However, he has made up his mind that no matter what words Danzo uses to provoke him next, he will not pay attention to it, and he will never have anything to do with the root organization again.

Although he used the power of the roots to kill Sasuke, the essence was cooperation sought by both parties. After cooperation, the contact was naturally interrupted without any involvement.

As for joining the roots, to be honest, he never had such a dangerous and stupid idea from the beginning.

Just using the curse seal to control the ninjas in his village, treating the ninjas as pure tools and killing machines, and erasing their personalities. With these actions, he could not agree with the underlying philosophy and believed that such actions were too cruel and cold-blooded.

Danzo, who caused all this, naturally became the dark existence in Konoha that he least wanted to come into contact with.

"Nara Shikamaru, I'm here to invite you to enter the root." Without hiding his intention, Danzo directly sent out the invitation. And Shikamaru's answer was even more straightforward. The moment Danzo finished speaking, he had already given his own.

Response:

"I'm sorry, Elder Danzo. I don't think I'm capable enough to abandon everything in my past and devote myself to the great cause of contributing to the village like those seniors. Therefore, you should ask someone else to know about entering the root."

His tone was neither humble nor arrogant, his dark pupils connected with Danzo's eyes, and his expression was calm.

After all, this was the Hokage's territory for the time being, and he didn't think Danzo would take direct action here.

As if he had already expected such an answer from Shikamaru, Danzo kept his expression unchanged and asked, "I have a question for you. Do you think Uzumaki Naruto has the ability to become the backbone of the village with his potential?"

"certainly."

Shikamaru answered without any hesitation.

He never doubted Naruto's potential.

maybe the other person

The thoughts I had in my mind at this time were still very naive.

But after this incident, the other party will recognize some reality and abandon some unrealistic fantasies. As long as this trend continues, Shikamaru has no doubt that Naruto will become the pillar of Konoha.

"So, do you want to go a step further and help him better as a friend or colleague, and do your due diligence for the future of this village?"

Danzo's words seemed a bit baffling to Shikamaru, so he asked with a puzzled look on his face:

"What's the meaning?"

These words sounded like an invitation, but they seemed to have other intentions in them...

However, Danzo's completely stiff and gloomy face made it impossible for him to see clearly what Danzo was thinking.

"I have less than half a year left in my life, and I will come to an end. The Roots is in urgent need of a next leader to continue leading the Roots forward, and you are the person I have chosen."

As soon as Danzo said this, Shikamaru's face was completely dull. "After I die, the Roots will act around your will. You can change the rules of operation of the Roots according to your own wishes, and you can even merge them into Hokage."

Among the ANBU. At the same time, the fighting faction that has attached itself can, with your adjustment, subtly transform into a force under the Hokage's rule, becoming a powerful assist for you in helping Uzumaki Naruto."

Shikamaru's face became even more dull. The conditions given by Danzo were so shocking that Shikamaru was immersed in shock and could not recover for a long time.

Danzo picked up his crutches, turned around, and walked towards the door of the ward.

When Danzo walked out of the door, he stopped and the crutch he was leaning on quietly touched the ground, making a crisp sound on the floor.

"That's all I've said. It's up to you to decide what to do next. In addition, this decision must be made within a week. Once this period is exceeded, I will treat you as a waiver."

After that, Danzo walked out of the door and disappeared at the door in an instant.

Outside the ward, Tsunade and Shikaku, who heard the whole process in the ward, had their faces full of contemplation and doubt.

"Shikaku, how true do you think what Danzo said just now is?"

Whether it's to merge the Roots into the Anbu or to hand over the power of the Fighting Faction to others, it doesn't look like the Roots' behavior.

After all, it was Danzo, and Tsunade did not dare to have absolute trust in such a ninja.

Shikaku groped his chin and answered:

"Although judging from a conventional point of view, these words of Elder Danzo are not worthy of belief. However, the weakness shown by the other party is not a pretense, and the lack of an heir at the root is indeed a big hidden danger.

I think this is what Elder Danzo originally wanted to express."

Although this is far from being a "good word even when a man is about to die", if Danzo really intends to delegate power, then their process of concentrating the power within Konoha will undoubtedly be much smoother. In this way,

Before the Kingdom of Demons attacks Konoha next time, they can complete the integration of their forces and be able to counterattack normally instead of holding each other back, leaving no room for them to even fight back against the Kingdom of Demons.

"Is that so? But I always feel that Danzo is secretly planning something else behind our backs."

Tsunade frowned. After Shikaku's relief, her mood was not completely relieved, but continued to be tense.

"You may have become more nervous recently. In any case, it is a good thing to be able to quickly integrate your internal strength." Shikaku said.

