Facing the blame from the Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura frowned, feeling extremely displeased.
Although he had single-handedly orchestrated the Uchiha massacre, he hadn't gained much from it. Not only did he fail to obtain the Sharingan as expected, but he also ended up taking the blame, which severely reduced Root's budget and manpower.
Meanwhile, the one who truly reaped the greatest benefits was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
After the Uchiha clan was wiped out, there were no longer any voices opposing the Hokage within the village. Hiruzen could now extend his authority into every corner of Konoha without resistance.
But was that really a good thing?
Danzo didn't think so.
The Uchiha had been massacred, and that would inevitably make the other ninja clans wary. And without the Uchiha Military Police as a common "target," dissatisfaction among both ninja and civilians toward the Hokage's authority would eventually surface.
Those were problems Hiruzen would have to face sooner or later.
A glint of calculation flashed in Danzo's eyes. He nodded slightly and left the Hokage's office without another word.
For now, there was no need to confront Hiruzen directly.
As long as he did his job well, once the Hokage lost the trust of the ninja and jōnin, Danzo could step forward and compete for the position of the Fifth Hokage.
Decades ago, during negotiations with Kumogakure, he had hesitated for half a second—and lost the chance to become Hokage.
This time, he would make up for that half-second with decades of effort.
He would prove, with actions, that he was far more suitable to be Hokage than Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzo's quiet departure actually surprised the Third Hokage, who had been ready to argue with him.
Even Danzo is disappointed in me?
But wasn't Danzo the one who hated the Uchiha the most?
Hiruzen didn't bother thinking about it further. The information Jiraiya had brought back today was already more than enough to give him a headache.
Orochimaru joining the masked man's organization.
Naruto Uzumaki establishing Uzushiogakure.
If this information had come from anyone else, he would've suspected it was complete bullshit. But since it came from Jiraiya, he had no choice but to believe it.
And act.
First, he would have Danzo organize an investigation into the masked man's group.
Second, he would inform Sunagakure about the Kazekage puppet.
There was no way the Rasa would ignore something like that. With a shared enemy, the Konoha–Sunagakure alliance would only grow stronger, helping restrain Iwagakure.
As for the Land of Uzumaki established by Naruto…
Hiruzen neither acknowledged it nor openly opposed
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