Naruto: All My Targets Are Ninjutsu.

"what?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

Danzo Shimura suddenly raised his voice: "Your Konoha Village is named Namikaze?!"

"?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused slightly, "This..."

"What does it matter?"

"The First Hokage's original purpose in establishing the ninja village was to break the pattern of numerous ninja clans during the Warring States period. The Kage is the person recognized by all the ninja clans as the leader. If Minato Namikaze has enough capacity to take on this position, what's wrong with letting him become the next Hokage?"

"If he can become a Kage, his ability to be on good terms with the Jinchuriki and the Uchiha clan will be his greatest strength, which will help resolve this long-standing problem that has existed since the founding of Konoha."

"Even if we take a step back and say that I'm already this old, I won't be able to serve as Hokage for many more years. Now that Orochimaru has defected and Jiraiya has no intention of inheriting my mantle... who else, besides Minato and Tsunade, is qualified to take on this position?"

Honestly...

Hiruzen Sarutobi is indeed considering retiring.

Especially after learning the information that "Uchiha Madara has returned to the world".

—Really? I'm going to fight Uchiha Madara?

It's already exhausting enough to scheme against the other four ninja villages, and now this old fogey from the Warring States period is causing trouble? Can't he just enjoy a few years of peace and quiet, maintain his existing reputation, and retire gracefully?

In any case, Konoha already has Minato Namikaze and Tsunade in the younger generation, and there are newcomers like Yu Mikami in the future. No matter how they rotate, it's enough to keep Konoha prosperous for another twenty years. So Hiruzen Sarutobi thought that becoming the Third Hokage wasn't absolutely necessary.

However, Danzo Shimura clearly did not think so.

"Hiruzen, what do you mean by this? Have you forgotten Tobirama-sensei's good intentions back then?"

"Minato Namikaze has only been a ninja for a few years. Does he understand how the ninja world works? Does he know the dark side of the various ninja villages? Let him be Hokage? Don't be ridiculous!"

"In my opinion, the successor to the Hokage must be someone who is experienced, highly respected, over fifty to thirty years old, who has participated in at least two Shinobi World Wars, shed blood for Konoha, or even lost an eye."

As he said this, Shimura Danzo stared intently at Sarutobi Hiruzen with his one eye, which was not covered by bandages.

but……

Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly didn't grasp what he was trying to say: "A person who lost his eyes...you mean Hyuga Hizashi?"

"I heard from Yu and the others that Hyuga Hizashi fought bravely on the battlefield in Kirigakure, but was injured in the eye by the enemy and almost went blind... However, his strength is at most that of a Jonin, and he will probably be even weaker after his eyesight is damaged. Isn't it a bit too frivolous to make him the Fourth Hokage?"

"?"

What nonsense is this?

What's so great about the Hyuga clan? Why don't you suggest getting a ninja dog to be Hokage?

Danzo Shimura is getting a bit red-hot.

But he wasn't sure if Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely stupid or just pretending, and he wasn't thick-skinned enough to say something like "Let me be the Hokage," so he could only hold back: "Let's not talk about the next Hokage for now... but we absolutely cannot let Yu Mikami become the Six-Tails Jinchuriki!"

"This child is already extraordinary at such a young age. If he were to obtain a tailed beast, it would be like ascending to the heavens in one step. It would easily make him arrogant and blinded by greed, leading Konoha into an abyss of no return!"

"..."

Looking at his old friend who was talking eloquently across from him, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally sighed: "Danzo, that's enough."

"I thought you invited me here because you had some profound insights, but it turns out it's all just these kinds of things."

“I know that you and Mikami Yu have a long-standing feud, but that’s no reason for you to hold a grudge against him. Besides, you were wrong about what happened back then. If it weren’t for Tobirama-sensei, do you think you would still be sitting here, drinking tea and talking to me right now?”

—The crimes committed by Danzo Shimura would have been enough to land anyone in jail for several years.

Having said that,

There is no room for negotiation anymore.

Danzo had no choice but to unleash his trump card: "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

"Enough! I am the Hokage!"

boom!

With a loud bang, the courtyard gate was slammed shut.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's footsteps faded into the distance.

Danzo Shimura took a deep breath, no longer concealing his anger. His weathered old face twisted into a ferocious grimace: "Hiruzen has indeed grown old. He has lost even his former ambition and only knows how to place his hopes on those young, inexperienced juniors."

"Orochimaru is utterly useless; he actually defected so readily, abandoning the position of Kage..."

That being the case...

"I'll just become Hokage!"

Danzo's ambitions had never swelled as much as they had at this moment.

Those cloudy eyes seemed to hide an old lion.

Given his current status under house arrest, achieving this goal will certainly not be easy, but it's not entirely impossible either, because...

"Hey, are you still there?"

As Danzo finished speaking, the ground not far away rippled, and a figure dressed entirely in white and wearing an animal mask emerged from it.

"Greetings, Lord Danzo."

As soon as White Zetsu appeared, he put on a fawning expression: "Lord Wild Grass asked me to pass on a message to you: the 'Box of Bliss' has been dug up again and will be activated soon. If you are willing to cooperate with us and provide a little help to our operation... the benefits will be enormous!"

"Our goal in Kusagakure is simply to kill Minato Namikaze and Yu Mikami to avenge them for kidnapping members of the Uzumaki clan from us. Once this goal is achieved, we will immediately submit to Konoha and follow your lead, 'Fourth Hokage'!"

"...The Fourth Hokage."

Danzo narrowed his eyes slightly, finding the title incredibly pleasing to the ear.

He discovered the white thing not long ago.

