Chapter 366: Aizen-san
During this period,
Konoha had undergone tremendous change.
First, not only did the Third Hokage fail to fulfill his promises to compensate the contributing ninja clans,
he actively suppressed them.
Hiruzen publicly declared that the distribution of the Evil God's loot would consider all those who had made outstanding contributions to the village—past and present.
As a result, more than half of the loot initially promised to the clans ended up in the hands of civilian shinobi.
The civilian ninjas, who had always remained loyal to the village,
were rewarded through a wave of strategic incentives and flattery from the Hokage,
and many of them joined the Shadow Organization, a force directly under the Hokage's command.
In essence, it was a private army.
One that bypassed the authority of the village itself.
An exhausted Koharu Utatane sighed and said, "Lord Hokage, if you keep this up, there's bound to be resentment among the clans."
After all, Hiruzen had promised to compensate the clans after the war—
in exchange for the massive reward point donations that had helped secure reinforcements.
As the lead representatives of the Hokage faction, the two advisors had played a key role in arranging that.
Who would have expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to turn his back on them the moment the war ended,
resulting in some clans even harboring resentment toward the two advisors themselves?
"You want to suppress the clans? Fine."
Homura Mitokado spoke bluntly, his expression cold.
"But pouring all of our resources into the Shadow Organization—is that truly for the good of the village?"
"Isn't that just your own private army?"
What he didn't say was—
how was the Shadow Organization any different from the old Root Organization Danzo had once built?
The key difference was this:
Root had at most a few dozen, maybe a hundred members.
And Danzo had never been Hokage.
He never had the authority to do real damage.
But now, with Hiruzen Sarutobi seated as Hokage,
and openly expanding the Shadow Organization, its membership had already surpassed two thousand.
Homura's heart grew heavier as he questioned,
"What are you trying to do, Hiruzen?"
"To unify power—
not remain shackled by the clans as we were before."
Danzo's laugh was cold as he caressed the Hokage's hat.
Riding the wave of Hiruzen's heroic death,
he had used an iron fist to suppress the clans,
while using the Evil God's loot to win the loyalty of countless civilian shinobi.
His foundation was now solid.
They were all students of Tobirama Senju.
When it came to political maneuvering, Danzo was no less skilled.
He had always appeared weak only because Hiruzen had more strength and prestige,
which left him no choice but to operate passively.
Even then, he had built Root into a formidable force.
Now, with full power in hand, there was nothing he couldn't do.
"The Fire Empire?"
Koharu's tired eyes widened in shock and fear.
"You want to turn Konoha into a dictatorship, like Orochimaru's empire?"
Recruiting civilians, suppressing the clans, purging dissenters—
this was exactly how Orochimaru had ruled.
"I admire Orochimaru."
Once, Danzo would've hastened to distance himself from that comparison.
Now, he simply stared calmly at the two advisors.
The elite players of the Shadow Organization were his backbone.
And in truth,
Danzo and Orochimaru were a perfect match.
Whether it was human experimentation or their disregard for traditional norms, they were both ruthless when needed.
"You're insane, Hiruzen!"
"It's time to step down. Return the position of Hokage to the Fourth!"
The two advisors exploded with anger.
Their power stemmed from their roles as elders to the clans.
Danzo was cutting at the roots of their authority—and they couldn't accept that.
Fortunately,
the Third Hokage had only temporarily filled the seat after Minato's death.
Now, they could easily restore Minato to power.
"You two…
Are you trying to betray Konoha?"
Danzo's voice turned ice cold.
And as he finished speaking,
four shadowy figures appeared inside the office, standing silently behind the two advisors.
"Elite players?"
Homura's expression shifted.
He instinctively raised his hands—only for two Shadow Organization elites to snap his fingers before he could weave a single hand sign.
The searing pain made him break into a cold sweat.
"All who betray Konoha will face judgment.
Even Hokage advisors are no exception."
Danzo's tone was flat.
"You don't speak for Konoha!"
With a kunai pressed to his throat, Homura growled through clenched teeth.
"Soon, we'll root out all who are disloyal to Konoha."
Danzo waved his hand,
and the elite players vanished again.
The two advisors stood frozen in place, breathing hard.
Truth be told,
the Shadow Organization was now Konoha's strongest force.
Even Asuma's Mobile Unit had members poached by them.
Unless someone gathered all the factions, no one could stop the Third Hokage now.
Danzo's iron grip was only whispered about among clan leaders and village elites.
But most civilians and low-ranking shinobi barely noticed.
They were preoccupied with something else—
Sōsuke Aizen.
A swordsman from the Fire Empire's border.
Though not a player, he possessed strength comparable to a Kage.
In just half a month, his name had entered the hearts of all.
Polite. Cultured. Kind and humble.
He had risked his life to save the wounded in battle—
and continued helping rebuild the village even when the war ended, with no reward whatsoever.
He reached out to civilians who had lost their homes.
Many despairing citizens and shinobi
had only found the strength to go on because of Aizen's quiet encouragement.
"Good evening, I'm Sōsuke Aizen."
Wearing his black-rimmed glasses, he arrived at a nearly forgotten orphanage.
He spoke to the weary staff,
"Here is 200,000 yen. Please use it to prepare warm stew for the children tonight. Something to soothe their cold hearts."
"Aizen-san!"
The drowsy head of the orphanage lit up with joy.
In the aftermath of the Evil God's attack,
everyone was busy rebuilding.
Places like the orphanage were bound to be forgotten—
at least until the rest of the village was stable again.
But Aizen was the exception.
Every two days,
he returned to donate his hard-earned pay to the orphanage.
He personally cooked for disabled orphans, taught them to read,
told them stories about the Will of Fire and the meaning of life.
Not just the orphans.
It was said Aizen helped poor civilians,
ensured fallen shinobi were given proper burials, and handled every task himself.
These quiet acts went unnoticed—
until the Shadow Organization, suspicious of his motives, detained him as a potential spy.
And then the truth came out.
Only then did people realize—
Aizen had never sought fame or profit.
He had done more for Konoha than anyone,
and asked for nothing in return.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1