Chapter 204: The Purpose Finally Fulfilled

204. Chapter 201: The Purpose Finally Fulfilled

This is their most painful point: they cannot legally pinpoint Danzo's faults, which prevents them from having the foolish, nostalgic Hokage act against him directly.

They even have to be cautious at every turn, lest the matter blow up and provoke Shisui to act against them.

"Ah, I've heard that Danzo's advisor, in his early years, devoted himself entirely to Muye Cun, neglecting his own clan, which led the clan to this ruin. I have also served as clan head, and I understand Danzo's desire to compensate the clan, but I truly cannot step forward to block it."

Shisui doesn't realize that these people's assessment of him has already changed, and he sighs to himself on the side.

Everyone glances at each other; Shisui's inaction disappoints them to the core, yet since he is the Hokage, they dare not openly oppose the Hokage.

After persisting with two more sentences and seeing that Shisui truly has no intention of stopping Danzo, one of them rises angrily and says, "Lord Hokage, if you act like this, you will surely regret it!"

Having said that, the group disperses.

Shisui's mouth twitches at the corner.

The matter in the office quickly reaches Danzo's ears, which makes him even more smug.

"Hmph, Shisui really is a weak fellow. Muye Cun has already gone through a Rizhan, and there must not be another Rizhan; the Hokage seat will ultimately be mine!"

The quarrels continue unabated, and the nocturnal skirmishes hidden in the night become increasingly frequent; after confirming that Shisui will not act against Danzo, the ninja clan can no longer restrain itself.

At present, there are only two ways to eliminate Danzo: one is to surround and kill him while the Hokage is unresponsive, then pin it on the spy.

The other is to storm the Root base, expose Root's affairs, and force the Hokage to act personally.

They chose a two‑pronged approach: if they locate Danzo's trail, they send people to surround and kill him; if not, they search for the location of the Root base.

Danzo also perceives the seriousness of the problem, but now he must recruit ninja through his clan and has to appear publicly, so he proceeds cautiously, trying to avoid dark places.

However, the ninja clan's strength is overwhelming; wave after wave of assaults make Danzo's handling increasingly strained, and he himself has been knocked down several times.

They even nearly discovered the Root base, but fortunately those people happened to run into the ANBU pursuing the spy, forcing them to hide temporarily.

Nevertheless, Danzo firmly believes these hard days are only temporary.

"Lord Danzo, seventy‑three people have voluntarily applied to join the Shizumi Clan, of whom 32 are Chunin and 41 are Genin."

In just a few days, the news that the Shizumi Clan territory was recruiting outsiders spread throughout Muye Cun; although most hesitated slightly, a considerable portion made the decision early.

Danzo was also generous, immediately ordering, "These people have good eyes; give them the best treatment!"

Ninjutsu, ninja tools, master instruction, money.

When these things actually appear, how many ninja can refuse them?

After all, the civilian ninja of Muye Cun are as numerous as stray dogs by the roadside!

To them, 'food' is extremely precious!

Large numbers of ninja head toward the Shizumi Clan territory, eager to join the Shizumi Clan and become part of the ninja clan.

Meanwhile, various negative rumors about Danzo resurface.

"Did you hear? It's that Danzo, the Third Hokage's advisor, who deliberately recruits ninja to launch a coup and intends to act against Lord Hokage!"

"I heard Danzo is extremely evil; he killed the Third Hokage's son, even released the Nine-Tailed Fox in the past, caused the death of the Fourth Hokage couple, and even had my neighbor's wallet stolen; the old bastard is truly wicked!"

"He is the embodiment of the Nine-Tailed Fox, deliberately killing the Fourth Hokage to become Hokage, but the Third Hokage uncovered the plot, after which he extended his claws toward the Third Hokage; the Third Hokage's severe illness is due to that bastard Danzo."

"I see, no wonder everyone opposes this guy becoming Hokage."

"Exactly. To prevent Muye Cun from falling into Danzo's hands, the Third Hokage made Shisui Uchiha the Fifth Hokage!"

For a moment, a flood of black material and conspiracy theories—such as human experiments, persecution of Muye Cun villagers, plots against the Fourth Hokage couple, assassination of the Third Hokage's son, and so on—kept pouring in.

Danzo's reputation plummets again.

However, for those who crave ninjutsu, lineage, and power, these matters are irrelevant.

Danzo even reached out to the orphanage and other orphans in the village.

But Shisui noticed and stopped him immediately.

Soon, half a month passed, and Danzo's grasp of power grew at a visible rate, gradually solidifying his foothold under the ninja clan's offensive.

Nevertheless, Danzo has been injured several times by others and hardly dares to show his face.

