Traveling through Nagato, from conquering Konan to dominating the ninja world

Chapter 109 Talking at Noon

It was noon, the sun was shining brightly, and the cicadas were chirping.

In the shady backyard, Sarutobi Hiruzen was wearing home clothes, sitting on a chair, reading the "Ninja World Daily".

The above reported the incident of tombs being robbed in Iwagakure Village.

It is impossible to hide such a sensational event from the well-informed newspapers in the ninja world, but the details are not something they can know.

Hiruzen picked up the pipe at hand and put it in his mouth, puffing out thick smoke.

"First there was trouble with Kumogakure, and now there's trouble with Iwagakure. The ninja world has been really unstable lately..."

"Swoosh!" At this moment, a golden light flashed, and Minato, wearing a Hokage cloak, appeared in the backyard of Hiruzen's house.

This was allowed by Hiruzen after the attack, to leave Minato's Flying Thunder God mark in his house to facilitate communication in emergencies.

"Oh~ It's Minato."

Hiruzen put down the newspaper and greeted him with a smile.

"It's the middle of the day, and you didn't go home to report on time, but came to my place... Aren't you afraid that Kushina will complain?"

Minato scratched his head and smiled, "I have informed my family, and I came here specially to bring you a watermelon to cool you down!

After saying that, Minato put down the big watermelon he was carrying in the bag.

Hiruzen put down the pipe in his hand, held the big melon, and felt its full weight, "Hmm... It's hard for you to think of giving me a melon, and such a big one at that!"

"Biwako~!" Hiruzen turned around and shouted into the house.

"Here I am, isn't this Minato?" Hiruzen's wife, Biwako, came to the courtyard in plain clothes, "Why don't you spend time with Kushina when you have time to visit the retirees? Don't think you can slack off before the second trimester. You must not let your guard down every day during pregnancy!"

"Yes, Lord Biwako's teaching is..." Minato scratched his head and smiled apologetically.

Hiruzen said, "Alright Biwako, go cut the watermelon~ Remember to get some ice~."

Soon, Biwako brought the sliced ​​​​ice-cold watermelon over. "Cut it in half, and I put the remaining half in the refrigerator. Don't spit the watermelon seeds. Spit them in the basin and I will clean them up later. Then, you two can chat."

Biwako said sternly and closed the door.

Minato said stiffly, "Master Biwako, you are as strict as ever. What a terrifying aura you have."

"The so-called wife is the most important thing, that's what it means, no matter how powerful and powerful you are as a ninja or a Hokage, when you return home, there will always be someone who is above you."

Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe and smiled, "Minato, when you reach my age, you will understand it more deeply."

Minato smiled happily and said, "In fact, I have already experienced it deeply now..."

Hiruzen picked up the watermelon and tasted it, "You put aside your official duties and family affairs and came to see me. It must be more than just eating watermelon, Minato."

Minato nodded and said, "Well, to be honest, there are some things I should tell you."

Hiruzen chewed the watermelon flesh with his teeth firmly, crushing the seeds and swallowing them!

"Is Jiraiya back?"

Minato chewed slowly, spitting the watermelon seeds into the bowl one by one.

"You already know about this. The teacher has been living in my house these days!"

"Oh~! How strange... He is not in a hurry to go out to collect materials! Could it be that he has thought it through? He is willing to stay in the village and fulfill his duties as a Konoha ninja."

"The teacher didn't reveal this matter, but he should stay in the village in the near future. After all, he hasn't been back for many years."

Hiruzen's eyes darkened, "He didn't even come to see me, his teacher. Is he still blaming me for not being able to keep Orochimaru?"

Minato put down the watermelon rind and said seriously, "That's not the case, Sandaime. The teacher probably doesn't know how to hide the fact that he was injured in front of you."

Hiruzen paused in mid-air as he picked up the pipe. "Hmm? Injured? Jiraiya, injured?"

"Not long ago, he went to the Hidden Rain Village. Not only was he injured, but he almost lost his life there..."

"What... did you say?" As Minato finished his words, the ashes in Hiruzen's pipe fell out.

"He, he went to offend Hanzo-sama?"

"This is exactly one of the important things I want to tell you. The era of Yugakure and Salamander Hanzo is over!"

"What!? That Hanzo, actually..." Hiruzen's pupils trembled violently. He lifted his pipe with his trembling hands and took a deep puff. The smoke rolling in his throat and lungs covered up the tremor in his eyes...

"Who was it that ended Hanzo's rule?"

Minato said in a low voice, "He is Nagato, one of the three disciples that Jiraiya accepted in the Hidden Rain Village in his early years. Nagato possesses the power of the Six Paths Sage Samsara Eye."

