Chapter 617: Inheritance

Danzo Shimura, lying on the ice platform, was not wearing his usual black and grey kimono, but rather the standard Konoha Ninja combat uniform.

Hiruzen Sarutobi guessed that Muzuki had helped with the arrangements, as Danzo Shimura had no bloodstains or injuries, and his combat uniform was intact, without even a speck of dust, indicating it had been changed later.

“He really put thought into it,” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded inwardly.

He believed that Muzuki had tried his best but failed to save Danzo Shimura, and felt very guilty, so he wanted Danzo Shimura to look presentable in death, at least without visible external injuries.

“Sigh.”

Looking at Danzo Shimura, lying motionless on the ice platform, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh, the wrinkles on his face deepening slightly.

No matter how well Muzuki had prepared him, Danzo Shimura’s bloodless face still conveyed one fact: he was dead.

Even though Hiruzen Sarutobi had received the news from Muzuki before seeing the body, when he actually saw Danzo Shimura’s corpse, a surge of grief still welled up within him.

After all, this was decades of friendship; even a pet would develop deep affection, let alone Danzo Shimura, who was a comrade he had faced life and death with.

“No wonder you were willing to treat me that day; turns out you were going to do something dangerous,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a helpless expression.

He had thought that dinner was a sign of Danzo Shimura changing, but it turned out to be a prelude to his sacrifice.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful. That was their last meeting and conversation, but it had ended on a sour note due to discussing political matters.

If he had a chance to choose again, Hiruzen Sarutobi still wouldn’t compromise on political views, but he would choose not to discuss politics.

“Did Danzo say anything to you before he died?” Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a breath and turned to Muzuki, who looked pained.

Danzo Shimura was still alive when Muzuki rescued him, and with a Ninja’s tenacity, he should have been able to leave some words behind.

Muzuki nodded, making a slightly tearful expression, “Lord Danzo thought about how to protect the Village and its future generations until his dying breath. Even in his last moments, he was still urging me to protect Konoha.”

“To ensure I had enough Chakra to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, he even refused my Medical Ninjutsu to treat him.”

Listening to Muzuki’s words, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a moment of trance, as if he had returned to the past, to that unforgettable, somber night.

During the Kumogakure coup, they were pursued by elite troops, and the team needed a decoy. He and Danzo Shimura both stepped forward to be the decoy, but Senju Tobirama refused them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi still hadn’t forgotten the words Senju Tobirama left him when he stayed behind to cover their retreat.

“Protect those who admire the Village and trust you, and nurture the children who can be entrusted with the next era.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi even remembered Senju Tobirama’s expression very clearly when he said those words.

Even facing a mission with ten deaths and no life, Senju Tobirama’s face showed no hesitation or fear, only determination.

“Danzo, you fulfilled our teacher’s instructions,” Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sense of inheritance from this.

Senju Tobirama had instructed him to protect Konoha and nurture the next generation before covering their retreat. Now, Danzo Shimura had instructed Muzuki to protect Konoha before his death, and Muzuki happened to be a Root Ninja whom Danzo Shimura had trained for some time.

“Is there anything else?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked. Danzo Shimura should have said more than just that.

“Lord Danzo also told me to take over Root in his place and bear Konoha’s darkness,” Muzuki continued to answer.

“Root…” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression was complex.

If anyone else had told Hiruzen Sarutobi that Danzo Shimura’s last wish was to hand over Root to him, Hiruzen Sarutobi would most likely have ignored it.

But with Muzuki as the subject, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately believed him.

No other reason: Root was nothing to Muzuki now.

Currently, Root only had one Ninja in total. Muzuki taking over Root would only make him a general without an army.

Moreover, Muzuki himself had a special designation within Anbu, which, strictly speaking, was no less than a Root leader.

Muzuki had no need to lie; the benefits gained were not much compared to the risk of exposure.

Additionally, from Danzo Shimura’s perspective, Muzuki was indeed the best candidate to rebuild Root, having been trained by Root since childhood and possessing great strength.

“So, Muzuki, what are your thoughts?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, looking at Muzuki.

“Root is a department directly under the Hokage; all decisions are up to Lord Sandaime,” Muzuki said after some thought.

