Chapter 60 Reactions from all parties

The snow was falling tirelessly over Konoha, and the children who had crawled out of their warm beds early for the first snow were cheering in the streets, bringing a lot of vitality to the village. For most of the residents of Konoha, today was just another day in their ordinary lives, but for Shimura Danzo, today was a day of being slapped in the face.

When several Root Ninjas with broken tendons knelt in front of him, Shimura Danzo, who was usually very good at cultivating his Qi, smashed the teacup in his hand fiercely, causing everyone to lower their heads deeply, not daring to look directly at the furious leader.

"Who did it?" Shimura Danzo asked word by word, clenching his fists.

"Uchiha."

The anger on Shimura Danzo's face subsided a little. If it was the Uchiha clan who did this, he could barely accept it. After all, they had already torn their faces apart and wanted to kill each other.

After closing his eyes and thinking for a while, Shimura Danzo said in a depressing atmosphere: "Team C and Team D will sneak into Akihabara and wait for an opportunity, and the rest of the teams will withdraw."

Team A, Team B, Team C, and Team D are the strongest teams in the Root, and every ninja in the team has the strength of a jonin. Team A and Team B are currently carrying out a confidential mission in the capital, and Shimura Danzo cannot recall them, so he can only send out the remaining two ace teams.

However, Danzo Shimura sent out the Root Ninjas not to assist Hatake Sakumo in completing the mission successfully, but to carry out secret sabotage.

If you expect a sinister person like Danzo Shimura to do something good, you will be dead soon.

At the same time, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen did not come to the Hokage's office early to review documents as usual. Instead, he brought Namikaze Minato to the street and watched the playing children with a smile on his face.

"Minato, do you know how old ninjas had to be to go to the battlefield forty years ago?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked while watching the children playing.

Namikaze Minato was stunned for a moment, then replied: "About five years old."

"Yeah, it's really sad that ninjas had to start killing at the age of five during the Warring States Period."

Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, pointing at the children running around and continued, "When I was their age, I was already a ninja who could stand on my own, and my daily life was full of blood. Do you know why they can play without worries?"

Before Namikaze Minato could speak, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around, stared at the Shadow Rock of the First Hokage, and said, "It is because of the unremitting efforts of the First Hokage that the one country, one village system was created, and we have this joyful scene today."

Interestingly, in his words, Sarutobi Hiruzen attributed the birth of Konohagakure entirely to the first Hokage, but he did not mention Uchiha Madara or the Uchiha clan, who also made great efforts for it.

Namikaze Minato obviously discovered the loophole in Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, but didn't say anything. He just said yes lightly and then remained silent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat dissatisfied with Namikaze Minato's reaction and said, "Today's peace is hard-won. It was earned by countless ancestors who sacrificed their lives and shed their blood. As a member of Konoha Village, you should keep the will of fire in your heart and continue to fight for the peaceful development of the village."

After a pause, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the yellow-haired young man in front of him and asked, "Do you have the will of fire?"

Namikaze Minato was startled, and quickly straightened his back and said: "Hokage, I have always been concerned about the will of fire and the development of the village."

"Haha, I have no doubt that you have the Will of Fire, but there is always a small group of people in the village who treat the Will of Fire as dirt and wantonly trample on the hard-earned peace of the village. It is very infuriating."

"Are you talking about the Uchiha clan?" Namikaze Minato asked cautiously.

"Not only the Uchiha, there are many people who, for the sake of their so-called ninja way, are unwilling to fight for the village and regard their companions as their own private armed forces. They are many times more hateful than the Uchiha!"

Namikaze Minato lowered his head, not daring to answer at all, he knew who Sarutobi Hiruzen was talking about. This morning, Hatake Sakumo led hundreds of elite ninjas to Akihabara to carry out a mission, anyone who was not blind could see it. But Minato was a little dissatisfied with Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, thinking that it was normal for Hatake Sakumo, as one of the high-ranking officials of Konoha and the head of the Anbu, to have some loyal ninjas.

The ninja world adheres to the principle that the strong are respected, and following the footsteps of the strong has always been the best choice for the weak. What's more, Hatake Sakumo is not an ordinary strong man, but a strong man who truly stands at the pinnacle of the ninja world.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's suspicion silenced Minato Namikaze. From his words, Minato keenly realized that after sitting in the position of Hokage for a long time, people who were originally broad-minded would gradually become narrow-minded. Konoha Village is a militarized village. All armed forces should not be controlled by the Hokage, otherwise it is easy to get into trouble. This is an iron rule.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen actually became jealous of Hatake Sakumo's influence in the village and even hated him, which made Namikaze Minato wary. After all, becoming a Hokage was his dream since he was a child.

Sarutobi Hiruzen saw that Namikaze Minato didn't dare to answer, and a trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes. He didn't understand why his disciples and grandchildren couldn't understand his painstaking efforts. As the Hokage, he was just centralizing power to better develop the village. What was wrong with him?

Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya are fine, but even his most proud disciple Orochimaru openly sang a different tune at the conference. Can't Orochimaru see that he is paving the way for them to become Hokage?

Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen lost his temper and slowly walked towards the Hokage Building. The Fire Country Daimyo called himself a lonely man, and he finally understood what this feeling was.

......

In the Uchiha clan's territory, Uchiha Shinichi was holding a small private meeting. The meeting had only one theme, which was to clear the front page of the Fire Country Daily and use it all to report on Hatake Sakumo's military exploits and build momentum for him.

Giving timely assistance is always better than adding icing on the cake. Providing help to Hatake Sakumo when he is in trouble is far better than sticking to him when he is in his prime. Although Uchiha Shinichi is not as shrewd as Sarutobi Hiruzen, he still has this political literacy.

The Uchiha clan now needs a truly reliable ally. Everyone in the ninja world thought that after Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha turned against each other, the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan also parted ways completely. But people didn't know that once a bond is formed, it will last for generations and cannot be easily severed.

Now that the Senju clan has retired, the Uchiha clan has lost its powerful ally and its former rival. A branch of them has become independent in Konoha Village and the only thorn in the eyes of the top leaders. This is really an unpleasant thing.

If the Uchiha clan can gain the favor of the civilian ninja group, it will undoubtedly benefit them greatly. As the saying goes, "It takes three to make a hero" and "It takes three to make a fence."

After finalizing the contents of the newspaper, Uchiha Shinichi walked out of the living room, leaned against the pillar in the corridor, and looked expressionlessly at the thin layer of snow accumulated in the courtyard, feeling a deep sense of fatigue in his heart.

'Perhaps it's time to step down and let someone better take over.'

Thinking of his son who was loved by the tribe members, Uchiha Shinichi smiled and secretly decided that when Uchiha Fugaku returned to the village, he would push him to the throne of the tribe leader, and he would enjoy life as an elder.

Yeshan, who was hundreds of miles away, had no idea what was happening in the village. He just wanted to get to Akihabara as soon as possible and kill those ungrateful ninjas to pieces so that he could return to the village before the New Year.

The reactions from all parties made the mission complicated. It was no longer a simple ninja mission, but more like a political mission.