Chapter 173: Danzo, I am the Hokage
"Done."
Naruto clapped his hands, stepped back two paces, and looked at the box of bliss.
Four sides.
Directly facing him was the open gate.
Two black coal balls were embedded on the left and right sides, which, combined with the wings, looked lifelike.
It looks a bit like a gargoyle.
Naruto suddenly thought of a question.
Can he still make a wish now?
"O box of bliss, let me ask you, who is the handsomest man in the world?"
Naruto asked casually.
There was no answer.
Perhaps because of Satori's issue, the wish-granting mechanism could no longer be triggered.
Naruto jumped onto the treasure chest and tried to close the gate, but it wouldn't budge.
Must it stay open forever?
He thought for a while and had an idea.
"Castellan Mui, please do not speak of what happened today."
Naruto turned around and spoke very politely.
"Naturally, I won't."
Mui said hurriedly.
He had lived until now for his son Mukou; now that they were reunited, he wouldn't be foolish enough to seek his own death.
"You will continue to serve as the Castellan of Hozukijo, everything remains as usual."
Hozukijo was in a remote location on an isolated island and wasn't of much value; anyway, the Akatsuki Organization probably wouldn't come here.
It was relatively safe here.
Naruto also wanted to turn it into the prison for the Tianming Organization.
He patted Mui on the shoulder and said, "But Hozukijo no longer belongs to the Grass Hidden Village, but to the Tianming Organization."
Tianming.
Mui thought about it but hadn't heard of it.
He had stayed in Hozukijo all this time, thinking all day about opening the box of bliss, and had almost never inquired about news from the outside world.
"Don't worry, the Tianming Organization definitely has a brighter future than the Grass Hidden Village. In the future, if there's a bowl of rice for us to eat, there'll be a bowl for you to wash."
"???"
Mui was stunned for a moment; something seemed a bit off, didn't it?
"Do you agree?"
Naruto saw that he seemed a bit hesitant.
Mui nodded.
Do I even have the option to disagree?
"Hozukijo needs some renovation."
Seeing Mui nod in agreement, Naruto continued, "I plan to divide Hozukijo into six levels: Crimson Lotus Hell, Demonic Beast Hell, Starvation Hell, Blazing Heat Hell, Freezing Hell, and Eternal Hell."
The so-called eighteen levels of hell?
Buddhism existed in the Ninja World.
Mui didn't find it strange; renovating Hozukijo was no big deal.
"Among them, the Eternal Hell will be centered around the box of bliss."
Naruto pointed at the box of bliss, "Inside, one will be unable to feel any feedback from the outside world. As time stretches on, it can be called an Eternal Hell."
Mui nodded in agreement.
Just being near the entrance made him feel like he was dying.
Let alone the inside.
And Naruto could actually walk in and come out unscathed; it was simply terrifying.
Not someone to be provoked.
"If you're short on money, you can contact me."
Naruto paused and said, "The Grass Hidden Village has now lost its high-level leadership; it's the perfect time for your faction to take over."
Although he looked down on the Grass Hidden Village, it was still a ninja village after all. By controlling the Land of Grass and developing the livestock industry, they should be able to make money.
The Land of Grass possessed the largest grasslands but had no concept of livestock farming; it was truly a waste.
Mui couldn't help but glance at Naruto.
As expected, his ambitions were not small.
He had previously learned from Ryuzetsu that the ones who killed the Grass Hidden Villageleadership were from Naruto's organization.
Connecting the dots, it seemed this had been planned for a long time.
However, in the Ninja World, strength is respected.
Naruto left a Kunai with a Flying Thunder God Mark, moved the box of bliss back to its original position, and warned them not to approach it casually to avoid accidents.
Mui had experienced it personally and knew the horror of the box of bliss, so he directly sealed off the passage.
Naruto returned to the Land of Valleys.
A new day.
He and Jiraiya arrived in the Land of Rain.
A gloomy sky, thick with dark clouds, and a continuous drizzle.
Naruto handed him an umbrella.
He looked around at the surroundings.
Under the management of the Akatsuki Organization, the Land of Rain had a sense of technology.
Tall buildings and skyscrapers.
It had a bit of the flavor of a big city from his previous life.
Following his memories, Jiraiya found the village where he had met Yahiko and the other two, but it was already in ruins.
Naruto sighed.
The umbrella wasn't much use.
Jiraiya asked several people questions.
His tracks had long been exposed.
But Nagato and Konan were also a bit conflicted.
It was obvious at a glance that Jiraiya was looking for them.
After all, he was their former teacher.
Although Nagato's heart was as still as dead water, Konan still held onto a bit of sentiment.
Plus, the Akatsuki Organization didn't want to provoke Konoha right now.
Thus, the information Jiraiya received was altered.
"You're saying they died at the hands of Hanzou?"
Jiraiya was stunned, finding it hard to believe.
Nagato had the Rinnegan, after all.
"Yes."
