Chapter 74 (Patreon)

In truth, Shimura Danzō had always carried one obsession deep in his heart.

It began long ago, during that mission in the Land of Lightning with the Second Hokage.

At the time, Senju Tobirama had asked who among them was willing to stay behind and act as the rear guard.

Danzō had been ready.

He really had been ready.

But just as he was about to speak, fear surged up from the depths of his heart. It seized his throat, froze his body, and for one brief moment, his mind went blank.

That single moment of hesitation was enough.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward first and took the opportunity from him.

Because of that, Hiruzen became the Third Hokage.

Because of that, Danzō missed the seat he had desired his entire life.

From that day onward, the thorn buried in his heart had never been removed.

Was he afraid of death?

Of course he was.

But was Sarutobi Hiruzen not afraid?

Why?

Why did Hiruzen get chosen?

The resolve had clearly appeared in my heart first.

Danzō’s thoughts slowly returned to the present.

He looked silently at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who sat across from him without saying a word.

The Nine-Tails incident was about to begin.

And Danzō wanted to know what Hiruzen would choose.

“Danzō,” Hiruzen finally said after a long silence, his head lowered. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll tell Minato everything?”

“You won’t.”

Danzō’s voice was cold and certain.

Hiruzen’s fists tightened.

“I won’t…”

His voice was low at first, almost as if he was speaking to himself.

Then he slowly raised his head.

“That’s right. I won’t. Minato is nothing more than a puppet in my hands.”

After saying that, Hiruzen looked directly at Danzō.

“Tell me the plan.”

“The plan is simple.”

A faint smile appeared on Danzō’s face.

He had already received his answer.

So that is how it is, Hiruzen.

In the end, you are also someone who clings to life and fears death.

“When that man appears,” Danzō said, “we tell him the location where Uzumaki Kushina will give birth.”

Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not interrupt.

Danzō continued.

“We allow him to release the Nine-Tails. Once the Nine-Tails begins rampaging, let it destroy part of the village first. Let it create enough chaos and casualties.”

“After that, we move.”

“You will hold down the Nine-Tails. I will deal with the man who calls himself Uchiha Madara.”

“In the end, the two of us will suppress the Nine-Tails together.”

Then Danzō’s smile deepened.

“And afterward, we blame everything on Yujiro.”

Hiruzen’s expression changed slightly.

Danzō’s voice remained calm.

“Yujiro knows how to use public opinion. We can do the same.”

“Do not forget, Hiruzen. In the eyes of the village, the only clan capable of controlling the Nine-Tails is the Uchiha.”

“And the Uchiha clan stands on the same side as Yujiro.”

With that, Danzō finished explaining his plan.

For a while, the room fell silent.

Then Hiruzen’s lips slowly curled into a cold smile.

“Fine.”

He set down his pipe.

“When the time comes, we two old comrades will join hands once more.”

Danzō smiled and nodded.

But in his heart, he sneered.

Hiruzen, Hiruzen…

You have fallen after all.

And you still think you can sit on the Hokage’s seat again?

How laughable.

What Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know was that from this moment on, he had already become a piece on Danzō’s board.

Two months passed quietly.

During this period, Konoha began a large-scale reform.

The first change was the Uchiha clan.

Their compound was moved back into the central area of Konoha, and the clan itself underwent a major internal reorganization.

Because of this, the Uchiha Police Force also became far more restrained than before.

Their attitude toward the villagers slowly changed as well.

The Uchiha had always been proud, awkward people. Many of them clearly wanted recognition, but the way they expressed themselves often pushed others away instead.

But after letting go of that misplaced sense of superiority, they realized something.

Fear could keep people distant.

Respect could bring people closer.

And to the Uchiha, recognition had always been something they valued deeply.

After seeing the effect of the Uchiha clan’s changes, several other major clans in Konoha also began to follow their example.

Lower your proud head a little, and what you gain may be far more valuable than pride.

At the same time, Konoha’s merit-record system was officially implemented.

It was no longer only ANBU members who could be recorded.

Even ordinary shinobi could have their names placed on the merit list.

Of course, only those who made truly significant contributions to the village would be included.

As for ANBU, they received their own separate honor record.

The ANBU Elite List.

The names engraved there represented status and achievement within ANBU.

Naturally, the names recorded on the list were not real names, but code names.

For example, Yujiro’s ANBU code name was only one word.

Night.

Shisui’s code name was Shun.

As for Uchiha Itachi, his code name was Blade.

No one knew why that guy had decided to use such a straightforward code name, but somehow, it suited him.

The ANBU Elite Monument stood in front of the ANBU base.

As long as a code name was engraved on it, every ANBU member who passed by would look at it with respect.

Because of that, the ANBU members became even more desperate to improve themselves.

Each of them hoped that one day, their own code name would appear on that monument.

Because that name represented honor.

The current ANBU was no longer seen only as a group that lived in the shadows.

They were the hidden blades of Konoha.

The unseen shield behind the village.

Because of the improved treatment, resources, and most importantly, that visible honor, countless shinobi began to yearn for a place in ANBU.

Minato’s home.

At Minato’s invitation, Yujiro brought Yūhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yūgao with him and came over as a guest.

After all, in around ten days, Uzumaki Kushina’s due date would arrive.

“Yujiro, I really don’t know how to thank you.”

Minato picked up his cup and stood, offering him a toast.

“Minato-sensei, there’s no need for that.”

Yujiro smiled lightly and drank from his cup.