Hiruzen took a few more puffs of his cigarette and said, "Was he the one who injured Jiraiya?"

"Yes. To be honest, I have met Nagato himself..." Under Hiruzen's incredulous gaze, Minato naturally raised his hands and supported his chin, "Based on my observation, he doesn't seem to be a vicious person."

Hiruzen said, "The enemy that attacked Konoha not long ago had strange ripples in their eyes. Don't you find it suspicious, Minato?"

"You have discovered it as well." Minato said calmly, "I also had my suspicions about this, and I once questioned Nagato in person, but he didn't admit it. Well... regardless of whether it is him or not, he is now officially recognized as the legitimate leader of the Hidden Rain Village. If we want to make trouble, the dispute will not be between the village and the individual, but between villages."

Hiruzen picked up the towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This icy watermelon not only fails to relieve the heat, but makes me feel even hotter the more I eat it.

"Minato, your judgment is correct. At this juncture, it is indeed not appropriate to create a powerful enemy for Konoha. As long as he does not invade Konoha again, we should handle this matter conservatively..."

Minato's eyes flickered slightly, and his gaze became sharp: "No, in fact, what really made me choose to be conservative was the secret of something that Nagato revealed to me."

Hiruzen put the pipe in his mouth again: "Secret, what secret?"

Minato said, "Hanzō of the Salamander launched a siege against the Akatsuki organization led by Nagato and the teacher's other two disciples, Yahiko and Konan, nearly half a year ago."

Hiruzen said, "Akatsuki, I have heard of it too. It was a new organization that emerged in the Hidden Rain Village during the war and absorbed a group of young people dedicated to peace. It mediated in the war between Konoha and Iwagakure and achieved corresponding results, but it was short-lived and disappeared after the war. So... the leader of Akatsuki is Nagato, Jiraiya's disciple?"

Minato shook his head slightly and said, "No... The leader of Akatsuki was Yahiko. He died in Hanzo's encirclement and suppression of Akatsuki."

Hiruzen's eyes dropped, "Ah, I see. So Nagato chose to end Hanzo's rule out of revenge?"

Minato said in a deep voice: "That's right. But... according to Nagato, Hanzo actually had an accomplice in the action that day. He is... the leader of our Konoha Root, Mr. Danzo Shimura!"

"Pah!" As soon as Minato finished speaking, the pipe in Hiruzen's hand fell to the ground...

Chapter 110: A person who has no choice but is determined to do what he wants

"..." Hiruzen realized that he had lost his composure in front of Minato.

He calmed himself down, leaned over, picked up the pipe as if nothing had happened, put it in his mouth, and said in a calm tone: "Minato, just based on Nagato's words, it is too arbitrary to conclude that Danzo was involved in that incident, isn't it?"

Is it true...

Hiruzen's reaction was what Minato expected.

In fact, what he said, about Nagato killing Hanzo and becoming the leader of Amegakure, as well as his meeting with Nagato and his decision to handle the matter conservatively, were all just foreshadowing.

After all, Minato is the current head of Konoha, and he doesn't need to ask Hiruzen for instructions on Konoha's external decisions.

The only problem is Danzo, which is an internal issue. Moreover, Danzo's identity is sensitive. As a veteran of Konoha and Hiruzen's partner when he was Hokage, Minato should let the Hokage who promoted him know the reason, so as to avoid... when he takes corresponding measures against Danzo, Hiruzen stands up and pleads for him.

Let Hiruzen know clearly what Danzo did behind his back and what consequences it led to, which will also prepare him for prevention so that he won't play the emotional card and hinder his decision-making.

This is... the real intention of Minato inviting Hiruzen to eat melons at noon.

This is how the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who is humane and skillful, upright to the outside, gentle and upright to the inside, and a tough guy with a soft tongue, handles things!

Facing Hiruzen's 'arbitrary' remarks, Minato responded with reason and evidence.

"Do you remember, Third-sama, on the night of the attack, when we defeated the enemy, Mr. Danzo, who lived in seclusion, couldn't wait to retrieve Pain's body. Oh, Pain is the nickname for those enemies who invaded Konoha and are suspected of having the Rinnegan."

Hiruzen's eyes flickered, and he said, "What he wanted to retrieve was just the body of his own subordinate Ding Mao, which makes sense, but it doesn't mean that Danzo..."

"Okay, let me give you another example." Minato said in an orderly manner: "After the invasion, at the meeting to analyze the intelligence on Pain, when you mentioned that the enemy would use the 'Rain Tiger Free Technique' that originated from Yugakure and proposed to ask Hanzo for intelligence, do you remember Mr. Danzo's reaction at that time?"

"..." Hiruzen's eyes darkened.

