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

However, through this period of time, I have deeply felt that beneath Danzo-sensei's cold exterior lies a warm heart.

He loved his country and the people of the village, and he took great care of us subordinates!

Even though you are the Hokage, I will not allow you to slander Danzo-sensei's noble character like this.

Although he did not complete the mission this time, I think it also proves that he has a soft heart.

Danzo-sensei, he was a good person!

"If you, Hokage-sama, intend to punish him, we are all willing to accept the punishment together!"

As Kagura spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if his mind was going to go blank.

When did I say I was going to punish Danzo?

No, the most important thing is, who is the one you're talking about who loves the people and his subordinates?

We're not talking about the same person, are we?!

He never imagined that he would associate Danzo with the word "good person" in his lifetime.

Looking at the bewildered Hiruzen Sarutobi in front of her, Kagura secretly chuckled to herself.

As expected, sincerity is the killer move!

In fact, he wasn't worried at all that these lies would be exposed after Danzo woke up.

At the time, after Danzo was afflicted by Tsukuyomi, he also used Kotoamatsukami to manipulate his memories.

After advancing to the three-tomoe level, his Kotoamatsukami was able to do even more.

He completely erased Danzo's memories of rushing towards Jiraiya, even forgetting that he knew Chidori.

This is also the main reason why he eventually exhausted all his chakra and fell into a coma, after all, he used two S-rank ninjutsu at the same time.

Seeing the still bewildered Hiruzen Sarutobi, he pressed his advantage and continued:

"Through this incident, we have also become acutely aware of the gap between ourselves and Master Danzo."

Therefore, after discussion among the four of us, we have decided to formally submit our application to the Hokage.

We hope that Danzo-sensei will no longer be our teacher; we don't want to be a burden to him any longer.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been doubting himself, instantly snapped out of his daze.

He looked at Kagura in surprise and asked:

"You mean you're going to form your own team of four?"

Seeing Kagura nod in response, he began to ponder deeply.

Well, judging from Kagura's request, there are indeed some problems.

However, this was not his primary concern.

Even today, when Kagura was specifically summoned for questioning, the intention was merely to give her a warning.

Its purpose was to tell him:

Kid, everyone knows what you've done. Don't go too far in the future.

As for Danzo's slight wariness towards Kagura, Hiruzen Sarutobi was always well aware of it.

When Danzo offered to be the leader of Team 7, Danzo had clearly expressed his opposition.

The consequences of this incident demonstrate that prolonged contact between them is indeed detrimental. While they may only be unconscious this time, it's hard to say what serious problems might arise later.

With this in mind, he actually had a certain degree of agreement with Kagura's suggestion.

But then, his eyes darted around, and a malicious look appeared on his face as he said:

"I can approve your proposal, but... hehe."

He chuckled mischievously before continuing:

"You all need to complete a task first to prove to me that you're capable of forming a team on your own."

Chapter 37 Shota Futa

In Shota Futata's memory, he had never met his parents.

From as far back as I can remember, I have lived in an orphanage in Sunagakure.

There was no gentle and charming dean like in the novel, nor any considerate and caring teachers.

That kind of existence mostly exists only in novels or plays.

The orphanage where he lived was, in fact, an educational institution for training soldiers.

From the day he could remember, he was faced with almost non-stop training every day.

After each training session, I ate food that wasn't particularly delicious but was enough to fill my stomach.

Even so, no one around him complained.

Because those who complained were kicked out long ago and their whereabouts are unknown.

Every day, he was either facing a stern-faced male instructor or the so-called dean with an imposing expression.

Fortunately, this place will always leave a way for these orphans to survive.

Although life was tough, in reality, not many people were injured or killed during training.

On this day, he finally celebrated his tenth birthday.

His birthday present that day was a shuriken.

That very afternoon, in that familiar training ground, he used that shuriken to plunge into his friend's abdomen.

Although he can't quite remember his friend's name now.

But during those difficult years of his youth, he was his best friend.

They supported and encouraged each other, which is how they survived that grueling training.

But he never expected that the final exam to graduate from here would be to kill his best friend.

He didn't remember the details of the battle very clearly, but when he regained his memory, he found himself gripping his weapon and plunging it into his friend's stomach.

The look in his friend's eyes before he died did not reveal resentment or unwillingness, but rather a sense of relief and guilt.

Before he died, he was muttering something, but I couldn't hear him at all.

At the time, he couldn't understand why the man showed a hint of guilt in his eyes, even though he was the one who killed him.

As his friend's body collapsed, it seemed as if his emotions also died with him.

He left the orphanage where he had lived for several years, clutching that bloody shuriken.

From that day on, he officially became a genin in Sunagakure.

At this time, with the five great powers having only recently been established, although the open battles had ceased, the actual warfare had shifted to the dark world unseen by the people.

Although he wasn't particularly skilled in combat, he seemed to have a natural talent for espionage from a young age.

After being transferred to the assassination unit, he was mostly tasked with infiltrating enemy territory, selling intelligence, and then eliminating the enemy.

At just over ten years old, he seemed to know very well how to gain the trust of others.

Several years later, he was promoted to Chunin.

He was sent to Konoha as an undercover agent shortly after he became a Chunin; he was 15 years old that year.

Unlike in the past, this will be a long-term mission.

He will remain in hiding until he receives instructions from above.

He joined Konoha as a rogue ninja from a neighboring village.

In fact, this identity was quite common in the early days after the establishment of the five villages.

Several years after entering Konoha, having gained the village's trust, he became a teacher at the Ninja Academy.

Even among the five great nations, Konoha is the village that best represents peace.

He lived a completely different life here than before; the peaceful atmosphere here sometimes even made him feel a little unreal.

However, this peaceful atmosphere did not calm his mind; instead, it made him increasingly agitated.

No one knew that every time he saw those smiling, innocent children, what he was actually thinking was how to kill them as quickly as possible.

While greeting his neighbors every day, he secretly harbored wicked fantasies about whether that person would still be able to smile if Konoha were destroyed.

His childhood experiences distorted his mind to some extent.

In fact, the reason he wanted to be a spy was because he enjoyed seeing the resentful expressions on the faces of those he betrayed after they finally learned the truth.

That might even give him a strange sense of pleasure.

However, this mission lasted for ten years.

He went from a fifteen-year-old boy to a twenty-five-year-old youth.

He went from a ruthless warrior who killed countless people on the battlefield to a kind and gentle teacher at the Konoha Ninja Academy.

But no one knows how much inner turmoil he endured during those seemingly peaceful ten years.

Finally, he got his chance.

Using his position, he learned of the existence of the forbidden book and its exact location.

That's the work of the Second Hokage; I've heard it even contains forbidden books that can bring the dead back to life.

He immediately reported this information to his superiors, who took it very seriously.

Sure enough, a few days later, orders came from higher authorities.

They will have other spies hidden in Konoha join them in stealing this forbidden book.

After several days of planning, they finally made their move late one night.

The implementation of the plan went even more smoothly than he had imagined. Clutching the huge scroll, the group immediately fled along the designated route.

However, Konoha's reaction speed far exceeded their original estimate; in just one night, the road to Sunagakure was blocked.

Fortunately, they had hired ninjas from Amegakure in advance, which prevented them from being directly searched by the numerous Anbu (Anbu) units.