Chapter 41: Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi Concedes, Danzō Achieves His Wish!

Danzo remained unfazed by this.

What a ridiculous joke!

Every faction has countless internal subgroups; within the Uchiha, there are three factions—moderate, neutral, and radical—and the same applies within Konoha.

Tsume and Homura share one view, Hiruzen holds another, and Danzo certainly has his own.

Even among the lower-ranking clans, large and small clans have differing opinions, and the civilian factions’ views differ from those of the ninja clans.

The same is true here and now!

For Danzo, destroying the Uchiha is important—but isn’t tarnishing Hiruzen just as important?

Keep in mind.

For someone who desires to become Hokage, Hiruzen is a mountain standing directly in his path.

Now that he has a chance to smear Hiruzen’s reputation, Danzo’s already being a good friend by not adding more fuel—how could Itachi possibly expect him to help Hiruzen?

Nonsense!

And what about the idea that he’s also smearing himself?

Hah!

Danzo himself is a cesspool—why should he care about a little dirt thrown his way?

Itachi’re overthinking it completely!

As for whether Hiruzen can withstand these “rumors,” Danzo is utterly confident—this minor scandal might throw Hiruzen into chaos and damage his reputation slightly…

But to permanently destroy Hiruzen? That’s virtually impossible!

The reason is even simpler!

Konoha is currently too weak—if Hiruzen is ousted, who will take over as the Fifth Hokage?

Therefore,

Even though many ninja clans despise Hiruzen, at this moment they must grit their teeth and support him—otherwise, would they really let the Uchiha ascend as the Fifth Hokage?

Understanding this perfectly, Danzo isn’t in a hurry at all.

“I’m sorry, Hiruzen!”

“Public opinion cannot be stopped—it only grows stronger when suppressed.”

“Let time handle it. We must trust the villagers!”

After speaking,

Danzo immediately stood up and prepared to leave.

Hiruzen was left stunned.

But he instantly understood Danzo’s intentions, his face darkening as he growled: “I’ll grant Itachi five slots per clan.”

“Now, can Itachi speak?”

At this moment, Hiruzen chose to yield a little.

There was no choice!

Danzo is a master of public opinion warfare—he simply can’t compete with this kind of game.

More accurately, Hiruzen refuses to touch such things—he’s the flawless, noble Hokage; how could he possibly sully himself with such dirty tactics?

If I were to handle these sordid affairs myself, what use would Danzo, my black glove, even be?

Meanwhile,

Upon hearing Hiruzen’s offer, Danzo’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Ten slots per clan!”

“Itachi’re full of shit—no way!”

“I’ll compromise: nine!”

“No, five is final!”

“I’ll go further: eight. Otherwise, I’m leaving right now!”

“Seven. Refuse, and get out!”

“Deal!”

Danzo sat back down, a barely concealed smile spreading across his face.

Seven is enough!

Remember, Konoha’s bloodline clans may not rival the Uchiha, but each one is incredibly powerful.

Among these clans, Danzo favors the Yamato and Aburame families the most.

Meanwhile,

In contrast to Danzo’s satisfaction, Hiruzen’s face was ashen, his heart bleeding internally.

Damn it.

His reputation is already terrible—after this Hokage decree is issued, imagine how much the clans will hate him.

But there’s no alternative!

Compared to the clans’ hatred, resolving this immediate crisis is far more important.

After all, his reputation among the civilians is what Hiruzen cares about most.

“Alright, speak.”

“I’ve given Itachi what Itachi wanted—this matter must be resolved quickly.”

“Otherwise…”

Hiruzen spoke coldly.

To resolve this crisis, he’s already paid a heavy price—if Danzo fails, he’ll make Danzo understand…

Why he’s called the Ninja Hero!

In response,

Danzo couldn’t help but shiver—Hiruzen’s gaze was terrifying.

He cleared his throat and spoke slowly.

“To resolve this, there’s only one way.”

“Spread more, even more outrageous rumors—don’t care if they’re true or false; just dump them all out.”

“Don’t look at me like that—I’m not joking.”

“The villagers are ignorant; their information channels are narrow and they can’t verify the truth—just make the rumors logically plausible enough.”

“Only by flooding them with massive amounts of rumors can we possibly divert the attention of these ignorant villagers.”

“I’ve done this before—trust me!”

Danzo spoke slowly, laying out his plan.

Of course,

Though Hiruzen and the others were skeptical, if Uchiha Jin were here, he’d give Danzo a thumbs-up.

Truly brilliant!

It’s exactly like the capital’s tactic of drowning out attention—Danzo, the Shadow of the Ninja World, has clearly learned a thing or two from years of dirty work.

“Fine, I leave it to Itachi!”

“But this must be done quickly—and don’t forget about Uchiha Jin.”

“I never want to see that man again—find a way to make him vanish within a month!”

“I don’t care how!”

“I only care about the result!”

Hiruzen gritted his teeth and issued a final ultimatum.

Clearly,

His hatred for Uchiha Jin has surpassed his limits—he now only wants to see Uchiha Jin dead.

The process, the methods—he doesn’t care at all!

“A month?”

After a moment of thought, Danzo nodded: “Fine, no problem.”

After speaking,

He left, leaning on his cane—this time, he didn’t slam the door; instead, he closed it politely.

In the Hokage’s office,

After Danzo’s departure, Homura worriedly said: “Hiruzen, Danzo’s power is growing too much.”

“Yes, Hiruzen,” Tsume added, frowning: “If Root continues expanding like this, aren’t Itachi afraid it’ll become uncontrollable?”

There was no choice—

They were all comrades, so they knew Danzo’s true nature well.

If Root becomes this powerful and he becomes Hokage?

No, absolutely not!

That would be a catastrophe for Konoha—Danzo’s character is even worse than the Uchiha’s.

In response,

Hiruzen sighed deeply before saying helplessly:

“Do Itachi think I don’t know what Itachi’re saying?”

“Itachi didn’t object when it was happening—now Itachi’re suddenly worried about Root being hard to control?”

"But never mind!"

"We have no choice now; we must trust Danzo on this public opinion matter."

"Besides, he's up against Uchiha Jin—taking down a warrior of this caliber isn't as simple as talking about it."

"Even if we actually kill Uchiha Jin, how many people will be left in the Root…"

"It's hard to say!"