Konoha: Uchiha, I get stronger by causing trouble.

Chapter 183 Danzo, the Troublemaker

The Hokage's office.

Shortly after Chiga left, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura, who were serving as advisors, to the Hokage's office.

Before Shimura Danzo could even sit down, he hurriedly asked, "Sarutobi, what major event has brought you here?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately replied, "Two days from now, I will lead five hundred ninjas to the Sand Village front!"

"What? You need to step in personally?"

"Has the situation in Sunagakure deteriorated to this extent?"

"No, Sarutobi, you are the village's leader! You can't act rashly!"

Upon hearing this, Shimura Danzo and the other two were immediately surprised.

After his initial surprise, Danzo Shimura was suddenly overjoyed and asked reproachfully, "Is Tsunade failing?"

"Sarutobi, I told you long ago that Tsunade is sick and not suitable to be a frontline commander!"

"See? In the end, we still need you to go and provide support!"

"If we're on the front lines in Sunagakure, Tsunade, as the commander, will have to shoulder the vast majority of the responsibility!"

Danzo Shimura didn't even ask Hiruzen Sarutobi why he was going to the front lines; he just put the label on him first.

After all, Tsunade is a strong contender for the next Hokage.

If the Sand Village front fails, Tsunade will lose her competitiveness. As for the vice commander, Sakumo Hatake, he had already lost his competitiveness for the Hokage when he committed the crime.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled his eyes at Danzo Shimura without changing his expression, and explained, "According to intelligence, the Sand Village has already dispatched the Fourth Kazekage!"

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi recounted the information that Chiga had brought back.

The three then realized that the Sand Village's front was not in dire straits, but rather that it was time to reap the rewards of victory.

"In that case, Sarutobi, wouldn't it be better to send your other disciple, Orochimaru?"

"After all, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, is called a Kage, but he's just a lucky guy who temporarily took over. There shouldn't be any need for someone from the older generation like you to go out and fight, right?"

Xiaochun suggested, "I'm switching dorms."

The Land of Wind could mobilize the entire village to fight against Konoha, but Konoha didn't believe it, so she didn't really recommend that Hiruzen Sarutobi leave the village.

However, Shimura Danzo was the first to object, saying, "No, Orochimaru won't do!"

He initially thought that Hiruzen Sarutobi was needed because the Sand Village front had suffered a defeat, but after hearing the news, he knew that it was time to reap the rewards of victory.

If Orochimaru were to participate and actually win the battle against the Fourth Hokage, that would be a tremendous achievement.

Orochimaru's prestige in Konoha would definitely rise significantly, and Danzo Shimura would never allow this to happen.

Even now, Orochimaru is still working under him.

After thinking for a moment, Danzo Shimura continued, "You should know that Konoha is currently fighting on two fronts."

"Furthermore, according to my spies, the Land of Water is also about to launch a war against Konoha, which will leave Konoha facing enemies on three fronts."

"We might be able to take on three at once in the short term, but in the long run, not to mention the shortage of personnel, we will also have difficulty in supplying them. So we must defeat one side first before we can have the energy to deal with the other three countries."

"Sending Sarutobi personally will not only suppress the Fourth Kazekage, but also boost the morale of our ninjas, ensuring victory in one fell swoop!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Danzo a deep look. Even he hadn't obtained accurate information in the Land of Water, yet Danzo had gotten it first.

This former friend seems to have far greater hidden power than he does openly.

"this"

Koharu Utatane frowned upon hearing the news. Their fighting strength was already severely lacking, and if the Land of Water were to join in, things would only get worse.

With the two remaining silent, it was now a foregone conclusion that Hiruzen Sarutobi would personally go to the front lines.

"In that case, it's settled that I will lead the team to deal with the Fourth Kazekage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi then added, "Kushina Uzumaki will accompany me during my absence."

"How can this be? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is of utmost importance and cannot leave the village at will."

Danzo Shimura disagreed on this point.

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained:

"You should all know about the Nine-Tails' rampage a while ago. If this happens again while I'm away, the losses will be even greater!"

"Sarutobi, I can take your place."

Before Shimura Danzo could finish speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen interrupted, "No need to say more, I've made my decision! Kushina will come with me to the Sand Village front."

Entrusting Kushina to Danzo's care was definitely not something Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to see.

Danzo's face stiffened, and he said nothing more.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, was more concerned about what Danzo Shimura had said earlier, and asked him, "Is the information that the Land of Water will soon invade accurate?"

Danzo nodded silently.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples wearily and sighed:

"This is troublesome. Even if the Sand Village forces are driven back in one battle, they won't surrender so quickly, so we can't spare any troops. This means we'll have to rely on our forces to deal with the Land of Water."

