Chapter 68: Watching the Tigers Fight from the Mountain
Having secured an alliance with the Hyuga clan—second only to the Uchiha in strength within Konoha—
And having smoothly opened communications, arranging for Nara Shikaku to act as his spokesperson to relay information to other clans and major shinobi, Uchiha Dali then left Konoha directly.
With his personally handwritten letter of recommendation in hand, he set off toward the capital of the Land of Fire.
At the same time, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado hurriedly dispatched someone to contact Shimura Danzo, preparing to discuss countermeasures against the Uchiha clan.
The two found Danzo and explained their purpose.
They also revealed that Uchiha Dali had written a recommendation letter for himself, intending to force the daimyo of the Land of Fire to appoint him as the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.
However, after hearing all of this, Shimura Danzo showed little reaction.
He acted as though it had nothing to do with him at all.
"Danzo, why aren't you saying anything?"
Koharu Utatane was anxious, like an ant on a hot pan, frowning as she questioned him.
Homura Mitokado also looked puzzled.
Only then did Shimura Danzo speak slowly, "Back then, I repeatedly proposed taking action against the Uchiha clan, yet not a single one of you supported me."
"Now, with the emergence of a genius like Uchiha Dali, whose strength far surpasses that of ordinary shinobi…"
"The Uchiha now have a powerful figure to rely on and are attempting to seize power. And only now do you suddenly remember to act against them? Isn't it a bit too late?"
Danzo's words left Koharu and Homura staring at each other in astonishment.
They were completely speechless—for they had never anticipated such a consequence.
"What good does saying all this now do? Danzo, the priority is to stop the Uchiha clan from committing treason! You don't want them ruling Konoha, do you?"
Homura said in a low voice.
Danzo remained silent.
He was bitter but could not say so aloud.
Though his two encounters with Uchiha Dali were only brief exchanges and neither side went all out, they were enough to make Danzo realize something:
This new-generation genius from the Uchiha clan was no longer someone who could be threatened by sheer numbers.
In other words, the result would be the same whether he faced one person or a whole group.
It made no difference.
Uchiha Dali alone could turn the entire Konoha upside down.
So it wasn't that Danzo had suddenly become passive or unwilling to deal with the Uchiha issue—it was that he truly couldn't.
If he really clashed head-on with the Uchiha, it was highly likely he'd lose his Root organization in the process.
And that Root was his elite unit, the powerbase he relied on to one day seize control of Konoha.
Danzo wasn't foolish enough to sacrifice his own force just to act as the vanguard against the Uchiha.
That would only pave the way for Hiruzen Sarutobi—or whoever became the Fourth Hokage.
What's more, another matter had long been weighing heavily on Danzo's mind.
He had always wanted to become Hokage—Hiruzen knew that.
Now, with the Third Great Ninja War over, everyone knew that Hiruzen would likely be made the scapegoat before the daimyo of the Land of Fire and forced to step down.
Yet that old man had shown not the slightest intention of passing the position to Danzo.
Instead, the most likely candidates for Fourth Hokage were Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato.
This filled Danzo with immense resentment.
Under these circumstances, he was even less likely to step forward as the vanguard and help Hiruzen deal with the Uchiha problem.
At this moment, Danzo wore an expression of calm indifference.
His thoughts were simple.
The Uchiha clan wants to seize power? Uchiha Dali openly declares he wants to be Hokage?
Fine. Let them make their fuss.
Whoever stands to gain from this chaos should be the one to clean it up.
That was Danzo's true mindset.
Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato were the ones who would directly benefit—stopping the Uchiha from rising meant they were the ones most likely to become the Fourth Hokage.
So they should be the ones to take action.
"Danzo, say something, will you!"
"The situation is spiraling out of control!"
"We can't just sit by and do nothing, can we?"
Seeing Danzo unmoved, Koharu grew even more agitated.
Just then, an Anbu appeared before the group.
"The letters summoning all the clan leaders and jonin have been prepared."
The Anbu squad leader reported.
Upon hearing this, Homura immediately issued an order: "Have all Anbu operatives split up and deliver these letters to every clan head and jonin at once!"
"Some of the shinobi are still on the battlefield and haven't returned yet, right?"
Koharu reminded him.
"If we wait for them to come back, it'll be too late. We must notify all the main combat power currently in the village!"
Homura waved his hand and turned to the Anbu again. "Hurry!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu captain vanished instantly.
Danzo watched the entire exchange silently, saying nothing.
But inwardly, he was overjoyed.
"Danzo, are you really not going to act?"
Koharu turned to him once more.
"The primary mission of Root is to bear the darkness for Konoha and safeguard its peace and stability from the shadows."
"Even though the war is over, the threats from other villages have not been fully eliminated. Root must ensure that no external enemies exploit the situation to strike at Konoha."
His words sounded righteous and noble.
Yet they also seemed entirely reasonable—leaving no room for rebuttal.
Koharu and Homura exchanged helpless glances.
They both knew Danzo, that old fox, was clearly trying to preserve his own strength.
That was the real reason he offered such an excuse.
It was clear now—counting on Danzo or Root to take care of the Uchiha was out of the question.
Left with no other choice, the two advisors could only take their leave.
Once they were gone, Danzo turned toward a shadowy corner of the room.
In the next moment, Uchiha Shisui emerged from the darkness.
"Shisui, go gather intel."
"Find out whether this is just Uchiha Dali's own plan—or if the entire Uchiha clan is plotting rebellion."
"Report back to me the moment you confirm it."
Danzo gave his order.
(Support me and read additional chapters on my Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslation. Thanks for your support! Don't forget to send your Power Stones!)