"I didn't expect that guy Danzo to actually make a move..."

In the office of the Hokage Building, Hiruzen put down all the work at hand and was reading a piece of information passed from the ANBU.

Rumors that were unfavorable to him as the Hokage began to spread in the village.

——Wood Escape Experiment.

At least twenty or thirty years have passed since the initial wood escape experiment.

Although the executor of this experiment was the root led by Danzo, the person who issued the order was none other than him, the Hokage.

Therefore, this rumor is not false in a strict sense.

But the wood escape experiment he initially led was not mandatory.

Instead, after signing the consent form, the injection of the first-generation Hokage cells began.

These documents and the original consent form have all been preserved intact. Therefore, it cannot be said that Hiruzen was too panicked when Danzo used such things to talk about things.

As long as the information from that year is made public, although there is no way to eliminate all the impact, it can at least make Danzo's plan go to waste.

The only tricky part is that it involves Orochimaru, who has defected from the village.

Rebellious ninjas will receive very serious hostility in the village.

If Orochimaru is also involved in public opinion, then the testimony he provides will obviously be less convincing.

Because Orochimaru was also one of the participants, and he, the Hokage, was the important researcher who was personally assigned to assist Gen.

This is where Hiruzen finds himself most embarrassed.

Although he was troubled by Danzo's moves, Hiruzen was still able to remain calm.

Danzo would make a move, he had already expected it.

Danzo could not just watch the Hokage's position fall into the hands of others. He would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to compete with him as the Hokage.

"Kakashi, immediately lead the ANBU to stop these rumors and don't let these rumors expand in scale."

Hiruzen asked Kakashi, who was standing in front of the table, to give him instructions.

He was not afraid of these slightly whitewashed rumors, but allowing these rumors to develop was not what Hiruzen wanted to see.

As long as Tsunade is allowed to return quickly and decide on her position as the Fifth Hokage as soon as possible, then the direction of these rumors will be a minor issue.

"yes."

Kakashi nodded and used the teleportation technique to leave the office, making completing Hiruzen's order his first priority.

Shortly after Kakashi left, the office door was pushed open in a hurry.

"Hokage-sama, something serious has happened!"

"Don't panic, Shikaku, this is Danzo's move."

Seeing Shikaku, the jounin class leader, rush in in a hurry, even abandoning the usual etiquette of knocking on the door, it can be seen that he is currently in an uneasy state.

Compared to Shikaku's panic, Hiruzen was much calmer and comforted him.

"Has Kakashi gone over to put an end to the rumors?"

Shikaku also knew that he seemed to be too eager, but his opponent was Danzo, the man known as the Dark Ninja, and he could not tolerate being nervous.

Different from the petty fights in the past, Danzo was serious this time.

Therefore, after learning about the rumors in the village for the first time, Shikaku ran over directly.

Compared with the ANBU's well-informed information, the Nara clan's information channels are actually a step slower.

"I have sent Kakashi there. The influence caused by those rumors will be controlled soon."

Hiruzen said while smoking.

Lujiu felt a little relieved, and then said: "In this case, the subsequent deployment of defenses must be arranged in advance. Elder Danzo must have a back-up plan."

"you mean……"

"Let people from the security forces join in and assist the Anbu in their operations. I'm worried that the rumors will intensify, and the Anbu's manpower alone may not be enough."

Shikaku said with a serious face.

Danzo possesses more than just the power of his roots.

He is the leader of the Konoha martial arts faction.

The root is only the most representative organization of the Konoha fighting sect, but it is not the entire fighting sect.

If Danzo mobilized all the strength of the martial arts faction, then the ANBU alone would not be able to stop it.

In fact, even with the addition of security forces, Shikaku felt that it was not very safe.

Hiruzen pondered for a moment, and after some consideration, he ordered into the surrounding air: "Tell Kakashi to ask the security team to join the action."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The ANBU ninja lurking in the darkness left in an instant, following Hiruzen's orders to pursue Kakashi.

After seeing the Anbu leaving, Shikaku asked: "Hokage-sama, I would like to ask, when will Tsunade-sama come back?"

Relying on rumors to influence the direction of public opinion in the village is, in the final analysis, only part of Danzo's plan, the so-called appetizer.

The real killer move is yet to come.

In this case, only by bringing Tsunade back to Konoha as soon as possible can we stabilize people's hearts.

The root of the conflict lies in the selection of the Fifth Hokage.

As long as Tsunade's identity is established as soon as possible, no matter how many plans Danzo has, they can only come to nothing.

"It's not clear yet. Jiraiya has already gone to look for it. I believe there will be news back soon."

After Hiruzen was silent for a while, he said to Shikaku.

"It's been so long and there's still no news coming back?"

Shikaku said in surprise.

He remembered that more than half a month had passed since Jiraiya was out, and two groups of ANBU were following him to assist. How could it be possible that no news came back?

"I am also surprised by this matter, but now I can only believe that Jiraiya can handle the matter. At this time, our opponent is mainly Danzo to prevent his next actions."

"Having said that..."

Shikaku felt vaguely uneasy.

"What do you think Danzo will do next?"

Hiruzen looked at the jounin squad leader whom he trusted, and asked for his opinion.

Danzo has already started to take action, so this 'battle' will not end so easily.

Rumors are only the first step, and there will definitely be a second step, a third step, and even more means to make them tired of dealing with it.

If both sides continue to consume in this way, it will completely disrupt Konoha's internal management.

But it is not that easy to bring down Danzo, at least it is impossible to do it with force.

The martial arts faction is no longer as powerful as before. After so many years of development, it has begun to occupy a certain voice in the village. Not to mention that there is a leader like the root. It will not be easy to defeat them.

And once force is used, it will inevitably lead to very serious consequences, and may even lead to civil war, allowing other countries to take advantage of the situation.

This is not what Hiruzen wants to see.

Therefore, Hiruzen hopes to solve this problem in a peaceful way.

Even if an armed conflict occurs, we should try our best to avoid escalating the incident.

"To be honest, I don't know what Elder Danzo's next move will be, nor do I know what he relies on to do so..."

Just when Shikaku opened his mouth to speak, the office door was pushed open again.

And the action of pushing the door was quite rough.

The two newcomers entered the office almost at the same time.

Mito Menitis, I went to bed in Koharu.

Obviously, they knew very well who was behind the rumors in the village, and Danzo's actions made them uneasy.

"Hiruzen, what's going on between you and Danzo?"

Faced with the questioning from the two men, Hiruzen frowned, then relaxed and answered: "You should ask Danzo about this kind of question, not me. I also want to know, Danzo spread these rumors.

What do you want to do?"

"Is it because of the position of Fifth Hokage?"

Mito Monoyan said in a deep voice.

Hiruzen sighed, took a puff from the cigarette rod, and acquiesced.

"That guy Danzo..."

After going to bed, Koharu secretly gritted his teeth and was dissatisfied with Danzo's behavior.
To be continued...