This Danzo Is Weird!

Under Danzo's leadership, the meeting underwent some modifications and compromises to refine the proposed plan.

Finally, the plan was officially settled:

1. The most important mining region would be led by the Uchiha clan, with the Hyuga clan as secondary leaders, alongside a special force composed of various other clan ninjas and civilian ninjas for garrison and management.

2. The town on the Wind and Rain Country border would be funded by the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, constructed by the Nara clan, with the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans assisting in management.

3. The maritime transit island near the Water Country would be built by the village itself and serve as the central hub for all of Konoha's affairs within the Water Country.

4. The remaining four ports and coastal trade hubs would be funded and managed proportionally by the Sarutobi, Aburame, Inuzuka, and Kurama clans.

Although this distribution couldn't satisfy everyone, Danzo, despite being the war's greatest contributor, didn't allocate anything to his own Shimura clan. This fact alone made it difficult for anyone to voice objections.

Not only did they not dare to complain, but they even felt ashamed.

After all, every major clan present had fought aggressively to secure resources and benefits for their own families.

Yet, only Danzo asked for nothing!

In his heart, there was no personal gain—he only cared about the village!

He was truly selfless!

He embodied the same Will of Fire that the Senju clan once upheld!

Because of this, even those who were unhappy with the final arrangement had no choice but to accept it.

For instance, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

They had originally planned to claim a large share from the allocation, or at least ensure that their own people controlled one of the major ports.

However, Danzo had set an example by not taking anything for himself, leaving them no excuse to demand benefits.

Under such circumstances, if they insisted on fighting for clan interests, they would only make themselves look petty.

Of course, as elders and high-ranking figures of Konoha, they still had other ways to gain benefits.

For example, through investments, withholding certain resources, or manipulating logistics.

After all, the clans that had received these allocations would inevitably have to 'pay tribute' to the higher-ups.

Otherwise, a single bureaucratic obstacle could cause massive losses for them.

Collaboration is the key to mutual success, after all.

Danzo despised this corrupt system of political factions, but he also understood that absolute purity leads to stagnation.

As long as he could push forward his own plans, he was willing to turn a blind eye to certain things.

But if anyone dared to obstruct his grand strategy, they would have to face the true ruthlessness of Danzo Shimura.

With that, the political banquet had finally concluded.

Just as Danzo was preparing to return to the Root to focus on his personal long-term strategies, he was suddenly stopped by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Danzo, don't leave yet. There are still some matters we need to discuss."

Hiruzen's tone was calm.

Throughout the meeting, despite being the Hokage, Hiruzen had barely spoken.

To be precise, Danzo had taken the initiative to say everything he would have wanted to say.

This left the naturally paranoid Third Hokage feeling increasingly uneasy.

He couldn't be sure—was his old friend developing ambitions he shouldn't have?

Danzo paused, turned to look at Hiruzen, and immediately understood everything from his gaze.

Sensing the unusual tension in the room, the remaining high-ranking officials quickened their steps to leave.

Even Uchiha Fugaku, who had intended to invite Danzo for a celebratory meal, was pulled away by Minato Namikaze, who noticed the situation.

Soon, the large office was left with only four people:

Hiruzen Sarutobi

Danzo Shimura

Koharu Utatane

Homura Mitokado

However, Hiruzen clearly intended for this to be a private conversation.

"Koharu, Homura, you two should step out as well."

This statement surprised the two advisors.

Hiruzen had always valued their counsel, yet this time, even they were not allowed to stay.

Though displeased, they had no choice but to obey.

After all, Hiruzen was still the Hokage.

As the door closed behind them, Danzo sat silently across from Hiruzen, his face emotionless.

A long table separated the two men.

Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. Instead of sitting in his original seat and directly confronting Danzo, he chose to stand up, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked over to the window.

The setting sun gradually illuminated his wrinkled face.

"Danzo, the roots can only nourish the tree when they remain buried underground. Once exposed to sunlight, they will quickly rot."

Hiruzen finally spoke.

He didn't try to sugarcoat his words—he got straight to the point.

Danzo remained leaning back in his chair, eyes still closed.

Hiruzen turned to face him and continued:

"You carry too much darkness. You are not suited to become Hokage!"

Danzo slowly opened his eyes.

"And what if I never intended to become Hokage?"

Hiruzen was momentarily stunned. His brows furrowed in confusion, but deep inside, he felt a slight sense of relief.

Even so, he questioned further:

"Then why have you been acting so strangely lately?"

Rescuing orphans, funding orphanages, easing tensions with the Uchiha, and even selflessly distributing all the wartime benefits to other clans—this was not the Danzo he knew!

Everything he had done recently seemed like an obvious attempt to build public support.

Danzo let out a sigh.