The latter claimed to be from the Hidden Grass Village, a subordinate of an elder codenamed "Wild Grass," and possessed a special bloodline limit that allowed him to conceal his chakra aura and penetrate matter and even barriers, thus entering heavily guarded ninja villages like Konoha without hindrance.

White Zetsu has personally proven the latter point.

He had come to Danzo's place several times, but the Konoha Anbu members who were monitoring him outside did not notice.

And the part about its origins...

To be honest, Danzo only believed about 30% of it.

The "Box of Bliss" should be real. Root had investigated it before, and it was indeed a very powerful ninja tool that caused a huge upheaval during the time of the Sage of Six Paths a thousand years ago.

but……

Whether the "White Zetsu" truly originated from Kusagakure is hard to say.

However, that's not the point.

The key point is that if Kusagakure truly has a plan to release the "Box of Bliss," then given Danzo's current situation, he has no way to stop them.

Since we can't stop it, we might as well fan the flames and create a huge storm, so that the ninjas of Konoha will understand who has been carrying the burden of Konoha's two strongest clans and twelve ninja clans all these years, and who has been standing in the shadows, sheltering them from the storm!

"Yu Mikami, Minato Namikaze..."

"It's a good thing that you chose to return to the village during this time."

"Because in this way..."

The operation to deal with Kusagakure will most likely have to involve one of them.

If they perish together with the monster inside the "Box of Bliss," they can weaken the ambitious Kusagakure and also remove some of the thorns from Konoha, allowing the great tree to grow even stronger.

Win-win!

It's a pity that the Uchiha clan's Mangekyou Sharingan users are currently on the battlefield in Kirigakure. Otherwise, they could have been sent out together to eliminate all the internal strife and hidden dangers in Konoha, ensuring peace and stability for the next twenty years.

"I'm sorry, Hiruzen."

Danzo took a deep breath: "I just want to be the leader of Root... Why are you forcing me?"

"All of this... is for the future of Konoha."

You'll understand later.

……

On the fifth day after the Sand Village delegation arrived in Konoha.

The talks between the two sides finally achieved a breakthrough.

A new "Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Kisaragi and Sarutobi" has been signed and confirmed by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Yoruichiro Yoruichiro.

The treaty has three main points—

First, and most importantly, Konoha and Sunagakure have decided to form a de facto alliance!

Specifically

Konoha and Sunagakure agreed to resolve all non-principle disputes that arise in the future peacefully, avoiding the use of force or threats of violence; and that if one of the contracting parties is attacked by another country and is at war, the other party should do its utmost to provide military and other assistance.

In the present context, this means that Sunagakure is about to form a force to go to the southeastern border of the Land of Fire, join forces with Konoha to fight against Kirigakure, aiming to completely eliminate the latter's threat and establish peace for more than 15 years to come.

Simultaneously,

Considering that Sunagakure's forces were greatly reduced after the recent war, and that it might face a vulnerable border situation after coming to Konoha's aid, Konoha will also send a group of people to the northern part of the Land of Wind to help it resist the invasions from the Tsuchi, Amegakure, and Toriyama ninja villages.

Secondly, the two ninja villages will begin an exchange student program over the next three years, sending about 20 young students each year to visit each other and learn from each other's strengths.

Third, in the coming months, the two villages will hold a large-scale joint martial arts exercise, aiming to promote exchanges and friendly competition among their elite ninjas. The exercise will tentatively take place in the Land of Wind.

In addition,

There are also several other mutual aid policies, both large and small. Some details of these policies have not yet been finalized and require further discussion.

Minato Namikaze and others were direct participants in the talks, so they were the first to learn of the treaty's contents.

As for Mikami Yu, although he wasn't particularly concerned about these matters, he was now considered a Jonin of Konoha and was even associated with the Hokage. Therefore, he was quickly found by the Anbu sent by Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who specifically informed him of the whole story.

Regarding this...

Yu Mikami didn't seem to have much of a reaction.

After all, these measures are quite common in modern society and can be considered standard practice for most military alliances.

but……

For the native ninjas who had just entered the ninja village era and whose families had only lived for two or three generations, the meaning of this news was different.

It could even be described as shocking.

Exchange students?

What kind of novel operation is this?

Putting everything else aside, would anyone really be willing to teach their own village's ninjutsu to a cunning ninja from another village?

If students from two ninja villages graduate from the other village, should they receive their own village's headband or the other village's headband?

To put it another way, what if someone gets recruited while "studying abroad"?

and also……

Translate this for me, what the hell does "joint force" mean?

What are Konoha and Sunagakure up to?

Well, in past Shinobi World Wars, although there were instances of different ninja villages joining forces or forming alliances, these alliances were always very short-lived. Moreover, many times, these alliances were actually used as a pretext to launch backstabbing attacks and assassinate high-ranking figures of the opposing side.

—Tobirama Senju and the Second Raikage are quite qualified to speak on this matter. They both died during the "formation of the alliance," and the latter was even killed by a rogue ninja from his own clan.

in addition,

During the Second Shinobi World War, the three ninja villages of Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwa besieged Amegakure, which was a similar situation. Nominally, it was "cooperation," but in essence, each village fought its own battle. It was considered good if they could avoid "accidentally" harming the other side; there was no question of any coordination whatsoever.

but……

This time it's different.

Konoha and Sunagakure seem to be planning something big, intending to integrate their forces and advance or retreat together. This situation is highly unusual.

Those with a keen sense of smell have already sensed the approaching storm.

Two or three days later.

The spies from other villages who were secretly monitoring the meeting within Konoha Village also gradually learned of the outcome of the talks through their own information channels.