Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Who knows, in another ten years or so, Danzo might "return home in glory" and launch the Konoha Crush plan.

"You've neglected your training lately; you need to work harder in the future."

Even though his tone was flat, neither praising nor criticizing.

He will not pursue the matter further.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is far more valuable alive than dead. As long as he remains useful, even if he deserves to die, I will protect him. But if he loses his value, even if he doesn't deserve to die, I will not hesitate to find an excuse to make him die in place of my friend.

Since the incident has already occurred, we should think about how to turn the situation from passive to active.

"For now, we will assume that Shimura Danzo has the ability to break the chakra sealing technique."

Then he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked, "Which direction did he escape in?"

"The North," Hiruzen answered honestly.

He has done everything he could, and he has a clear conscience regarding this friendship. If Danzo is captured by the village again later, then he deserves to die.

"Dispatch a spies from the Anbu squad and send them north at full speed to hunt down Shimura Danzo."

"Once a trace is discovered, there is no need to bring it back to Konoha; execute it on the spot."

"If you catch him in a tree, hang him from the tree! If you catch him by the river, drown him in the river! If you catch him at the border, cut off his head and stick it on the boundary marker!"

Yamazaka Yuki slipped away and headed to the secret service's stronghold to mobilize troops.

"Konoha's barrier system needs a complete upgrade. A super-large sensory barrier covering the entire village needs to be set up to prevent such incidents from happening again. From now on, the Anbu will need to be aware of any fluctuations in the release of ninjutsu within the village immediately."

"I'll leave this matter to the Senju clan."

These words were spoken to Mito Uzumaki.

In the entire Hidden Leaf Village, only the Senju clan has the ability to construct a massive barrier covering the entire village.

Shen Er knew very well that the larger the area covered by the barrier, the lower the accuracy of perception would be. A small barrier might have a chance to detect Black Zetsu's traces, but a large barrier that covered the entire area would definitely not be able to do so.

After all, the super-large barrier was originally set up to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and it was specifically built for Kushina.

In the future, Black Zetsu will be able to freely infiltrate Konoha to dig up graves and steal corpses; the Otsutsuki Toneri and his son will also be able to act as perverts and spy on little girls in Konoha without any restraint...

This massive barrier, while it might be an exaggeration to say it's practically useless, is certainly enough to demonstrate its limitations.

But it's okay...

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Once this global barrier can be built, we can provide funding and manpower as needed, and gradually iterate, optimize, and improve it until it becomes the ideal state.

The possible appearance of Black Zetsu served as a wake-up call for Shen Er.

On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep soundly.

He absolutely could not tolerate his Konoha being invaded at will by these aliens.

Mito Uzumaki: "The Senju clan can do their best to build the barrier, but they will probably face a significant shortage of manpower and funds."

“The village will give its full support,” Shen Er assured.

"I'm afraid many people will have objections."

"I'll take responsibility for explaining this; it's all for the sake of the village's public safety."

It's easy to foresee that the construction of a massive, all-encompassing barrier will inevitably cause discontent. This is tantamount to setting up a comprehensive surveillance network throughout the entire village, leaving no room for the secrets of any ninja.

But Shen Er didn't care at all; first and foremost, he adhered to the principles of Konoha.

At the same time, as the holder of the highest authority over the barrier, the barrier has no effect on him. It's simply to avoid suspicion and shut down the previous "smuggling" route of death barriers, and uniformly switch to the official channels of the Gospel Hospital.

Manipulating clones to leave the village, or even the main body to leave the village, will not affect these actions.

It's normal for surveillance cameras to malfunction occasionally. Even the Hokage hasn't said anything, so who dares to say anything more?

Once Uchiha Yan sent over the talent who had mastered the Heavenly Delivery Technique, the "occasional" incidents of monitoring failures disappeared.

Tonight's unexpected incident ended with two orders from Shen Er.

Shen Er did not let his guard down. After returning home, he went to the meditation room and established communication with Uchiha Yan, explaining two things to her as well:

"A ninja named Kakuzu will be joining Akatsuki in the next couple of days. Be ready to receive him."

"In addition, you will personally lead your trusted subordinates south to search for the Konoha ninja Shimura Danzo who has defected."

"Shimura Danzo?" Uchiha Yan was startled upon hearing this.

The Second Hokage's disciple became a rogue ninja. What a hellish joke!

After composing herself, she asked, "What happens after we find him? We kill him?"

"……Need not."

Shen Er gave completely different instructions: "You keep an eye on him yourself, without taking any action, find out who he is in contact with, and report back to me immediately."

As the Hokage of Konoha, he needed to maintain a tough and authoritative demeanor within the village.

Putting aside this identity, from Diavolo's perspective, what he really cares about is whether Black Zetsu has approached Danzo, and what kind of scheme Black Zetsu has behind approaching Danzo.

If Danzo really did team up with Black Zetsu...

This is actually a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Black Zetsu is the deepest mastermind lurking in the shadows of the ninja world. He acts with extreme caution, and his Mayfly Technique is almost impossible to catch, making him one of the most troublesome problems for Shen Er.

