Madara, let's change the world together!

She had wanted to ask this for a long time.

"Kaguya and Yuling are both from the Otsutsuki clan. The Hyuga clan separated from the Otsutsuki clan."

"The Hyuga clan should also have records about the Otsutsuki clan."

Is this even possible?

Tsunade never expected such a secret to exist.

She then glanced at the imposing figure in the crowd, a man with long, spiky hair.

"I feel like I've heard the name Madara somewhere before."

Without revealing his surname, even Tsunade couldn't have guessed the name Uchiha Madara.

It should be said that after Madara left Konoha and then died in a great battle with Hashirama, Tobirama Senju intentionally made others forget his name.

"Okay, it's a rare opportunity for us to hang out together, so relax and stop overthinking it."

Kiyoi Gen gently put his arm around Tsunade's waist and whispered in her ear to prevent her from overthinking.

"Wait, someone's here."

"They all know you're my wife, so being affectionate is perfectly fine."

Tsunade delivered an elbow strike to Kiyoi Gen's chest and grabbed his outstretched groping hand.

"Behave yourself and don't touch me inappropriately in public."

"Good good."

Kiyoshi Gen obediently placed his hand on Tsunade's waist, stroking her smooth skin.

Phew~ Successfully distracted.

Once everything has settled down, he can tell Tsunade everything.

Hopefully, she won't have too much of a problem with the freckles.

I gazed quietly at the night sky and looked around at the familiar people around me.

It's been almost forty years.

Time really flies.

According to estimates, the time for the final operation is fast approaching.

Now, let's pay more attention to the Uchiha, Hyuga, and Orochimaru.

Should I try to persuade Tsunade to join him in bed tonight?

hehehe~

Chapter 260 Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura

January of the 49th year of Konoha.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule, Konoha returned to normal, and the effects of the Nine-Tails' rampage gradually subsided.

Apart from the Uchiha clan who were caught in the crossfire, everyone else only remembered that there were fires and explosions that night.

After all, non-combatants did not lose their loved ones; at most, they lost their houses and other property.

Therefore, the people of Konoha do not hate Kurama as much as they did in the original story.

From October 10th, when the Nine-Tails' attack occurred, until now, aside from his daily surveillance and persecution of the Uchiha clan, Shimura Danzo has spent almost all his remaining time training "Kou".

The First Hokage's Wood Release combined with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

If A can grow up perfectly, then Konoha will have the power to unify the ninja world in the future.

Just like when Konoha had the God of Shinobi.

In Danzo's view, the First Hokage was far too merciful.

Despite possessing immense power, he chose a half-hearted approach to peace, and his death directly led to the First Shinobi World War, causing his teacher, the Second Hokage, to die on the battlefield, and resulting in the sacrifice of numerous Konoha ninjas.

If you want to protect the village, wouldn't it be enough to just kill all the enemies?

Kindness! Superficiality!

Only the blood of the enemy can bring lasting peace!

Danzo Shimura was the one who could lead Konoha to greatness, not Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He wanted to prove that his teacher's choice of Hiruzen Sarutobi was a complete mistake!

This is the reason for Danzo Shimura's obsession.

He grew up alongside Hiruzen Sarutobi, and they were both rivals and friends, which is why he earned Hiruzen's great trust.

But Danzo Shimura had one obsession: to prove that he was stronger than Hiruzen Sarutobi!

If you're a dove, then I'm a hawk.

You were Hokage, so I want to be Hokage too.

Even the act of "protecting the village and protecting the ninja world" was something he did in order to defeat Hiruzen Sarutobi.

From the fact that in the original work, when he was preparing to sacrifice himself to kill Sasuke, he still remembered Hiruzen Sarutobi, it can be seen that Danzo Shimura's obsession was never to become Hokage, but to surpass Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He simply had to become Hokage to surpass Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Therefore, he was very resistant to Hiruzen Sarutobi's governing philosophy.

A few isolated Uchiha clan members? No way! They're all unstable elements! Kill them!

A Jinchuriki is a person too? No! They're weapons! How can they escape control?

However, Danzo Shimura wasn't always this extreme.

With the strong trust and permission of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo established "Root," an independent organization that belonged to him and obeyed his orders.

