"Orochimaru still hasn’t given up!"

He had just left earlier, and unexpectedly, he returned so soon after leaving.

As the person involved and the assistant directly reporting to the Hokage, Ethan reported everything that had just happened to Tsunade. Combined with Sasuke and Naruto’s explanations, the situation was very clear.

Orochimaru still coveted Sasuke, so he sent his elite subordinates to kidnap him.

That’s right, kidnap. This incident had been classified as such. As for whether Orochimaru ordered his subordinates to persuade Sasuke to defect, there was no need to emphasize it. Especially since Sasuke did not choose to leave with them and even killed the invading Sound ninja, this was enough to prove that Sasuke currently had no intention of betraying Konoha.

However, the person next to them did not seem to think so.

Shimura Danzo, the person Ethan disliked the most in the entire Konoha Village, was also present in the Hokage’s office this time. However, perhaps because the Third Hokage was still alive and present, Danzo remained very low key from beginning to end and did not say a single word.

After hearing all the reports, the entire office fell into a deathly silence.

What troubled them was not only Orochimaru’s persistence, but also the weakness of Konoha’s defenses. Orochimaru’s subordinates could come and go freely, making the village seem completely undefended, which embarrassed the high ranking officials.

Tsunade’s expression was even more grim. She could guess why this was happening. The old Tsunade might have already exploded in anger, but after becoming Hokage, she understood that Konoha was far from as peaceful as it appeared on the surface. Beneath the calm were surging undercurrents, and anger alone would not solve these problems.

"What should we do next?"

"Strengthen the village’s security. Also, should we strengthen protection for that Uchiha child?"

"Are you kidding? Using valuable resources to protect a genin? Even if his surname is Uchiha, that’s impossible."

Several high ranking officials disagreed with giving Sasuke special protection. In fact, no village would agree to such a decision.

No matter the reason, using elite forces to protect a genin made no sense.

"You can entrust Sasuke to me."

Danzo, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

"Entrust him to you?"

The two advisors, Koharu and Homura, suddenly fell silent. Their reaction showed they definitely knew something.

At the same time, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seemed to realize something and frowned.

"Danzo, you’re not thinking of..."

"Konoha needs Root."

Everyone present except Ethan and Shizune knew what Root was. Even Tsunade, after learning more about Konoha during this period, knew what kind of existence Root was.

On the surface, it was an Anbu training institution, but under Danzo’s command, Root had long become a completely separate department specializing in covert missions.

Danzo’s justification was that someone had to bear the darkness of the village.

In reality, Root had become Danzo’s private army. It was not controlled by the Hokage and only obeyed Danzo, even having attempted to assassinate the Third Hokage.

After the Uchiha clan massacre, the Third Hokage ordered Root to be disbanded, but the ninja absolutely loyal to Danzo did not truly disperse. Many remained under him as his private force.

Tsunade knew some of this, but not all of it. Ethan knew everything.

As for Danzo wanting Sasuke, his reason was similar to Orochimaru’s. Both coveted the Uchiha bloodline.

He might also want to use this as a legitimate reason to rebuild Root. Root was still officially disbanded at this time. Later, with support from the two advisors, Danzo reassembled it.

Now, the lax security of Konoha, which allowed enemies to infiltrate so easily, seemed to give him a perfect excuse.

"Konoha doesn’t need something like that."

Tsunade rejected Danzo’s proposal almost without hesitation. She ignored the idea of entrusting Sasuke to him entirely.

In her view, Danzo was completely untrustworthy.

Danzo was not surprised by Tsunade’s refusal and did not seem bothered. He glanced at the two advisors again, and as expected, they sided with him, appearing ready to persuade the Hokage to rebuild Root.

"How interesting. So the ones making decisions in Konoha Village aren’t the Hokage, but the two advisors."

As the two elderly advisors were speaking nonstop, a voice suddenly came from the side, making them stop abruptly.

These words were harsh. They might have thought this way in their hearts, but saying it aloud was another matter.

