They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 11 Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Progenitor of the Wood Clan

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, served for over a decade. While he may not have been a model of diligence and dedication, he was certainly hardworking and conscientious.

When the Second Hokage died in the Hidden Cloud Village during the First Shinobi World War, he was appointed as the Third Hokage amidst the defeat of the enemy. His first act upon taking office was to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Hidden Cloud Village, and then he traveled to various battlefields, leading the heroes of Konoha to defeat the invading enemy.

In peacetime, he single-handedly carried forward the political system left by the Second Hokage, developing a village on the verge of collapse into the de facto number one ninja in the world today. He can be considered the restorer of Konoha Village.

Furthermore, he was the first Hokage of Konoha who was not from the Senju clan. If we follow the custom of his previous life, after his death, according to the rule of "ancestors with merits and lineages with virtues", the temple name "Kokō-shizu" would be very appropriate.

After all, aside from his lecherous nature and his future blunders regarding Orochimaru, Naruto, and the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi truly deserves to be called a devoted servant of Konoha, even unto death.

During the Nine-Tails' attack, his wife died; during the turmoil, his son and daughter-in-law died; he became enemies with his only youngest son; and even his final death was on the road to protecting Konoha.

From Konoha's perspective, Hiruzen Sarutobi is undoubtedly a competent Hokage.

However, this usually good-natured Hokage is now in a rare state of bewilderment.

He woke up in the morning, eating hot pot and singing songs. Before he could even sit down and relax with his crystal ball, he suddenly discovered that he had become the public enemy of the ninja world!

Moreover, this information didn't even come from their own hands; they learned it from the daimyo's envoy!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's first thought was, "Oh no, has Danzo gotten himself into trouble again?"

My second thought was, how am I supposed to clean up this guy's mess?

After all, as the assistant to the Hokage, Danzo, the "Darkness of the Ninja" of Konoha, did a pretty good job.

At this time, Danzo was still young and vigorous, and his covetousness for the Hokage position was not so serious. His disagreements with Hiruzen Sarutobi were not very serious either. Apart from frequently suppressing the Uchiha, intercepting funds to build his own small team, and occasionally contradicting Hiruzen Sarutobi, he did not have any major problems.

On the contrary, as the leader of Root, he truly made ninjas from other villages tremble with fear.

The current Danzo is far from the madman who later implanted a dozen pairs of eyes in his arm and fused with Wood Release cells. In fact, coupled with his handsome face, he enjoys surprisingly good popularity among the common people, and there has been a constant chorus of calls for him to be the next Hokage.

Therefore, during this period, Hiruzen Sarutobi's first reaction was how to protect his old buddy.

Danzo Shimura, who had been summoned over, was also completely bewildered.

Holy crap, what did I do?

After the two stared at each other for a while and carefully learned the details of the matter, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally confirmed that Danzo had not done it.

"How rare! Besides you, there's actually someone else in this ninja world who can use such a ruthless technique..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but marvel at this, looking as if his eyes had been opened.

Having never experienced the impact of public opinion before, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't react much to this. To him, the matter seemed serious, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that the information was fabricated.

Especially things like Konoha's military budget of 50 billion yen, its standing ninja force of 50,000, and its Jonin force of 5,000. If Konoha had that kind of strength, it wouldn't need anyone to tell it; it would have immediately sent troops to wipe out Kumogakure.

Do you really think he doesn't hold grudges?

Not to mention that he secretly hypnotized the daimyo of the Land of Fire and manipulated the political situation of the Land of Fire. It's just too ridiculous. What could he possibly gain after doing that?

And then there's that title, "Fire Emperor"... Ugh, what's with this inexplicable flutter in my heart?

Suppressing his turbulent emotions for the time being, Hiruzen Sarutobi, after making some adjustments, completely disregarded the thing and even had time to tease his old buddy.

Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, who had been underground for a long time, had a furrowed brow and smelled a conspiracy emanating from his body.

That's the taste of our kind.

Although he had not yet manipulated public opinion to kill Sakumo Hatake, his innate schemer instincts made him sense the danger behind these remarks.

