Chapter 619: Bad News Coming One After Another

“We found some secret scrolls. According to their contents, Danzo-sama seems to have collaborated with an unknown force and the Amegakure to kill Sōsuke.”

The Anbu Ninja reported while handing the retrieved scrolls to Hiruzen Sarutobi with both hands.

“An unknown force… Could it be related to Uchiha Madara?” Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately thought of Uchiha Madara, but his expression remained calm.

Before the investigation was clear, information about “Uchiha Madara” could not be leaked, otherwise it would cause conflict.

The Uchiha Clan already had a history of coups, and now Danzo Shimura’s death was inexplicably linked to the name “Uchiha Madara.”

Not to mention the Ninja who were already prejudiced against the Uchiha Clan, even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself couldn’t help but feel some suspicion towards the Uchiha Clan now.

He didn’t think the entire Uchiha was problematic, but he believed it was highly likely that “Uchiha Madara’s” influence existed within the Uchiha Clan.

For Konoha’s harmony and stability, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want others to know this information, including the other two Konoha higher-ups.

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll and instantly recognized it as Danzo Shimura’s handwriting; it was a secret scroll written personally by Danzo Shimura.

After meticulously reading the entire scroll, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and dismissed the Anbu.

There was very little information about the unknown force, and no mention of “Uchiha Madara.” It mainly detailed Danzo Shimura’s arrangements for the encirclement and killing of Sōsuke.

Before finding Hiruzen Sarutobi, the cautious Muzuki had already conducted a thorough search, so everything Hiruzen Sarutobi knew was what Muzuki wanted him to know.

For example, the scroll that claimed to help Danzo Shimura obtain Wood Release was dealt with by Muzuki immediately.

“Release!”

When the Hokage Office was empty, Hiruzen Sarutobi channeled Chakra and formed hand signs, and the characters on the scroll rapidly twisted and changed.

To outsiders, this was just an ordinary secret scroll, but upon careful reading, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Danzo Shimura’s friend of several decades, discovered different information within it.

“Hiruzen, if you see this secret scroll, I should have been killed.” This was the first sentence Hiruzen Sarutobi saw.

“Sigh.” Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a deep sigh.

If Danzo Shimura hadn’t died, he truly wouldn’t have been able to discover this secret scroll, as he couldn’t have the Anbu search Root thoroughly if Danzo Shimura were alive.

“This operation is extremely dangerous. Even with my thorough preparations, there’s still a risk of death, but I have to go. If successful, Konoha will eliminate a major hidden danger, and I’ll also be able to uncover some of Uchiha Madara’s secrets.”

Seeing the words “Uchiha Madara,” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s gaze sharpened.

“Uchiha Madara’s methods are extremely powerful. Even the most secret parts of Root, he can enter and exit freely, and he also has considerable influence in the Ninja World.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a bit surprised. So, “Uchiha Madara” actually discussed the cooperation in Konoha with Danzo Shimura?

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. The Anbu’s defenses were not much stronger than Root’s. If “Uchiha Madara” could move freely in Root, he could also move freely in the Anbu.

“How did he bypass the Great Barrier?” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression was a little grim.

The entire Konoha was enveloped by a huge barrier. Whether entering through the main gate, burrowing underground, or flying down from the sky, one should have been detected by the Great Barrier.

“The Uchiha Clan is not to be trusted. Uchiha Madara is definitely related to them.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi could feel Danzo Shimura’s suspicion towards the Uchiha just from the handwriting, which was also why he wanted to prevent the information from leaking.

This information was too detrimental to unity.

“Uchiha Madara can kill even a well-prepared me, so he must be plotting against Konoha. Keep a close eye on Utatane Koharu, Homura Mitokado, and Orochimaru, to prevent Uchiha Madara from using them to destroy Konoha.”

“Hiruzen, protect Konoha.”

At this point, the content of the scroll completely ended.

Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his furrowed brow. He could feel the threat of “Uchiha Madara” from Danzo Shimura’s words.

However, Danzo Shimura himself didn’t know much about “Uchiha Madara,” so the scroll naturally didn’t contain much concrete information about “Uchiha Madara.” Most of it was speculation based on the current situation.

“Moreover, Danzo, you were too overconfident.” Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed helplessly.

