"Ri Zhan, I heard from my subordinates that Orochimaru privately mobilized the Anbu forces and killed a physician well-regarded in the village without sufficient evidence."
"Such actions not only disregard Konoha's rules but also cause the reputation of Konoha's higher-ups among the civilians to plummet!"
"As an elder of Konoha, Orochimaru must give me an explanation for this!"
Shimura Danzo stood before the Hokage's desk, looking down at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was smoking a pipe, his tone aggressive.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced up at his old comrade, who had eagerly come to stir up trouble as soon as he heard the news. A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes, but he had no intention of responding to Danzo.
Seeing Hiruzen remain silent, Danzo's single eye revealed a hint of anger, and he spoke again:
"Furthermore, Orochimaru took a child of unknown identity to the Senju residence and has not yet emerged."
"You should know what is there!"
"With Orochimaru's status, he is not qualified to come into contact with those things!"
"If he inadvertently provokes that beast and it escapes from its seal, the consequences are not something a mere Jonin like him can bear!"
Hiruzen tapped his pipe, slowly reloaded it with tobacco, and said leisurely,
"With Lady Mito's strength, there can be no problem with the seal!"
"Danzo, you are thinking too much!"
Shimura Danzo did not buy Hiruzen's explanation and snorted,
"But she is old and cannot live much longer!"
"I have told you long ago that the plan to transfer the Tailed Beasts must be put on the agenda."
"Ri Zhan, hand that Uzumaki clan girl over to me, and I will make her completely loyal to Konoha."
"After she inherits the power of the Nine-Tails, Konoha will have a powerful weapon capable of completely deterring the other four nations, instead of being like this now..."
"Enough!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a low growl, looking at Shimura Danzo with displeasure.
"Danzo, mind your position!"
"Lady Mito is the wife of the First Hokage, and the transfer of Tailed Beasts requires her personal permission."
"The character and actions of elders are not for you to arbitrarily criticize!"
Shimura Danzo's expression stiffened, and he realized the impropriety of his words. He immediately closed his mouth, somewhat unwillingly.
"As for the attitude of the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki towards the village in the future, I have my own ways of solving it!"
Recalling the child named Minato Namikaze, a strange light flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
"I never expected that Kumogakure would attempt to have a spy abduct Kushina Uzumaki while I was away from the village."
"Danzo's men and the guards were completely unaware, which truly disappoints me!"
"Fortunately, Minato Namikaze discovered and rescued her."
"A child who has not yet graduated from the Ninja Academy possesses strength and observation skills that are already on par with Kumogakure's Chunin."
"If this child is cultivated properly, he might become the key to sealing the Tailed Beasts in the future..."
These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Hiruzen temporarily set them aside. It was too early to say anything about a genius who had not yet grown.
"Let's put the matter of the Jinchuriki aside for now, but Orochimaru's actions have violated the basic rules of ninjutsu. This matter must be explained to everyone in the village."
Seeing Hiruzen remain silent for a long time, Shimura Danzo's mind raced, and he shifted his attack back to Orochimaru. Danzo never spared any effort in slandering Hiruzen's disciple, who was most likely to become the Fourth Hokage.
How could Hiruzen Sarutobi not know his old friend's intentions? He simply looked up at him and casually said,
"The mission to capture the spy was personally ordered by me!"
"As the clue provider, it is natural for Orochimaru to appear at the scene of the arrest."
"Danzo, are you satisfied with this explanation?"
Danzo, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, angrily slammed his cane on the floor.
"Ri Zhan, you are far too lenient with Orochimaru. I don't believe you can't see his ambition!"
"Acting within the village, and contacting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki without permission..."
"If you continue to let Orochimaru go like this, you will regret it sooner or later!"
A cold smile flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes.
Ambition?
In the entire Konoha village, who has more ambition than you, Shimura Danzo?
Originally, there were only four small squads, with barely seventy elite Anbu members. Your Root has taken up a quarter of the quota. If not for the shortage of elite Anbu, my eldest son would not have lost his qualification to be a ninja due to a battle.
Recalling that after Master Tobirama's death, Danzo frequently contacted various secret jutsu clans, and even secretly recruited many talented children from the Yamanaka and Aburame clans to join Root.
Then, recalling that when Danzo was ordered to lead a simple mission to retrieve Master Tobirama's body from the Land of Iron, Kagami, who served as the bridge between the village and the Uchiha clan, mysteriously disappeared, and Danzo happened to lose an eye during that period.
All signs indicated that these so-called coincidences might not be coincidences at all.
The severe injury of his eldest son, coupled with the highly indicative intelligence collected by the Anbu, made Hiruzen Sarutobi, suppressing his anger, probably would have already flipped the table with Danzo if it weren't for their years of relationship.
Danzo didn't care what Hiruzen was thinking at the moment. He turned and called out towards the window.
"Go guard the Senju compound. As soon as Orochimaru comes out, immediately summon him here!"
"Yes!"
The accompanying Root ninja acknowledged and then disappeared out the window.
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo, not stopping his somewhat overstepping actions. He leisurely took a puff of his pipe, leaned back in his chair, and half-closed his eyes as if dozing.
...
"Jounin Orochimaru, the Hokage summons you. You are to proceed immediately to the Hokage Building for a meeting!"
In a relatively quiet corner of the Konoha streets, Orochimaru, who was experiencing the myriad of human emotions through the power of dark chakra, was suddenly blocked by a ninja dressed as an Anbu.
Orochimaru was not surprised by the appearance of this Anbu. While in the bustling market earlier, he had sensed the Anbu's slightly hostile inner turmoil among the chaotic emotions of the common people.
"Teacher Sarutobi is looking for me?"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, looking with a hint of mockery at the Anbu ninja radiating cold hostility.
"When did Konoha's Hokage become Shimura Danzo?"
The Anbu's eyes turned cold. A faint glint of cold light appeared from the sleeve of his robe.
"Orochimaru, watch your words!"
"Even as the Third Hokage's disciple, you cannot insult that person so casually!"
Orochimaru completely ignored the Anbu's threat and let out a disdainful chuckle.
"Falsely conveying the Third Hokage's orders. If I report this to Teacher Sarutobi, do you think Danzo can protect you?"
The Anbu's eyes narrowed, but due to the curse mark placed on him, he could not utter any words related to Shimura Danzo. He simply said in a deep voice,
"When that person issued this order, the Third Hokage was also present!"
"Believe it or not!"
The Anbu uttered, then vanished from Orochimaru's sight with a Shunshin.
"It seems that ninjas who harbor hostility towards me provide more emotional energy that can be converted into chakra!"
"From these few sentences alone, the chakra collected from this Root ninja far exceeds the output from Tsunade."
"Heh heh, it seems I should take this opportunity to get closer to Danzo!"
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, vanished from his spot with a Shunshin, and headed towards the Hokage Building.