He had shown enough emotional response to Danzo Shimura; now he could appropriately show a bit more rationality.

“Root’s initial status was to train Anbu; it only gradually developed into the Root you know later,” Hiruzen Sarutobi first explained Root’s origin.

“The Anbu Training Squad you currently lead is very similar to Root in function, so I don’t think Root needs to exist independently anymore. From now on, Root will merge with the Training Squad, Root members will become your subordinates, and Root’s assets will be inherited by the Training Squad.”

Making Muzuki the Root leader was not a very meaningful thing, and Hiruzen Sarutobi also didn’t want Muzuki to become a second Danzo Shimura; Muzuki had a better future.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t ignore Danzo Shimura’s will and also felt that Muzuki should be rewarded, so he ultimately decided to use the remaining Root as nourishment, allowing the recently established Training Squad to grow.

“Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to disband Root as soon as Lord Danzo sacrifices himself?” Muzuki showed a hesitant expression, not immediately accepting.

Although in Muzuki’s opinion this was the best outcome, the customary three refusals and three acceptances still had to be performed to save face for the deceased Danzo Shimura.

“Root has not disappeared; it has merely changed its way of existence. Danzo’s The Will of Fire will live on,” Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said.

“Both the Training Squad and Root strive to protect Konoha.”

Finally, under Hiruzen Sarutobi’s persuasive reasoning, Muzuki understood and no longer declined, resolutely accepting the great responsibility of protecting Konoha.

“Lord Danzo also mentioned something very strange to me before he left. He told me to be wary of Uchiha Madara,” Muzuki said with a puzzled expression.

“Uchiha Madara? Are you sure you didn’t mishear?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a serious expression.

For the new generation of Ninja, Uchiha Madara was just a legendary powerful Ninja, a traitor personally eliminated by the First Hokage.

But for the older generation of Ninja like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who were born before Konoha was founded, it was different. They had witnessed Uchiha Madara in his prime, a terrifying monster that only the God of Shinobi could defeat.

“Absolutely no mistake. Every word Lord Danzo left behind, I remember with utmost clarity,” Muzuki said earnestly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer questioned him. Having experienced Senju Tobirama covering their retreat, he could understand Muzuki’s feelings. Not to mention this was a very recent event; even if ten years had passed, it would be hard to forget.

His questioning earlier was only because the news was too shocking.

“Even if he wasn’t killed by the First Hokage, he should be too old to move,” Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a thoughtful expression.

Uchiha Madara was not young. Even if he had lived peacefully until now, he couldn’t possibly still have the ability to harm Konoha.

But Danzo Shimura couldn’t have been joking with Muzuki before his death, so Uchiha Madara’s existence and danger were inevitable.

“Could it be that Uchiha Madara secretly trained an heir?” Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of a possibility: Uchiha Madara’s successor was acting under Uchiha Madara’s name.

If Uchiha Madara really wasn’t killed by Senju Hashirama, then it wouldn’t be strange for him to have trained an heir over so many years.

“Regarding Uchiha Madara, did Danzo say anything else?” Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to ask.

If Danzo Shimura’s death was also related to “Uchiha Madara,” then things might not be as simple as he had previously thought; there might be a conspiracy targeting Konoha.

Even Danzo Shimura’s death itself could be the result of a conspiracy.

“That’s all Lord Danzo left behind,” Muzuki shook his head and replied.

Aside from the Hashirama cells matter, he had basically relayed all of Danzo Shimura’s last words.

As for the fact that Danzo Shimura’s body contained Hashirama cells, Muzuki did not want to expose it.

Because even if Muzuki revealed Danzo Shimura’s last words, and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed not to let Orochimaru research them, Orochimaru would still eventually obtain Danzo Shimura’s body tissues.

Orochimaru’s status and position in Konoha were too high; he was one of the Sannin renowned throughout the Ninja World, and also a publicly recognized Hokage candidate.

With Orochimaru’s resources and his emphasis on Hashirama cells, the Hashirama cells experiments would certainly not escape Orochimaru’s notice.

As Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s orders could prevent Orochimaru from obtaining Danzo Shimura’s body openly, but Orochimaru was not an honest person; if you don’t let me, I’ll just do it secretly.

With things having developed to this point, it was truly uncertain who would achieve results first.