According to Muzuki’s information, Danzo Shimura was killed by Sōsuke, but in this scroll, Danzo Shimura believed that if he died, it must have been “Uchiha Madara” who played a dirty trick.

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment, put away the scroll, summoned the Anbu, and commanded: “Notify Muzuki to come to the Hokage Office.”

The Anbu nodded, left the office, and swiftly went to find Muzuki, bringing him back to the Hokage Office.

“Sandaime-sama.” Muzuki said respectfully, with a hint of fatigue on his face that was hard to conceal, perhaps from not sleeping well last night.

“You’ve worked hard. Something like this happened, and you’re still teaching today.” Hiruzen Sarutobi lamented.

Although Muzuki didn’t report Danzo Shimura’s matter immediately in this incident, Muzuki’s various actions and behaviors made Hiruzen Sarutobi even more satisfied with him.

“It’s just a few hours of classes, it doesn’t affect anything. Besides, Sandaime-sama, you’re still working, so how can I stop?” Muzuki said with a serious expression.

“No wonder Danzo wanted to entrust Root to you. When he first established Root, he was as diligent as you are now.” Hiruzen Sarutobi exclaimed.

After a few pleasantries, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the scroll to Muzuki.

Muzuki was the only Ninja in Konoha besides him who knew of “Uchiha Madara’s” existence, and he also had an unusual relationship with Danzo Shimura. Hiruzen Sarutobi believed Muzuki had the right to know.

Muzuki showed surprise after reading the scroll, “Uchiha Madara actually entered Konoha!”

Of course, he was faking it.

Muzuki already knew the contents of this scroll.

His Sealing Technique had long surpassed Kushina’s, and he also possessed extraordinary perception abilities like the Byakugan and Transparent World. How could he not have discovered the tricks Danzo Shimura played on the scroll?

It was only because the hidden content of this scroll would not affect Muzuki’s plan that he did not deal with it.

With Uchiha Madara drawing fire, Konoha wouldn’t focus so much on the Shinobi Sect.

Muzuki could only say that Danzo Shimura was truly cautious. Even with a secret scroll he wrote himself, he didn’t write all the information due to the risk of exposure. There was no mention of Wood Release or the Rinnegan, as if he was only there to eliminate Sōsuke.

Such a person would probably only become sincere when delivering his last words.

“Please describe in detail the scene you witnessed at the time. Was it really only Sōsuke who killed Danzo?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

Since Danzo Shimura was so certain in his secret scroll that his death would be related to “Uchiha Madara,” Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that Sōsuke might have a connection to “Uchiha Madara.”

Perhaps this incident was a scheme by both Sōsuke and “Uchiha Madara.”

“Only Sōsuke and Danzo-sama were fighting. Everyone else was far away, and there were no signs of them making a move.” Muzuki nodded.

Danzo Shimura underestimated Sōsuke and overestimated himself and Uchiha Madara.

“I see…” Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a thoughtful expression.

Danzo Shimura’s account was just speculation, while the information Muzuki provided was reality. Naturally, Muzuki’s information should be the primary basis for speculation.

However, according to Muzuki’s information, many of Danzo Shimura’s ideas had exposed problems.

“Your training squad should recruit new members. It’s not right to have only one member all the time.” Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of something and spoke.

“Shisui, though young, is steady and a good talent.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the Uchiha had problems, but at this critical juncture, having the Anbu openly investigate the Uchiha would cause trouble. So he thought of a good solution: use the Uchiha to defeat the Uchiha.

Muzuki’s two Uchiha disciples could be trusted one hundred percent. If Obito’s personality wasn’t quite suitable for the Anbu, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have prepared to have both of them join the Anbu.

“Shisui indeed has the talent to become an Anbu.” Muzuki nodded in response.

He guessed Hiruzen Sarutobi’s intention, but this was not a disadvantage for Shisui.

The Uchiha problem involved too many aspects and could not be fully resolved within the Uchiha Clan alone; it required considering both inside and outside the clan.

Muzuki’s idea was to make the training squad a springboard for Shisui, to train Shisui’s abilities, and also to build up Shisui’s resume.

Although both became Anbu, Shisui’s situation was not the same as Itachi’s.

Firstly, Itachi joined the regular Anbu, while Shisui joined Muzuki’s exclusive training squad, which could basically be considered Muzuki’s Anbu.

As a teacher, Muzuki would certainly not let his disciple suffer.

