Naruto: Kushina's Redemption, My Revenge

Inside the Hokage's office at the Hokage Tower.

Chinya met with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.

Chinya took out a scroll given to him by Orochimaru and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama, this is intelligence compiled by Orochimaru-sensei regarding the current situation in the Land of Hot Water."

Hiruzen accepted the scroll and began reading.

At that moment, Danzo looked toward Chinya and spoke, "I heard you led four Uchiha on a mission in the Land of Hot Water?"

Danzo's tone carried a sinister edge, like he was plotting something underhanded.

Chinya nodded. "Yes, Danzo-sama. Because of Orochimaru-sensei's orders, I served as team leader for four Uchiha ninja."

Danzo narrowed his eyes while staring at Chinya. "Is that really just because of Orochimaru's orders?"

Chinya replied again. "Yes, simply because of Orochimaru-sensei's orders."

Danzo remained silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "What are your views regarding the Uchiha?"

Chinya looked puzzledly at Danzo.

It was almost certain that Danzo was trying to test where Chinya stood.

But as a Jonin, expressing either positive or negative opinions about the Uchiha Clan here would be inappropriate.

Danzo continued expressionlessly, "If I remember correctly, you had serious conflicts with the Uchiha Clan. Since you accepted the mission leading four Uchiha shinobi, have your differences been resolved?"

Chinya calmly responded, "No reconciliation has happened. We're all comrades in the same village. Compared to the interests of our village, personal conflicts don't matter at all."

Being a shrewd old fox, Danzo naturally understood the implications behind Chinya's words.

Chinya hadn't reconciled with the Uchiha Clan. He simply accepted the mission because it was an assignment.

A slight smirk appeared on Danzo's lips. "Chinya, you've impressed me. How would you like to join my Root division?"

Chinya felt surprised inwardly. Was Danzo actually recruiting him to Root right in front of Hiruzen?

Wasn't that rather improper?

Besides, Chinya currently had no intention of joining Root.

As Chinya was trying to figure out how to politely turn down Danzo's offer, Hiruzen had already finished reading the scroll. Smiling, he said, "Danzo, Chinya is one of Konoha's backbones—he needs to remain active on the battlefield. He cannot join your Root Division.

Currently, the situation in the Land of Hot Water remains very stable, and conditions on other fronts are also quite favorable. Now we can accumulate strength and send large numbers of Genin to the battlefield to gain experience and grow stronger."

Danzo snorted coldly, "You shouldn't be too optimistic. According to intelligence gathered by my Root operatives, that old bastard in Iwagakure has already sent ninjas to make contact with Kirigakure.

Although Konoha had sent many shinobi to Kirigakure, only to be rejected, Kirigakure actually accepted emissaries from Iwagakure. This strongly suggests that Iwagakure and Kirigakure are likely to ally.

Once Kirigakure definitively cooperates with Iwagakure, the tripartite alliance between Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure will undoubtedly launch a direct attack against our Konoha."

"Of course I understand the situation," Hiruzen said helplessly. "They've been suppressed for so long. Now that there's finally some good news, let them be a little happy. As for the cooperation between Iwagakure and Kiri, there's no need to be overly pessimistic either."

Danzo looked at Hiruzen with surprise. "Have you received any new information?"

The smile disappeared from Hiruzen's face as he spoke seriously. "You should know about the Blood Mist Village policy enacted by the Third Mizukage of Kiri?"

Danzo nodded. "I do know about it. From what I remember, it was a policy meant to select powerful ninja, right?"

After taking a puff from his pipe, Hiruzen continued, "Exactly. According to intelligence gathered by our spies infiltrating Kiri, this policy has indeed selected many powerful ninja. However, the mortality rate among other ninja is extremely high. If this continues, Kiri could face a serious shortage in its external military forces."

Frowning slightly, Danzo asked, "Are you suggesting Kiri won't cooperate with Iwa?"

Shaking his head, Hiruzen replied, "No. As long as there are mutual benefits involved, cooperation between Kiri and Iwa is inevitable. However, if Kiri is short on military personnel externally, that becomes an opportunity for us. Do you really think Onoki and A would tolerate being at a disadvantage?"

Danzo understood what Hiruzen meant. "So you're saying those two guys Onoki and A will ditch Kiri, giving us a chance to turn Kiri over to our side?"

Blowing out smoke from his pipe, Hiruzen said, "It's hard to predict how things will develop in the future, but Kiri could very well become our breakthrough point. Plus, Onoki has never been a peaceful guy himself. Therefore, I believe we don't need to be overly pessimistic about Konoha's current situation; we still have many opportunities."

Looking back at Chinya, Hiruzen apologized, "Sorry, Chinya, we got too caught up in our conversation and completely forgot about you."

He then pulled a scroll from his desk drawer and handed it to Chinya. "This is your official order assigning you to the battlefield in the Land of Grass."

Chinya accepted the scroll with a bow. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen then asked, "There's also one thing: according to Orochimaru, you're not planning to lead a team of three Genin this time, but instead intend to directly take on a disciple?"

Chinya had already prepared what he was going to say. "Yes, Hokage-sama. My operational style suits solo missions better. Leading a team of three Genin just doesn't suit me. So I plan to take a disciple and train him directly on the battlefield."

Hiruzen said with a kind nod, "That sounds reasonable. In two days, the Academy's graduation exam will begin. Then you can select one graduating Genin as your disciple."

Lowering his head slightly, Chinya responded, "Understood. Well then, Hokage-sama and Danzo-sama, please excuse me first."

"You may go."

As Chinya left the office, he exhaled deeply.

I didn't expect to run into Danzo in the office today. Even more surprising was that Danzo had immediately attempted to recruit him, catching Chinya completely off guard.

Though this was their first meeting, Danzo's ill reputation was deeply ingrained in Chinya's mind.

Frowning slightly, Chinya realized that now he had officially entered Danzo's field of vision. He'd been marked by him.

Danzo would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

Shian will need to keep an eye on Danzo in the future as well.

Shian stepped out of the Hokage Tower with a faint smile, then made his way toward Mito Uzumaki's residence.

Meanwhile, inside the office,

Danzo asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Do you really think he's suitable?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't immediately understand. "Suitable for what?"

Danzo's face darkened. "The Uchiha," he growled. "Of course."

Hiruzen's face tensed immediately. "Konoha still needs the might of the Uchiha right now! This isn't the time to deal with them yet."

Danzo reminded him grimly, "What about after the war ends? The Uchiha are participating so actively in this war just to return to the center of power in Konoha. You know their danger well enough. We need to start preparing now—before it's too late."

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