Naruto: By lying low and hiding, he eventually became the leader of the Legendary Sannin.

Upon seeing the monitor's face, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly found a matching image in his memory.

This person should be called Watanabe Takeshi, a Chunin from Konoha Village.

Moreover, he was quite certain that this person had joined the "Root" organization.

It should be noted that Danzo's establishment of "Root" was with his tacit approval.

Hiruzen Sarutobi personally reviewed the list of the first batch of people to be admitted.

At this moment, the guards stationed inside the Hokage Building finally came out.

Upon seeing the person lying at Hiruzen Sarutobi's feet, the expressions of the group changed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand at the crowd and calmly said:

“If we send this person to the ‘Root’, Danzo will naturally understand what happened.”

In the Hokage Building office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo sat facing each other, each with a steaming teacup in front of them.

After Danzo entered, the two maintained an eerie silence.

At this time, Danzo was still young, without bandages wrapped around his body, nor had he deliberately hidden one of his arms.

Although he has an X-shaped scar on his chin, it does not affect his handsome appearance.

As a man capable of competing with Hiruzen Sarutobi for the Hokage position, he naturally exudes a calm and composed aura.

It can be said that if it weren't for the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's personal appointment...

He might very well replace Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Third Hokage.

In the end, it was Danzo who broke the silence first.

“I never gave the order to monitor you.”

After a pause, he continued:

"We both know very well that if I really had such thoughts, I wouldn't have sent someone like that over here."

The only person who could be sent to carry out this mission is me.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in agreement. He picked up the teacup in front of him, took a slow sip, and then spoke:

"I know.

But I'm more interested in knowing what the original task you assigned to Takeshi Watanabe was.

After silently watching Hiruzen Sarutobi for several seconds, Danzo finally chose to confess.

"I originally sent him to keep an eye on the person, Uchiha Kagura."

"Uchiha Kagura?... "

He muttered to himself, savoring the meaning of those words.

In an instant, he understood many things.

He chuckled softly, then shook his head helplessly and said:

"It seems you've placed quite a few people around me."

"Uchiha Kagura only revealed her true strength this afternoon, and you've already taken action so quickly."

Danzo calmly explained:

You must have misunderstood something.

I do have people around you, but their mission is not to spy on you.

After all, those who come from the 'roots' will eventually become the 'dark side'.

They were merely sent by me to protect you; after all, realistically, you will be the Third Hokage of Konoha.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his water cup, looked into Danzo's eyes, and said:

"Then your wariness of Uchiha Kagura is probably not a misunderstanding."

Danzo did not deny it, saying:

"yes.

You should know better than I do how terrifying the Uchiha clan is.

Even someone as powerful as Tobirama never dared to lower his guard against the Uchiha clan.

I don't think there's anything wrong with monitoring the most capable young generation.

The problem is, you failed!

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, placed his hands on the table, and looked down at Danzo, saying:

"Although I don't know how that kid Kagura did it."

But the person you sent to monitor him was tricked by his illusions and ended up here with me!

This is him expressing both goodwill and dissatisfaction!

The fact that he didn't kill the man shows that he still harbored goodwill towards the village.

Sending him here is an expression of his dissatisfaction.

He stared sternly into Danzo's eyes and warned:

"If you can manage to keep it from him finding out, then that's fine."

But since he has the ability to discover it, then stop what you're doing.

I don't want a promising future to be pushed to the opposite side of Konoha because of your personal suspicions.

Danzo frowned, still wanting to retort:

"But......"

"No buts."

Yesterday, at the graduation ceremony, Mito-sama saw Kagura in person.

Lord Mito believed that the boy posed no threat to Konoha.

You should be well aware of Lady Mito's abilities.

Even Danzo fell silent upon hearing the name of Mito Uzumaki, who had dedicated her life to Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi left the table and went to the window.

Gazing at Konoha Village under the night sky, he spoke again:

"Danzo, I understand your determination to protect the village."

However, relying solely on dark methods will not allow the village to develop.

Times have changed. I firmly believe that only under the sunlight can the leaves truly dance freely.

Danzo is gone.

Although he didn't say anything in the end, he tacitly agreed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision.

Looking at the silhouette of his former comrade hidden in the darkness, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt even more keenly the difficulty of becoming Hokage.

"Sarutobi-sensei?"

Suddenly, a voice pulled him back to reality.

Turning around, he saw that the person who came was Tsunade.

After today's test, Tsunade felt distressed for the first time about her own weakness.

After thinking about it for a long time at home, she decided to come back and find the teacher to ask about the future training direction.

Knowing Hiruzen Sarutobi's daily schedule, she headed straight for the Hokage Building.

Because of her special background, the famous Tsunade walked into the Hokage's office without any obstacles.

As soon as I entered, I saw that the teacher was not sitting at the table handling official business as usual, but standing by the window in a daze.

Looking at his obedient disciple, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and replied:

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I just dealt with some troublesome matters involving that brat Uchiha Kagura."

Uchiha Kagura?

Upon hearing the name, Tsunade's eyes suddenly lit up.

She quickly tugged at Sarutobi-sensei's sleeve and asked:

"What happened to that idiot?"

He must have gotten into some trouble again!

Seeing Tsunade suddenly become excited, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flashed with a hint of wariness, and a possibility came to mind.

Although he personally doesn't have any prejudice against the Uchiha, if Tsunade, who represents the Senju clan, really has something going on with that Uchiha kid.

That would probably cause him a lot of trouble as Hokage.

He looked Tsunade up and down, then asked directly:

"Tsunade, why do you seem to care so much about Kagura?"

You don't actually like him, do you?

Tsunade blushed as she was surprised that Sarutobi-sensei would ask such a direct question.

She forcefully flung away Hiruzen Sarutobi's sleeve and said in a panic:

"Teacher... what are you saying?"

How...how could I possibly like such a blockhead!

I just couldn't stand that arrogant kid; he always looked down on people.

Moreover, as a competitor in the same year, isn't it normal to want to surpass a strong opponent?

I didn't pay any special attention to him!

He stammered a bit at first, but then seemed to find an excuse for himself and became more and more confident as he spoke.