After giving some guiding opinions on the future development of the training squad, Muzuki left the Hokage Office. Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to handle official business and arranged for the Anbu to continue their investigation.

This time, it wasn’t just within Konoha; Hiruzen Sarutobi began investigating the Land of Rain.

As Danzo Shimura’s place of sacrifice, the Land of Rain would definitely have relevant information that he had not yet grasped.

However, before the Anbu could uncover any important news related to Danzo Shimura’s death, one bad piece of news after another reached Hiruzen Sarutobi.

“News of Danzo-sama’s death has leaked!”

“Kumogakure in the Land of Hot Springs is acting suspiciously!”

“The number of spies in the Land of Fire has surged recently!”

Bang!

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was overwhelmed by the deteriorating situation, the wooden door of the Hokage Office was pushed open directly, and Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado walked into the Hokage Office together.

“Hiruzen, Danzo is dead!” Homura Mitokado said somewhat sadly.

His relationship with Danzo Shimura was not as close as Danzo Shimura’s with Hiruzen Sarutobi, but they were not strangers either. They had faced life and death together and often attended meetings concerning Konoha’s future.

With such a companion gone, even if Homura Mitokado had some reservations about Danzo Shimura’s political views, he couldn’t help but feel some sadness in his heart.

“I know.” Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his forehead and sighed.

He had kept the information so secret, yet now the news was everywhere. That could only mean Sōsuke or “Uchiha Madara” were taking action.

“You knew, so why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Utatane Koharu was somewhat displeased.

“Danzo was, after all, one of our higher-ups.”

From Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression, she knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi must have received the news much earlier.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had always been on good terms with Danzo Shimura. Upon learning of his friend’s death, Hiruzen Sarutobi shouldn’t have been so calm.

“This matter is very complicated. I originally intended to investigate some information before notifying you.” Hiruzen Sarutobi briefly explained.

Danzo Shimura’s death involved too many things, and “Uchiha Madara’s” actions were too fast, ultimately leading to this situation.

“Let’s go to the conference room.” Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and said.

At this point, he could only reveal some information.

In the conference room, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed over the confidential information he had recently collected to the Advisors for viewing, while also explaining Danzo Shimura’s situation to them.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not expose the existence of “Uchiha Madara,” only stating that an evil Ninja Organization was causing trouble.

“How foolish! Such important information was not reported to the Village, but instead acted upon privately!” Utatane Koharu was a bit unable to control her emotions.

She now wished she could slap Danzo Shimura’s corpse. Not only did he court his own death, but he also dragged Konoha into a crisis.

“Ahem, Koharu, Danzo has, after all, sacrificed himself for the Village.” Homura Mitokado coughed twice to remind her.

Danzo Shimura was foolish, but the dead are to be respected. Cursing him now was a bit inappropriate.

Only then did Utatane Koharu notice Hiruzen Sarutobi looking at her with a grim expression.

Thinking of their relationship, Utatane Koharu silently closed her mouth. The dead Danzo Shimura didn’t matter, but the living Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the Hokage who had the final say.

“Kumogakure’s side, warn Orochimaru to be careful, and dispatch more Ninja to patrol the borders.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing to Utatane Koharu, instead shifting the topic to concrete solutions.

“We must crush Kumogakure’s arrogance and let others know that our Konoha is invincible.” Homura Mitokado nodded in agreement.

Why would Kumogakure act at this time? It was nothing more than thinking this was an opportune moment.

And what Konoha needed to do was to shatter Kumogakure’s ideas and let others know Konoha’s strength. This way, the turmoil caused by Danzo Shimura’s death would dissipate.

Of course, if Konoha showed weakness in this process, then perhaps it wouldn’t just be Kumogakure; many people would be happy to kick a man when he’s down.

After the meeting, it was almost time to leave work, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did not immediately go home. Instead, he returned to the Hokage Office, standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Konoha.

“I need to give Muzuki more responsibilities.” Hiruzen Sarutobi put down his pipe, exhaling wisps of white smoke.

Originally, he wanted Muzuki’s training squad to develop naturally, but now the situation was becoming increasingly chaotic, and he needed a stronger Anbu.

PS: I seem to be better today, not as dizzy.

I haven’t dared to turn on the air conditioner these two days, almost melted me.

Not turning on the air conditioner in Guangdong in July, that’s truly a silent killer.