Black Zetsu possesses a lifespan equal to that of heaven and earth, coupled with the strongest survival ability in the ninja world. He is determined to hide and conceal himself, and even becoming one of the Six Paths of Heroes would not be able to find him.

Although Black Zetsu couldn't cause much trouble back then... there was such a filial son who was determined to save his mother hiding somewhere in the ninja world, and he even felt like there was a horse girl crawling on his body, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

You can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days.

For the sake of a peaceful life in the future, this potential threat of Black Zetsu must be eliminated now. Otherwise, it could lead to a major internal power struggle within the Zen-in-the-Insect clan in the more distant future.

He originally planned to set up a play like "The Truman Show," luring Black Zetsu out layer by layer over the years, and then sealing him away when the opportunity arose.

Compared to the enormous benefits of successfully sealing Black Zetsu, the potential dangers of keeping Danzo alive are insignificant.

Perhaps, when the time is right...

Shen Er looked down at the scroll of spirit transformation techniques and a bold idea came to mind.

Danzo and Black Zetsu are essentially the same, both being behind-the-scenes manipulators.

Insidious and cunning, with a deep and calculating mind.

Using Danzo as bait to seal Black Zetsu is very difficult and involves many variables.

Given their level of vigilance, launching a surprise attack during their "transaction" would be extremely difficult.

If Danzo realizes he's being watched, or if Black Zetsu realizes Danzo is being watched, the plan could fail. The consequence of failure would be that Black Zetsu becomes wary, flees far away, and lies dormant for decades—that would be a serious problem.

Danzo, being the closest to Black Zetsu, was the best person to carry out the plan.

How to sow discord between Danzo and Black Zetsu, and even get Danzo to seal Black Zetsu away? This is too brain-teasing; even a thousand clever schemes can't guarantee the plan's success.

So Shen Er had a plan in mind.

"Why don't I just become Danzo?"

The ultimate goal of spiritualization is possession, and unless you are someone who lives with you day and night, you won't be able to spot the flaws.

Given Black Zetsu's cautious nature, it's unlikely he would have much contact with Danzo.

As long as he successfully possesses Danzo, and Black Zetsu cannot detect any flaws, he can unexpectedly seal Black Zetsu at a crucial moment, at close range.

Shen Er's heartbeat quickened involuntarily, as if the sealed Black Zetsu was right in front of him.

But ideals are lofty, while reality is harsh.

The entire plan hinges on Danzo actually connecting with Black Zetsu. If he's just overthinking things, then all the preparations will have been in vain.

Besides that, there's another hurdle...

He has not yet mastered the art of spiritification.

This is the premise of the plan to possess and fish.

He even created ten shadow clones, allowing them to learn the art of spiritual transformation day and night, while his main body turned around and went back to the bedroom to embrace his wife on the warm kang (heated brick bed).

Turn disadvantages into advantages and shift from passivity to initiative.

This is the winning strategy of Naruto; there's always a way to win.

...

The next morning.

The Hokage Building publicly announced the news of Danzo Shimura's defection in the dead of night, along with a list of his numerous crimes.

The announcement stated: "[An investigation has revealed that Shimura Danzo was disloyal and dishonest, and had lost his ideals and beliefs...]"

Danzo ultimately failed to obtain the fearsome title of "Darkness of the Ninja World" that he would later become. Instead, he was forever nailed to the pillar of shame in the ninja world as "the most vicious criminal in the history of Konoha".

The longer the title, the less substantial it is.

It won't inspire fear, it will only make the villagers feel disgust and contempt from the bottom of their hearts.

It's not just the villagers.

This title, earned through killing comrades and betraying the village, might lead to private contact and cooperation among various ninja villages, but publicly, they would undoubtedly stand firmly on Konoha's side and condemn Danzo.

This kind of trend cannot be promoted; what if our own ninjas learn bad habits from it?

The announcement from the Hokage Building began to spread throughout the village.

Before the arrival of the envoys from the four great ninja villages, a "reckoning" against the Second Hokage began.

The villagers of Konoha are convinced that the root cause of the recent series of events in Konoha lies with Tobirama Senju.

It was precisely because of his incompetent followers that such a scoundrel and beast as Danzo emerged, wreaking havoc on the village.

First, put a hat on Tobirama Senju's head.

The upper beam is not right and the lower beam is crooked.

Danzo was so rotten he was practically oozing pus, how much better could his teacher be?

Long-suppressed emotions burst forth, and the villagers' malice surged uncontrollably toward the dead Tobirama.

They began to vent their pent-up resentment in places like vegetable markets, shopping streets, and izakayas, blaming all the chaos in Konoha on Tobirama and Danzo.

The common people began to scrutinize Tobirama Senju's various misdeeds: initiating wars, breaking taboos to research forbidden techniques, deliberately suppressing the then-elder, Lord Jinji, and practicing nepotism, which almost allowed Danzo, a traitor in essence, to become a high-ranking official in Konoha.