He remembered very clearly that Danzo's reaction was quite intense... Now that he thought about it, if he hadn't been guilty, he probably wouldn't have reacted so intensely.

However, he still couldn't accept the fact that Danzo had caused such a big mess behind his back and created such a powerful enemy for Konoha.

Hiruzen continued to defend Danzo.

"Danzo's rebuttal to my words was not without reason. In the past Ninja World War, we used the small country of Amegakure as a battlefield, which was an unjust act. After the war, we asked Hanzo for help. It was not reasonable..."

"Sir, the Third Generation!" At this time, Minato interrupted him, looked into his eyes, and said sincerely: "I understand that the friendship between you and Mr. Danzo goes beyond comrades and colleagues, but think about it the other way around."

"If... Mr. Danzo is really Hanzo's accomplice in the suppression of Akatsuki, what does this mean?"

The clear sky was covered with dark clouds.

Cold sweat trickled down Hiruzen's cheeks.

Minato said in a low voice: "Yes, it means... Mr. Danzo knew about Nagato from the beginning, knew that he possessed the Samsara Eye, and even knew that he was most likely the true body of Pein and the real culprit who attacked Konoha. But he never mentioned a word about it, either during or after the incident."

"Perhaps...his starting point was really to protect Konoha according to his own ideas, but his motives must have been mixed with his own selfish desires."

In order not to embarrass Hiruzen too much, the gentle Minato did not say it too clearly.

That is... Danzo tried to shake Minato's position as Hokage in order to achieve his own ambition of becoming more powerful.

"Boom!"

The dull sound of thunder rolled among the clouds.

Sensing that Minato had made up his mind, Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke and asked in a low voice, "Are you going to... dismiss Danzo?"

Minato said: "It's not necessary to dismiss him. After all, he has made a lot of efforts for Konoha in his own way. Even if he has no merits, he has worked hard. It's just... he is not suitable for the configuration of combat personnel. He has the same status as the Anbu directly under the Hokage."

"So, I plan to reduce the Root's organization in the near future. The Root currently has eight battalions, and is almost on par with the Anbu directly under the Hokage in terms of combat power."

"I plan to reduce the organization to four battalions first, observe his future behavior, and then make a decision."

Hiruzen lowered his eyes and said, "This is not an easy task. The members of the Root are all selected by him from various tribes. They have been trained since childhood. After the staffing is reduced, where will these people go in the future? Have you thought about this problem?"

Minato said: "Regarding this, I will specifically seek the opinions of the jonin in the village and come up with relatively appropriate measures. In short, the roots entrenched in the big tree of Konoha must be pruned, otherwise he will take over the master as soon as possible and bite back the light that the previous Hokage and you have been committed to protecting."

Looking at Minato in front of him, who was so decisive and courageous in making sensitive decisions concerning the fundamental system of Konoha, Hiruzen sighed but also felt gratified.

Even if he had the means, he didn't have the courage to carry it through to the end.

Danzo saw through this point of his and repeatedly did things that crossed the bottom line, because Danzo knew Hiruzen inside and out.

Hiruzen was too steady, which led to him always being passive in diplomacy and being constrained by other countries. Even if Danzo made a big mistake, Hiruzen would at most hide him away.

When Hiruzen needs him, he will definitely re-employ him.

And Namikaze Minato... this Hokage selected by Hiruzen himself, although young, has already shown his leadership qualities and can enable Konoha to gain a firm foothold even without relying on Danzo.

I was right about you... Minato, you are the one who can lead Konoha to the road of revival.

Hiruzen put down his pipe, "Then do as you wish, Minato! I will not interfere with your decision regarding Danzo's affairs!"

After receiving Hiruzen's assurance, Minato breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood up and bowed deeply: "Thank you so much! Third-generation sir!"

"Crash!"

Heavy rain, pouring down...

Minato scratched his head and said, "Oh, I have to go home and collect my clothes. Sandaime-sama, you should also come in quickly. I'll bring melon to see you next time!"

Hiruzen looked at the watermelon rind in the basin and said with a smile: "Come on, this watermelon of yours is really giving me chills when I eat it..."

Minato smiled innocently: "Next time, I'll just eat melons..."

"Okay, let's go."

"Goodbye then!"

"Swoosh!" Minato dodged and disappeared.

Hiruzen cleared the table and chairs and was about to go into the house when there was a knock on the door.

Hiruzen called into the house, "Biwako, go open the door~."

Biwako replied from the kitchen: "Open it yourself, I'm busy..."

Hiruzen went over and opened the door.

Outside the door, stood a strong young man in a green uniform!

Hiruzen was startled and recognized him, "Hmm... isn't this Okijiro!"

Okijiro was sweating profusely and greeted enthusiastically: "Old Hokage, long time no see!"