Danzo, leaning on his cane and accompanied by a hoarse voice, slowly emerged from the shadows.
"Shimura... Danzo!!"
The Hannya female leader glared at the man emerging from the shadows, grinding her teeth as she spoke.
A surge of intense anger welled up within her.
For it was this man who had commanded the forces that destroyed the Forest Country, despite the order coming from the Daimyo.
In the face of the mighty Konoha, the small Forest Country had fallen within a day and was completely annihilated within three days...
Thus, the Hannya Group, descendants of the Forest Country, had targeted not only the Daimyo of the Land of Fire but also the man standing before them.
The Darkness of Shinobi Danzo.
Consequently, the Hannya female leader swiftly drew her long blade, preparing to behead the Daimyo in one swift strike.
And then focus all their efforts on Danzo.
Seeing this, Danzo sighed.
"Killing the Daimyo now would be rather troublesome."
The Daimyo could die at any time.
He could die anywhere.
But he must not die in front of Danzo, the elder of Konoha.
Otherwise, if this news spread, not only would Konoha's capabilities be questioned, but the Daimyos of the other great nations would also harbor direct hostility towards him.
It was not impossible that they would force their subordinate ninja villages to wage war on Konoha once again.
After all, these people valued the honor and dignity of the nobility more than the safety of their nations.
So, as the Hannya female leader swung her blade, Kakuzu's figure appeared beside her.
His steel-like palm clamped down on her shoulder like a vise.
No matter how hard she struggled, her all-out strike could never come down.
"A Root member? Damn it."
The female leader, seeing the mask on the face of the man behind her, cursed and prepared to turn and strike back.
Unfortunately, with Kakuzu's strength, it was far too easy to subdue the leader of such a small mercenary group.
He simply grasped her wrist, and countless black threads surged from the seams, forming black tentacles that effortlessly bound the masked female leader.
Feeling the tightness all over her body, the female leader, whose mouth was stuffed with a black tentacle, let out a muffled hum.
Before anyone could admire the beautiful arc of her struggle, Kakuzu, with an expressionless face, flicked his hand and threw the female leader aside with force.
This turned her hum into a scream.
"Leader!"
Seeing this, the other members of the Hannya Group hurried forward to provide support.
Unfortunately, Shisui, standing at the back of the group, slowly removed his mask.
He activated his signature Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
Countless clones appeared in front of everyone, and with dense flashes of blades exploding like blooming white chrysanthemums.
In an instant, all members of the Hannya Group lay in pools of blood.
This was the speed that earned the name Phantom.
If it weren't for Minato Namikaze in Konoha, the Yellow Flash's name might have belonged to Shisui.
At least that's what Danzo thought.
"Leader, what should we do with this one?"
Kakuzu's gaze, through his mask, fell on Danzo.
Compared to others who called him "lord," he was more accustomed to using "leader."
It was a habit left over from his mercenary days.
Danzo, looking at the struggling Hannya female leader, casually said:
"Since she harbors such deep hatred for the Land of Fire, let's kill her."
"But before that, Shisui, use genjutsu to extract her information, find the whereabouts of the other descendants of the Forest Country, and kill them all."
Upon hearing this, the female leader's eyes widened, and she struggled even harder.
She didn't mind dying herself, but if she involved others, she would die with a heavy heart.
Unfortunately, Danzo, known as the Darkness of Shinobi, was no saint.
Although he hadn't issued the order to destroy the forest country.
But I can't possibly explain to them that I have absolutely no connection with my original self, can I?
Even if I did, they probably wouldn't believe me.
Rather than explaining, it's better to eliminate all potential threats at the root.
As for the names Hannya Group and Descendants of the Forest Country, my Root division can easily take them over.
After all, everyone wears masks; swapping identities is a simple matter.
Thus, after Shisui used genjutsu to interrogate and obtain the information, Kakuzu used Earth Grudge Fear to snap her neck.
Clean and efficient.
Later, through Shisui's report, Danzo learned about the development of this group of Forest Country descendants.
