Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

The patriarchal clan was purged, the branch families were liberated, and even the most disdainful were no longer seen. Everyone had a bright future ahead of them.

If the Tenseigan is successfully synthesized, then the script written by Shen Er will come to an end.

With the Hokage's authority and the power of Jin and Chiri, there's no need for so many roundabout methods. Forcibly annihilating the Hyuga wouldn't be a problem, but Jin prioritizes dignity and sustainable development.

He didn't want a Konoha ruled by violence and fear; he wanted a Konoha that everyone respected and loved.

It's very undignified to be mistaken for an old codger sitting on a golden toilet.

If the number of flawless white eyes is still insufficient, then the ending of the script will be rewritten immediately.

The benevolent and magnanimous Third Hokage, Zenji, will even introduce a special birth policy to encourage Hyuga clan members to intermarry and have more children.

Early marriage and childbirth lead to a large and prolific family.

These newborns will not be labeled as caged birds.

But as they grow older and begin to go out on missions, they are repeatedly ambushed by "unknown forces." They may survive, but when they are sent back to the village, their eye sockets will be found to be empty.

He's incredibly skilled at transferring things from his left hand to his right.

Hyuga Eizo thought he had figured out what the man who was about to succeed the Third Hokage was thinking.

I don't know.

Under Shinji's arrangement, the Hyuga clan has begun its countdown to extermination.

...

Over the next few days, Shen Er visited each of the major and minor ninja clans in the village as planned.

There's one week left until the Hokage trust vote.

Looking at the compiled results of the clan affairs interview, Chiri couldn't help but exclaim, "Everyone really wants you to become Hokage; nobody is on the Second Hokage's side at all."

Shen Er showed no gratitude for their trust, simply saying, "They'll help whoever wins."

Without exception, even the Shimura and Sarutobi clans expressed their intention to cast their votes of confidence in Jin.

The difference in strength between the two sides is obvious, and no one would be foolish enough to vote for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In the future, Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze were evenly matched in their competition for the Fourth Hokage position, and Minato only rose to power because of Hiruzen's nomination; on the other hand, Jinji and Hiruzen completely crushed each other.

She raised her hand and stroked Chiri's soft purple hair, speaking beside her: "Soon, you will be the wife of the Third Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Chiri's eyes seemed to be brimming with tears, and he turned around to hug Shinji tightly, kissing him passionately.

Through years of careful maintenance, time has left almost no trace on Chiri's body. Her appearance and figure have not aged at all; on the contrary, she looks younger every day. Coupled with the Yin Seal, it would be no exaggeration to say that she is eternally youthful and can serve as the Third Hokage's wife for a considerable period of time.

Silent all night.

……

Danzo Shimura waited anxiously until the sun rose the next day, at which point he suddenly opened his eyes.

The prison guards didn't make things difficult for him any further and released him from his cell when the time limit was up.

Danzo was disheveled and unkempt, disregarding his appearance and the villagers' strange looks. Upon leaving the prison, he headed straight for the Sarutobi clan's compound, intending to find Hiruzen and ask him about all the events that had transpired during this time.

During his solitary confinement, he was completely cut off from the world. He only heard from the guards on his first day in prison that Shen had announced his candidacy for Hokage, and afterwards he knew nothing about anything that was happening in the village.

During his absence...

What is Hiruzen Sarutobi's situation?

Soon, Danzo met Hiruzen in the Sarutobi clan.

Hiruzen looked energetic at this moment, a stark contrast to his anxious appearance a few days ago.

Seeing this, Danzo finally felt relieved.

Although it's unclear how he did it, it seems that Hiruzen has already devised a strategy to turn the tide, and the Third Hokage is on the horizon.

"As expected of you, Hiruzen."

"A man who can be regarded as both an ally and a rival by me."

Chapter 177 Offering his heart to the Third Hokage, Zenin Shinji!

"Danzo, you're out?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was both surprised and delighted. He quickly stepped forward and hugged him tightly, his voice filled with guilt: "I wanted to visit you in prison a few days ago, but I had to go to the Gospel Hospital to take care of Yan. A bunch of trivial matters delayed me. Are you doing alright in there?"

Yan... is actually more important to Hiruzen than to me?

Danzo felt a pang of sadness and shook his head, saying, "I'm fine."

Without dwelling on personal matters, he immediately cut to the most pressing issue: "Let's get down to business. How's your campaign for support going? Have you secured the support of the Senju, Sarutobi, and Shimura clans?"

Hiruzen scratched his head awkwardly.

He didn't visit Danzo, partly because he was too busy, but more so because he was ashamed to face him. Danzo had worked tirelessly for him all this time, yet he himself had surrendered to Lord Jinji long ago; he simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

But brothers, there's no hurdle we can't overcome.