While this organization appears to be on par with the Third Hokage, it is actually a tacit division of labor between the two.

Danzo named his organization "Root"—

Firstly, compared to Konoha, the reason why Konoha Village, like a great tree, has been able to stand firm is not because of the part above ground that is exposed to sunlight, but more importantly because of the dark part below ground that cannot be seen in the light.

Secondly, as Danzo said, "You are the leaf bathed in sunlight, and I am the root buried deep in the ground," which actually reveals the division of labor and cooperation between the two.

It was through their tacit cooperation that Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to secure the position of Hokage and build up his own power after sharing the spoils with the ninja clan.

Their collaboration allowed Konoha to grow further under the policies of the previous two Hokage, reaching a new peak.

Therefore, during the early and middle periods of Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule, the division of labor between the two truly made Konoha better and better.

But

Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly attacked his childhood friend, whom he knew very well.

He knew Danzo's desire to surpass him and his own ambition, as well as Danzo's lust for power and sense of responsibility towards Konoha.

With his support, Danzo became the second most powerful figure in Konoha's upper echelons.

However, although Danzo's power and status seemed to be rising, his political life was actually completely in the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

For a long time, Danzo organized various shady activities for Konoha, making him known as the "Darkness of the Ninja World." Any one of the countless things he did could be used to bring down his political enemies in the media.

It could be said that the more shady things Danzo did, the less afraid Hiruzen Sarutobi was of him trying to seize power.

The longer one stays in the darkness, the more one is hated by the people who yearn for the sunlight.

However, Danzo did not believe that his "dark" beliefs, which he had verified over time, were wrong.

He believed from the bottom of his heart that everything he did was right.

In the original story, after it was discovered that he was secretly controlling Mifune at the Five Kage Summit, he even publicly declared that he would unify the entire world and would stop at nothing to achieve it.

Anyone who does this is either an idiot, who doesn't know how to use nice words to embellish themselves, or someone who believes that everything they do for their ideals is right and disdains to pretend.

As Ohnoki criticized Danzo, "Ideals cannot be achieved overnight; being impatient for quick success will only lead to failure."

It should be said that Shimura Danzo's obsession with surpassing Sarutobi Hiruzen and his belief in what he considered to be the "dark" truth led him further and further astray, onto an extremely extreme path.

In the original work, his fear after running out of options when facing Sasuke may have stemmed from his genuine belief that he was the only one who could bring about change to the ninja world, and that his existence was not for himself, but for the whole world.

But as the saying goes in Naruto, "After gaining great power, one ignores the existence of others, becomes arrogant, and fixates on the individual. No matter how strong one is, one cannot bear everything alone, and in doing so, failure is inevitable."

Danzo's problems are superficially his inhumanity, immorality, and unscrupulous methods, but these all stem from his detachment from the masses and his willful actions after his lust for power expanded infinitely.

That's why he ended up as a clown in the original story.

In the Hokage's office, after Hiruzen Sarutobi finally got everything back on track, he remembered that he needed to deal with Danzo.

In fact, he never forgot to curb the power of his old friend.

Therefore, after Minato succeeded as Hokage, he retained his own direct ANBU and did not hand it over to Minato.

With power in his hands, he was no longer the former Hokage who could be easily slaughtered, but a high-ranking official with the power to influence the political situation.

However, it was also because of this action that the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had to search for people everywhere to form his own Anbu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents and roughly estimated the time.

At that moment, a person dressed in ANBU uniform appeared in the Hokage's office. He removed his patterned mask, revealing his pale face.

It was Orochimaru, one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples, whom he had planted in Root as a spy.

Although Danzo's recommendation of Orochimaru as Hokage seemed to imply that Orochimaru had sided with him, Hiruzen Sarutobi still believed that Orochimaru understood the greater good.

Given their mentor-student relationship, they must be a group.

"Orochimaru, did you bring the information on Danzo's Root organization?"

"Of course, Sarutobi-sensei."

Orochimaru's distinctive voice rang out as he handed a thick stack of documents to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Chapter 261 The Chaotic Situation

Is that all?

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at the thick stack of materials in front of him.

"That's all we've collected so far."