"Hiruzen, that's a joke, that's true, but things have developed to the point where this statement has caused a huge uproar in the ninja world. If other ninja villages respond, especially if the other four great ninja villages use this as an excuse to unite and put pressure on us, it will indeed be a considerable problem for us."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback; he hadn't considered that possibility. Then he realized that Danzo's words weren't entirely unfounded.

Not to mention the Hidden Cloud Village, which has been eyeing Konoha's backside and is always looking to poke at it, even Onoki from the Hidden Stone Village, that restless fellow, probably wouldn't easily let go of this perfect opportunity.

The monks of Sunagakure are alright; they're not the type to cause trouble. As for Kirigakure, they just announced their isolation, so we can ignore them for now...

"Furthermore, according to my intelligence, this rumor originated in the Land of Water, so the mastermind behind it is very likely Kirigakure!"

As expected of Konoha's intelligence chief, Danzo found the source of the rumors in such a short time.

Speaking of Kirigakure, Danzo subconsciously recalled a piece of intelligence.

"Just a month ago, that genius from Kirigakure became the Foreign Affairs Officer, and a month later Kirigakure has made a big move. If it were someone else's idea, it would probably have been implemented long ago. Judging from this timeline, this rumor must have been personally orchestrated by that 'Timely Rain' from Kirigakure."

"At twelve years old, he defeated a ninja squad led by a Jonin from the Hyuga branch family in a head-on battle, and he still has that kind of intelligence. Hozuki Shingetsu is truly a force to be reckoned with!"

Recalling the information about the young patriarch of the Hozuki clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but sigh.

Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was lamenting Hozuki Shingetsu's strength, Danzo Shimura was impressed that Hozuki Shingetsu could devise such a ruthless scheme at such a young age.

Just like him when he was young.

This insidious scheme, this swift execution, this ruthlessness that disregards the consequences of the plan—could there really be someone in this world so similar to him?

"So, how should we respond?"

To deal with this tactic, we should naturally listen to the opinions of Shimura Danzo, an expert here.

After all, snakes have their ways and rats have theirs; Danzo was experienced in dealing with such underhanded tactics.

Danzo Shimura did not disappoint Hiruzen Sarutobi's "trust," and quickly offered a series of solutions, including but not limited to muddying the waters and using feints.

While firmly denying these rumors, they quickly fabricated arguments such as "cloud-hidden threat theory" and "sand-hidden threat theory," which were characterized by alarmist rhetoric.

What? Ten thousand Jonin from Kumogakure have returned from overseas, vowing to pacify the ninja world; a gold mine has been discovered in the Land of Earth, and Iwagakure's military budget will reach 500 billion next year; Sunagakure has invented a new secret technique that hypnotizes anyone who gets close; the successive Mizukage of Kirigakure have faked their deaths and are plotting a conspiracy to overthrow the ninja world, etc.

In short, all these ninja villages are corrupt and have the power to launch a ninja world war. Konoha, as a peace-loving village, is fighting against these evil elements in the ninja world and is willing to bear the infamy in order to protect the peace of the ninja world.

The most prominent aspect is the role of a tragic hero.

At the same time, some rumors were spread, such as why the Land of Water was closed off from the world because the remains of the Sage of Six Paths' death were discovered; after the recent earthquake in the Land of Earth, the ninjutsu lineage of the Koga clan, a top ninja clan from the Warring States period, was discovered in the mountain wall; and there was gold dust in the Devil's Desert of the Land of Wind, and those who knew about it were making a fortune, etc., in order to distract people, especially the bored nobles.

All I can say is that Danzo Shimura was quite capable; even if he didn't become Hokage's assistant and switched to writing novels, he wouldn't starve.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this, and was about to sign off on Danzo's orders when he noticed that his old friend was lost in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.

"Danzo, Danzo!"

Danzo only snapped out of his daze after being reminded by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"You're not plotting something again, are you?"

Seeing his old friend like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who knew his temperament well, seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes narrowed.

"...How could that be! What right do you have to slander someone's innocence!"

"You were thinking about it after all!"

Just kidding. Just as he was familiar with Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi also knew his old teammate's personality very well. After all, their relationship had long since reached the point where Hiruzen knew exactly when to slap Danzo the moment he turned his backside.

Danzo's reaction precisely proves this point.

