Chapter 260: A New Mission for Team Minato!
"No!"
Hearing Danzō's demand, Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected it outright, without even a moment's hesitation. He was both afraid of Danzō suffering and afraid of Danzō rebelling. As the "wise and powerful" Third Hokage, how could he not see what a bizarre and dangerous organization "Root" had become? To create a separate, so-called "training division" within the Anbu, one that carried out the village's darkest missions and possessed an extremely high degree of autonomy... sometimes, even the Hokage himself didn't know what they were up to.
Root was Danzō's private army. If Hiruzen was the "emperor," then Danzō was the "nine-thousand-year-old" eunuch. Though Hiruzen had been forced to cede the "darkness of Konoha" to Danzō due to his own inadequacies, suppressing Root's power and preventing it from infecting the "sunlit" Konoha had been his guiding principle ever since.
He was terrified of its expansion. How could he possibly allow Danzō to get his hands on a Tailed Beast? Having personally witnessed the power of the Nine-Tails, Hiruzen knew what a dark and terrible force they were. If Danzō and his Root were to acquire one, he couldn't imagine the horrific consequences.
The Third Hokage had spoken. The other two elders exchanged a glance and immediately chimed in.
"Danzō, your Root is already powerful enough," Homura said.
"Instead of coveting the Three-Tails, you should be focusing on cultivating talent," Koharu added.
Both "Root" and the "Elders" were parasites on the Hokage's power. The only difference was that Danzō had an army, and they were just "advisors."
Danzō had never expected such unified opposition to his simple request. His original plan had been to take the Three-Tails first, and then secretly plot for the Eight-Tails. But now, it seemed even the Three-Tails was out of reach.
He stared at them with his single eye, his gaze finally settling on the only one who mattered.
"Hiruzen," he said, his one good hand gently stroking his crippled arm. "As of now, Konoha has four Tailed Beasts. The Nine-Tails, the Eight-Tails, the Five-Tails, and the Three-Tails. Does Root not deserve even one?"
Hiruzen's gaze fell on the useless arm, and a flicker of pity crossed his eyes. Danzō caught it instantly. 'He's wavering!'
He knew his old friend's greatest weakness: his soft heart. It was because of that weakness that he had been forced to create Root in the first place. And it was because of that weakness that he had turned a blind eye to most of Danzō's transgressions. For a ninja, "soft-hearted" was just another word for "weak."
As Danzō was about to press his advantage, Hiruzen looked away. He knew his weakness too. He couldn't let Danzō's pity-play sway him on a matter of this magnitude.
"I haven't finished," Hiruzen said, changing the subject. "While Shikaku did report that Keisuke has tamed the Three-Tails and plans to hand it over to the village... he has a condition. He wishes the village to 'buy' it from him, just as Kirigakure once bought it from us."
"Nara Keisuke dares to make a deal with the village?" Koharu snapped. "Does he have no respect for the village? For the Hokage? Is he even a ninja of Konoha?"
Hiruzen, too, was displeased. In his entire career, a ninja had never tried to "sell" something to the village. To talk of transactions instead of sacrifice... he seriously doubted Keisuke's purity of belief in the "Will of Fire."
"I, for one, think his decision is in line with his clan's way of life," Homura said, surprisingly coming to Keisuke's defense. "We all know that the Nara have never truly been part of the 'inner circle'. Keisuke has captured the Five-Tails, and now the Three and Eight-Tails. The Nara clan alone cannot bear the burden of so many beasts, no matter how much of a genius he is. In this context, his offer to 'sell' the Three-Tails... I see it as a gesture of goodwill. It's a clear and simple way to avoid conflict with the village over this issue."
Everyone in the room knew what he meant. The "inner circle" was the "Hokage faction," a community of interest bound by blood and relationships. In the current era, that was Hiruzen, the Sannin, Minato, the three elders, and the Sarutobi clan. The other clans, like the Nara, were "outsiders." To expect a ninja from an outside clan to selflessly contribute a Tailed Beast was as ridiculous as expecting the Uchiha or Hyūga to hand over their dōjutsu for research.
"Enough. Let's not dwell on his true intentions," Hiruzen sighed. "Without him, we wouldn't have the Three and Eight-Tails in the first place. The beast must not be lost. I plan to begin the selection process for a new Jinchuriki on the front lines immediately. The sooner we seal it, the better."
So you've already decided what to do with it! A flash of anger appeared in Danzō's eye. "The selection of a Jinchuriki is not so simple, Hiruzen!"
Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was a special genius from the Uzumaki clan. Kumo's was the Fourth Raikage's cousin. Suna's future Jinchuriki would be Rasa's own son. Only those with an exceptional bloodline had the aptitude to contain a Tailed Beast.
"I am well aware of that," Hiruzen said calmly. "I'm only trying to make an early attempt. I have already assigned the task to Minato and his squad."
"Minato Namikaze?" Danzō grit his teeth. "You intend to make the Yellow Flash the new Three-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Hiruzen shook his head, but did not elaborate. "We will wait for news from the front."
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