[When Pain attacked Konoha, Naruto was still training on Mount Myoboku.]
[The responsibility of protecting Konoha fell on Tsunade and Kakashi. Their job was to delay as much as possible, waiting for Naruto's return.]
[Tsunade's trust in Naruto was like a gamble; she bet everything on him. Just like Jiraiya, she believed that Naruto was the future of the village.]
[Luckily, she won this, what could be called, the biggest gamble of her life.]
[With Six Paths of Pain, monstrous summoned beasts, technological weapons, and the destructive power of the Six Paths, Konoha suffered more damage than when Orochimaru invaded.]
[Looking at the devastation before her, Tsunade was in deep pain.]
[She remembered that both her brother and lover had dreams of protecting Konoha, and the Will of Fire burned in her heart once again. Protecting the next generation of the village was the most important thing.]
[Tsunade gave up using her brute strength to fight the enemy. Instead, she summoned the giant slug and began healing the entire village of ninjas on her own.]
[She had to protect the flames of Konoha.]
[A home can be rebuilt, but as long as the people are safe, that's all that matters. As long as she could hold on until Naruto returned.]
"Look at this, old man, look at this. My Tsunade has the true Will of Fire. Your version isn't even close to it."
The Third Hokage covered his face.
He had just been feeling relieved that Jiraiya, after all these years, had finally seen the light.
But turning around, this brat started putting himself down and was madly praising Tsunade.
The Third Hokage couldn't help but think: What kind of sin did I commit in my past life to have taken on such disobedient disciples like Orochimaru and Jiraiya?
"Yeah, old man, my grandfather's Will of Fire was about sacrificing the older generation to protect the young, but by your time, it completely flipped. Tell me, during the Third Great Ninja War, what did you, Danzo, and those two advisors do?"
The Third Hokage: "I was reckless, so they're all rebellious disciples."
"At that time, there really was no other way."
During the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha was essentially fighting a one-vs-four battle.
The four great ninja villages—Cloud, Mist, Rock, and Sand—were all enemies of Konoha.
It's understandable that the village is stretched thin in terms of manpower when facing the Four Great Shinobi Nations. However, that doesn't justify sending children to the battlefield.
"You're short on manpower, so why aren't you, Danzo, and those two advisors going to the battlefield? What about those old-timers from the clans? They're all too afraid to step up and fight on the front lines, just standing by while the children from the village are dying in large numbers. Can you live with that on your conscience?"
With Tsunade's sharp questioning, the Third Hokage, feeling irritated, took out his pipe and took a long drag.
"It's not that I don't want to go to the battlefield. I need to stay in the village to manage all the logistics. That work is equally important."
What the Third Hokage said made sense.
During the First Great Ninja War, he was just a disciple and bodyguard following the Second Hokage around. He wasn't even in charge of battlefield strategy.
But during the Second Great Ninja War, he became the Hokage. Though he didn't go to the front lines, he was fully involved in all the logistical work.
By the time of the Third Great Ninja War, no one in the village had better logistical capabilities than him.
To ensure that the ninjas on the front lines had enough resources with limited supplies, he had no choice but to stay behind and take on the role of the logistics commander.
"Alright, I understand your reasoning, but what about Danzo? What about Koharu and Mitokado Homura? They're all in high positions in Konoha, yet they don't seem as important as you?"
"..."
If Danzo could be defended by saying that his position in the village helped run the Root and gather intelligence on the enemy, then Koharu and Mitokado Homura had no excuse.
To put it bluntly, advisors are just people who give suggestions. The one who makes the final decisions is the Hokage.
During times of war, advisors aren't as important.
If we really need war advice, shouldn't we be consulting Shikaku Nara from the Nara clan instead?
"So, I've stepped down from being Hokage, and they're no longer Konoha's advisors."
When those words were spoken, Tsunade didn't know what to say.
Was she expecting Koharu and Mitokado Homura to pay with their lives?
That's not realistic.
Take away their power and make them an ordinary old man. That would be enough.
[For Tsunade at this moment, aside from the external threat of Six Paths of Pain, there's also an internal threat in Konoha that's making her sick.]
[Danzo, who has always claimed to do whatever it takes for the village, has chosen to stay still.]
[This action has even shocked the ninjas from Root themselves: If we don't join the battle, isn't Konoha finished?]
[Danzo's subordinates have more awareness than he does.]
[When his subordinates voiced their doubts, Danzo's answer was: As long as that woman uses the slug, everything will be fine.]
[Danzo wants to sit back and reap the benefits, but this incident is one he can't clear his name from no matter what.]
"Tch, this guy called Danzo is really disgusting. Tobirama, you really took in a good disciple, he's just like you."
In Tobirama's office.
Madara was obviously disgusted by Danzo's choices.
He never expected that Konoha in the future would produce such a thing.
Even at a time when the village's life or death was at stake, Danzo still thought about fighting for power and personal gain. It's truly revolting.
"Danzo, Madara- nii mentioned you. Do you have anything to say?"
To be honest, Danzo just wanted to be a small transparent character and didn't want to respond to what Madara had said.
After all, he knew just how much hated he was in the original timeline.
Even he himself hated the version of him that was afraid of death and liked to fight for power and control—let alone others.
To avoid attracting Madara's attention, he had been trying to lower his presence, but unexpectedly, his own teacher stabbed him in the back.
He could only helplessly say, "Teacher, you know, I've already reformed."
After saying that, Danzo suddenly remembered something.
A few months ago, wasn't he trying to introduce a partner to Teacher Tobirama?
To achieve this, he had done quite a few good deeds in the village to boost his presence.
Not to mention, he had actually gotten to know quite a few older folks this way.
Through these older folks, he also got to know a number of women around his age.
So, last month, he arranged for these women to meet with Teacher Tobirama.
As for the result... well, it was naturally a no-go.
Senju Tobirama didn't want to get married.
According to his own words, women were too troublesome and would waste his research time.
As for children, he didn't care. He could always use his own genes and combine them with others to clone one.
That way, he wouldn't even have to worry about the child being deformed.
Thinking about this, Danzo felt that Tobirama-sensei was probably getting back at him for setting up those blind dates.
It was really frustrating.
Wasn't he just trying to end Tobirama-sensei's single status?
Wasn't he just trying to get a wife for his teacher?
Wasn't he just trying to become the Third Hokage?
What was his mistake?!
"Alright, alright, so you're Danzo, huh? Feel honored, because from now on, I'll be keeping a close eye on you."
"Honor, my foot."
Danzo cursed inwardly but dared not respond, only looking at Tobirama with resentful eyes.
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