Chapter 268: Danzo Always Has Good Ideas!
When Danzo Shimura received the order, he was completely at a loss.
The order on the surface was to assist in defending the Daimyo's mansion, but didn't the implied meaning mean for him to spy on the Daimyo's every move?
This was high treason!
It was a mission where one misstep would lead to him being dragged out as a scapegoat!
What did that old friend of his take him for, a garbage can? Dumping all the dirty, exhausting, pot-carrying jobs on him? Was this something a Hokage should be doing?
Did he really think that he, Danzo Shimura, had no temper!
The old man leaned on his ninja sword, looked gloomily at his old friend in the Hokage's seat, and gently shook his head. "Saru, just give me a direct written order to kill the Daimyo, and you can eliminate Konoha's worries..."
"Stop probing, Danzo…" Hiruzen Sarutobi played with the match in his hand, looking at him sideways. "Without a Daimyo, the Land of Fire will fall into civil war. This is absolutely not allowed."
"Do you think that after the Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand has usurped the throne, Konoha can still coexist peacefully with the Daimyo?" Danzo Shimura closed his one exposed eye and continued softly, "However, I have indeed thought of a way…"
"This is not something you should be thinking about."
The Third Hokage leaned back in his chair and leisurely blew a smoke ring. "I don't want to hear it, either. You just need to execute the order…"
"…"
Danzo Shimura took a long, deep breath and tightened his grip on his ninja sword!
Don't push people too far!
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you…" Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled a few times and symbolically held out a hand to soothe his emotions. "Jiraiya and Tsunade are indeed a bit young. Do you have any good ideas?"
Sometimes, when it came to doing this kind of dirty work, Danzo Shimura was indeed extremely skilled. His way of thinking was always very peculiar, one could say unrestrained. Although it might leave behind some future troubles, it could also achieve some miraculous effects.
For such a tricky problem in the Land of Fire, maybe Danzo really did have some special solution? It was better than just sitting around waiting to die!
"A hostage…"
Danzo Shimura slowly stood up and walked to Hiruzen's desk. "Using the Hokage candidate as a hostage can temporarily win the Daimyo's trust… Stabilize the situation in the Land of Fire, and we can calmly make arrangements, whether it's to attack the Land of Wind or to attack… the Land of Earth."
Yes, a plan he had meticulously thought out.
In the Warring States Period, there was also a country that sent an important person as a hostage to an enemy country to ensure peace. Lord Danzo's idea was simple. He certainly couldn't send the current Hokage, and this method definitely wouldn't get the Hokage's approval…
So, just have Hiruzen designate the next Hokage candidate and send that candidate to the Daimyo's mansion. In any case, that person must not be allowed to return alive!
This way, he could eliminate a stumbling block on his own path to the Hokage's seat!
"Are you asking me to designate the Fifth Hokage of Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently at his old friend's single eye and said, word by word, "But what if something happens to the Hokage candidate at the Daimyo's mansion?"
"Wouldn't that be just perfect…"
The Darkness of Konoha nonchalantly sat back down in his seat and continued airily, "We would then have a just cause to deal with the Daimyo. At the very least, there won't be any objections in the village… wouldn't that be right, Saru?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "…"
This guy actually... makes a lot of sense!
If the Hokage candidate were to encounter some unfair treatment or even be assassinated by the Daimyo, then Konoha would have the perfect excuse to march on the Daimyo's mansion. At that time, whether they abolished the Daimyo or appointed a new one, it would all be possible…
Moreover, if something happened to the Hokage candidate, it would be an insult to the entire Leaf Village. Not only would the Konoha ninjas have no objections to the Hokage's resolution, but they would also be united against a common enemy…
The most critical issue here was that the ninja selected as the Hokage candidate would basically be the designated Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo, waved his hand to summon an ANBU, and ordered in a low voice, "Send out a notice. I am calling a Jonin meeting!"
He had chosen to adopt Danzo Shimura's opinion.
Because the situation in the ninja world had indeed reached a critical period, if he designated the next Hokage in advance, he could still help watch over him for a while…
As for sending the Hokage candidate to the Daimyo's mansion as a hostage, these were minor issues. There were two squads of ninjas stationed there year-round; what could possibly go wrong?
Hiruzen looked at his old friend and actually found him somewhat pleasing to the eye. Sometimes, he really couldn't underestimate the wisdom of the Darkness of Konoha!
To even be able to think of such an idea!
"Of the people in the village, who do you think is most suitable to become the Fifth?" The Third Hokage smiled kindly, looking at his old friend. "I think the most suitable people right now are those two, Jiraiya and Tsunade!"
"If you think your disciple can endure the life of a hostage, I have no objection!" Danzo Shimura snorted coldly and continued, "That fellow Jiraiya will probably cause some trouble at the Daimyo's mansion very quickly!"
"If you want Konoha and the Daimyo's mansion to coexist peacefully, you'd better think it through clearly. This matter also happens to be a good test of how a future Hokage of Konoha will get along with the Daimyo!"
In all of Konoha, besides the Uchiha clan, the ones he couldn't stand the most were Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya! Two men of depraved character, fundamentally lacking the resolve of a ninja!
More importantly, once Jiraiya became Hokage, it basically meant that Jiraiya's little disciple, Itachi Uchiha, would also have the qualification to compete for the Hokage position…
And Itachi Uchiha was currently Jiraiya's only disciple in Konoha Village… This was something Danzo would never want to see!
Currently, stirring up a wave to eliminate the Uchiha within Konoha was no longer permissible, but he couldn't just let that evil clan continue to grow stronger…
Right now, that Fugaku Uchiha was targeting him at every turn, sending people to assassinate him for no reason. When his son became the Hokage's only disciple, wouldn't that fellow Fugaku become even more arrogant?
But in any case, the Hokage candidate they were choosing now was just going to the Daimyo's mansion to die. After Hiruzen sent the hostage out, he would plan to find a way to eliminate him!
If Jiraiya were to run into trouble at the Daimyo's mansion, wouldn't that completely sever the Uchiha clan's attempt to ascend to the Hokage's seat?
Thinking of this, Danzo Shimura coughed a few times, then suddenly said, "All things considered, Jiraiya is indeed the most suitable person. And he was originally the candidate for the Fourth's position anyway…"
"…Hm?"
The Third Hokage looked at him strangely and suddenly said, "I thought you would say that you are the most suitable person!"
Danzo Shimura: "…"
That's... also true!
He was the Second Hokage's disciple, the Third Hokage's contemporary and fellow student, and he held considerable prestige within Konoha!
If he were designated as the Hokage candidate at the Jonin meeting by the Konoha leadership, as long as nothing went wrong, and he could unite with the Daimyo externally and the ninja clans internally, wouldn't he be the guaranteed Fifth Hokage!
Why didn't Hiruzen Sarutobi say so earlier!
He should have proposed himself just now! In order to solve the problem of the next generation's best candidate, he had almost forgotten that this was a golden opportunity to reasonably inherit the position of Hokage!
"Ahem, I was joking…" The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo's face, chuckled to himself, and then said with a straight face, "Our generation is already old. We should give more opportunities to the young people…"
Danzo Shimura shot him a cold glance. "Heh heh…"
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