"Danzo, if you did anything, tell me now. It's not too late."
Sarutobi Hiruzen still wanted to give his old friend a chance. After all, so many years had passed. If the other party was willing to confess, he would not take severe action.
Shimura Danzō gritted his teeth, hatred filling his heart. He said word by word: "I said, that was not done by me. Tenzō is the only Wood Style user in Root, and you have taken him away!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. Since Shimura Danzō was so certain, there was no need to press further.
"Search thoroughly to see if you've missed anything."
The Third Hokage waved his hand, and many Anbu immediately poured into the previously silent Root headquarters.
"Sarutobi, do you really want to do this?"
"If you hand him over, none of this will happen."
Shimura Danzō stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen with one eye, teeth gritted as he said: "Sarutobi Hiruzen! Don't forget, we decided to start the Wood Style experiment together. If you hadn't been so soft-hearted, I would have succeeded long ago!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his old friend, who still refused to turn back, and sighed, "The village was in a very dangerous situation at that time, so I agreed to start the Wood Style experiment.
But too many excellent shinobi died in the experiment.
If we had continued, Konohagakure would have collapsed before the enemy ever appeared!"
"What successful experiment? That's just your wishful thinking! I know you haven't stopped the experiments. I'll remind you one last time: give up the Wood Style experiments!"
"You—"
Shimura Danzō almost couldn't help but turn against Sarutobi Hiruzen on the spot, but in the end, he just snorted coldly and turned away.
After waiting for a while, the Anbu members who were searching the Root headquarters returned.
"Hokage-sama, we found some information, but we didn't find any other key evidence."
Sarutobi Hiruzen carefully examined the information handed over by the Anbu subordinate. Looking at Shimura Danzō standing calmly beside him, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew that this search would not yield any answers.
As expected, the information Sarutobi Hiruzen received contained just some unimportant intelligence.
Knowing he would not find the answer today, Sarutobi Hiruzen left with the Anbu. Before departing, he wanted to give Shimura Danzō some advice, but he opened his mouth and left without saying anything.
"This is going too far!"
Shimura Danzō couldn't wait to bring his men to confront Sarutobi Hiruzen right now!
He had been trying hard to suppress his anger and was almost ready to take action.
However, Shimura Danzō knew that if he really made a move, with Sarutobi Hiruzen's ruthlessness, he would definitely be taken down on the spot!
After countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Shimura Danzō finally abandoned the idea of opposing him.
Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō returned to the Root headquarters. He planned to write a letter to Orochimaru immediately to inquire about the Wood Style user.
According to their agreement, Shimura Danzō secretly provided research funds to Orochimaru, and the research results belonged to Shimura Danzō.
Tenzō was such an example.
Shimura Danzō not only provided funds to Orochimaru but also captured numerous children and handed them over as experimental subjects. However, except for Tenzō, who was successful, the other children all died in the cruel experiments.
Now, Shimura Danzō suspected that Orochimaru had successfully created another shinobi with Wood Style abilities but hadn't handed over the results to him.
...
"Ah~ There's nothing interesting to see anymore. Time to head back and rest."
In a dense forest outside the Root headquarters, Shihouin Naraku stood on the thick crown of a large tree and stretched lazily.
After reporting the matter of the Wood Style user to the Third Hokage, Shihouin Naraku knew something like this would happen, so he had arrived outside the Root headquarters early, waiting for the show to begin.
It was indeed worth the long wait. Seeing Shimura Danzō so frustrated was satisfying.
"It's a shame that Shimura Danzō doesn't dare to turn hostile. Otherwise, there would be even more exciting scenes to witness."
Shihouin Naraku returned home happily.
The next morning.
"It's okay. Although I was quite ruthless, Kakashi, you have good recovery abilities. Your injuries have healed. You can be discharged from the hospital now!"
Shihouin Naraku came to Konoha Hospital early in the morning to check on Hatake Kakashi and confirmed that he had fully recovered.
Hatake Kakashi simply packed up his few belongings and said, "Although I have left Anbu, I still feel a little confused and don't know what to do."
Hatake Kakashi had become accustomed to the busy Anbu career over the years, so after leaving Anbu, he felt somewhat lost.
"Confused? What's there to be confused about?" Shihouin Naraku and Hatake Kakashi left the ward and then reminded him with a smile: "You should know what the old man Third is planning, so now think about how to be a good sensei.
"Don't be like before, when you finally became a sensei, but in the end, no students from the Academy could pass your test."
Hatake Kakashi had been working in Anbu for most of these years, but there was a period when Might Guy discovered that Kakashi had serious mental issues, so he repeatedly begged the Hokage to let him leave Anbu.
At first, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not agree, but because Might Guy went to the Hokage again and again for his good friend, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally allowed Hatake Kakashi to try returning to regular shinobi life and serve as a sensei to teach Genin.
As a result, after becoming a sensei, no Academy student could pass Hatake Kakashi's test.
Sarutobi Hiruzen once thought that Hatake Kakashi was being lazy, so he confronted him directly and asked for details. Only then did he understand the whole situation.
Because of his own experiences, Hatake Kakashi had strict requirements for students. Additionally, he placed great importance on teamwork, which made it difficult for students to earn his recognition.
After this incident, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to transfer Hatake Kakashi back to Anbu.
There was no other way. If Hatake Kakashi hadn't changed his standards, few Academy students would have been able to become Genin.
But it seemed that even after that experience, Hatake Kakashi had no intention of lowering his requirements.
"If they truly can't meet the requirements, even if they let the Academy students graduate, it may not be a good thing for them."
Hatake Kakashi answered very seriously. This was his opinion. If his standards couldn't be met, no one could do it.
"The old man Third is quite brave.
Knowing your character, he still dared to put Naruto under your supervision."
Shihouin Naraku raised an eyebrow at Hatake Kakashi and asked curiously, "What if Naruto really doesn't meet your requirements? If he can't pass, all the shinobi in Konohagakure will go crazy."
Is the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki failing to become a Genin? This joke would top the list of jokes in the shinobi world for a hundred years!
Hatake Kakashi was very firm and said straightforwardly: "My standards will not change. Everything depends on him. And there's another question. My test comes later. Do you think Naruto can pass the Academy graduation exam?"
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that!"
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