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Chapter 925 : Helplessness!
🕑 Added 2025-06-29 02:01:31 +0000 UTC“And, what if our investigations on him reveal a problem?”
Hiruzen's sudden question caught the room off guard.
Kakashi frowned, ‘Did Lord Third sense a problem?’
Tsunade looked at her sensei and realized, ‘He's just testing Danzo…’
She glanced back at Danzo as she thought, ‘If he was still alive, there's no doubt he would call for Fujin's head. However, now…’
Danzo didn't reply immediately, almost as if he was stuck in two minds. After a while, he let out a helpless sigh and muttered, “We don't have much choice. He's simply too crucial for our survival. Unless the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra turn up in our village and attain their peak within the next 5 years, or someone else suddenly grows to that level, we can't act against him easily.”
He thought for a few seconds before continuing in a serious tone, “Our actions will have to depend on how big of a problem we discover. If he was involved in my death or in the attack on Root Headquarters, then we have no choice. It'll be too big of a hidden danger to ignore, far surpassing the benefits he brings in. He may repeat such actions in the future to eliminate other leaders in the village in events of conflict of interests or arguments. We'll need to set a trap and eliminate him before he becomes a headache like Orochimaru.”
Shizune gulped her saliva nervously while Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed. The prospect of setting trapping and eliminating Fujin was terrifying. It would undoubtedly be a costly affair, weakening Konoha further. On the other hand, Tsunade and Hiruzen weren't so concerned. Though they would investigate, they didn't share Danzo's fears. Fujin hadn't given them any reason to be suspicious.
Danzo continued, “However, if he wasn't involved in either of those incidents, there is no need for such harsh actions. Naturally, the best case scenario is if my instincts were incorrect and he isn't involved.
Even if he has some dealings with Akuro, we can turn a blind eye to it as long as he hasn't directly helped him. Fujin… for whatever reason, seems to possess some hostility towards me, Homura and Koharu. But, his relationship with others has been cordial.
He also has a good standing among the younger generation, with many looking up to him as a role model. That includes our lone Jinchuriki as well as the children of various clan leaders who took part in the Chunin Exams when Fujin confronted Orochimaru and forced him to retreat.
So, with me no longer alive and Homura and Koharu retired, he doesn't have any conflicts in the council. From what I observed, he hasn't displayed any greed for increasing his influence in the village either, despite having ample opportunities to do so. So, there's no benefit now to hold onto the past.
On the contrary, it might be beneficial for us if he has some limited cooperation with Akuro. That might allow us to set some cooperation with him in the future, similar to what I was negotiating or perhaps even deeper, though we need to be alert about him abruptly changing his mind.
Even if Fujin was unknowingly made use of and unwittingly became a tool in causing my death, it'll work to our advantage. Once Fujin learns of everything, he'll be more on guard against Akuro, ensuring he won't fall into a trap. And, realizing his mistake will make him even more loyal to Konoha.
Banishing or setting a trap for him for such a reason would be equivalent to stepping on our own explosive tags! If we fail to eliminate him, he'll undoubtedly become a bigger menace than Orochimaru. And, we'll lose our future pillar, our most important asset required for the divine war.”
Yet again, Danzo surprised everyone. Only Hiruzen managed to digest his words quickly. They never imagined Danzo would be willing to overlook every past conflict with Fujin and even his hand in Danzo's death, if Fujin could become more loyal to the village. While they agreed with Danzo's logic, other than Hiruzen, and to a lesser extent, Tsunade, the rest hadn't seen this side of Danzo.
Danzo understood their thoughts, but didn't concern himself much with them. He looked at Tsunade, the current Hokage, and said, “Investigating Fujin will take some time. For now, you need to start building the cards that would assist our future pillar, whoever that may be. Hiruzen can work on Edo Tensei, while Jiraiya and Fujin can hunt down Orochimaru to deal with the first possibility. You'll have to work on finding young ninjas suitable for mastering the Eight Inner Gates, while helping more ninjas ascend to rank S and become Fuinjutsu Grandmasters.”
Tsunade agreed with Danzo, but couldn't help but worry, ‘It all sounds great, but… This is too idealistic. In order to truly stand against the ancient experts, Fujin will need to surpass my grandfather before the war starts. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it'll be.
The difficulty of the forbidden techniques, though not as difficult as surpassing grandfather, is still very high. How can I suddenly find a dozen ninjas with potential to open the Gate of Death with just a few years of training? Similarly, how can it be easy to raise ninjas who are both rank S and Fuinjutsu Grandmaster? Even if I make them abuse the Shadow Clone technique, it's too difficult.
Not to mention, such a high risk training regime will have several casualties. Overusing Shadow Clone technique creates severe mental trauma. As for Eight Inner Gates, who knows how many will collapse due to the sheer strain that technique puts on the ninja's body. I'll also have to worry about such losses discouraging Guy and restricting his growth.’
Tsunade couldn't help but curse her luck, ‘We're on the right path to deal with the Fourth Great Ninja War. Our martial might, as well as external alliances, were progressing in the right direction. We would have come on top with far lesser casualties than the previous three wars. Why did something as absurd as this have to appear now?!’
Hiruzen noticed his student's worries at a glance and assured her, “Tough times will create tougher ninjas. It'll lead to the rise of several heroes from our new generation. You shouldn't allow the enemy's strength to overwhelm you. The entire village will rise to the occasion and assist you.”
Hiruzen sighed, “If that hadn't been the case, Konoha would have long perished. When I took over from Lord Second, our situation was dire. Most of the experienced leaders from the previous generation had fallen in the great war. The few who remained weren't happy with Sensei's decision of appointing such a young leader. Our military forces were severely crippled and we were surrounded by enemies on all sides. The only positive was that other villages were in a worse position.
Even though the enemy we face now might be far superior to the ones we did in the past, the village is united under your command and in a good shape. Never forget to let others share your burden. If you try to shoulder everything alone, sooner or later the weight will grind you down, no matter how strong your will or how deep your resolve. Even the greatest among us cannot stand unbroken under a sky that threatens to fall.”
Tsunade absorbed her old sensei's wisdom and nodded, her pressure lifting ever so slightly. Danzo added, “Hiruzen is correct. Your circumstances are far better, despite the overwhelming strength of our enemies. In hindsight, I suppose my death was a boon for the village. It's the only silver lining in this bizarre string of coincidences…”
Everyone's gazes became peculiar as Danzo sighed, “The worst case situation for us was being in the dark about such powerful forces. Even though I fell, Akuro, likely unaware of the Edo Tensei technique or due to overconfidence, gave me too much information. This will prove to be their undoing.
If we had stayed in the dark, our small inner conflicts would have continued and we would have been woefully unprepared for the Divine War despite being prepared for the Fourth Great Ninja War. Chances of survival then would have been nil. If we're indeed facing the second possibility, my life for this intel was a small price to pay.”
Hiruzen nodded, without any hesitation. Now that he could no longer return to his peak, Hiruzen considered even his life to have lesser value than the intel Danzo gathered. At the same time, he thought, ‘Had you been alive and we had known this information, you may still not have ceased your schemes, believing yourself to be a better candidate to handle this calamity. Your death has been a boon in more than one way, old friend…’
Unaware of what his old comrade was secretly thinking, Danzo continued, his tone utterly confident, “Besides, implementing those plans aren't as difficult as you think, Tsunade. Eight Inner Gates aside, the rest can show some quick results with some simple tactics.”
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