It turned out that the female leader was the daughter of the previous Forest Country leader.
When the Forest Country was destroyed, she happened to be traveling abroad.
She only realized halfway through her journey that her country had been annihilated.
Driven by intense hatred, she began to train desperately and sought out other Forest Country descendants, forming an armed group.
They lived off bounty missions from underground money exchanges and were based in the Land of Rice Fields.
This time, they had gathered in the capital, seeing an opportunity to assassinate the Daimyo and Danzo.
"The remaining ones are yours to deal with, Rooster."
Danzo directly handed this task over to Shisui.
"Yes."
The latter quickly agreed and then looked at the Daimyo sitting on the ground.
"What about him?"
Hearing Shisui's question, the Daimyo felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Was this guy going to take me away as well?
The Daimyo was immediately drenched in cold sweat.
Others might hesitate, but what is there that Danzo wouldn't do?!
He immediately forgot about the pain in his body, got up, and grabbed Danzo's sleeve, saying:
"Elder Danzo! Have you forgotten our friendship?"
"We used to be good friends, along with Hiruzen!"
The Daimyo tried to evoke that last trace of friendship in Danzo's heart.
Unfortunately, such a thing did not exist in Danzo's heart.
The original soul did not have it, and he had even less of it.
To the current Danzo, the Daimyo was merely the largest among the many parasites leeching off the nation.
Sooner or later, he would have to be eradicated.
Just not yet.
Therefore, no matter how the Daimyo pleaded, he just stared at him with a cold gaze.
And as time passed, his gaze grew colder and colder.
Seeing this, the Daimyo dared not continue to act haughty.
He suddenly took out a seal from his pocket.
This was the seal he used to sign documents, exclusive to the Daimyo.
"Um, Elder Danzo, I found my seal at home, take a look."
The Daimyo, wincing with pain from his bleeding shoulder, handed the seal made of white jade to Danzo.
Danzo examined the seal in his hand, and his expression finally softened a bit.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, the Daimyo quickly continued:
"Also, Elder Danzo, after this incident, I deeply feel the necessity of developing military power. I have decided to triple the military funds for Konoha, so that Konoha can better eliminate these damned bandits!"
Danzo raised an eyebrow and finally looked at the Daimyo directly, as if to say—
Go on.
The Daimyo took a deep breath.
"Also, considering that Elder Danzo has saved my life this time, I am very grateful and plan to enfeoff Elder Danzo as the Grand General of the Land of Fire!"
Grand General.
This is an ancient position from the Warring States period.
It was abandoned after the start of the ninja village system.
Only the Land of Iron, which values samurai culture, still retains this position.
Currently, the Grand General of the Land of Iron is the great general Mifune, who once fought with the "Half-God" Hanzo.
Theoretically speaking, this Grand General is the second-highest position in the entire country, just below the Daimyo.
If compared with the Land of Iron, it is on par with the Hokage.
It can be said that the Daimyo brought up this ancient position with a strong desire to survive.
Upon hearing this, Danzo finally revealed a satisfied smile.
Because the position of Grand General not only has a high status, but also has an important function.
That is, it can participate in the management of the entire country.
In other words, Danzo's power in the future will no longer be limited to the military institution of Konoha.
He will have the right to inquire about the military deployment of the entire Land of Fire.
This is what truly satisfies him.
So, he kindly helped the Daimyo up from the ground and onto a chair.
Then, with a gentle expression, he personally performed the Healing Palm Technique for him.
"The Daimyo is right, we are partners!"
Danzo revealed a subtle smile and comforted him:
"Don't worry, from now on, I will send Root ninja to protect you personally, and I will never let you fall into such a dangerous situation again."
The Daimyo's face stiffened upon hearing this.
Even if he was foolish, he could sense Danzo's true intention.
This was not to protect him, but to control and monitor him, right?
For a moment, the Daimyo, who had just narrowly escaped death, felt an incredible surge of anger.
But looking at Danzo, who was right in front of him, he decided to——
Endure!