Chapter 13: The Bright Hokage and the Dark Root

Sarutobi Hiruzen's words came to an abrupt halt, but the other three all understood his meaning.

The losses from the Nine-Tails Night were not just human, but also involved unimaginable property damage.

What was lost could not be recovered; the collapsed buildings needed to be rebuilt, the sacrificed ninja needed pensions, and the disabled ninja required retirement compensation. All in all, it would require an expenditure of over ten billion ryo.

Konohagakure's own reserves amounted to over a billion ryo. Sarutobi Hiruzen wrote to the Daimyo to ask for aid, but the Daimyo's money was not infinite, and he could provide at most three billion ryo.

In other words, the funding gap in the short term exceeded five billion ryo, and this was the fundamental reason why Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were forcing the Uchiha to move.

Konohagakure was very wealthy, but the money was not in the hands of the Hokage; it was in the hands of the various large and small ninja clans.

Take the Sarutobi Clan, for example; being able to expand their population dozens of times over was supported by massive resources, so coming up with a mere five billion was not a problem at all.

The ninja clans had plenty of money, but Sarutobi Hiruzen lacked the prestige of the First Hokage and had no way to force the ninja clans to cough it up.

Even when it came to the Sarutobi Clan's own money, he had no way to force his clansmen to hand it over.

It was Shimura Danzo who proposed forcing the Uchiha to move away from the center of the village and selling the Uchiha's clan lands to other ninja clans and the nobles of the Land of Fire.

This money from selling the land could reach 20 billion ryo, which would not only fill the funding gap but also support the consumption of fighting a war.

At the time, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura agreed immediately, and Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated for a full minute before nodding to agree with Shimura Danzo's suggestion.

This is what he said: "It is all my fault. It was because I did not protect Kushina well that this disaster occurred."

"Now there is truly no other way. For the sake of Konohagakure, we can only make the Uchiha suffer a little more. They already bear plenty of infamy, so adding a little more is not a big problem."

"I will definitely compensate them in the future."

Now that the Uchiha had caught them in a mistake, how could they still force the Uchiha to relocate, and how could they still sell their property?

Sarutobi Hiruzen habitually wanted to say: "Danzo, you handle this problem."

Fortunately, he realized it in time and swallowed those words back.

The mistake caught this time was huge, and his own Sarutobi Clan was the primary culprit, so he had no grounds to shift the blame onto Shimura Danzo.

Shimura Danzo did not think that much; he spoke eloquently: "I have checked, and our clansmen were still very cautious in their actions. All procedures and documentary evidence have been handled, leaving no obvious problems behind."

"Uchiha Fugaku cannot produce conclusive evidence. As long as our attitude is firm, there will be no problems."

"We can even use Fugaku's framing of the Hokage as a reason to demand the Uchiha move out within seven days, or else we will declare the Uchiha Clan as rogue ninja!"

Mitokado Homura frowned and said: "Calling the Uchiha rogue ninja is too far-fetched..."

Danzo snorted coldly: "The naturally evil Uchiha are destined to betray Konoha; the only difference is whether it happens sooner or later!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen said coldly: "Danzo, the Uchiha are members of Konohagakure. Do not say such irresponsible things without evidence!"

"Hmph! I understand!"

Shimura Danzo said: "My Shimura Clan participated little in this matter, and I have already given instructions."

"Your clans are deeply involved; you must arrange for your clansmen to clean up the loose ends."

"As long as we do it well, even if Uchiha Fugaku has evidence, I can push it right back at him."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and said: "Danzo is quite right; let us execute it this way."

"Additionally, I will say this: the clansmen have been too indulgent these years, and they need to be properly straightened out."

"Koharu, Homura, we are all nearly sixty years old; we will retire after working for Konoha for a few more years."

"If we end up with our reputations ruined because of our clansmen, that would be a great pity."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura looked at each other and nodded together: "We will go back and handle it now; we will absolutely not leave any problems behind."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Shimura Danzo again: "Danzo, the Shimura Clan has always been upright and self-disciplined; I am very reassured by you in this regard."

"I am also very satisfied with the work of Root in being able to obtain intelligence from inside the Uchiha in a timely manner this time."

"However..."

"You and Root cannot stop here; you must find a way to obtain intelligence more deeply. I hope to know what Uchiha Fugaku said during his meetings and what concrete plans he has made against us, rather than your guesses based on fragmented intelligence analysis."

"Do you understand?"

Shimura Danzo's expression turned ugly: "Hiruzen must give me official orders before I can convince stronger Uchiha ninja."

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled: "Danzo, being able to make such a request shows that you do not understand the Hokage at all."

"The Hokage is the leader of Konohagakure and represents the image of Konohagakure. Many things can be done silently, but they cannot be spoken from the mouth of the Hokage."

"You just need to know how things stand. When can this mission be completed?"

Shimura Danzo felt a pang in his heart from being shut down with "you are not the Hokage," and said with an ugly expression: "I don't know."

"The Uchiha are naturally evil; even if they are inclined toward Konoha, they are deeply wary of me. If you don't give me the authority, I can only leave it to luck."

Sarutobi Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a few puffs, then said slowly: "What was the name of Uchiha Kagami's grandson again?"

"Shisui, yes, that's right, Uchiha Shisui. He should be a suitable breakthrough point."

"And Uchiha Fugaku's son, Itachi Uchiha, should be entering the Ninja Academy next year. I will try to instill the 'Will of Fire' into him."

Shimura Danzo said with dissatisfaction: "Uchiha Shisui is nine, and Itachi Uchiha is only five. Isn't it too slow to start with them?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke: "Danzo, you are too impatient."

"The Uchiha Clan has over three hundred ninja, including thirty-one Jonin, all of whom are Elite Jonin."

"To deal with the strongest ninja clan in Konohagakure, we must have sufficient patience. As long as the work can be steadily advanced, that is success."

"If we trigger a civil war in Konohagakure because of impatience, we will all become sinners of Konoha!"

Shimura Danzo's expression became even uglier: "Hiruzen, do you not want to eliminate the evil Uchiha?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and said: "Regardless of how you put it, Konohagakure was established by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan working together. If possible, of course I would not choose to eliminate the Uchiha."

"If one cannot understand this point, one is not fit to be the Hokage of Konohagakure!"

Shimura Danzo laughed in extreme anger: "Fine, fine, fine. You speak so righteously, yet aren't you still having me bribe the Uchiha?"

"Fine! You are the Hokage, so you should do good things in the light."

"I am the Root; I will do the dirty deeds that cannot be seen!"

"Everything is for Konoha!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a sincere smile: "You have worked hard, Danzo."