Chapter 39: Danzō: Itachi Want Me to Risk My Life, But Won

Hokage’s Office.

The atmosphere was suffocating; even without speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s arrival and the three others—Tobirama Senju, Danzō, and the others—could feel immense pressure.

“Hiruzen, what’s going on?”

Tobirama Senju spoke first.

Mizukage En’s face was filled with worry; after all, both of them were mediocre in ability, and their current status as elders relied almost entirely on Hiruzen Sarutobi’s support.

So.

Sensing something was wrong, they were naturally frantic.

Only Danzō wore a look of contempt.

With Root, his own private armed force, he naturally had more backbone than these two old friends; now he merely leaned on his cane, sitting silently in his chair.

“Enough. Let’s get to the matter at hand.”

Seeing his old friends had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi made no concealment and briefly recounted what had just happened.

The more he spoke, the angrier he became!

Under Uchiha Jin’s leadership, the Uchiha had completely slipped out of control.

It was precisely this realization that made Hiruzen Sarutobi truly anxious.

Tobirama Senju spoke first: “Damn it! Are they planning a rebellion?”

“They must be punished!” Mizukage En voiced his opinion.

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately asked: “Then, will Itachi two handle this matter?”

Almost instantly.

The two men, who had just been righteous and bold, turned silent.

There was no way!

Uchiha Jin’s strength was too overwhelming, and his methods were ruthlessly brutal—even toward these Hidden Leaf high-ranking officials, he showed not the slightest respect.

Danzō, who had died multiple times before, was the one with the most authority on this.

If they provoked him, people would die!

Yelling in the Hokage’s office was one thing; actually sending these two to lead a mission against Uchiha Jin?

What nonsense? They didn’t want to die!

So.

Undoubtedly, they had cowered.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: “...”

Watching his two old friends choose silence and pretend to be dead, a row of dark lines appeared on his forehead.

Truly—what a damn mess!

Can’t do anything right, but experts at playing dead.

Of course.

He had little real hope in these two old friends either.

After a sigh, he turned to Danzō.

And, regarding this,

Danzō didn’t wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi to speak—he replied with clear disdain: “I told Itachi long ago—the Uchiha are all madmen. The longer Itachi delay, the more likely something will go wrong!”

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face was filled with bitterness.

Yes!

He truly regretted it.

The Uchiha clan was too uncontrollable; the power of the Sharingan was full of unpredictability.

Today they might be a nobody, but tomorrow, after some sudden trauma, they could unleash terrifying power.

Still, sigh.

After a weary sigh, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe: “Now is not the time to assign blame. Danzō, I need Itachi to act quickly—Itachi must find a way to kill Uchiha Jin at all costs!”

His tone was icy.

A man who understood manipulation posed a threat far greater than any before.

He had faced many challenges before, but each enemy had weaknesses, making them easy for Hiruzen Sarutobi to handle.

For example...

He dared kill Hashirama Senju and Katō Dan because he knew Tsunade cared more for her grandfathers’ village!

He allowed the Uzumaki clan to be completely wiped out, unafraid of Kushina Uzumaki going mad, because Kushina cared for the Senju clan.

The moment Kushina Uzumaki died, he launched the Hashirama Cells experiment and casually erased the Senju clan.

Kiba Shikamaru was too upright and cared for his son Kakashi; Minato Namikaze’s weakness was Kushina Uzumaki; Jiraiya, though upright, lacked the courage to shatter everything; even the cold and heartless Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew, valued emotion most.

Otherwise,

With Orochimaru’s intelligence, wouldn’t he know using villagers for experiments would eventually draw the Anbu’s attention?

No—he knew.

He was just hopeless toward his teacher, seeking to sever all bonds and defect.

Looking back on all his opponents throughout his life, Hiruzen Sarutobi had always found each one’s weakness—except Uchiha Jin.

This bastard had no weakness.

He didn’t care whether the Uchiha lived or died; if his side made even the slightest move, he’d be willing to see the entire Uchiha clan perish just to drag the Sarutobi clan down with him.

Friendship?

He had no friends!

Love?

He had no girl he cared for!

Parents?

He had once considered using them to control Uchiha Jin, but now he had no confidence in it.

The reason was simple!

This man was already a Mangekyo Sharingan user, now controlled the entire Uchiha clan, yet showed no intention of rescuing his parents—or even negotiating to resolve this matter.

His nature was cold, making Hiruzen Sarutobi feel like thorns were pricking his back.

Especially since Uchiha Jin was skilled in manipulation; every time they clashed, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been subtly crushed.

So.

He had no interest in playing power games with Uchiha Jin—he now only wanted to kill this bastard as soon as possible.

In short, he was ready to flip the table.

But, unfortunately,

Danzō’s tone remained cold: “I repeat what I said before—I need a full Anbu squad, and authorization to draw three elite ninja from each clan into Root.”

“Also, give me one hundred million ryo—I need to buy cannon fodder from the Exchange Hall!”

Yes.

Root was his entire life’s work, his foundation for seizing the Hokage position!

He knew well how dangerous Uchiha Jin was—he would never let Root be wasted on this.

And regarding this,

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the table and roared in fury.

“Danzō, are Itachi insane?”

“Uchiha Jin is our greatest enemy—we must eliminate him quickly, or the consequences will be unimaginable!”

“This isn’t the time to bargain—if Uchiha Jin truly takes power, do Itachi think he’ll spare Itachi?”

Tobirama Senju and Mizukage En, seeing this, quickly spoke up to persuade.

But, unfortunately,

It was useless!

Danzō’s expression remained cold, even showing a sneer.

“Hiruzen, save your breath.”

“As Itachi said, Uchiha Jin’s threat concerns all of us!”

“Why should only Root bear the cost while Itachi contribute no strength at all? Do I look that stupid?”

“My demands are on the table!”

“Decide for yourself whether to accept them.”

Almost instantly,

With Danzō’s words, everyone fell silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t speak—he had indeed planned to sacrifice Root, but now he saw it was impossible.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again: “I’ll give Itachi one Anbu squad.”

“Not enough,” Danzō shook his head. “I need authorization.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face turned livid with rage as he roared: “Don’t even think about it—this is absolutely out of the question!”

Yes.

Because of the Third Shinobi War, his reputation was already terrible.

If the Hidden Leaf hadn’t found a more reliable candidate, the clans would never have agreed to make him Hokage.

Under these circumstances, grant Tsunade authorization?

This is purely asking to die faster!

"Then forget it."

Tsunade crossed his arms, sneering: "I won't take this job!"