Chapter 132: Hiruzen Sarutobi's Joy and Worry
"This place... it cannot be cheap, can it?"
Hiruzen looked at the decorations around him, which could only be described as luxurious, and could not help speaking up.
In his eyes, even a so-called Daimyo could only enjoy luxury to this degree. Yet now, this place was being used to entertain the two of them.
It truly felt excessive.
"The daily expenses here are enough to hire several jonin squads for missions," Danzo said indifferently. "As for the actual cost of staying here, that is even more unimaginable."
Although Hiruzen had already expected it to be expensive, the price Danzo gave still far exceeded his expectations.
He subconsciously drew in a sharp breath and could not help saying, "It is actually that costly?"
"This is not a place people like us should be using. It should be reserved for entertaining Daimyo and nobles."
"Hiruzen, you are overthinking it."
Danzo was dismissive. "Daimyo and nobles? Those are things of the past."
"In the current Land of Fire, only Konoha matters."
"As the teacher of the Hokage, your status is noble. For you to spend money here is their honor."
He clapped his hands, and a moment later, a well-dressed middle-aged man walked over with a respectful expression.
The man carefully bowed to Danzo and Hiruzen, his eyes shining with deep reverence. "For Lord Danzo to grace us with your presence is truly an honor. May I ask who this gentleman is?"
"This is Hiruzen Sarutobi, the teacher of the Hokage."
Danzo spoke impatiently. "He will be staying here for the next few days. You should understand how to serve him."
"The teacher of Lord Hokage!"
The middle-aged man's eyes immediately lit up.
Hiruzen's powers of observation were meticulous.
He clearly saw that the moment Danzo revealed his identity, the middle-aged man's body actually began to tremble.
It was not fear, but excitement, as if being able to come into contact with the Hokage's teacher was a supreme honor.
This was a feeling Hiruzen had never experienced before.
"He seems rather afraid of me?"
A moment later, after the establishment's owner had left, Hiruzen could not help glancing sideways at Danzo.
"He is merely a wealthy merchant. It is only natural for him to fear us."
Danzo did not care. "Hiruzen, you have been away for too long. You have not yet adapted to the changes in Konoha."
"In today's Konoha, we are the masters of everything."
"With your status, let alone merely staying here, even if you made far greater demands, it would not matter. Plenty of people would willingly come to your door to curry favor."
"This is quite different from the past."
Hiruzen could not help sighing. "The changes are too great."
Today's Konoha was fundamentally different from the past in every aspect.
The change in attitude toward nobles and wealthy merchants was the most obvious.
In the past, even though Konoha had grown powerful under Tobirama's leadership, they still had to maintain a respectful attitude toward the nobles and wealthy merchants of the Land of Fire.
Ultimately, Konoha had still been a mercenary organization. It had to accept commissions from those merchants and nobles, relying on their fees to survive.
For the Konoha of the past, wealthy merchants and nobles were prime clients, so their attitude naturally had to be proper.
Even Tobirama himself maintained a relatively respectful attitude toward the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, who provided heavy funding, at least on the surface.
It was nothing like now, where one casual gesture could make those wealthy merchants tremble as if they were meeting a legendary figure.
Hiruzen had never experienced such treatment in the past.
"The world should have been like this from the beginning. We have merely placed it on the right track."
Unlike Hiruzen, who was still struggling to adjust, Danzo seemed to greatly enjoy this change.
He appeared to have grown accustomed to this glamorous life. His daily pleasures were no less than those once enjoyed by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. One could even say they were luxurious to the extreme.
Although Hiruzen had only just reunited with his old friend, he could already sense this.
Danzo was far too familiar with everything here. He had clearly come here often to spend money and indulge himself.
This made Hiruzen frown inwardly.
"A shinobi's primary duty lies in combat."
He spoke up to advise him. "If you indulge too much in these pleasures, your combat ability will weaken. Danzo, if this continues, can you still maintain your former strength?"
"The times have changed."
Danzo shook his head. "In the past, shinobi were employed by Daimyo and nobles. We had to fight desperately for them, so we only needed to be responsible for combat."
"But now, shinobi have replaced the Daimyo and nobles. Even if we no longer fight personally, there is nothing wrong with that."
"Even so, you should not forget your duty."
Hiruzen advised him, unwilling to watch his old friend sink into decadence. "Kei likely would not want to see you like this either."
At the mention of Kei's name, Danzo suddenly fell silent, his expression turning somewhat complicated.
"It is a pity for you, Hiruzen."
After a long while, he looked at Hiruzen with regret on his face and said, "If you had not gone missing these past few years, the position of Third Hokage should originally have been yours."
Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat.
Faced with those words, however, he only remained silent and did not voice any opinion.
"But if you had truly taken office, you would not have been able to lead Konoha to its current state."
Danzo laughed self-mockingly. "Your ability might be stronger than mine, and you would have maintained Konoha in the same state as when Sensei was still here, but it would have been impossible for it to become what it is now."
"Yes."
Hiruzen also sighed. "We are old, after all. This world should be led by the young."
His words also implicitly stated that he had no intention of coveting the Hokage's position. He only wanted to return to the village and quietly remain a Konoha shinobi.
"You are Kei's teacher, after all. He should be very happy that you have returned this time."
Danzo continued, "Before long, you should be entrusted with important responsibilities. When that time comes, perhaps we can cooperate?"
"Cooperate?"
Hiruzen's heart stirred. "What do you mean?"
"The current Konoha is different from the past."
Danzo spoke. "The situation between the various departments and organizations has become extremely complex. Even with your outstanding abilities, if you do not have allies, you will eventually find yourself restricted."
"So why do we not form an alliance?"
"I know your capabilities. As long as the two of us stand together, I believe that in this Konoha, we can go further than anyone else and obtain even more."
