In the Hokage's office
Hiruzen Sarutobi was dealing with village affairs when an Anbu ninja appeared and said, "Third Hokage, a group of ordinary civilians are coming towards the Hokage Building, demanding justice for the Fourth Hokage."
"Justice? What kind of justice?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, confused.
The Anbu ninja explained what Kiyosuke had said in his speech at the pedestrian street just now. Hiruzen Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "This brat... always causing me trouble."
"Go and investigate that person from the Shimura clan."
"Yes."
The Anbu ninja disappeared. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and walked to the window. He could already see a large crowd gathering. There were so many people that it looked like a dark mass.
He quickly went down to pacify the civilians. Unfortunately, these civilians were making a big fuss, demanding that Hiruzen Sarutobi remove Danzo from his position. This guy was in the position but did nothing useful, always thinking about all sorts of underhanded things, which were harmful rather than beneficial to Konoha.
As more and more people gathered, Hiruzen Sarutobi had a hard time dealing with them. Finally, he had to put it off for a few days, promising to give everyone an explanation.
After seeing those people off, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a dark face, said, "Call Kiyosuke here for me!"
Before long, Kiyosuke arrived at the Hokage's office. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's gloomy face, he asked, "Third Hokage, what's the urgent matter that you called me here for? Is there an S - rank mission?"
"No S - rank mission. What kind of mess have you caused this time?"
"None at all."
"Then what's with those people today?"
"I don't know. They came here spontaneously. Maybe they just don't like Elder Danzo?" Kiyosuke still had a smile on his face. He felt really good about making Danzo uncomfortable.
"What was the purpose of your speech today?"
Kiyosuke pretended to suddenly understand and said, "Oh, that. I just told everyone not to transfer their hatred for the Nine - Tails to a child. I want to create a healthy growth environment for Naruto, making him regard himself as a part of Konoha. After all, the Hokage wouldn't want Naruto to grow up bearing everyone's hatred, resenting everyone, and finally running away from the village with the Nine - Tails, right? That would be a really bad thing."
"The growth environment for Jinchuriki is harsh. People don't hide their malice towards them. Kushina also grew up in such an environment."
"But that doesn't mean Naruto should grow up in the same environment," Kiyosuke shook his head. "A child is like a blank sheet of paper, and they will be influenced by the surrounding environment. Does the Hokage really want Naruto to grow up with everyone's hatred and become a person with a dark heart?"
"No, that's not what I meant," Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. From the starting point, Kiyosuke's approach was good, but it involved Danzo...
"Danzo has dedicated a lot to this village. I know you have a grudge against him because of the Nine - Tails incident, but you shouldn't let those ordinary people who don't know the truth cause trouble."
"I didn't. It was that person from the Shimura clan who was trying to make everyone continue to be afraid of Naruto and turn them against him. That's not a good thing for Konoha."
At this time, an Anbu ninja came back, whispered a few words in Hiruzen Sarutobi's ear, and then disappeared.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "I see. This is more or less Danzo's own fault. His clansman is causing him trouble!"
He had asked the Anbu to investigate. The Shimura clansman in question had indeed been at Kiyosuke's speech and had said those words. After the Anbu found him, they didn't detect any trace of illusion, which meant that the person had really said those things.
So, this wasn't Kiyosuke's problem.
"I troubled you to come here. You can go back now."
"Okay."
The next day, on Konoha's bulletin board, it was clearly written, "Danzo Shimura has been removed from his position as an elder of Konoha due to dereliction of duty." Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the residents a satisfactory answer, and things calmed down.
Kiyosuke snorted. "The Third Hokage really knows how to play."
Although Danzo was removed from the position of elder, he still retained the positions of Hokage's assistant and the leader of Root. The position of elder was dispensable. The most important ones were still the Hokage's assistant and the leader of Root, especially the latter.
The Root organization was more hidden than the Anbu, and the things they did were even more shady. It was said to be an "Anbu training department," but in fact, it was training Danzo's own Anbu. He was the darkness of the village. Hiruzen Sarutobi also tacitly approved of this.
"They got off easy. If they cause trouble again, they can move there."
The matter of making the Shimura clan move ended up being dropped. Danzo wouldn't let the Shimura clan move to the area near the Konoha Prison. But since Kiyosuke had made him suffer, his goal had been achieved. For these days, it was better to keep the peace.
Today, he came to Fugaku Uchiha's house for a meal again. Then he found that Fugaku Uchiha wasn't there, and Mikoto had also gone out for something, leaving Itachi to take care of the two children.
These parents are so careless!
Although Itachi was very mature for his age, was it really okay to leave the children to the eldest son?
Naruto was still sound asleep, while Itachi was holding Sasuke, trying to soothe him. The doting - brother Itachi held his younger brother with a look of contentment on his face. Truly, the Uchiha clan was full of doting brothers. Speaking of which, it seemed to be hereditary.
The Sage of the Six Paths also seemed to be a doting brother. Then it was passed on to his son, Indra. Indra was a doting brother at first, but because of Black Zetsu's deception and the changes in the Sharingan, he became a twisted doting brother!
It was passed down from generation to generation. Madara Uchiha was also a doting brother, and now it was Itachi's turn.
"By the way, Itachi, can you really handle taking care of Naruto and Sasuke?"
"It's okay. Naruto eats a lot and sleeps a lot. He's easier to soothe. But I don't know why, it seems that he and Sasuke don't get along well. They even fight when they sleep together."
It was just two newborn babies fighting. It wasn't a big deal.
"By the way, you're almost at the age to go to school, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be going to school in a while," Itachi nodded.
"Oh, time really flies. It's been several years since I went to school."
Thinking back to his days at school... Umm, what did I learn at school?
After careful recollection, it seemed that he had basically forgotten everything he learned at the Ninja Academy.
"Mr. Kiyosuke, is school interesting?"
"It's okay, I guess. At least you can make friends. It's time for you to make friends at your age. You can't not have any friends. Otherwise, your childhood won't be interesting at all. Children should enjoy their childhood because it only comes once."
"Friends?"
"Okay, come on, let's go eat. It's on me."
"But what about Sasuke and Naruto?"
"Let them sleep at home. I don't believe the Third Hokage didn't assign Anbu to protect Naruto around here."
"I understand."