo to stop inciting rumors and to suppress this matter as soon as possible. Also..."

After a pause, the Third Hokage continued, "Spread the word that Kakashi has 'resigned to take responsibility'."

"Yes!" The secret service member responded and withdrew.

"Hoo..." The Third Hokage sighed and looked at the photo of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

That's all he can do for now. Kakashi was going to resign anyway, and spreading the news now will help minimize the impact of the rumors on the Shadow Guard.

As for Naruto...

The growth of a Jinchūriki always involves going through hardships. Kakashi... should understand me, right?

……

Fire Kingdom Capital

After Qingwu woke up, she heard voices in the courtyard.

When I opened the door, I saw that it was a group of officials from Daming Prefecture.

The leading official bowed respectfully, "Princess Tsunade, the Daimyo heard that you... are short of money, and sent us to bring you some supplies."

That was close! I almost blurted out, "I heard you've been losing money."

Tsunade said impatiently, "Take it away, take it away. I didn't come here to ask for money."

Shizune walked over and whispered something similar: Lady Tsunade doesn't need charity.

After seeing the officials off, Shizune turned back to Qingwu, who was watching the "fun," and explained, "The lord has never spent any money from the Daimyo Prefecture. We can also make money through medical ninjutsu."

"Hmph!" Tsunade glanced at Qingwu sideways, looking quite smug.

Qingwu chuckled, "Yes, I understand. I shouldn't have schemed last night. Lady Tsunade's reputation is beyond reproach."

"Kid, no need to call me." Tsunade strode out with lightning speed. "Follow me."

Shizune stuck out her tongue cutely, then asked worriedly, "Qingwu-jun, are we going to the Wet Bone Forest today? I heard from the adults that it's very dangerous there."

Qingwu smiled and said, "Just call me Qingwu. Senior Jingyin, there are dangers, of course, but we can't stop because of that."

Shizune glanced at Tsunade in front of her and whispered a reminder:

"Don't think that following adults will make you worry-free. I've heard that the trials of Shikkotsu Forest can only be faced by yourself."

Qingwu paused for a moment, then nodded: "I know, thank you, senior."

He was wondering how to get to Shikkotsu Forest, but unexpectedly, after Tsunade led him out of the city, they found a secluded riverbank, where Tsunade bit her finger and whispered:

"Spiritual communication!"

Bang!

As the smoke cleared, a giant "slug" appeared in the open space.

Its soft body spread out, taking up almost half of the open space, its surface gleaming with a warm luster, looking soft and fluffy.

Well, in Qingwu's eyes, it looked more like toothpaste magnified countless times...

"Lady Tsunade." The slug swayed slightly and spoke in a soft, sweet voice.

Tsunade put her hands on her hips, glanced at Qingwu, and said, "Reverse summoning, take him to the Wet Bone Forest."

Slug lowered her head slightly, her gaze slowly sweeping over Qingwu and Shizune behind Tsunade, a hint of curiosity in her eyes, "Are these the younger generation of the Senju family?"

Qingwu looked up, a thought flashing through her mind. It seemed that Tsunade had already communicated with the slug beforehand.

He knew that the slug in front of him was just one of the split bodies of the Slug Sage.

As for the trials in Shikkotsu Forest... it doesn't make sense that Sakura in the original work could pass the trials, but I can't, right?

Moreover, his true purpose was first to confirm whether there was any natural essence there!

Chapter 161 Wet Bone Forest

Bang!

The slug and the green wutong tree disappeared from the spot together.

Tsunade casually sat down on the ground by the river and instructed, "Shizune, bring out the dice. I want to practice some more."

After a moment of silence, Shizune said softly, "Lady Tsunade, you're still very worried about Qingwu-kun, aren't you?"

After returning to her room in the early hours of the morning, she saw that Lady Tsunade had summoned a small slug and was giving instructions for a long time.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her, but said defiantly, "Who's worried about him? I'm just afraid he'll give up halfway and waste the effort I put into bringing him here."

Though she said that, a hint of concern lingered in her eyes.

Shizune covered her mouth and chuckled, then changed the subject, saying, "Sir, stop practicing dice; it's useless."

Tsunade was furious. "What does this brat know? Give it to me right now! I don't believe it!"