The middle-aged man speaking sighed, "In the past, the three of them were bound by great loyalty, wishing to seek peace for the Land of Rain. They attracted many like-minded people to join, but this move angered the actual ruler of the Land of Rain, Hanzou."
Jiraiya fell silent.
If it were him, he wouldn't allow such a force to appear either.
Just like the White Lotus Sect in the Land of Fire.
"Their battle back then was at Mount Senkawa up ahead."
The middle-aged man pointed the way.
"Thank you."
Jiraiya turned and headed toward the valley.
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
They were being watched.
And it wasn't White Zetsu, it was Nagato and Konan.
Because of his connection as The Fool, he was already familiar with their Chakra signatures, so he recognized them quickly.
Inside the valley.
Since a long time had passed, the bodies had been disposed of.
But the traces left by the great battle could still be identified slightly.
For example, the pits and toxins from the Salamander, and traces of various Ninjutsu.
Naruto scanned the area and suddenly remembered that Danzo was also involved in this ambush.
He activated Kagura Minds Eye.
Since Danzo was there, maybe something was left behind.
After all, Nagato had awakened the power of the Rinnegan upon witnessing Yahiko's death and had chased them away directly.
Danzo hadn't had a chance to clean up the battlefield.
Oh, there it is.
A Konoha forehead protector and specially-made ninja tools.
Jiraiya withdrew his gaze.
He had fought Hanzou before and was also the teacher of Yahiko's trio, so he was quite familiar with the Ninjutsu of both sides.
There was no doubt that the traces left here indeed belonged to the four of them.
But was the outcome really as he had heard?
Hanzou won a total victory?
If that were the case, the current situation of Amegakure wouldn't make sense.
"Teacher."
Hearing Naruto's voice, Jiraiya put away his messy thoughts and asked subconsciously, "What... this is a Konoha forehead protector?! Where did you find it?"
He was suddenly startled.
Why was Konoha involved in this?
The problem was that he actually didn't know about it.
"Underground."
Naruto pointed to a small pit not far away.
Jiraiya took the forehead protector and looked at it carefully; it indeed originated from Konoha.
Although other ninja villages could also imitate them, there were still subtle differences in the forehead protectors.
He walked to the pit, expanded his search, and saw Konoha's Kunai and shuriken, etc.
Jiraiya's brow furrowed deeply.
According to his deduction, this incident happened several years ago.
At that time, it was the era of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His emotions suddenly became complex.
Teacher, oh teacher, what exactly did you do behind our backs?
Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, there was Danzo Shimura.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to receive even a whisper of news.
"This matter is full of suspicious points."
Jiraiya pondered for a moment and said, "To know the truth, we must figure out the situation in Amegakure."
"Infiltrating rashly is too dangerous." Naruto shook his head and said, "Let's stick to Tsunade-nee-san's plan and observe during the Chunin Exams."
"..." Jiraiya looked down at the forehead protector in his hand and said, "We'll go back to Konoha first. I'll find out exactly who participated in this matter."
Naruto nodded.
Just as long as you don't charge into Amegakure alone for no reason.
The Akatsuki Organization certainly didn't want to start a war with Konoha, but if you run into someone's headquarters, who would still care about that much?
He took Jiraiya straight to the Hokage Building.
"Hokage-sama is in a meeting."
Shizune, holding Tonton, explained, "It's the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Gaara-sama, as well as the Jonin Kankuro and Temari."
"Those two actually managed to become Jonin?"
Naruto couldn't help but ask.
It really is a case of the brother relying on the younger brother for status, and the sister relying on the younger brother for wealth.
Shizune held up a finger and said, "Keep your voice down, lest they hear you."
"Ahem, I'm just a bit surprised."
Naruto lowered his voice.
Obviously, the two of them didn't have a normal promotion.
But it's normal; many people weren't convinced when Gaara became Kazekage.
It's safer to have two blood siblings around.
After waiting for a while, the door opened.
On the Sunagakure side, there were just the three of them, including Gaara.
As soon as they saw Naruto.
Kankuro and Temari subconsciously backed away.
This was the peerless monster who had pummeled Shukaku.
On the contrary, Gaara's expression softened rarely.
Because Shukaku had lost too miserably, and it couldn't beat Kurama itself, its only hope was the Jinchuriki.
Thus, the first event in history of a Tailed Beastcontacting a human occurred.
Gaara also turned misfortune into a blessing and got some good sleep.
Naruto smiled, blocking the shouting match between Kurama and Shukaku on the Tailed Beastchannel.
Because Tsunade and the two hokage advisors were present, he wasn't too excessive and reached out his hand.
"Kazekage-kakka."
His form of address made Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu frown involuntarily.
This did not conform to protocol.
According to etiquette, he should be addressed as Kazekage-sama.
But they didn't say anything because neither the Hokage nor the Kazekage cared.
"Just call me by my name."
Gaara gave a rare, awkward smile and shook back.
Because he almost never smiled.
Kankuro and Temari looked at each other.
Gaara didn't seem to hold a grudge against Narutofor being beaten up.