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's troubled tone, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, then looked at the silent Danzo Shimura.

Seeing that the two advisors understood his meaning, Hiruzen Sarutobi then said to Danzo Shimura, "Danzo, in the face of this crisis, shouldn't your Root organization allocate some manpower to support the Land of Water?"

Upon hearing this, Danzo's eyes flashed with anger. He understood that this was the suspicion that Sarutobi Hiruzen had aroused from his previous words.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi weakened his strength in this way.

"I will send some people from the roots to the border of the Land of Water!"

Danzo replied expressionlessly, "But my manpower is always limited, so we should draw some more people from other major clans."

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado nodded in agreement: "Indeed, you alone with your Root cannot withstand the Land of Water."

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment and said, "Well, I will discuss it with the heads of the Inuzuka and Hyuga clans and ask them to transfer some more ninjas."

These two clans can counter the Hidden Mist Technique, which is the most proficient technique of the Hidden Mist Village, so they have always been the backbone of the fight against the Hidden Mist Villagers.

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo immediately objected, saying, "These two clans already have a large number of members involved in the other two fronts. Asking them for more people will inevitably cause them resentment."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. These were words more likely to be spoken by him, the Hokage.

I have a feeling that Shimura Danzo is about to cause trouble!

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew his old comrade-in-arms very well; he was definitely not the kind of person who would care whether other families harbored resentment.

Following Shimura Danzo's lead, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "Danzo, what do you mean?"

Danzo Shimura remained calm and composed, not even glancing at Hiruzen Sarutobi, and said indifferently, "Most of the Uchiha clan members are still serving as the village's security force; let's use these people!"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils constricted, and he stared coldly at Danzo.

Given the lack of manpower in Konoha, it is quite normal to draw ninjas from various clans within the village.

When faced with major issues of principle, all ethnic groups also distinguish between what is important and what is urgent.

At this moment, it is simply unreasonable to send the Uchiha clan, who are skilled in fire-style ninjutsu, to fight against the Kirigakure ninjas, who are proficient in water-style ninjutsu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had always known that Danzo Shimura harbored resentment towards the Uchiha clan, but he never expected it to escalate to the point where he would resort to such methods to weaken the Uchiha clan.

"What? Sarutobi, you don't disagree, do you?"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't responded for a while, Danzo Shimura continued, "On the other two fronts, there aren't many Uchiha clan members."

"Yes, all the clans have already lost a lot of ninjas, so the Uchiha clan can only fill in for now. After the Sand Village surrenders, the Sand Village ninjas will then replace the Uchiha clan."

As astute individuals, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu understood the underlying reasons, but their attitude was the same as Danzo's: they did not want the Uchiha clan to increase their strength.

Seeing that both advisors supported Shimura Danzo's idea, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply.

"I need to think about this!"

"Then let's hurry, we don't have much time to waste with the Land of Water!"

Danzo Shimura knew he couldn't push too hard, so he only said one thing and then didn't mention the matter again.

The four discussed other matters, and then Shimura Danzo and the other two left the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, on the other hand, sat in his seat, silently smoking a pipe.

That night, after returning from Kushina's place, Chiga went straight to sleep at home. However, he had only been asleep for a short while when several Uchiha clan members came to his house and woke him up.

They said the clan was going to hold a clan meeting that night, and all the Uchiha clan ninjas in the village had to attend.

This infuriated Chiga so much that he almost beat the group up.

Upon arriving at the clan meeting, Qianhe glanced around in surprise and, finding no one willing to tease him, immediately realized that there seemed to be something important to discuss at this clan meeting.

He found a place to sit down and waited for all his clansmen to arrive.

Soon, everyone arrived, and Fugaku Uchiha said in a deep voice, "I just returned from the Third Hokage. Due to the tense situation, the village needs 100 ninja from our Uchiha clan to go to the eastern part of the Land of Fire to defend against Kirigakure of the Land of Water!"

"What? The Land of Water is going to invade too?" The Uchiha clan members were shocked upon hearing this.

Fugaku Uchiha shook his head and said, "Not yet, but according to intelligence, it seems that the Land of Water is planning to do so."

"Alright, but why is it our Uchiha clan?"

"The ninjas of the Land of Water are all very skilled in Water Release techniques, which are a great counter to our clan in terms of elemental advantage!"

"Indeed, and the Sharingan is also affected by the Hidden Mist Technique!"

"Clan Chief Fugaku, isn't this a bit unreasonable?"

"Can't we go to other fronts? The Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, either!"

"Yeah, even the Land of Lightning would do. Those muscle-bound guys are the easiest to fall for genjutsu!"

(End of this chapter)