"If I said I did all of this for the village, would you believe me?"

Seeing the doubt written all over Hiruzen's face, a mocking smile crept onto Danzo's lips.

"See? You don't believe me."

His tone was filled with sarcasm.

"Hiruzen, you've been Hokage for too long. Power has blinded you."

"Even the purest acts of justice now look like dirty political maneuvers in your eyes."

Danzo slowly stood up, staring at the aging Hiruzen before him.

"Hiruzen, no matter how strong a tree trunk is, it will eventually decay."

"When that time comes, new branches will sprout from the roots."

"Becoming Hokage should be about protecting those new sprouts, not about holding onto the title itself."

His words seemed to strike something deep inside Hiruzen. His face instantly paled.

Closing his eyes, he remained silent for a long time before finally reopening them.

But instead of responding to Danzo's words, he simply said:

"I will expand the Root's personnel to 48 members. Give me a list of the people you need."

"From now on, you will be in charge of all intelligence work in the village."

"And… do not leave the village without permission."

Danzo said nothing. He simply turned and walked away.

Hiruzen stared at his retreating figure, speechless for a long time.

Five minutes later, the silence was broken—two documents appeared on his desk:

One was a list of personnel for the Root division.

The other was a budget request.

"That old bastard Danzo..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's stiff expression finally eased a little.

His relationship with Danzo was one where their fates were deeply intertwined—if one prospered, so would the other; if one fell, the other wouldn't be far behind.

Both of them knew too many of each other's dark secrets.

So, reaching a compromise was the best possible outcome.

Although they hadn't reached a clear conclusion regarding the Hokage position, they had still managed to strike a deal—

Danzo would get an expansion of Root and the recruitment of new personnel in exchange for his continued intelligence support and a promise not to leave the village unnecessarily.

This marked a temporary truce between Danzo and the Hokage.

However, when Hiruzen opened the budget request sent by Root, he was shocked by the sheer amount written on the document.

"That damn Danzo… What is he planning?!"

It wasn't an overreaction on Hiruzen's part—Danzo had requested ten times the usual funding for Root!

After all, he had many upcoming projects—

Managing operations in Wind Country and Water Country, researching agriculture and industrial technology, and various other high-cost endeavors.

According to Danzo's rough estimates, even ten times the usual budget wouldn't be enough.

More funding requests would have to be approved in the future.

Despite how outrageous this demand was, Hiruzen reluctantly approved it.

Danzo had secured substantial war reparations from the battlefield, so increasing his budget made some sense.

However, if Hiruzen could still accept the budget increase, what came next completely enraged him—

Danzo's recruitment request for new Root members.

The list included Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi, Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, and several other newly promoted Jonin who had performed well in the recent war.

Most importantly—his own son, Sarutobi Asuma, was on the list!

"That damn old dog Danzo! He's gone too far this time!"

For what felt like the hundredth time, Hiruzen roared in frustration.

---

Meanwhile, back in Root's headquarters, Danzo moved quickly, immediately sending the prepared list and budget proposal to Hiruzen.

As expected—

The budget increase was successfully approved.

The recruitment list was completely rejected.

After all, it was too outrageous—the list was filled entirely with elite Jonin.

If all of them were absorbed into Root, even Danzo himself couldn't imagine how powerful he would become.

Besides, there was no way Hiruzen would ever hand over his own son.

But Danzo had anticipated this.

So, he submitted a second list—his real target all along.

This new list was handed to Ryoma and sent directly to the Hokage's desk.

It contained names such as:

Kakashi Hatake

Shisui Uchiha

Yamanaka Fu

Morino Ibiki

Yamashiro Aoba

Aside from Kakashi and Shisui, the rest were only Chunin at this point.

This meant Hiruzen was less likely to reject it.

Among them—

Yamanaka Fu would later become a top-tier mind-reading specialist, famously defeating the Mist ninja Ao with a single Mind Body Switch Technique.

Morino Ibiki would go on to become one of Konoha's top interrogation experts, making him a perfect fit for Root.

Yamashiro Aoba, an expert in memory reading, crow manipulation, and Fire Style jutsu, had shown great strategic value in multiple battles against the Akatsuki. People even called him "Little Shisui."

Namiashi Raido and Shiranui Genma were also included in Danzo's picks.

Danzo's real goal wasn't just to recruit powerful shinobi—it was to shape the next generation of Root in his image.

__

This Danzo Is Weird 360 advanced chapters: (5-10 ch updates everyday)

Patreon.com/rashta

Be a member so you can also read:

1. 280 adv ch of Talent System In Naruto

2. 560 adv ch of Qian Renxue's Younger Brother

3. 270 adv ch of Uchiha Madara's Cousin

4. 163 adv ch of WDQK: Divorcing Ling Qingzhu (Complete)