After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen said sincerely, "Danzo, actually I've decided... Yes, Lord Jin promised... Fourth Hokage, we have a lot to achieve..."

Boom!

Dark clouds loomed overhead, and a bolt of lightning struck, casting a shimmering light on Danzo's face.

A torrential downpour followed, much like his mood at that moment.

He asked in a daze, "What do you mean you've given up and want to aim for the Fourth Hokage?"

"It means exactly what it says..."

Danzo understands! He understands everything! But he... can't accept it!

The fourth generation, how long must that take?

He and Hiruzen are the same age, both twenty-six years old.

In the best-case scenario: Zenji serves as the Third Hokage for ten years before voluntarily stepping down. By then, Hiruzen will become Hokage, and Zenji himself will be an elder. Both of them will be thirty-six years old.

When Hiruzen took charge of the village for another ten years before stepping down, he was forty-six years old.

It took a full twenty years.

During that time, Konoha had no outstanding new generation ninjas to compete with him for the Fifth Hokage position, and Hiruzen was willing to delegate authority to him, which gave him the opportunity.

If things had gone even worse, with no war for the past twenty years, the village would have developed steadily.

The terms of the third and fourth Hokage will both exceed ten years. No matter how many talented people the village produces, he will never become Hokage.

Is there ever a candidate for Hokage in the ninja world for twenty years?

Hiruzen Sarutobi, you've had your fun, haven't you? Surrendering means you've lost half the battle; now you must prepare for the Fourth Hokage...

"And me?"

Where does my path to becoming Hokage lead?

Danzo asked himself the question.

Now that Hiruzen has "defected," I cannot reveal any weakness in front of him.

He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, and forced out a smile that looked worse than a grimace: "In that case, good luck, Hiruzen."

The moment Danzo left Hiruzen's house, his composure failed him, and his fake smile vanished instantly.

If the monastery refuses to give it to him, he will come and get it himself!

Anyway, he had already planned it from the very first day he was in prison, hadn't he?

We live under the same sky, and we both turn around...

The smile on Danzo's face in front of Hyuga's gate contrasted sharply with the coldness on Danzo's face in front of Hiruzen's gate, like the two ends of yin and yang.

...

Danzo returned home, took a bath, and changed into clean clothes to emphasize his authority.

Immediately, he sent a signal to summon the Tibetan people.

One hour later.

Seven ninjas knelt on one knee before him.

Looking at this group of oddballs, Danzo couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

All the best ninjas were absorbed into the Anbu. Without official backing and a bright future, the Anbu could only recruit the scraps and scraps of the village.

There are reckless fools like Masayuki Shimura who were expelled from school, and idiots who caused trouble at the hospital while drunk...

Their only advantage was that they had no other way out in the village and could only follow Danzo to the bitter end, so they were relatively obedient. In addition, given their character, they were willing to follow Danzo to practice some unorthodox secret techniques and forbidden arts in order to gain power.

He found the scroll containing the seal of the Four Symbols and handed it to several people.

"Sir, is this?"

"Secret technique."

"I need you to learn this as quickly as possible, and then carry out a top-secret mission. After you succeed, you will get everything you want!"

Shimura and his companions, their faces beaming with fervor, immediately agreed.

As they spoke, the marks on the back of their tongues became visible. Without exception, they were all branded with the mark of "the root of calamity through the tongue."

It must be said that Danzo was a talented individual. After learning how to sever the root of tongue-twisting from Tobirama, he skillfully applied it. However, there were subtle differences between the hand seals used by the Konoha Root organization, and the unsealing hand seals were not interchangeable.

Danzo finally breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the group's retreating figures.

The Inner Four Symbols Seal isn't too difficult to learn because it's designed for mutual destruction, so the difficulty is simplified. Even a ninja with average talent can forcibly apply the seal by sacrificing their life force.

Danzo was not worried that they wouldn't be able to learn it.

As cautious as he was, even after planting the seeds of discord in several people, he didn't reveal the complete plan, nor did he disclose the true function of the Four Symbols Seal. If these useless fellows knew that he intended for them to self-destruct with the seal to assassinate Shen'er of the Zen Temple, they would probably collapse on the spot.

"Heh heh, Hiruzen, I'll definitely help you win this match."

Danzo looked out at the rain outside the window and muttered to himself.

He hasn't become as extreme as he will be in the future. Even if he desires the Hokage position and is willing to secretly eliminate those who stand in his way, he has never considered harming Hiruzen, who he grew up with.

Firstly, the two have been friends for many years. Secondly, if both candidates were to die, according to village rules, the Hokage's assistant and an elder would step in to run for office. Everyone would immediately suspect the one who would benefit the most.