But genuine ninjutsu causes those who joined the Shizumi Clan to voluntarily defend Danzo.

Seeing this scene, the ninja clan's interior experiences its first split, the atmosphere rather oppressive.

"Danzo is already this age; how is his strength?"

"I heard early on that Danzo possessed strength comparable to the Third Hokage; I didn't expect—"

Danzo's power repeatedly shocks them; even a dozen Jonin cannot stop him—truly terrifying.

Some even consider compromising.

"Danzo's actions are merely to expand Root and even become Hokage; since Shisui refuses to help us, why don't we promise to support Danzo, provided he ceases his actions?"

"Do you know what you're saying? We've already killed so many of Danzo's people that we've even burned some of the remaining folks in the Shizumi Clan territory; would Danzo agree to negotiate with us?"

"Someone like Danzo, if he agrees to become Hokage, what couldn't he agree to?"

"This"

"But if Danzo becomes Hokage, do you think they'll spare us?"

"We may agree, but that doesn't guarantee he'll become Hokage. In any case, first appease him, let him settle for a while; if that fails, we can still support him with some ninja. The key is to halt this matter."

After he trusts us, we'll find a way to eliminate him in one stroke.

His strength is indeed great, but we're not helpless; as long as we have a legitimate reason.

"That Shisui guy is clearly picking sides; is he listening to the Third Hokage or trying to use Danzo for himself?"

"The Sarutobi side refuses to leak any rumors; it's probably still the Third Hokage's issue."

The Sarutobi Clan holds a special, powerful position; they wish to pull the Sarutobi Clan into their camp, but Sarutobi has always had a good relationship with the Shizumi Clan, and Sarutobi's Rihui, for some reason, keeps distance from them. Though he does not support Shizumi, he firmly states he refuses to get involved in this matter.

The group argues incessantly; currently, over three hundred ninja and civilians have moved into the Shizumi Clan territory, making the previously empty area lively. The number keeps rising, and the territory's defensive measures are gradually intensified.

Their cost of taking action grows larger; if the matter is brought to the open, Shisui might still act against them.

Two pairs of kaleidoscopes, and a tailed beast; how dare they touch Shisui's tiger whiskers.

"Alright, stop the noise; I actually have a good idea!"

"If you have something to say, just say it; I'm not in the mood to listen to your riddles."

"The reason Tuan Zang can gather power so quickly is precisely because he's willing to give civilians ninja techniques, right? Since we can't deal with Tuan Zang in a short time nor stop him from spreading ninja techniques, why can't we give out ninja techniques ourselves?"

"Huh?"

"You."

"Do you know why we have to deal with Tuan Zang?" The crowd inhaled sharply, eyes looking oddly at the guy who offered the suggestion.

In the hall, the people sent by the Nara clan remained silent, but at this moment they lifted their heads to look at that person, their gazes also rather strange.

"Umm, then what do you suggest? We can't stop Tuan Zang for now, so why let him gain reputation?"

"That does make some sense."

Everyone glanced at each other; after thinking it over, they increasingly felt the plan was good. Since they can't block him, they might as well seize the reputation that comes with spreading ninja techniques.

"Exactly. If we take the initiative, we can at least control which ninja techniques are spread. As long as it doesn't involve the core, it's acceptable."

Some ordinary ninja techniques have little impact on them; after all, the strength of the ninja clan lies in the various resources they control.

"With Tuan Zang's reputation, if we all spread ninja techniques, how would those ninjas join Zhi Cun and turn to Tuan Zang?"

"Then let's discuss and pick out suitable ninja techniques."

The idea of joining if we can't beat them sprang up, and the crowd instantly felt the pressure ease.

The ninja clan acted swiftly; the next day they began promoting free distribution of ninja techniques across the lands.

But Sima Yi reacted even faster; after receiving the news from Jin Huo, he immediately warned Shisui to step in.

Shisui promptly and decisively stopped them, then summoned Tuan Zang and the representatives of each ninja clan, bringing the spread of ninja techniques into the open for the first time.

Shisui rubbed his forehead, looking helplessly at the crowd, "I heard you've all been secretly spreading ninja techniques?"

"I, an old man, am only doing this to boost the strength of Konoha's ninjas; everything is for Konoha!"

Tuan Zang spoke first, with a few Root ninjas following behind him.

"We only saw the Tuan Zang advisor working too hard, so we thought to lend a hand and work together for Konoha's future."

When Tuan Zang opened his mouth, they didn't need any other excuse and simply explained to Shisui.

"I see."

Shisui was a bit surprised, then nodded with a look of satisfaction, "With you here, how could Konoha not thrive!"