They didn't quite understand, but it was a good thing.
Sunagakure and Konoha Village could quickly reconcile.
Besides finding out that the previous Kazekagedied at the hands of Orochimaru, it was also because of Naruto.
Their greatest combat power couldn't win.
Then they'd better hurry up and cling to his leg.
"Kazekage-kakka, please go down and rest first."
Tsunade saw Jiraiya's distracted expression and knew something was wrong.
Seeing the two finish their pleasantries, she spoke to dismiss them.
Gaara nodded and said, "After things are finished, you can come find me."
The door closed again.
Inside the conference room.
The two hokage advisors also stayed behind.
It was Jiraiya's request.
He began to talk about the events in Amegakure.
At first, everyone was still very calm, but when Danzo was mentioned, the expressions of several people changed.
To be fair, none of the people present had a good impression of Danzo.
Including the two hokage advisors.
Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu were more like neutrals.
As long as they kept their own power, they would just try to smooth things over.
In Naruto's view, such people were the ones who held others back.
Useless at critical moments, and usually loved to chatter aimlessly.
"Shizune, call Danzo here."
Tsunade tapped the table and said.
After a while, Danzo pushed open the door.
He scanned the conference room and said indifferently, "Everyone is here."
Although he had lost the position of HokageAssistant, because of Root and the network he had accumulated in the past, his power was not overly restricted.
Tsunade gave a light snort.
Her time as Hokage hadn't been very smooth because of Danzo.
She was restricted in many places.
"Years ago, did you help Hanzou deal with three youths from the Land of Rain?"
Tsunade asked directly.
A ripple appeared in Danzo's eyes.
Not because he was discovered, but because he thought of the Rinnegan.
What a pity.
One move short of success.
The reason Hanzou dealt with Nagato's trio was because of his incitement.
And his goal was the Rinnegan.
But he didn't expect Nagato to explode.
Later, when Uchiha Itachi sent back news, he learned that the leader of the Akatsuki Organization was actually Nagato.
In other words, at least a third of the credit for the Akatsuki Organization becoming what it is today belongs to him.
Whether the Ninja World is in chaos or not, he, Danzo, has to have a say.
"It was me."
Danzo nodded indifferently, not hiding it, and said, "But I did it for Konoha. The Land of Rain is at the junction of three countries, and its strategic position is very important. If we could form an alliance with Hanzou, it would have been beneficial for Konohato win the Third Ninja World War at that time."
Tsunade frowned.
That reason again.
But all you care about is the Konoha you want to rule.
This explanation sounded nice, but he likely had even greater intentions.
For example, after the Third Ninja World War ended, with Hanzou's help, he would have a better chance of becoming Hokage.
Fortunately, Minato's brilliance, as well as Orochimaru's competition and Hiruzen Sarutobi's suppression, prevented Danzo's wish from coming true.
Shizune pushed the door open and placed the documents on the table.
"I investigated the Root members who disappeared during that time."
Tsunade opened the documents, shook her head, and said, "Because of your individual actions, Rootlost nearly half its strength."
"They sacrificed themselves for Konoha; they died a worthy death."
Danzo answered expressionlessly.
Root was originally trained as death squads, and they were his personal death squads.
"You keep saying it was for Konoha, then let me ask you, did the Third Hokage agree to your operation? If so, please produce the documents."
Tsunade slammed the table suddenly and asked aggressively.
"..."
Danzo fell silent.
There really weren't any.
It was purely individual action.
And even if Hiruzen Sarutobi knew, he generally just gave tacit consent.
There were no documents.
After he saw Nagato's eyes, he became obsessed with them.
After all, he was very persistent about eyes.
A whole arm of Sharingan.
"So you want to blame me for something that happened years ago?" Danzo looked at her and asked coldly.
"This isn't blame; it's that you violated Konoha's regulations." Tsunade was completely fearless.
"What do you want?"
Danzo touched his right hand; if it weren't for several people being here, he really wanted to hit Tsunade with a Genjutsu.
"Hand over Root." Tsunade revealed her true intention.
"What did you say?"
Danzo frowned, finally losing his composure a bit.
So this fellow was after that.
Although the members of Root were all loyal to him, without that title, many things would be inconvenient to carry out.
"Tsunade, you've gone too far." Danzo said with dissatisfaction.
"This isn't far at all."
Tsunade stood up and said decisively, "Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Pfft.
Danzo almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Is that something you can say?
Do you think you are Hiruzen Sarutobi?
But the situation was very unfavorable for him.
Jiraiya stood firmly with Tsunade.
As for the two hokage advisors.
Homura Mitokado stared at the sky as if there were some beauty on the ceiling.
Utatane Koharu was applying eye drops, indicating she saw nothing.
"Humph, you will regret this!"
Danzo rose in anger and slammed the door as he left the conference room.
Thanks to the two big bosses, 'Wei Nu Si' and 'Zhe Xiao Shuo Xie De Zhen Bu Chuo', for the tips.