Minato lowered his cup, but a trace of worry soon appeared on his face.

He glanced at Kushina, who was sitting beside him.

“There’s one more thing. In ten days, Kushina will give birth. I just hope nothing happens with the Nine-Tails.”

“Don’t worry so much, Minato.”

Kushina smiled and patted her belly.

“Ever since Yujiro looked at my stomach last time, the Nine-Tails has been behaving very obediently, you know.”

Inside the golden spiritual space, Kurama immediately roared.

“This woman is getting carried away!”

“I’m not afraid of you, Yujiro!”

“Sure, sure. I understand.”

Yujiro sat cross-legged in front of the Nine-Tails with a casual expression, as if he had simply dropped by to chat.

It seemed Kurama really had been frightened.

Of course, Yujiro had also carefully compared his current strength with Kurama’s.

And in the end, he reached a conclusion.

He could probably beat Kurama down.

Kurama looked at the smug Kushina in the outside world and finally could not endure it anymore.

He roared inside Kushina’s spiritual space.

“Uzumaki Kushina! Don’t get too proud! Do you want me to tell everyone about what you and Minato do when no one is watching?!”

Outside, Kushina’s face instantly turned red.

Her mouth shut at once.

This damn fox!

“Kushina?”

Minato looked at her with concern.

“Why did your face suddenly turn so red?”

“I-I’m fine!”

Kushina hurriedly waved her hands.

“I’m completely fine!”

Inside the golden spiritual space, Yujiro looked at Kurama’s triumphant expression and could not help laughing.

“Kurama, I didn’t expect you to have that kind of hobby. Are you secretly collecting their embarrassing moments?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Kurama’s ears twitched, and he turned his head away with a snort.

“What is there to collect about that kind of thing? Boring.”

Yujiro shrugged.

What a pitiful Nine-Tails.

After a brief silence, Kurama suddenly lowered his voice.

“Yujiro… about our previous agreement…”

His tone was far more cautious than before.

Yujiro looked at him and smiled.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise.”

Kurama’s eyes moved slightly.

“On the day Uzumaki Kushina gives birth, someone will definitely come to cause trouble. When you come out, behave yourself. Don’t roar, don’t destroy the village, and don’t make unnecessary trouble.”

Yujiro’s voice remained calm.

“Leave the rest to me.”

Kurama nodded.

“Fine.”

Now that freedom was within reach, what reason did he have to destroy anything?

In the end, the reason he had wanted to destroy everything was because he had never been free.

Right now, Kurama did not want to think about revenge, hatred, or the village.

He only wanted freedom.

The next day, Yujiro arrived at the Konoha ANBU base.

After two months of investigation, the ANBU investigation team had finally organized all the information they had uncovered from Root.

Among those files were many of Shimura Danzō’s crimes.

There were records of several dealings between Danzō and Orochimaru.

There were even clues related to human experimentation, body modification, and transplant research.

Being able to investigate this much already proved that Konoha’s ANBU had pushed themselves to the limit.

Yujiro took the information and left the ANBU base.

Five minutes later, he appeared inside the Hokage’s office.

“Yujiro?”

When Minato saw him, he immediately stood from his seat.

“What happened?”

Yujiro smiled and handed the documents over.

“Minato-sensei, read this first.”

“Alright.”

Minato nodded, opened the file, and began reading.

At that moment, Kakashi and Shisui entered the office.

Yamato followed behind them.

During this period, Yamato had already become familiar with Kakashi and the others.

After seeing Yujiro, he quickly walked over and bowed slightly.

“Yujiro-sama.”

Yujiro glanced at him.

“Don’t call me that. It sounds distant.”

Yamato hesitated for a moment, then changed his words.

“Then… Yujiro-senpai.”

“That’s fine.”

Yujiro nodded.

At present, Yamato could already be considered a member of ANBU, though he was still in the middle of his growth.

He was actually one or two years older than Yujiro.

But in terms of strength and experience, that difference in age meant nothing.

His special Wood Release still needed several more years before it could truly take shape.

“This…”

Minato’s voice suddenly became heavy.

“I didn’t expect Shimura Danzō to have done this much over the years.”

He gripped the documents tightly, anger rising in his eyes.

“These are only the things ANBU managed to find.”

Yujiro walked up to him and spoke calmly.

“If we are being strict, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg.”

Minato’s expression darkened even further.

Yujiro continued.

“Also, with Shimura Danzō’s personality, he won’t obediently stay hidden forever.”

“Recently, I sent ANBU to keep watch over Sarutobi Hiruzen’s residence.”

Minato immediately looked at him.

“Sarutobi-sama?”

Yujiro nodded.

“Ever since he returned ten days ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen has not appeared in public again.”

“And the last place where his traces disappeared…”

Yujiro’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“…was near the entrance to Root.”

Minato’s face changed.

“You mean Sarutobi-sama has joined hands with Shimura Danzō?”

“Yes.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“When a cornered dog has nowhere left to run, it will jump over the wall. And once it gets over the wall, the first thing it does is look for its own kind.”

Minato looked down at the files in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed.

“Then what should we do?”

“Nothing unnecessary for now.”

Yujiro’s gaze turned sharp.

“If nothing unexpected happens, Shimura Danzō will make a move soon.”

He paused for a moment.

“If I were him, there is one opportunity I would never let go of.”

Minato’s expression sank.

Yujiro said slowly,

“The day the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki gives birth.”