His purpose was clearly not so simple. He wanted to win over Hiruzen and have him stand on the same front.
Clearly, Danzo also understood that the current Hiruzen was a major potential asset.
He had been the candidate originally designated by Tobirama for the position of Third Hokage. He was Kei's teacher, with deep seniority and a widespread reputation within Konoha.
Many of Konoha's current high-ranking officials were either his former friends or his former subordinates.
If such a person had truly died, that would have been one thing. But since he had returned to Konoha, then no matter how one looked at it, he would rise to a high position at the fastest speed, reaching a level equal to or even higher than Danzo.
Coincidentally, Danzo and Hiruzen had also shared a deep friendship in the past.
On that foundation, drawing him to his side as an ally was the most suitable course of action.
"I have only just returned to Konoha and still know little about the current situation. We can discuss your proposal later."
Hiruzen did not agree immediately.
Although they had not been in contact for long, he had keenly noticed that his former friend had already become somewhat corrupted.
Power had corroded his mind, and wealth had made his will increasingly sluggish.
The Danzo of today was no longer the man who had fought beside him in the past and was willing to die for his comrades.
Because of that, Hiruzen did not accept his invitation. He intended to adapt for a while first.
Danzo expressed regret, but he did not force the matter. He merely asked Hiruzen to consider it carefully.
"What about Homura and Koharu?"
Hiruzen continued asking about the whereabouts of the others.
At those names, Danzo's expression became somewhat uncomfortable, but he still answered.
"Homura is currently in charge of diplomatic affairs. All of Konoha's external matters are handled by him."
"As for Koharu, she is now the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, effectively my superior."
As time passed, the childhood companions had ultimately developed conflicts.
After Kei's established the Ministry of Industry and Trade, he had deliberately placed Danzo in the position of Vice Minister and made Koharu his superior specifically to suppress him.
Sure enough, their differing working styles soon led to conflict.
As a member of Konoha's hawk faction, Danzo often needed to act first and report later. Most of the time, he considered only his own judgment, completely disregarding the thoughts of others.
This caused great dissatisfaction in Koharu.
After several rounds of conflict, the two who had originally been partners finally went their separate ways. Now, they could almost be considered political enemies.
As for Homura, although his conflict with Danzo was not as sharp, he likewise could not stand many of Danzo's methods.
On the contrary, Uchiha Kagami, who came from the Uchiha Clan, currently had a decent relationship with Danzo. Surprisingly, he was the one among them who had the best relationship with him.
That had to be called somewhat ironic.
After listening for a while, Hiruzen also understood the situation.
It seemed his old friend had managed to make enemies everywhere nowadays.
He felt somewhat speechless and did not know what to say.
A moment later, he sighed and let Danzo leave.
Although the desire to return home was strong in his heart, Hiruzen thought for a while and eventually rested in the luxury hotel for two days.
During those two days, he experienced pleasures he had never experienced before.
All sorts of things he could imagine, and even things he could not, constantly poured toward him as if they cost nothing.
Not only the owner of the hotel, but also other wealthy merchants and nobles within Konoha rushed over after hearing news of Hiruzen's return.
They tried every possible method to please him, clearly hoping to use this chance to build a relationship with him and form connections.
Ultimately, on the third day, Hiruzen left the hotel.
It was not because he had enjoyed enough, but because he feared that if he continued like this, he would not be able to hold out much longer.
The methods those people used to corrupt others were things Hiruzen had never seen before.
To put it bluntly, as long as he nodded even slightly during those few days, anything he wanted would immediately become his.
Whether it was luxurious estates, beautiful women, or inexhaustible wealth, as long as Hiruzen nodded, all of it would be delivered to his doorstep.
And the reason for all of this was simply because he was the Hokage's teacher and had deep ties with the current Hokage.
This situation left Hiruzen silent, not knowing what to say.
With his wisdom, he naturally understood what those people were after.
The current Konoha, following Kei's reforms, had already taken control of the entire Land of Fire.
As the Hokage, Kei only needed to give a casual order to decide the lives and deaths of countless people.
With such immense power gathered in one place, the number of people coveting it was naturally vast.
These people could not directly influence Kei, so they set their sights on Hiruzen instead.
This made Hiruzen sigh even more deeply.
It truly was different now.
Back in Tobirama's era, how could Konoha have been so glamorous? How could even the Hokage's teacher receive such treatment?
In this current era, the treatment enjoyed by Konoha shinobi was almost unprecedented.
Even if a random Konoha shinobi walked outside, they would likely attract countless envious gazes.
This further strengthened Hiruzen's determination to make a comeback.
"No matter what, I must protect the village."
Various thoughts flashed through his mind.
"Even if I am not Konoha's Kage, even if I am only an ordinary Konoha shinobi, I still have the resolve to give everything for Konoha."
The current Konoha was at its peak. Everything around it looked so beautiful.
And that beauty encouraged Hiruzen, making him determined to protect all of it.
At the very least, he wanted this beauty to continue.
Of course, beneath that glory, there were also quite a few problems.
From what Hiruzen had seen recently, he feared that many shinobi within Konoha had already been corrupted.
Just like his former friend, Danzo.
Those people had lost their will as shinobi, gradually sinking beneath the flood of power and vast resources.
Hiruzen felt wary of this situation and believed it was necessary to warn Kei.
Otherwise, it might bring great hidden dangers to Konoha in the future.
Of course, that was a matter for later.
For now, the most important thing was to meet his family.
And so, one night, he returned home.
The entire Sarutobi Clan was overjoyed by Hiruzen's return.
Hiruzen, who had been missing for several years, had long been presumed dead by many people, including members of the Sarutobi Clan.
Now that he had returned alive, it was undoubtedly a tremendous surprise for all of them.
....
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