"Danzo, what do you think?"
The Third Hokage finally turned his attention to Shimura Danzō, who took the pipe from his mouth and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Hmph!"
Choose these two guys as Hokage?
Choose a trash!
I am the most suitable candidate!
Everyone looked at Shimura Danzō, but all they heard from him was a cold snort and nothing more.
Not hearing the expected answer, Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile gradually disappeared and his expression became serious.
"You all may go ahead and return to your work. Danzo, you stay!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
"Very well."
Nara Shikaku left first. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu hesitated for a moment, but looking at the expressions of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō, they decided not to say anything and could only leave reluctantly.
Former companions are now drifting further and further apart.
The three left, and the office fell into an unbearable silence.
"Well..."
"Danzo, I know you are unhappy with me for removing you from your position. But you made a mistake at that time. The Uchiha clan could have been spared such a great sacrifice. Shisui had already..."
"The Uchiha clan cannot be trusted!" Danzo finally broke his silence with no hesitation on his face. "That's what Tobirama-sensei taught us!"
"Since Uchiha Madara, that clan has never been trustworthy! I personally made the plan to eliminate them. It was a necessary sacrifice for the village!"
"We all knew at the time that the Uchiha were planning a coup! You never vetoed my plan!"
"You'll never appreciate how much I've done for this village!"
The anger that had been suppressed in his heart was finally unleashed, and Shimura Danzō poured out all his frustration.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also looked at Shimura Danzō seriously and said in a firm tone:
"I didn't reject your plan! But! I also asked you to wait! Everything could still have been resolved! But you just launched the plan on your own!"
"Heh heh..."
Shimura Danzō laughed, but his laughter was unusually unpleasant.
"Wait? Wait for what? How long did you want me to wait?"
"If you had listened to me earlier and not been so indecisive, the Uchiha clan wouldn't have gotten to that point. I cleaned up the mess for you."
As if hearing something behind Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Shimura Danzō became even more resentful.
"You're too paranoid to listen to reason anymore."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. He understood that their relationship could no longer return to what it once was. Shimura Danzō wanted more power.
"Do whatever you want, Danzo."
"The new generation of Konoha has already started to flourish. They have the best future ahead of them. We must believe in them."
"Where the leaves dance, the Will of Fire will live. The flames will..."
"Go tell those stories to the students at the Academy, Hiruzen!"
Shimura Danzō directly interrupted Sarutobi Hiruzen's words. The other man really thought he was a child who knew nothing about the world and tried to fool him with such talk.
"I'm warning you for the last time, Danzo!"
"A new Hokage will definitely be chosen. If I find out you're plotting something again, don't blame me for not valuing our friendship!"
"The previous Hokage gave their all to build Konohagakure, and we will never allow you to cause trouble!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Shimura Danzō an ultimatum, and the determination in his tone was very clear.
"Hmph! Hiruzen, you're going to regret this!"
Shimura Danzō threw off his robe, turned around and walked away with his cane.
"Danzo, you must understand that I am the Hokage of Konohagakure!"
Staring at Shimura Danzō's departing figure, Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke with great conviction.
"Bang!"
The door slammed shut, and Shimura Danzō disappeared behind it.
"Ah~"
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a long sigh. He knew that he was still a little soft-hearted. The older people get, the softer they become.
No one saw what happened in the Hokage's office, so no one noticed that the two senior officials of Konohagakure had any disagreement.
After leaving the Hokage building, Shimura Danzō quickly approached Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
"Danzo, you shouldn't treat Hiruzen like that. After all, he's also the Hokage of Konohagakure!"
As soon as they met, Shimura Danzō heard Mitokado Homura's implicit criticism. His face darkened completely. He especially couldn't stand anyone mentioning the Hokage title in front of him.
Utatane Koharu stopped Mitokado Homura. She could see the anger brewing in Danzo and changed the subject:
"So, has Hiruzen really decided to nominate a candidate for Hokage?"
"Hmph! He has already made his decision! What do you mean by listening to our opinions? He was just informing us!"
Danzo snorted. Even though the relationship between the two was beyond repair, he knew Sarutobi Hiruzen too well and could already tell that the other party had made up his mind.
Utatane Koharu frowned, and a look of hesitation appeared on her aged face. "Then, between Hatake Kakashi and Shihouin Naraku..."
"Shihouin Naraku cannot be Hokage!"
"Definitely not Shihouin Naraku!"
Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō both voiced their opposition.
If Shihouin Naraku really gets promoted, they will suffer a great loss.
Even though he was confident in his own abilities, Shimura Danzō didn't think he would be a match for Shihouin Naraku once he became Hokage.
"Then we choose Hatake Kakashi!"
Mitokado Homura was also a formidable shinobi in his youth, and he did not lack decisiveness at critical moments.
"Hatake Kakashi..."
Shimura Danzō frowned. This candidate was somewhat problematic for him.
Because of the suicide of Hatake Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, Danzo had contributed a little behind the scenes. After all, at that time, the momentum of Konoha's White Fang was too overwhelming. Even the famous Sannins were just small fry compared to Konoha's White Fang.
In terms of strength, qualifications, and reputation, Konoha's White Fang at that time was impeccable in every aspect.
Especially during the war, Hatake Sakumo made significant contributions to Konohagakure.
If Shimura Danzō hadn't interfered at that time, there would have been no need to choose the next Hokage, as Hatake Sakumo would have naturally taken the position.
So Shimura Danzō took action, and Hatake Sakumo committed suicide.
Otherwise, with Hatake Sakumo's reputation and qualifications at the time, he would not have killed himself even if the mission was important, especially since the comrades he saved at the cost of the mission also turned against him.
In all of Konohagakure, only a few people could orchestrate such a situation.
But now there was a problem. Shimura Danzō had to watch Hatake Kakashi become Hokage. If Kakashi had discovered something about the past, would he have let it go?
Perhaps after such a long time, Hatake Kakashi had moved on. But Shimura Danzō would not believe it. Being extremely suspicious and cautious himself, he would not dismiss his suspicions of others!
But if he had to choose between Shihouin Naraku and Hatake Kakashi, he would prefer Hatake Kakashi as Hokage.
But who says it has to be one of those two?
The position of Hokage had long been a hidden obsession in Shimura Danzō's heart, and he would not give up until his dying breath.
...
In his dark, secret base, Shimura Danzō stood holding his cane, thinking about something.
"Spread the information!"
"Yes, Lord Danzo!"
A ninja in the shadows acknowledged the order and left.
In the blink of an eye, the transmitted information arrived at the Hidden Grass Village.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
Hearing the hissing sound, Orochimaru, who had just completed an experiment, looked down and saw a small white snake coiled at his feet.
It was clearly not much bigger than a pair of chopsticks, yet the little white snake spits out a palm-sized scroll from its mouth. No one knew how it had gotten it into its stomach.
Orochimaru picked up the scroll and began to read it.
In addition to the usual inquiries about the progress of his experiments, the rest of the news made Orochimaru smile with delight.
"Kukuku...so they're about to start selecting the next Hokage? Time flies so quickly. I wonder if Sensei misses me."
"This is where things start to get interesting."
"It's really exciting..."
"Kukukukuku..."
Orochimaru's long tongue licked the corner of his mouth, and his eerie, cold laughter echoed throughout the underground base.
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