To pay off the debt, become Hokage!

Shimura Danzo said in a deep voice: "My faith in Konoha cannot be questioned, and I have no regrets towards anyone in Konoha."

"Uchiha Shigeka, the so-called battle at the border of the Land of Earth was not done by me. I will never harm the ninjas of Konoha!"

"You, relying on the bodies of a few Root ninjas, concluded that it was I who did it. This is a complete rumor and a false accusation!"

......

Chapter 215: The last relatively peaceful meeting

"Are you trying to say that the defection and backstabbing of those Root ninjas was their own doing?"

Uchiha Shigeka's voice was solemn and cold, without a trace of emotion, and he said calmly: "Danzo, it's useless to excuse yourself or quibble. Many people know how you cultivate the roots."

"The Root Ninjas have no freedom, no thoughts, they have become attacks without emotions, at your disposal and control."

"I have had some dirty dealings with the Root ninjas, and I know that they worship you as a god."

Uchiha Shigeka said in a stern voice: "For a Root ninja like this to kill his companions, it can only be because you, who they worship as a god, gave the order!"

Shimura Danzo snorted coldly: "It is impossible for people to become tools completely. Naturally, there will be some noise among the Root Ninjas."

"Muramasa and others who killed your companions and betrayed you are the noise!"

Shimura Danzo's voice was filled with coldness, and he said slowly, "Come to think of it, you helped me clean up the traitors in the Root... You did a great job in this regard."

"But they pinned the blame on me for what these noises did, and even instigated Tsunade, Sakumo and others to write a joint letter to falsely accuse me."

Shimura Danzo stared at Uchiha Shigeka with sharp eyes and said, "Uchiha Shigeka, how did I offend you that you treated me like this?"

"Is it because there was some unpleasantness between the Root and you before... or is it because you are dissatisfied with my opinion of the Uchiha clan?"

Uchiha Shigeka's eyes flashed with anger: "Danzo, it's because you violated the laws of Konoha!"

"That's enough. I will definitely arrest you and bring you to justice!"

Uchiha Shigeka said firmly: "As the Chief of Konoha Police, I keep my word!"

Shimura Danzo said calmly: "As I recall, the Konoha Police Department does not have the power to enforce the law against people above the level of Chunin. Uchiha Shigeka, are you going to overstep your authority?"

Shimura Danzo turned around and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen who had a sullen face. He couldn't help but sneered: "Whether I am guilty or not, you have no right to judge. Only Hiruzen can make the judgment!"

"Huruzen, facing Uchiha Shigeka's unauthorized ideas, don't you want to say something?"

Uchiha Shigeka looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen and said quickly: "This is not just my idea. The Hokage will not let you, a traitor, get away with it!"

"Rebel ninja?!"

Shimura Danzo's face darkened. He couldn't stand hearing others call him a traitor.

Shimura Danzo taunted Uchiha Shigeka coldly: "False accusations, rumors, disrespect for seniors, and rude words to superiors - Uchiha Shigeka, I don't know what crimes these should be punished for under Konoha's laws."

Uchiha Shigeka responded sharply, "It's just a statement of fact. What's the matter, Danzo? Are you anxious?"

"..."

Danzo Shimura narrowed his eyes slightly, with unstoppable murderous intent flashing in them.

"Well, okay, that's enough."

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a chill. He looked at Shimura Danzo with dissatisfaction, and signaled him with his eyes to put away his murderous intent - that was too obvious. Didn't he see that Uchiha Shigeka's body was tense and his eyes became alert?

Sarutobi Hiruzen had reason to believe that if he kept silent and allowed Shimura Danzo and Uchiha Shigeka to continue talking, the two would fight sooner or later.

"Humph."

Shimura Danzo waved his sleeves and snorted coldly.

"Humph!"

Uchiha Shigeka was not willing to be outdone, he raised his eyebrows and stared at Shimura Danzo.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had a headache. He said to Uchiha Shigeka, "Shigeka, don't you have something to ask Danzo?"