Besides those present, there were also several jonin, including Shikaku. They all looked at the two advisors and realized that this topic could not continue today.

At this moment, the Third Hokage, who had been silent throughout, finally spoke. He smoothed things over for the two advisors and naturally brought the topic to an end.

However, no matter how skillful he was, the atmosphere had already been affected, and the discussion could not continue. Aside from strengthening village security to prevent further intrusions, no other conclusions were reached.

Danzo and the two advisors left decisively. The jonin either returned to overtime work or went to rest. In the end, only Ethan, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Third Hokage remained.

Ethan glanced around. This level of discussion did not seem to involve him, so he prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

Unfortunately, he was called back before he could take a step.

"Is there anything else?"

Tsunade bit her lip, clearly conflicted, but finally shook her head.

"Never mind, you can go back."

From her expression, it was obvious she was holding back a lot of frustration. Could she be thinking about her earlier promise and wanting him to fulfill it?

"Is Hokage-sama asking me to get rid of Danzo?"

"Ethan!"

Jiraiya and Tsunade were one thing, but Hiruzen had not expected Ethan to say that and almost choked on his smoke. What shocked him more was that Tsunade was actually frowning and thinking it over.

"You’re not seriously considering getting rid of Danzo, are you?"

"Never mind."

Ethan was no longer in a hurry to leave. He had not expected Tsunade to actually consider it.

It was not because Danzo’s actions were provocative, but because Tsunade had realized that Konoha’s defenses had repeatedly failed, and Danzo was the most suspicious.

"Right now, there’s no evidence. Alerting him rashly isn’t good. And there are too many external enemies facing Konoha..."

Tsunade’s idea was to gather evidence first, then deal with Danzo legitimately.

It seemed only the First Hokage acted freely, doing whatever he wanted. The rest were more restrained and would not use force simply because someone was suspicious.

This included the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, who was most wary of the Uchiha. He had first confirmed their intentions, and after determining they had no ill will, even took an Uchiha as his disciple.

Ethan looked at the Third Hokage beside him, whose brows were tightly furrowed. He suddenly was not in a hurry to leave.

"Actually, there’s plenty of evidence."

"What?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at him in surprise. Danzo had always hidden in the shadows and rarely left clear traces. Even though Tsunade knew he was not a good person, she had never acted without evidence.

Yet Ethan said there was plenty?

"Just go to the Root base and kill them all. Evidence will be everywhere, and you can frame them for whatever crime you want."

Jiraiya covered his face, and a vein bulged on Tsunade’s forehead. Ethan’s meaning was obvious, but completely opposite to what they wanted. She needed evidence before acting, while Ethan wanted to act first and then find evidence. If they found serious crimes, it would be fine, but if they found nothing, how could she explain it to the village?

"Explain? What explanation? Just explain it the same way the Uchiha clan’s deaths were explained."

These words struck the Third Hokage hard. He swallowed everything he was about to say and sat there silently.

The office fell quiet again. To break the awkward atmosphere, Jiraiya suggested taking Naruto on a training journey.

He had long realized that the village was neither safe nor peaceful. Naruto would be distracted if he stayed. Traveling and training might be a better choice.

Tsunade did not object. With Jiraiya’s reputation, no one in Konoha would oppose it.

Naruto’s training journey was decided. After hesitating, Tsunade suddenly asked Ethan a question.

"Since Orochimaru keeps sending people to invade Konoha, does that mean he has a hidden lair nearby?"

That was very possible. It might be within the Land of Fire, or at least nearby.

"Ethan, I’ve decided to assign you to lead a small team on a long term mission to ensure there are no Orochimaru lairs around Konoha."

"So you’re kicking me out of the village?"

"Yes. I’m worried you’ll cause a major incident without warning."

"How could it be without warning? I’ll definitely make it lively."

"Is that something to be proud of?"

Listening to them, the Third Hokage felt like he might know a fake Ethan. This kid’s personality seemed a bit different from before.

In reality, Ethan was getting tired of acting and starting to show his true nature.

(To be continued.)

◇◇◇

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