Chapter 23: A wise man should use his strength to move forward
Chapter 23: A wise man should use his strength to move forward
“Do you find it hard to accept?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around and sat on the Hokage's throne.
"But that's the reality."
"But what's the point?"
Namikaze Minato took a deep breath and looked straight at Sarutobi Hiruzen. Facing these cloudy eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, he truly put down all his disguises and masks for the first time.
"Good question."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stretched out his finger and gently hooked the little bird that had been eating food on his desk.
"Compromise does not mean giving up, nor does it mean going along with the crowd."
"It seems to be moving backwards, but it is actually moving forwards. It is moving with the help of force, just like a bow and arrow being drawn."
"The moment the bow is fully drawn, you will shoot an arrow that no one can stop!"
"Don't you understand?"
Looking at the somewhat confused eyes of Minato Namikaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed twice.
"On June 5, the 37th year of Konoha, I received a secret report that the elder of Konoha, Danzo Shimura, sold out an extremely important material supply point behind the battle line between the west side of Konoha and the Land of Rain to the Rain Village through the Root."
"The purpose is nothing more than to hinder my three disciples."
"why?"
"Because I'm forty-two years old. I seem to be at the peak of my ninja life, but because my fighting style is extremely dependent on the amount of chakra, I only have a small tail left. In a few years, I may retire and become a member of the Konoha Elder Council, and then choose a new Hokage."
"And before that, I should make a decision on the choice of the next Hokage."
"Danzo is three years younger than me. His lifelong dream is to become Hokage. Moreover, his Root has indeed made great contributions to Konoha. Therefore, he is worried that he cannot compete with my three apprentices, so he chooses to use this method to suppress them."
"After all, you also know that once this stronghold is destroyed, the logistics of at least nearly a thousand ninjas in Konoha will be greatly affected, and there may even be a large number of casualties."
"Theoretically, this is a capital crime."
"I should have him executed."
"But what you don't know is that Danzo has a very strong ability in intelligence work. He has planted spies from the Root in the Rock Ninja, Sand Ninja, Rain Ninja, and even the most exclusive Cloud Ninja, providing Konoha with a steady stream of intelligence."
"Killing him is easy. I can let him use one hand. But what happens after I kill him?"
"Konoha's intelligence system will suffer a devastating blow."
"So, I chose to compromise and just restricted his rights instead of killing him."
"What if you, Sandaime, hadn't intercepted the intelligence and his plan had succeeded?"
"Same."
"so."
Namikaze Minato took a deep breath.
"Can I understand that, because of his value, Elder Shimura can be forgiven no matter what he does?"
"of course not."
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised the corner of his mouth.
"This is the second thing I want to tell you. Compromise also has a bottom line."
"Compromise with a bottom line is like an arrow that is ready to strike with all its might."
"But compromise without bottom line will drag yourself into the abyss."
"Because once you cross the bottom line, you will find one thing: when you make any decision, you can use the word compromise to comfort yourself."
"I do."
"It's just some low-level ninjas who died. Compared to the value of Shimura Danzo, the latter is more important. It's all for Konoha."
"The same is true for Danzo."
"What he did was a kind of compromise. However, he has already stepped on the edge of crossing the line. Selling out a base and sacrificing the interests of nearly a thousand ninjas is a big deal, but it is not enough to cause serious damage to Konoha. Therefore, he is still alive. But if he crosses this bottom line, then the day the war ends will be the day he dies."
"Likewise, you." "Me?"
"You wanted to enter the sight of Konoha's top brass in the most eye-catching way, but a Toriyuu Mitsuha appeared and awakened the Wood Release that had not appeared in decades. Logically, you could use your status as squadron leader to order him to fight with you."
"In fact, with your talent, deliberately creating some small mistakes in the battle would be enough to easily kill a blood awakener, and then make him lose the possibility of competing with you."
"But you didn't. You held on to your bottom line. That's why I admire you."
"So, this is a test for me?"
"To be more precise, it is a hindsight. If I ignored the safety of so many ninjas and the base you were guarding in order to test you, then what is the difference between me and Danzo in fighting for the lives of other ninjas in Konoha?"
"Well, in fact, when Jiraiya arrived, they had already broken through the outer sentries. After all, they were a little late."
"I see."
After pondering for a long time, Minato Namikaze nodded.
"But I still have a question."
"What questions?"
"With your wisdom, since you know that Elder Danzo has such power, why don't you share some of this power with others? The reason why he is fearless may be that he seizes your concerns. As long as he does not cross the line, you will not kill him. Things like this may happen again in the future."
"Then why don't the Hyuga clan hand over their Byakugan, the Uchiha clan hand over their Sharingan, the Aburame clan hand over their Parasitic Insect Technique, and the Inuzuka clan hand over their Ninja Dog Technique?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped the table lightly with his fingers. Every time he tapped, the bird jumped as if it was playing with its fingers.
"The reason why Shimura Danzo's root has such power is because he drained all the elites of the Shimura clan. The Shimura clan is naturally good at controlling wind and dreams. While spying on intelligence, they also hide their own part. The entire ninja world is hard to find an opponent."
"Because it is a secret technique belonging to each tribe."
Suddenly, Namikaze Minato raised his head and looked into Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes again, as if he wanted to confirm something from them.
"Namikaze Minato, this is the mission I entrust to you as the Hokage."
The two looked at each other for a long time, and Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly took out a scroll from the drawer and threw it to Minato Namikaze opposite him.
"this?"
The moment he saw the mission, Minato Namikaze blushed at first, then looked resisted.
Because this mission was actually a false heroic rescue, and the purpose was to get himself close to a girl named Uzumaki Kushina.
"Originally this mission is a bit early. I think it would be best if you were around thirteen or fourteen, because that is when young people yearn for love the most. However, some problems have arisen now, haha."
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile.
"Come to think of it, you and that kid Kotori Mitsuha do have some connection."
"What's up with him?"
"Kushina seems to have developed a crush on him, so I was forced to advance my plans."
"Ah this."
Namikaze Minato's face turned even redder, and he even felt guilty and immoral.
"But, Hokage-sama, what is the significance of this mission?"
"Because, this child is a Jinchūriki."
"I see."
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze nodded slowly.
In the eye contact just now, he had already seen the answer from the Sandaime's eyes.
I saw the answer to why the other party compromised.
"One last question, Hokage-sama."
"You said."
"Sanye, what is his attitude? Like you said, I can compromise, but my bottom line is that I will not betray my friends, especially Sanye. He saved my life. I want to know what his attitude is towards that girl."
"This is the information my people sent me before you came."
Sarutobi Hiruzen handed the paper recording the conversation between Mitsuha Takanashi and Kushina Uzumaki to Minato Namikaze.
1. At the end of the previous chapter, Sarutobi Hiruzen burned the intelligence paper, but it was modified here to keep it for Namikaze Minato.
This is a minor BUG and has been fixed.
2. Dear readers, please give me some free recommendation tickets.
(End of this chapter)