Became the mastermind behind the Akatsuki organization

Chapter 199 Danzo's Suspicion

Hokage Building.

After entering the door of the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage looked at the scroll of expedited information sent by Jiraiya with a nervous mood.

The Third Hokage has always been very concerned about the Hidden Cloud battlefield where Jiraiya is.

If Konoha loses the battle of Kumogakure, it will not just be the loss of an ally. Iwagakure and Kirigakure, which had originally signed a peace agreement, are likely to become restless.

Sunagakure and other small countries will also begin to doubt whether Konoha has the strength to protect them and begin to think about breaking the alliance.

That's why he sent Jiraiya as the front-line commander and ordered the Ino-Shika-Chou, Uchiha, Hyuga and other ninja clans to go to the battlefield.

These ninjas combined almost account for most of Konoha's combat power, enough to destroy several small country ninja villages.

But the Third Hokage had no idea whether he could defeat the Hidden Cloud Village.

Compared with the other three major ninja villages, the Hidden Cloud Village did not lose many ninjas in the last Ninja World War.

The top combat forces include the Fourth Raikage, the Eight-Tails and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and other powerful people.

As the village has currently lost its Jinchūriki, Jiraiya and the jonin of the Ninja clan may not necessarily be a match for the Hidden Cloud Village.

Fortunately, in the last report, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki had been defeated, and now only the most difficult AB combination remains.

Perhaps, we can only hope for new progress from Danzo and Orochimaru.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage sighed softly and opened the intelligence scroll in his hand.

After taking a quick glance at the contents of the scroll, the Third Hokage's face changed slightly. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not dazzled, and then took a deep breath.
The information Jiraiya sent was so exaggerated that he thought it might be fabricated.

After reading the intelligence scroll again, the Third Hokage took a deep breath and said to the Anbu ninjas around him: "Go and ask the advisory elder to come see me and tell him that the village is going to hold an emergency meeting."

After receiving the order from the Third Hokage, the two advisors quickly rushed to the Hokage Building, and the leader of the Root organization, Danzo, also appeared in the conference room with a cane.

They all looked at the Third Hokage, their eyes seemed to be asking what the important matter was.

The Third Hokage didn't waste any time and directly pushed Jiraiya's report onto the conference table. After it was circulated around, the two advisors showed shocked expressions, while Danzo's expression was a little uncertain.

After a moment, Mito Kado En asked somewhat uncertainly: "Sandaime, is the above information true? Did Uchiha Shisui really awaken the Mangekyō? Did he also defeat the Two-Tails Jinchūriki?"

Utatane Koharu also echoed, "Sarutobi, the information above is too exaggerated. Byakuya of the Hidden Rain Village actually fought the Fourth Raikage to a draw, and even forced the Fourth Raikage to agree to peace talks. When did the Hidden Rain Village have such strength..."

The Third Hokage said helplessly:

"I have some doubts about the news above, but there is no reason or possibility for Jiraiya to deceive us on such an important matter. I prefer to believe that the news above is true."

Hearing this, Mitokado En and Utane Koharu looked at each other and then looked at Danzo who was standing beside them.

Danzo was still flipping through the intelligence scroll, his expression becoming increasingly uglier.

The temporary cessation of the war between Konoha and Kumogakure and the entry into the negotiation stage is naturally a good thing for the village, as it can prevent the already weak village from being further consumed.

But the current development is completely different from what he expected. Danzo originally wanted to use the war as an opportunity to weaken the ninja clan in the village, and when Jiraiya could no longer hold on, he and Orochimaru would go to the front line to support him and get the credit for becoming Hokage.

But now, before he and Orochimaru could rush to the front line, the war was almost over.

The Uchiha, who was originally expected to be weakened, not only did not get weakened, but also gained a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, and was credited with defeating the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.

What’s even more hateful is that that kid Bai Ye was able to fight against the Fourth Raikage in a short period of time, allowing the Hidden Rain Village to steal the limelight in this battle.

At this moment, Danzo could imagine Bai Ye’s disgusting face, and his scalp couldn’t help but feel tingling.

Recovering his gradually scattered thoughts, Danzo looked up at the Third Hokage and said slowly: "Huruzen, it is indeed a good thing that the fighting on the front line has stopped, but this does not mean that we can relax our vigilance."

Hearing this, the duo of consultants pricked up their ears.

As the "fence-sitters" among Konoha's high-level officials, the two of them never expressed their opinions on major issues and always adhered to the doctrine of the mean, but because of this they were able to secure their positions as advisory elders and had never been targeted by others.

After a short pause, Danzo said, "According to the intelligence, the reason for the ceasefire between the village and Kumogakure this time was not the will of us and Kumogakure, but the forced urging of the Rain Village."

"This is certainly a good thing, but the Hidden Rain Village must have its own conspiracy behind this."

"Conspiracy?" After hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned and said:
"The current leader of the Hidden Rain Village is Jiraiya's student. He treats us very well. I also met that Byakuya once. He is a young man with the will of fire."

"Under their leadership, there shouldn't be any conspiracy in the Hidden Rain Village."

Danzo sneered and retorted: "You are all deceived by Bai Ye's appearance. He is a man with a dark heart. I have never seen a ninja darker than him."

"And regardless of whether the Hidden Rain Village has a conspiracy, the Hidden Rain Village already has the strength to threaten the village."

After these words were spoken, the Third Hokage and others fell into silence. Although the Hidden Rain Village did not take any action to threaten Konoha, it did have the ability to threaten Konoha.

On this point, what Danzo said makes a lot of sense.

Seeing that the three agreed with his idea, Danzo smiled and continued:

"In order to prevent the Hidden Rain Village from threatening the village in the future, I think it is necessary to increase the budgets of various departments. For example, the Anbu and the Scientific Research Department both need funds for upgrading."

When the funds were mentioned, Utane Koharu, who was in charge of logistics and management, frowned and said, "The daimyo is already very dissatisfied with the current military spending. If peacetime really comes, the budget will only be cut, not increased."

The Third Hokage nodded and said, "The villagers are already under a lot of pressure, we can't increase the budget any further."

After being rejected by the Third Hokage and Utatane Koharu, Danzo's face darkened, and he immediately said: "The budget issue can be discussed later, but we must be on guard against the Hidden Rain Village and Byakuya. They will take action against the village sooner or later."

The Third Hokage said impatiently: "I said that Byakuya and the Hidden Rain Village are friends of Konoha. Danzo, I know that you have offended the Akatsuki organization in the Hidden Rain Village, but the relationship between the Hidden Rain Village and Konoha will not change because of you."

Danzo snorted coldly, and finally did not mention the topic of Bai Ye again. He changed the subject and said: "Bai Ye's problem can be ignored for the time being, but Uchiha Shisui awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, this is definitely an internal matter of the village."

"The Uchiha originally coveted the position of Hokage. I'm afraid he will become even more arrogant after getting the Mangekyō."

"Besides, the events of the Nine-Tailed Night are still unclear."

(End of this chapter)