Grind is My Ninja Way

"Useless! They're all useless!"

The next day.

Early morning.

At the Root headquarters, Danzo was furious as he looked at the intelligence in his hand.

This was news that had just come from the frontline command post on the east coast, stating that although the support troops were attacked and suffered heavy losses, the target individuals—Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Seimei—had safely arrived at the command post.

If it were just that, it would be fine.

The key was Seimei's strength...

According to the available intelligence, most of the special Jonin and Jonin from Kirigakure who ambushed the support troops were killed by him.

Among them, there were even two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

This level of strength had already made Danzo feel troubled, even... fearful!

"Damn it!"

Danzo cursed again, then looked at the Root ninja kneeling on one knee below and said: "Has Torune team not been contacted yet?"

"Reporting to you, sir, not yet."

Just as the Root ninja replied, there was a knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock~

Hearing this sound, Danzo directly said: "Come in!"

Immediately, someone pushed the door open and entered.

This person came to Danzo, handed him a warrant, and said: "Sir, someone from the Anbu just came and delivered the Hokage's warrant, asking you to go to the Hokage's office immediately."

Danzo glanced at the warrant in the person's hand, sneered, and said: "Humph, calling me over now, is he going to play the good guy again?"

······

Half an hour later.

In the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk, smoking a pipe, with a report in his hand, his brows furrowed.

Bang~

The office door was pushed open directly, and a figure walked in.

Without looking, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew who it was. Besides Danzo, no one else would barge in without knocking.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could ask, Danzo spoke first: "Hiruzen, what do you want from me? I'm still busy!"

Hearing Danzo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, took the pipe from his mouth, and asked in a deep voice: "Danzo, don't you have anything to tell me?"

"Something?"

However, hearing these slightly interrogative words, Danzo completely ignored them and played dumb, saying: "What is it?"

"Humph!"

Seeing Danzo's attitude, Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly, threw the report in his hand onto the desk, and questioned: "Then explain this to me."

Danzo picked up the report, glanced through it briefly, and said nonchalantly: "It's just that the defense line was breached. What's there to explain?"

"Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious and directly questioned: "Do you dare to say this has nothing to do with you?"

"I..."

Danzo opened his mouth, about to say yes, but seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's angry eyes, he lowered his head.

He explained reluctantly: "Don't worry, Hiruzen. I can be 100% sure that those Kiri-nin can only break through that one gap. There will definitely be no further trouble."

There was silence in the office.

"Sigh!"

After a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed softly and said: "Let it go this time. I don't want to see similar things happen again in the future, Danzo. Do you understand?"

"Humph!"

Danzo snorted coldly without saying anything to assure him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no way to deal with this.

The office fell into silence again, leaving only the sound of Hiruzen Sarutobi smoking his pipe intermittently.

Puff~ Puff~

Whoosh~~~

He exhaled a long puff of smoke and spoke again: "Alright, let's put this matter behind us. Next, let's talk about the second matter."

"The second matter?"

Danzo's heart stirred, but he still pretended not to understand and asked: "What is it?"

"Humph! What is it?"

Seeing that Danzo was still playing dumb with him, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out another report and threw it to Danzo, saying: "Explain to me what's going on with these five people."

Danzo quickly took the report and carefully read it.

After a moment, he cursed under his breath: "They truly are useless!"

There were photos and autopsy reports of these five people.

Although their specific appearances couldn't be discerned due to their charred bodies, identifying a ninja's identity wasn't solely reliant on that.

Compared to easily changeable appearances, the traces of secret medicines and curse marks left on their bodies were more indicative of a person's identity.

And coincidentally, these traces on these five people all matched the methods used to train ninjas in the Root organization.

Undoubtedly, they were Root ninjas.

This was also the reason why Anbu ninjas were required not to leave any corpses behind when performing missions, as enemies could easily determine their origins through the traces on the bodies.

Unfortunately, Aburame Torune and the others died too suddenly to activate any contingency plans, ultimately leaving their bodies behind.

That's right, the five people in the report that Hiruzen Sarutobi took out were Aburame Torune and his four subordinates.

With the evidence right in front of him, Danzo didn't bother pretending anymore. He directly threw the report aside and said: "It's nothing, just sending a few people to deal with some dangerous elements."

"Dangerous elements?"

Hearing Danzo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the table and shouted: "The Uchiha are members of Konoha, not some dangerous elements!"

"Not? Hehe~"

Danzo chuckled lightly, pointed at the first report, and said: "Hiruzen, look at the battle records of those two kids in there, especially that Uchiha Seimei. Can you say they pose no threat to the village?"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless. After a long time, he stammered: "They are Jonin of Konoha, and they have always been fighting for Konoha..."

"Enough!"

However, before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish his words, Danzo interrupted loudly: "Hiruzen, don't be naive. It's wartime now, of course they have to fight for Konoha, but what about afterwards?"

"Who can guarantee they won't rebel?"

"Don't forget how that person left the village?"

Mentioning that person, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but shiver.

Immediately, the terrifying scene he witnessed in his childhood flashed through his mind.

That towering figure, like a deity, was simply not something mortals could resist. Only the First Hokage's Wood Style could contend with it.

But now, the First Hokage was dead. If another 'Uchiha Madara' appeared, would the village still have the power to check and balance him?

Behind the hazy smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed for a while.

But in the end, he still said: "Danzo, you're overthinking it. Whether it's that person or the First Hokage, they are all special. It's impossible for anyone to reach their level again."

"Is that so?"

Danzo asked back, noncommittal.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone softened, and he said: "It's wartime now. Your previous proposal to concentrate the Uchiha ninjas on the Kirigakure and Sunagakure battlefields has already caused dissatisfaction among many Uchiha ninjas. Don't take any more private actions from now on."

"Hehe~"

Danzo chuckled lightly upon hearing this, said nothing, and directly turned to leave the office.

Reaching the door, he suddenly said: "Hiruzen, you are the light of the village, and I am its darkness. I will not let go of any existence that might threaten the village."

With that, he left the office without looking back.

Looking at his departing figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the first report again. Looking at Uchiha Seimei's battle records recorded on it, his expression was unreadable.

At this moment, no one knew what he was thinking.

(End of Chapter)