Of course, the premise is that Shikamaru agrees to Danzo's entry into the Roots. Otherwise, there will be no talk of integrating the Roots and the Fighting Faction.

Hearing this, Tsunade nodded slightly. No matter what Danzo planned, the first priority was to integrate the forces within Konoha.

The first thing I did when I returned to the Kingdom of Ghosts was to go to the office where my father Shiraishi was, and make the necessary mission report on my visit to the Daming Mansion of the Kingdom of Fire...

However, this so-called visit to the Fire Country Daimyofu was originally intended to divert part of Konoha's strength, and the bait was deliberately thrown out to make Konoha bite the hook. This was not the original intention.

What kind of cooperation is it really with the Daming Mansion of the Land of Fire?

Therefore, the summary of the task content is very concise and clear.

Judging from the results, the envoy group headed by Ichihime did successfully divert a considerable part of Konoha's power and restrained them in the Daimyo Mansion of the Land of Fire, which provided an opportunity for Sasuke Uchiha to launch a surprise attack on Konoha.

platform.

"Thank you for your hard work. For the next period of time, you will stay in the Kingdom of Ghosts temporarily and there is no need to run around outside again."

Shiraishi read the mission report document made by Yiji, put it aside casually, and said slowly to Yiji.

"In other words, Konoha doesn't need to keep an eye on it?" Kazuki raised an eyebrow.

"Of course you need to keep an eye on it, but there is no need to focus all your attention on Konoha. Since Akatsuki abducted the first one half a year ago, the tailed beast operation has not officially started, which makes me a little concerned. Although according to the line

People report, because the internal strength is empty, so they will be low-key in their actions...but the preparation time this time is too long."

Shiraishi took a deep breath, with a heavy tone, as if he was squeezing the words out of his abdomen.

Compared to villages under the rule of great powers such as Konoha, the pressure Akatsuki brought to him was equally considerable.

Although the Kingdom of Ghosts is apparently the most powerful, it cannot be taken too lightly.

"so······"

When Yiji heard this, she seemed to understand what Shiraishi meant, and her dark eyes narrowed.

"So, if Akatsuki wants to target the tailed beasts next, he will most likely use the tendency of thunder to sweep away the caves and eat all the remaining Chuuriki in one go."

Shiraishi took the pen and tapped the table gently, making this assumption.

Such an assumption is bold, but it is not impossible.

Similar deployment arrangements have been made by Shiraishi before.

That is to stay hidden, attack at the most appropriate time, reverse all the unfavorable situations ahead, and achieve the strategic goals you have set.

This is how Akatsuki feels to him now. He has restrained all his minions and compressed the outward momentum. But this is not fear, but there is no need to continue meaningless fighting and sacrifice.

Once the timing is determined, the current balance will be completely broken.

"Take away all the remaining Jinchuuriki in one go. With Akatsuki's remaining strength, is it really possible to do this?"

Yiji's brows relaxed slightly.

To deal with the remaining Jinchuuriki at once means to attack Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha at the same time. With the troops divided into three groups, it would be very difficult even for the Kingdom of Demons to accomplish such a feat.

If it was Akatsuki in its heyday, it would be possible to accomplish this, but Akatsuki, which had lost more than half of its members at this time, expressed doubts about this.

"Who knows about this kind of thing? In short, I will keep an eye on Akatsuki. As for you, you should find a way to use this period of time to improve your strength as much as possible."

Shiraishi said this.

He, Liuli, and Ayane have basically reached the peak of their strength in life. If they want to continue to grow, they will have to work hard for a long time. If they want to achieve results in a short time, it will be difficult to break through the existing strength through exercise alone.

limit.

As for Kazuhime, she has not yet reached the peak period of ninjas and has huge room for development. The changes in the strength of ninjas at this age can be described as changing with each passing day.

What's more, for a ninja like Ichihime, whose chakra and physical energy are beyond the norm, even if his strength is enough to rival or even surpass the current Five Kages, his strength is still growing at a speed that can be described as divine speed.

"Speaking of this, the strength of the members of the Thorns team seems to be a bit weak. Didn't Uchiha Sasuke come over? I think he can be assigned to my team for service. Old man, what do you think?"

Ichiki thought of something and suddenly asked Shiraishi. As the leader of the Thorn Team, although it was a bit difficult to say, in fact, as long as these members were around, she could not fully unleash her power, and there was always a problem with her body.

It is an invisible chain that restricts her performance.

Otherwise, if you explode your own chakra at will, it will accidentally affect the friendly forces and chop them away like enemies. "I think it is probably impossible. That child should want to lead the team by himself and will not be subordinate to others."

Down."

Shiraishi opened the drawer and took out a document.

"This roster records all the jounin information that was just updated this year. You can try to find out if there is a jounin you need."

"Then, I'll leave first."
Chapter completed!