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

Chapter 159 The Key to Self-Reliance Through Supporting Bandits: The Maitreya Cult!

"If Lord Danzo wants to become Hokage, he will have to wait until Hiruzen Sarutobi steps down. However, considering Hiruzen Sarutobi's age and past achievements, even though he has been heavily criticized for his leadership failures in the recent Shinobi World War, which resulted in heavy casualties for Konoha, as long as he doesn't want to step down, no one can force him to."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at Shimura Danzo, who remained unmoved, and smiled inwardly. He continued to persuade (or rather, coax) him:

"And even if he is forced to abdicate under pressure from the people or other circumstances, Lord Danzo, ask yourself honestly, what is your reputation among the people? After Hiruzen Sarutobi steps down, can Lord Danzo really ascend to the throne smoothly?"

Oni-no-Shingetsu completely ignored Shimura Danzo's answer about whether he wanted to become Hokage and directly began to "assume" that he did want to become Hokage.

"As far as I know, after the 'Uchiha Human Rights Report,' Hiruzen Sarutobi made the 'Oath of the Hokage Rock' in front of everyone, vowing to do everything in his power to promote an Uchiha clan member to become the Fourth Hokage."

"Furthermore, it's rumored that Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, Fugaku Uchiha, has a decent reputation in Konoha. Is Lord Danzo confident he can beat him in this election?"

Indeed, this is exactly what Shimura Danzo was worried about.

If his previous intense hatred towards the Uchiha clan stemmed from his teacher, Tobirama Senju, then his current resentment towards the Uchiha clan is purely a personal grudge.

Back then, Hiruzen Sarutobi made the "Oath of the Hokage Rock" in front of so many people. If Hiruzen Sarutobi had any sense of shame, he would never have broken his oath.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't truly go all out to help Fugaku Uchiha out of fear of the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't help himself either!

As the saying goes, only family members know their own affairs. Having engaged in underground work for many years and using any means necessary, Danzo Shimura himself would be the first to disbelieve that he had a good reputation among the various ninja clans.

Seeing Shimura Danzo's increasingly grim expression, Hozuki Shingetsu continued to attack him:

"Moreover, besides Fugaku Uchiha, Konoha has a large number of young talents whose strength and reputation are no less than his, such as Sakumo Hatake, the 'White Fang', and the 'Sannin', who were Hiruzen Sarutobi's students."

"Lord Danzo should know his own situation, so I won't say more. Does Lord Danzo really think he has an advantage when facing these youngsters?"

"Leaving aside other matters, I'd like to point out just one thing: as a ninja clan, do they prefer a Hokage with a strong personality and powerful backing, like Lord Danzo, or a Hokage with a gentle nature and shallow foundation, like Sakumo Hatake?"

Hozuki Shingetsu watched Shimura Danzo's expression change drastically and waited for his response with a smile.

"You mean...you have a way to help me? What did you mean by those two methods just now?"

With a hoarse voice, Shimura Danzo finally uttered his first words after arriving at the Mizukage's office.

If Danzo Shimura could tolerate the previous words, Hozuki Shingetsu's last words completely shattered his mental defenses.

Indeed, as someone from a ninja clan, he was very familiar with the methods and temperaments of those ninja clans.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi were to truly step down, and he, Fugaku Uchiha, and Sakumo Hatake were to compete fairly, he could almost certainly assert that he had absolutely no chance of beating these two young men.

At the same time, he was also aware that no matter what stance he took here, Hozuki Shingetsu's identity naturally meant that his words would have no market in Konoha Village.

After all, no matter how ruthless and vicious Shimura Danzo was, he was still one of their own. All the "evidence" that Hozuki Shingetsu presented could be neutralized by Shimura Danzo with "transformation techniques" and "the conspiracy of Kirigakure".

Therefore, it was in this atmosphere that Danzo Shimura had the idea to talk to Shingetsu Hozuki, who was also a conspiracy theorist.

It's been quite painful to keep these things bottled up inside for so many years. Now that I finally have Hozuki Shingetsu, someone I can speak freely without worrying about the consequences, it would be a real shame not to get them off my chest.

Moreover... he wanted to see what kind of medicine Hozuki Shingetsu was up to.

"They've taken the bait!"

Seeing Shimura Danzo respond, Hozuki Shingetsu was overjoyed.

However, the opportunity to break through Shimura Danzo's defenses was hard-won, and Hozuki Shingetsu had no time to rejoice before continuing to deceive Shimura Danzo according to the pre-arranged plan.

"Therefore, if Lord Danzo wants to become Hokage, he must complete two steps at the same time."

Hozuki Shingetsu held up two fingers, looked at Shimura Danzo, and said:

"First, I need to remove Hiruzen Sarutobi from office. Second, I need to work hard to increase my own prestige and strength, suppress the other Hokage candidates, and make myself the only candidate who is the focus of everyone's attention and without any controversy."

"So, what are the specific methods?"

Looking at Hozuki Shingetsu opposite him, Shimura Danzo finally stopped hiding his ambition, his eyes revealing an infinite desire for the Hokage position:

"Anyone with a little inside knowledge could have come up with either of those two lines of thought. Surely the renowned 'Ninja Fox Demon' couldn't possibly be limited to just that? If so, I'm truly disappointed!"

"Hehe... As for the first point, how to remove Hiruzen Sarutobi from power, the time is not yet ripe, so let me keep you in suspense for now. Moreover, the realization of this point is equivalent to Lord Danzo sounding the charge for the Hokage position. There's no use rushing it now."

Faced with Shimura Danzo's provocation, Hozuki Shingetsu smiled slightly and kept everyone in suspense for a moment.

"Let me first discuss the second point: how to increase Lord Danzo's reputation!"

"This method... naturally refers to what I just mentioned: nurturing bandits to enhance one's own power and relying on foreign powers to enhance one's own power!"

Hozuki Shingetsu stood up, walked around the desk, and came to stand in front of Shimura Danzo, his eyes filled with profound meaning.

"You've already been doing this 'raising a bandit for your own sake' principle, haven't you, Lord Danzo? Or perhaps... Shimura Danzo, the 'Buddha's disciple' of the Maitreya sect?"

Upon hearing Hozuki Shingetsu's eerie voice in his ear, Shimura Danzo felt a sudden jolt and clenched his fists tightly inside his robes.

War, especially brutal war, can be said to be a natural breeding ground for cults like the Maitreya sect.

Especially after the three-year Shinobi World War, when countless civilian ninjas sacrificed themselves under the orders of their villages, Danzo was unaware of the other villages' history, but in Konoha, thanks to his efforts, the Miroku sect had almost covered half of Konoha's civilian ninjas.

He was well aware of the danger of exposing this force to the village's view, so he did his best to restrain the activities of the Miroku sect followers. Whenever there was any trouble, the Root ninjas would handle it secretly. The "Buddha's disciple" and "archbishop" on the surface had nothing to do with him.

Under these circumstances, he believed he had done a flawless job of secretly keeping track of the Konoha Miroku Cult. With the Root organization's heavy cover, he was confident that even Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be able to expose his true identity so easily.

In this situation, how did Hozuki Shingetsu know that he was the mastermind behind the Konoha Miroku cult?

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. He turned around expressionlessly, looked at Hozuki Shingetsu, and said, word by word:

"Did you found the Maitreya sect?"

(End of this chapter)