Chapter 108: Uzumaki Mito's Reaction
Under Kei's leadership, Konoha had already entered a new era.
One major project after another was being launched, new industries were constantly being opened, and the entire Land of Fire was gradually falling under Konoha's control.
All of this caused the amount of work to skyrocket.
Even though Kei had promoted many people to help share the burden, he still had to spend a great deal of energy handling matters personally.
Aside from his duties as Hokage, he also had many experiments that required his attention.
Whether it was the Chimera Technique or the Reincarnation Jutsu, he had invested a great deal of effort into them, researching side by side with Orochimaru and the others.
Otherwise, those techniques could never have developed so quickly.
Experiments themselves also consumed a great deal of time and energy.
In addition, he also served as the principal of the Ninja Academy, occasionally going there to teach a few classes.
He also had to spend time personally guiding Orochimaru and the others.
Overall, Kei felt that the only reason he was still able to manage everything at a steady pace was because of the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Without that technique, there was no way he could have handled so many different things at once.
Mito also understood just how busy Kei was, so she did not make things difficult for him.
She simply looked at him for a long moment before suddenly speaking.
"You have Hashirama's aura on you..."
"It seems you really succeeded."
Kei had never hidden his experiments from her.
She had also read the principles behind the Chimera Technique.
She simply had not expected Kei to use it on himself so quickly.
"Techniques are created to be used."
Kei spoke softly. "If a technique developed with so much effort and so many resources ends up recorded on a scroll and sealed away forever, then that would be too much of a waste."
"The Chimera Technique is definitely not a good thing."
Mito frowned, clearly having no favorable impression of it. "If this technique is used recklessly, it will inevitably lead to many problems in the future."
"Kagami already reminded me of that."
Kei said, "I will classify this technique as a forbidden jutsu. Aside from those who truly need it, no one else will be allowed to come into contact with it."
"That would be best."
Mito nodded. "I trust you to handle this properly."
"What is going on with Danzo?"
She continued, "And what about the Land of Whirlpools?"
"He's just relapsing into his old habits."
Kei shook his head. He recounted Danzo's earlier words, then added his own judgment.
"He thinks he's acting for Konoha's sake, but what he's doing could very easily place Konoha in a passive position."
"Setting everything else aside, if Konoha really did something like that, how would the Uzumaki survivors and orphans view Konoha?"
"And how would you view it, Lady Mito?"
"He wouldn't care what I think."
Mito let out a cold laugh. "After all, you are the Hokage. Even if something like that really happened, I would probably only blame you, the Hokage."
"If I turned against you, he might even seize the opportunity to get closer to me and try to climb even higher."
"That man's ambition is too great. It's better to deal with him as soon as possible."
She looked at Kei and advised him, "If it's inconvenient for you to act, then leave it to me."
Her killing intent was obvious.
Most of the time, Mito had a very good temper. She treated everyone with gentleness and tolerance.
But that did not mean she had no temper at all.
Danzo's idea of striking preemptively and dealing with their own allies first had clearly touched one of her deepest taboos.
After all, the Uzumaki Clan was her maternal family.
She was still alive, and yet someone already dared to think this way. If she were dead, how much worse would it become?
"Let's keep him around for now."
Kei shook his head. "After all, he was a good friend of my teacher. If he died by my hand, it would be difficult to explain to others in the future."
"Besides, although his thinking is terrible, there are times when people like him are still useful."
"There must always be a few people in Konoha who are willing to do dirty work."
"As long as you have a plan."
Mito said, "But remember to keep a close eye on him."
"Otherwise, no one knows what kind of trouble he might cause later."
"I understand."
Kei naturally intended to keep a very close watch on Danzo.
Strictly speaking, no one understood Danzo's destructive power better than Kei.
If one looked closely enough at many of the future's major incidents, Danzo's shadow could almost always be found lurking somewhere behind them.
The Akatsuki's transformation began with his collusion with Hanzo of the Salamander to target Yahiko, directly causing Yahiko's death and indirectly paving the way for Nagato, the wielder of the Rinnegan, to rise and later attack Konoha.
He cooperated with Orochimaru to conduct human experiments, indirectly driving Orochimaru's eventual defection.
He forced Itachi into acting against the Uchiha, who had been on the verge of a coup, leading to the extermination of the Uchiha Clan and directly causing the future tragedy of Sasuke.
One incident after another was enough to make Kei stay fully on guard.
That said, Danzo was indeed useful.
As long as he was watched closely and prevented from harming Konoha's own people, he could still barely be kept under control.
Well, saying he was controllable was debatable.
Because a man like Danzo could always produce a fresh disaster at any moment.
So Kei felt that, sooner or later, it would still be better to find a chance to eliminate him entirely and save himself the trouble.
After thinking for a moment, however, he still shook his head.
"Forget it."
"For my teacher's sake, I'll just keep a tighter watch on him."
"As long as I'm still here, that man won't be able to stir up too much trouble."
With that thought, he temporarily suppressed his killing intent.
"Is the Land of Whirlpools really going to be attacked?"
Mito asked.
"Most likely."
Kei nodded. "I already anticipated this possibility two years ago, which is why I made special arrangements there in advance."
"If nothing unexpected happens, they should be preparing to act right about now."
"Can you stop them?"
Mito asked again.
"Yes."
Kei answered frankly. "Actually, if I wanted to stop this conflict, I would only need to appear there in person."
"Once the people of Kumogakure see that I've arrived, they will naturally hide themselves again and wait for another opportunity."
"But if that happens, the problem would never truly be solved."
The reason the Land of Whirlpools was being targeted was simple at its core.
It was not strong enough, yet it possessed things everyone coveted.
Under those circumstances, Kumogakure would strike whenever they found an opportunity.
The solution was also simple.
Get the entire Uzumaki Clan to relocate and bring the valuable parts of their inheritance into Konoha.
With Konoha's strength, they could be protected well enough that Kumogakure would no longer have any chance to act.
But such a proposal would never be welcomed by the Uzumaki Clan.
People were always like this.
Only when danger truly arrived did they realize the value of safety.
But before that happened, they clung stubbornly to everything they already had and refused to let go.
.....
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