"Hiruzen, we have news about the whereabouts of those sinners from the Hyuga clan!"
Danzo Shimura, with his old legs, excitedly pushed open the Hokage's office door, only to freeze in disbelief at the entrance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane sat facing each other in the room, each with a cup of tea in front of them. The tea smoke had dissipated, but the aroma lingered, indicating that it had been steeping for quite some time.
Feeling a little embarrassed by the stunned Danzo, Hiruzen, and the other two standing there, Hiruzen hesitated for a moment before finally getting up to welcome Danzo inside.
"Danzo, you're here too."
After Danzo took his seat, Koharu awkwardly greeted him with a smile.
Danzo Shimura acted like a cold-blooded killer, ignoring Koharu's greeting and instead asking Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Are you discussing this behind closed doors, leaving me out of the picture? Is there some secret Konoha matter that I shouldn't know about?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a gentle expression but a serious and earnest attitude.
“We already sent people to the root to look for you before, but they said you weren’t there. Now that you’re here, let’s discuss it together.”
By the way, you mentioned the Hyuga clan earlier, is there any news about them?
When talking about the Hyuga clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was even colder and harder than Danzo's.
"Yes, the Root ninjas went through a lot of trouble, almost turning the ninja world upside down, before they were able to find out some information."
After listening to Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo's expression softened considerably. He first emphasized the sacrifices of the Root ninjas, highlighting his own contributions. Then, Danzo abruptly changed the subject, his tone implying a question.
"What were you discussing just now? Should I excuse myself?"
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Mitokado Homura quickly explained, "Don't joke around, Danzo. It's just that Jiraiya returned from his travels with Naruto and some news, and we..."
"What? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is back? Where is he now?"
Before Mitokado Homura could finish speaking, Danzo excitedly stood up. Then he noticed that the three old men were looking at him very strangely, as if they were looking at a mouse about to sneak into a rice barn.
With a cold smile, Danzo sat down again. "It's too much for a Jinchuriki to leave the village and not return for several years."
To ease the tension, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "Jiraiya previously investigated a mysterious organization and collected a lot of information during his travels over the past two years. He returned this time to bring Naruto back and deliver the information."
Upon hearing this, Xiaochun turned to her new room and snorted coldly.
"He gathered a lot of intelligence; I think he spied on a lot of women. He took so long to come back, so he didn't really care about the intelligence, but he really cared about that pen."
Many members of the Utatane clan have been influenced by his new book, and instead of focusing on cultivation and improvement, they spend their days going to brothels to find women. He's almost corrupting the entire atmosphere of Konoha.
After hearing Koharu Utatane's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed awkwardly several times. Jiraiya was his disciple, and if he were to be proven to be a lecherous scoundrel who led people astray, what would become of his teacher?
Furthermore, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that in recent years, Konoha ninjas had indeed preferred to indulge in pleasure and relaxation outside of their missions. While a large part of the reason was the unfavorable situation in Konoha and the immense pressure they faced, it's also hard to say whether Jiraiya's increasingly explicit books had a similar influence.
"Let's skip that for now. What we need to talk about now is the news that Jiraiya brought back."
According to his intelligence, the mysterious organization was called Akatsuki, composed of more than ten powerful rogue ninja, all of whom were wanted by various ninja villages and were among the most vicious S-rank rogue ninja.
"What is relatively clear now is that Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, known as the 'Monster of the Mist Village,' and Itachi Uchiha, the Konoha rogue ninja who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan overnight."
There's also Kakuzu, an old monster from Takigakure, a famous bounty hunter on the black market, who once assassinated the First Hokage.
When the topic of assassinating the First Hokage came up, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious, and his old buddies around him exchanged bewildered glances.
Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment and then continued, "There's even Orochimaru. According to Jiraiya's investigation, he was once a member of the organization, but he later left."
And that's not even the worst part! The worst part is that none of them are the leader of this organization!
After hearing a string of unsettling names, Mitokado Homura solemnly took over the conversation, "To be able to subdue so many unruly rogue ninjas, the leader of that mysterious organization must be incredibly powerful. This kind of organization is far too dangerous. Danzo, your Root organization is focused on gathering intelligence from the outside world. Didn't you have any information about this kind of organization in the ninja world?"
Following Mitokado Homura's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two all stared at Danzo Shimura.
"In recent years, Root has focused its efforts on searching for the remnants of the Uchiha clan and the traitors of the Hyuga clan, and has relatively reduced the manpower it has invested in the ninja world. In addition, due to the border battles, Root is also under great pressure in terms of manpower. Root really doesn't have much information about this mysterious Akatsuki organization."
Danzo's expression also showed confusion, solemnity, and helplessness. What Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others didn't notice was that Danzo's expression had been a little off when they mentioned Akatsuki and Orochimaru earlier, but he quickly hid it under his old and cold face.
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, rubbed his temples, and asked Danzo.
"Let's put the Akatsuki matter aside for now. Once such a mysterious organization comes to the forefront, it won't be as dangerous anymore. But you mentioned earlier that you've discovered the Hyuga clan's whereabouts. Was the information accurate?"
Danzo Shimura scoffed dismissively, "You don't trust the Root's information? According to intelligence, those 'White-Eyed Diseases' have been hiding in a godforsaken place like the Land of Snow. No wonder we haven't been able to find them for years!"
Danzo angrily jabbed his cane and continued, "I have already arranged for someone to confirm this news again. Initially, Root discovered abnormal personnel and material flows in the Land of Fire. In recent years, many residents of the Land of Fire have migrated to the Land of Snow."
Furthermore, goods from the Land of Snow were extremely popular throughout the ninja world, especially the Land of Fire. Wealthy merchants from the Land of Snow would convert their profits into large quantities of supplies and slaves and transport them back to the Land of Snow. This attracted the attention of Root, and later, when I sent people to investigate the Land of Snow, I discovered that Hyuga Kaze had actually established a ninja village there!
What Shimura Danzo didn't explicitly say was that he initially only wanted to seize the secrets of the goods from the Land of Snow, but he never expected to catch such a big fish in the end.
"What kind of commodity could possibly plunder so much wealth?"
Mitokado Homura was very curious about this. He was in charge of Konoha's finances and had been under a lot of pressure over the years. It would be great to have another source of income, and his own family could also get a small share of it.
Upon hearing this, Danzo's face twitched. He pulled out a cylindrical plastic object with a rounded head from his pocket. Under the puzzled gazes of Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, Danzo Shimura pressed the middle section of the cylinder, and then the entire head of the silicone object began to vibrate with a buzzing sound.
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