In fact, Danzo was indeed thinking about something. He was wondering why, since the momentum of the enemy's slander against Konoha was already so great, they should waste the momentum that the enemy had worked so hard to create for Konoha?

Why not turn this charade into reality, using this storm to secretly intimidate those small ninja villages and make them submit?

Even more far-reachingly, this opportunity could be used to intimidate the daimyo with war.

Look at our reputation, how the outside world is slandering us now!

Why do outsiders slander us? It's because we are too strong, so they want to unite and suppress us. This incident is just a rehearsal.

If we were to give in now and cut Konoha's military spending, wouldn't that please our enemies and hurt our friends?

In my opinion, we should not only not cut military spending, but should significantly increase it!

When Konoha's strength increases significantly, let's see who dares to step forward!

Even if the enemy unites, there will be a clear order. When the time comes, as long as we eliminate the instigator with a swift and decisive strike, no one will criticize us anymore. This way, the dilemma will be resolved. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

However, Danzo knew that this approach would be useless against his old friend.

He has always prioritized stability and has been able to lead Konoha to the top of the ninja world in a safe and secure manner. How could he possibly use such a risky move?

After all, this measure is too risky.

If the four nations were to truly commit significant resources to attacking Konoha, they could immediately form a coalition to encircle Konoha the day after Konoha announced its increased military spending. Konoha, whose massive military expenditure has yet to translate into actual strength, would be 100% unable to defeat them.

Even if Mito Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, were still alive, they still wouldn't be able to defeat him.

In addition, he was also afraid of arousing the daimyo's suspicion.

After all, the current Daimyo has personally witnessed the power of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. If they were to push too hard and sow unnecessary seeds of suspicion in the Daimyo's mind, it would be a disaster for Konoha, which is currently in a stable situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not gamble, nor did he want to. He only wanted to walk the straight and honest path; he would not, and was unwilling to, take the crooked path.

However, there is no doubt that the benefits brought by this crooked path are also enormous.

"And isn't this the meaning of my existence... Hiruzen. You are the leaf bathed in sunlight, and I am the root buried deep in the ground."

Thinking of this, Shimura Danzo's heart was filled with the feeling of a tragic hero who had lived a life of petty scheming and wasting his time, while Konoha Village enjoyed peace and tranquility, and he alone carried the burden of Konoha forward.

He even rekindled a longing for the Hokage position that might have originally belonged to him.

"If I had stepped forward to stay behind and cover the retreat, would the teacher have chosen me?"

This thought flashed through his mind and was quickly suppressed by Danzo Shimura, as if it had never existed.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still warning Danzo not to act without permission, but Danzo shut him down with a retort.

"Oh dear, Sarutobi, you know me well. If I really wanted to do something, it would be too late for you to say all this now."

"you……"

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's flushed face, Danzo quickly changed the subject to avoid further upsetting his old teammate.

Knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, he knew that as long as he brought up this topic, Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely forget his previous unpleasantness.

"I wasn't planning anything just now, I was just thinking about the Uchiha problem."

As this was the most heated topic of their debate, he believed that as long as he could draw Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention to it, he would inevitably be drawn into his own discussion and forget what had just happened.

However, he didn't expect that his plan would backfire. Upon hearing the name Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi became even more certain of his suspicions.

"Uchiha? You still say you weren't plotting anything?"

"..."

Danzo was speechless. Damn it, he was so focused on arguing that he forgot about this.

But am I being too obvious?

I think I've hidden my hostility towards the Uchiha quite well!

Somewhat annoyed, Danzo simply skipped the middle part of arguing with Hiruzen and went straight to the usual closing part where they disagreed.

"Sarutobi, you'll regret this!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

boom!

"How many times have I told you! Close the door properly!"

As is well known, the timeline of the Naruto world, especially the timeline concerning Tobirama Senju, is actually very chaotic. Although Kishimoto clearly stated in the manga that Tobirama Senju should have died around Konoha 36 during the Second Shinobi World War, and then Hiruzen Sarutobi took over, this obviously conflicts with some of the earlier settings in Naruto and is a kind of "retcon." Therefore, combining popular knowledge and some ideas from later parts of the book, this book sets the time of Tobirama Senju's death during the First Shinobi World War.

(End of this chapter)