radicalducati Chapter 209 Discussion
Chapter 209 Discussion
In the Hokage Building of Konoha Village, the village's top officials reunited, but the atmosphere in the office was extremely tense. Hiruzen Sarutobi, in particular, looked extremely grim; he knew this was a serious problem.
He already knew the outcome of the fight between Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Kanan. But what was unexpected was that Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi both appeared at the scene and prevented Hyuga Kanan from killing Uchiha Shisui! This was truly infuriating! He had initially thought that even if Uchiha Shisui attacked and was defeated by Hyuga Kanan, it wouldn't concern him. After all, Uchiha Shisui was a member of the Uchiha clan, while Hyuga Kanan had been away from Konoha for many years and was completely unaware of the village's situation. He would undoubtedly vent his anger on the Uchiha clan. Coupled with the Uchiha clan's unruly nature, they would never bow to Hyuga Kanan! This would inevitably lead to a fierce conflict between the two clans. But who could have predicted that Fugaku Uchiha would be willing to lower himself, even at the cost of the Uchiha clan's reputation, and go with Hiashi Hyuga to meet with Kanan Hyuga! Now all his previous schemes will be in vain, and may even become a death knell for these Konoha high-ranking officials!
Hyuga Kanan would never let the Konoha leadership off easily because of the overall situation in the village. He didn't care at all whether Konoha could maintain stability and peace. Since they dared to scheme against him, it would inevitably provoke Hyuga Kanan's retaliation, and he certainly wouldn't show them any mercy. Especially that utterly foolish Shimura Danzo, who once again dispatched Root to attack Hyuga Kanan, was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire. Faced with such provocation, Hyuga Kanan absolutely could not continue to tolerate it.
Danzo Shimura stared sharply at Hiruzen Sarutobi, thinking to himself, "Hiruzen Sarutobi, you're still too weak! Hyuga Kanan may be exceptionally strong, but Konoha isn't some small ninja village that can be easily bullied! At this moment, you should decisively give the order to gather the entire village's strength and launch a coordinated attack to eliminate this scourge in one fell swoop!"
His eyes revealed a hint of disdain and anger, as if disappointed by Hiruzen Sarutobi's indecisiveness. In his view, facing such a formidable enemy, there could be no retreat; a forceful counterattack was necessary. Only in this way could the dignity and peace of Konoha be defended. Hiruzen Sarutobi's hesitation could very well bring an even greater crisis to the village.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed oblivious to Danzo Shimura's displeasure. He remained deep in thought, his brow furrowed. Perhaps he had his own concerns and considerations, but in Danzo Shimura's eyes, this was undoubtedly a sign of cowardice.
Having not experienced a life-or-death battle for many years, Shimura Danzo, due to his long-term high position, developed a misconception that anyone would submit to him as long as Konoha Village was his backer. Konoha Village, as the foremost ninja village in the ninja world, possessed an incredibly deep foundation. Although Kumogakure Village adopted a stance of threatening war if dissatisfied during negotiations, the Konoha leadership never truly took them seriously. Their apparent weakness stemmed solely from their belief that this incident could be used to suppress the Hyuga clan. In reality, if Kumogakure were to actually wage war against Konoha, Konoha wouldn't be too concerned. The Senju brothers had left Konoha with an extremely strong foundation. Even though Konoha's leadership, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, squandered considerable resources, the mere fact that Kumogakure Village alone would wage war against Konoha would make Kumogakure understand why it was called the strongest ninja village in the ninja world.
It was precisely because Konoha possessed such profound resources that Shimura Danzo felt so confident, daring to act decisively even knowing Hyuga Kanan's superior strength. He firmly believed that once Konoha revealed its true power, even an opponent as strong as Hyuga Kanan would only face defeat. Therefore, in Shimura Danzo's eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen was far too cowardly, failing to fully utilize Konoha's resources to defeat Hyuga Kanan.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's worried and anxious expression, he finally lost his temper and shouted, "When did Konoha become so indecisive! To worry so much about a mere rogue ninja! While that guy's strength is indeed not to be underestimated, what is he compared to Konoha? Hiruzen Sarutobi, show him your guts! Immediately mobilize the Konoha ninja and launch a siege! Even if it comes at a price, subdue him quickly! Make sure he understands that Konoha is not a place where he can act with impunity!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts were interrupted by Danzo Shimura's words. His brows furrowed tightly, as if they were about to knot together. At this moment, he finally understood why Kanan Hyuga had called Danzo an idiot. Konoha Village certainly had a deep foundation, but that also depended on the strength of the enemy they faced.