Orochimaru’s research capabilities in the original work left a deep impression on Muzuki.

Therefore, Muzuki chose a similar handling method to the White Zetsu incident. He did not want to face the demons and monsters of Shippuden during the Third Shinobi World War.

After asking around, Hiruzen Sarutobi had a general understanding of the information Muzuki possessed.

Muzuki actually didn’t know too much; the reason why Danzo Shimura went to the Land of Rain was almost a blank, and the main content he grasped was Danzo Shimura’s last words.

However, this also aligned with Muzuki’s experience. Muzuki was not a Root Ninja; he went to help Danzo Shimura out of personal consideration, and Danzo Shimura hadn’t given Muzuki specific intelligence either.

“Did you fight Sōsuke? What do you think of his strength?” Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly asked.

“There was no direct confrontation. At the time, I saw Lord Danzo was injured, and after quickly approaching him, I directly used Flying Thunder God to leave,” Muzuki thought for a moment and replied.

“But I saw his Ninjutsu; it’s very strong. I’m not confident I can defeat him.”

Muzuki wasn’t lying; he indeed wasn’t confident he could defeat himself.

“I see,” Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t find it exaggerated.

Sōsuke had the achievement of defeating Hanzo with Fire Release. This battle alone proved that Sōsuke was definitely not a simple Ninja.

“Muzuki, you’ve been busy for so long and must be tired. Go rest,” Hiruzen Sarutobi squeezed out a smile and said to Muzuki.

Muzuki had rushed to the Land of Rain to help Danzo Shimura, and then brought Danzo Shimura’s body back overnight. Just the journey itself was not easy.

“I apologize for disturbing you tonight.”

Muzuki bowed slightly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then bowed again to Danzo Shimura on the ice platform, and finally left the Root Base with a heavy heart.

“What a good child,” Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly.

Muzuki could have ignored Danzo Shimura, as Danzo Shimura had no right to order Muzuki, but Muzuki still went to help Danzo Shimura.

If it weren’t for Muzuki, Danzo Shimura might not have even had his body returned to Konoha.

So, even if Muzuki had acted a bit outside Konoha’s regulations during this process, Hiruzen Sarutobi simply ignored it.

After all, who wouldn’t have a good impression of someone who values loyalty and righteousness, especially since Muzuki was on his side.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi called over the only remaining Root Ninja.

There were still too many mysteries, and Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t sleep if he went back now.

He had to figure out why Danzo Shimura went to the Land of Rain, and how Danzo Shimura got involved with “Uchiha Madara.”

Whether to avenge Danzo Shimura or protect Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to unravel the mysteries as much as possible.

The interrogation results were as Hiruzen Sarutobi expected; the Root member guarding the base had even less information. Besides knowing that Danzo Shimura went to the Land of Rain, he knew nothing else.

“Has Danzo met with anyone who seemed strange recently?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked finally.

The Root Ninja shook his head blankly.

How could a low-ranking Root member like him know Danzo Shimura’s itinerary?

The Root Ninja was extremely confused right now. He had just guarded the base for a few days and inexplicably became the top-ranked Root member on the surface.

“Bring me the recent classified Root documents,” seeing that the Root member truly had no useful information, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi called in Anbu and had them search the Root Base, trying to find clues.

If Danzo Shimura’s mind didn’t have so many protective measures, making it impossible to directly view his memories, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have called in the Yamanaka Clan Ninja to directly read his memories.

Although this might be a bit disrespectful to Danzo Shimura’s body, it concerned “Uchiha Madara” and Konoha’s safety, so personal honor had to be set aside.

Hiruzen Sarutobi worked until 3 AM with no results.

As he still had official duties to handle the next day, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to hand over the task to Anbu and go home to rest.

He was the Hokage and couldn’t lose his rationality due to hatred; there were many other things that needed to be handled.

“I hope there will be some good news tomorrow,” Hiruzen Sarutobi thought, closing his eyes in bed.

Tonight was another unforgettable night… Although neither the Amegakure nor Konoha publicized Danzo Shimura’s death, and even deliberately concealed it.

However, the news of Danzo Shimura’s death still spread throughout the Ninja World at an eerie speed.

Especially the other Four Great Shinobi Villages, who collected this important intelligence immediately.