Shisui truly sighed; he hadn't expected these people to have gone so far in secret without manipulating public opinion or using other means to force him to act.

And indeed they each relied on their own strength, rendering many of his prepared measures useless.

They're all honest people; the ones Yan Shifan mentioned are now redundant.

"."

Tuan Zang fell silent, and the crowd lowered their heads.

"Hahaha, it seems everyone is still harmonious, but your method of spreading is affecting the cityscape; the Police Department has reported it to me many times, so I called you here today to discuss. Since everyone is spreading ninja techniques for Konoha's future, let's just make things clear."

"The Hokage's words are correct, but Tuan Zang, as an advisor, knows the village's forbidden techniques; those techniques are extremely dangerous and must not be passed on. In my view, he's not fit to continue spreading ninja techniques."

"Hmph, nonsense."

When Tuan Zang heard that, he was about to retort, but Shisui raised his hand to signal both sides to be quiet and said plainly, "Opening ninja techniques to boost the village's ninja strength is a good thing, but we must not be overly indulgent; we should spread them in a planned manner.

Moreover, ninja techniques are not a shortcut to power; our dissemination should have limits."

The crowd was stunned, and someone immediately asked, "Hokage, what does that mean?"

Shisui smiled and looked at Nara Zhuque; Zhuque nodded and stepped forward, saying, "The Hokage ordered me to compile some ninja technique data and set the requirements for acquiring ninja techniques."

Then, Nara Zhuque explained each rule that Shisui had established.

First, the Ninja Academy: all graduating students may receive a free D‑rank ninja technique that matches their own chakra attribute.

After successfully advancing to Chunin, they can receive a free C‑rank ninja technique; similarly, Jonin can obtain a B‑rank one.

These techniques are all hand‑picked by Shisui, are highly popular, and do not involve any clan's core.

There are three levels of ninja techniques, not many; in fact, only the D‑rank technique after graduating from the ninja school is truly useful.

Shisui did not take the opportunity to spread more techniques, which left the crowd a bit surprised; they had already sensed Shisui's intention but, constrained by the Hokage's position and the Uchiha's power, dared not confront him directly.

Indeed, Shisui had entertained that thought, but Sima Yi stopped him.

Learning ninja techniques is already difficult, and if acquisition becomes too easy it may cause new problems.

"Is that all?"

Tuan Zang let out a light hum; since Shisui wants to intervene, he'll provide more advanced ninja techniques!

Nara Zhuque glanced at him, and after the crowd quieted, added.

"Considering the varied nature of ninjas, those who excel in assessments will receive extra rewards."

For example, in the ninja school graduation assessment, top performers can obtain two D‑rank ninja techniques.

"Additionally, completing a certain number of missions allows one to apply for higher‑rank ninja techniques."

For instance, completing twenty A‑rank missions lets one apply for an A‑rank ninja technique, or completing thirty B‑rank missions allows an application for a B‑rank technique, and so on.

Forbidden techniques are special and have separate assessment criteria.

"Finally, to regulate the distribution of ninja techniques, from today a Ninja Technique Research Department will be established under the Ministry of Education, responsible for research, statistics, and issuance of ninja techniques.

Furthermore, anyone is prohibited from privately disseminating ninja techniques on a large scale; any violation will be arrested on the grounds of destabilizing Konoha!"

"What?"

Tuan Zang paused, and everyone was pleased.

Why they couldn't move against Tuan Zang is because the law offers no footing; they can't openly muster forces, and Shisui is unwilling to help them.

Now the Police Department has added another clause; if Tuan Zang continues that operation, they will have cause to launch a direct crackdown.

Tuan Zang's face turned iron‑blue; this was clearly targeting him! "There are only these few ninja techniques; how can we boost Konoha's strength? I did nothing wrong; everything is for Konoha!"

Consultant Tuan Zang, this is not a negotiation.

Shisui sat there, calmly watching Tuan Zang; the office fell silent in an instant, and the Police Department and the Dark Department's gazes simultaneously fell on Tuan Zang.

Tuan Zang's mouth twitched slightly as pressure like a mountain surged.

Tuan Zang didn't understand why Shisui's attitude changed so quickly. Just a few days ago Shisui was constantly shielding Tuan Zang, and now, in front of so many people, he scolded Tuan Zang so harshly.

The others also looked at Tuan Zang with amused eyes; the Hokage seemed not to intend to shield Tuan Zang any longer, which was good news.

After warning Tuan Zang, Shisui turned to the crowd again, softened his tone, and said, "Everyone, is there anything else to add?"

"Lord Hokage is wise!" (End of chapter)