Hyuga Kanan's displayed strength is almost at the level of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. How could Konoha's resources alone possibly contend with him? Even Uchiha Shisui, with his Mangekyou Sharingan, was like a child before Hyuga Kanan, utterly powerless. Relying solely on the resources left by the previous two Hokage to successfully defeat Hyuga Kanan is simply a pipe dream.
More importantly, Hyuga Kanan is not alone now. Behind him stand the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, two powerful families of Konoha. If an attack is launched against him now, attempting to encircle and annihilate him, then Konoha Village may truly become history, no longer just empty talk or a joke.
"Enough, Danzo! Don't you realize what you're doing? Hyuga Kanan's assessment of you is absolutely correct; you're a hopeless idiot! Do you really think that Konoha's so-called strength is enough to make you invincible? Have you even bothered to understand just how powerful Hyuga Kanan truly is? Please, use your brain for a second! Figure out the situation before you try to discuss this with us!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious. He couldn't believe that Shimura Danzo could be so outrageously stupid. Previously, he'd thought Danzo was somewhat naive, making him easier to control. But now, he realized that Danzo had lost all basic judgment and wasn't there to discuss solutions; he was clearly trying to drag everyone down into an abyss of no return!
Danzo Shimura, startled by Hiruzen Sarutobi's angry shout, felt a ripple of emotion stir within him. He had never seen Hiruzen so furious, especially towards him, a comrade of over 50 years with whom he had shared countless life-and-death experiences. However, he knew that Hiruzen's current attitude was genuine, meaning he had truly crossed the other's line.
Although he often scoffed at Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, believing him to be too weak and easily bullied, he also understood that when Hiruzen Sarutobi got serious, he was still the valiant ninja who had once single-handedly confronted the Third Mizukage. At that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi displayed unparalleled courage and determination, leaving everyone in awe.
At that moment, Shimura Danzo realized that his words might have truly angered Hiruzen Sarutobi. He began to reflect on his actions, wondering if he had gone too far. After all, they were each other's closest comrades-in-arms, having weathered countless storms together. Perhaps he should have been more respectful of Hiruzen's feelings and avoided causing unnecessary conflict again.
Deep down, Shimura Danzo silently reminded himself to handle his relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi more carefully in the future. At the same time, he decided to re-examine his own views and attitudes, striving to do better. He knew that only in this way could they maintain their deep friendship and continue to stand shoulder to shoulder, sharing the responsibilities of Konoha.
Seeing that Danzo had fallen silent and was now looking at him with a serious expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Danzo had also come to his senses, so he stopped blaming him. What he needed now was to resolve the conflict with Hyuga Kanan while also appeasing him. He looked around, signaling everyone present to share any good ideas they might have so they could discuss them together.
Seeing Shimura Danzo being reprimanded, Mitokado Homura, as the logistics manager of Konoha, knew that Sarutobi Hiruzen was truly anxious and needed a solution. He stopped being a coward and offered his own opinion.
"Hiruzen, are you saying that you've already decided you can't defeat him on your own? Or that you can't use the current situation in Konoha to force him to submit?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded silently, a bitter smile on his face, indicating that this was the cruel truth. He knew that only by revealing some irrefutable information to the people before him could they fully see the grim situation they were facing and stop being as blindly confident and headstrong as Danzo.
"So the question is, what exactly is Hyuga Kanan's intention in returning to Konoha this time? Before this, we had in-depth communication with Hyuga Hiashi. Based on the information we had at the time, Hyuga Hiashi also knew very little about Hyuga Kanan's return to Konoha, and even learned of his possible return from us. This is enough to show that Hyuga Kanan's return to Konoha this time is a completely temporary decision without a clear purpose. Everyone, do you remember why Hyuga Kanan returned to Konoha last time?"
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, feeling slightly more at ease. However, this attack on Hyuga Kanan was likely to cause another stir. Some of the others looked at Shimura Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen with grim expressions. It was once again their failure to investigate properly before attacking Hyuga Kanan, complicating matters. They wondered if they could weather this storm.