"I have no comment to make."

Shimura Danzo said calmly, "It's just rumors among the villagers on the street. What's there to ask about?"

"And they're still trying to come up with someone behind the scenes... Ha, that's ridiculous."

Uchiha Shigeka nodded and said meaningfully, "Yes, it's ridiculous. The mastermind behind the scenes dares not show up, and only dares to use these petty tricks behind the scenes."

Uchiha Shigeka pretended to be loud and said jokingly, "It's like a rat that has not seen the light for a long time and has stayed in a dark and stinky ditch, sneaking around and having bad intentions."

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's head hurt even more. He quickly grabbed Shimura Danzo's raised wrist and warned him with a sharp look.

The situation was still heading towards a conflict, and Danzo Shimura could no longer hold back and wanted to teach Uchiha Shigeka a lesson.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped him...

Danzo Shimura looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen for a long time, and finally withdrew his hand.

"...a sharp-tongued little devil."

Danzo Shimura shook off Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand and turned to walk out the door.

"Stop wasting my time, Hiruzen. I have things to deal with, so I'll be leaving now."

"What? Are you trying to escape, Danzo?"

Uchiha Shigeka further provoked.

"Shigeka." Sarutobi Hiruzen glared at Uchiha Shigeka and said, "Have you forgotten what you promised me?"

Uchiha Shigeka blinked and stopped talking.

Of course he didn't forget, but... looking at Shimura Danzo's angry but dared not speak out, Uchiha Shigeka felt happy.

There aren't many opportunities left to taunt and provoke Danzo Shimura.

He had not met Danzo Shimura many times. The last time they met... Uchiha Shigeka remembered that it was when they were in the Senju clan's territory.

That was at Mito's grandmother's funeral ceremony.

After that, most of the battles between Uchiha Shigeka and Shimura Danzo ended at the Root - the cautious Shimura Danzo never showed up in person.

A few years passed, Uchiha Shigeka had grown up and became a handsome and elegant young man. Taking advantage of the incident against Hatake Sakumo, he and Shimura Danzo once again came into close, face-to-face contact.

This time... was the last relatively peaceful meeting.

Uchiha Shigeka watched Shimura Danzo leave with cold eyes.

"Shigeka, I shouldn't have agreed to let Danzo come over."

Uchiha Shigeka took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. When I think of the death of my companions, I can't control my emotions."

"Danzo's excuses made me even more furious... No one in the Root dared to disobey his words. Those Root ninjas only listened to Danzo and did not even listen to the orders of the Hokage."

Uchiha Shigeka said hatefully, "That's Danzo's one-man show, noise? Ha, it's nothing but lies."

"..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked a little ugly.

What do you mean you don't obey the Hokage's orders?

No wonder Danzo was so angry. After Sarutobi Hiruzen experienced it, he understood - he couldn't help but feel angry too.

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained calm and somewhat bored.

"Okay, Chonghua. Go back and have a good rest for a few days. I see that you have been busy with work recently and have accumulated a lot of pressure. You are becoming less steady than before."

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Uchiha Shigeka and said calmly, "It is not necessary to worry about whether the mastermind behind the scenes exists or not. Let's end the matter of Sakumo here."

......

Chapter 216: Am I being targeted by the Hokage?

With the Third Hokage as a guarantee, public opinion in the village regarding Hatake Sakumo gradually subsided.

After all, although the person who betrayed Konoha was a good friend of Hatake Sakumo, the two of them did not have much interaction on work tasks.

So there is naturally no question of leaking Konoha's information.

The only thing criticized was that Hatake Sakumo personally took action to deal with the rebellious ninja. After all, Konoha had a special department team to deal with rebellious ninjas, and it was not the turn of the captain of the front-line troops to deal with it.

In particular, Hatake Sakumo's handling of the rebellious ninja was linked to the joint attack on the front-line headquarters by Iwagakure and Sunagakure... Under the guidance of the rhetoric of those with ulterior motives, it is easy for rumors and conspiracy theories to arise, causing complaints and having a bad impact.

But what if it was the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen who ordered Hatake Sakumo to deal with the traitor personally?

Sarutobi Hiruzen took the initiative to take the blame for the defeat on the front line, so the villagers of Konoha naturally couldn't continue the discussion.

If we continue talking about Hatake Sakumo, we cannot avoid mentioning Sarutobi Hiruzen who sent him out.

The villagers of Konoha respect Sarutobi Hiruzen and will not, and dare not, attribute the rumors and conspiracies they have heard to the Third Hokage.

So, after a few days, no one in Konoha was discussing Hatake Sakumo anymore.

......

"Brother Chonghua, look."

In the study room of Uchiha Shigeka's house, Konan's eyes were filled with joy and anticipation.

She showed Uchiha Shigeka several paper shurikens in her hand.

Uchiha Shigeka took the paper shuriken and carefully felt the changes in its properties.

Hard, sharp...

Uchiha Shigeka's eyes flickered, and he raised his hand and threw out a paper shuriken.

A shadow flashed across the void, and after a thud, the paper shuriken pierced into the wall pillar.

Seeing this, Uchiha Shigeka praised: "This is no worse than a real shuriken, Xiaonan, you succeeded!"

When Xiaonan heard this, a smile appeared on his face.

"This is all thanks to Brother Chonghua's good teaching."

Uchiha Shigeka shook his head and chuckled, "What I taught you are all theoretical knowledge. It is you who really put it into practice and apply it."

"Xiao Nan, you have a great talent and understanding in changing the properties of paper."

There was praise and encouragement in Uchiha Shigeka's voice.

"Keep working on this. Xiaonan, do you remember what I said to you before?"

Konan looked at Uchiha Shigeka in confusion.

Uchiha Shigeka said so many things to her, but which one exactly...Konan pondered for a moment, looking at the paper shuriken in her hand, and suddenly thought of something.

Xiaonan's eyes lit up, and he looked up and said, "Brother Chonghua, do you mean that I can develop my own secret technique?"

Uchiha Shigeka smiled and nodded, pointing at the paper shuriken and said, "Look, isn't this the prototype of the secret technique?"

"I have never seen anyone in the entire ninja world who can turn fragile paper into a shuriken as hard as iron and as sharp as a knife."

"Paper Escape." Uchiha Shigeka placed his right hand on top of Xiaonan's head, stroked it casually, and said with a smile: "This is a unique secret technique that belongs to you - Paper Escape!"

"My own paper escape..."

Konan murmured, stroking the paper shuriken, feeling delighted.

"Now you need to fold the paper model first and then change its properties, which is too inefficient."

Uchiha Shigeka instructed Xiaonan: "It's best to change the properties and form of a piece of paper at the same time, like this paper shuriken."

Uchiha Shigeka held the paper shuriken and said, "Give the paper the properties that a shuriken should have, and then, on this paper with changing properties, change its form, and use chakra to fold it into the shape of a shuriken..."

Xiaonan had a serious face and listened attentively to Uchiha Shigeka's teachings.

"...This is just my suggestion. You don't have to follow my advice completely."

Uchiha Shigeka smiled and said, "All I can provide is experience. The development of paper escape will ultimately depend on you."

The Uchiha blinked and shrugged, "After all, I don't know how to use paper escape."

"Brother Zhonghua's experience is very important to me!" Xiaonan said quickly: "If Brother Zhonghua hadn't taught me, I wouldn't even know what chakra is, let alone develop paper escape."

"This is all thanks to Brother Chonghua!"

Uchiha Shigeka chuckled twice when he heard this, with a gentle smile on his lips.

"I look forward to the day when you can master the secret technique of paper escape. Well, continue your practice."

......