According to conspiracy theories, the deaths of Senju Nawaki and Kato Dan were both somehow connected to Danzo.
Given their backgrounds, if they had grown strong enough, they would have had a very good chance of becoming Hokage.
Hatake Sakumo’s death also seemed impossible to separate from Danzo.
ninja missions were classified information.
Without someone in Konoha’s upper ranks stirring the pot, how would ordinary villagers have even known about the details, much less organized public condemnation?
Then there were the incidents that were practically confirmed: the tragedy of Nagato’s group, Yakushi Nono’s fate, and even the Uchiha Clan massacre.
In short, whenever something terrible happened in the Ninja World and nobody knew who was responsible…
Blame Danzo.
Having Danzo as a teacher really didn’t seem like a bright future.
Akira sighed inwardly.
Still, it wasn’t a huge problem.
After all, killing your teacher was practically a Konoha tradition.
At the training ground, besides the already familiar Danzo, his other two teammates had already arrived.
Both had white hair.
One of them was Hiruko.
The moment he spotted Akira, he flashed him a huge grin, obviously delighted that they had been placed on the same team.
The other white-haired boy looked five or six years older than they were, likely someone who had graduated at the normal age.
Akira recognized him immediately.
Hatake Sakumo.
Akira couldn’t help wondering if Danzo had a thing for white-haired students.
Otherwise, why were so many of his disciples white-haired?
He seriously suspected Danzo was subconsciously projecting his admiration for Tobirama onto them.
Should I dye my hair white too?
Maybe I’d get special treatment.
He considered the idea with complete seriousness.
Once everyone had arrived, Danzo spoke.
“My name is Shimura Danzo.
I’ll be your jonin instructor from now on.
Introduce yourselves.
Tell us what you’re good at, what you like, what you dislike, and what your dream is.” Akira glanced to his left.
Hiruko stepped forward first.
“Danzo-sensei, hello.
I’m Hiruko.
I specialize in medical ninjutsu.
I enjoy studying medicine.
There’s nothing in particular that I dislike.
My dream is to become a legendary healer capable of bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bone.” Having shared a desk with Akira for so long, Hiruko had long realized that everyone needed to find their niche.
While learning alongside Akira and Tsunade, he had also buried himself in countless medical books.
Within this squad, he had already decided to become the team’s medical shinobi.
Akira raised an eyebrow.
He had originally planned to introduce himself as the team’s medic.
Medical shinobi were usually protected first during battle.
But since Hiruko had beaten him to it…
He would go with something else.
“Hello, Danzo-sensei.
I’m Akira.
I specialize in fuinjutsu.
I enjoy researching ninjutsu, secret techniques, and forbidden techniques.
I dislike self-righteous idiots.
My dream is to become Hokage someday.” Danzo’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
This kid…
has the same dream as me.
The older white-haired student then introduced himself.
“Hello, everyone.
My name is Hatake Sakumo.
I specialize in kenjutsu.
I enjoy reading.
I dislike eating dango.
My dream is to become a great hero admired by everyone.” Akira inhaled sharply.
He had just been complaining about Sakumo, and now the man himself was standing right in front of him.
Hatake Sakumo…
was Danzo’s student?
Seriously?
But if Sakumo really had been Danzo’s disciple, then perhaps his eventual death really wasn’t that simple.
Or…
Was this another butterfly effect caused by Akira’s arrival?
Maybe Sakumo had originally belonged to someone else’s team.
Akira frowned as he pondered the possibility.
Meanwhile, Danzo had already taken out two bells, beginning the Hokage lineage’s traditional exercise.
“I have two bells.” “The three of you will now attempt to take them from me with the intent to kill.” “This is your first mission as my students.” “Show me what you’re capable of.” The moment Danzo finished speaking, Hiruko immediately looked toward Akira.
Akira gave Hiruko a hand signal before shooting a glance at Sakumo.
Without another word, the three of them scattered, putting distance between themselves and Danzo.
Soon, they regrouped inside a small forest.
Hiruko spoke first.
“Akira, what’s the plan?” Akira rolled his eyes.
“Do either of you have any good ideas?” Hiruko immediately shook his head.
The moment he’d learned he was on the same team as Akira, he’d already decided to become dead weight.
After all, the most important quality of good dead weight was finding a reliable teammate to carry you.
Sakumo spoke up.
“First, we create a favorable battlefield.
We’ll set traps, lure him into them, then take the bells while he’s occupied.” “That’s the general idea,” Akira agreed.
“But…
how good are either of you at making traps?” Sakumo silently looked up at the sky.
Hiruko lowered his head and began counting ants.
“…Yeah, I think I understand your level now.” “I’ll handle the traps.” Seeing he couldn’t count on either of them, Akira got to work himself.
His basic shinobi skills had long since been maxed out.
Being a jack-of-all-trades wasn’t just a boast.
He quickly began laying out trap after trap.
Not only standard shinobi mechanisms…
But also elaborate tomb traps straight out of Tomb Raider.
After setting up several chained mechanisms, everyone took their positions.
Sakumo drew his short blade and charged out first.
Akira and Hiruko remained hidden.
Before long, the sharp clang of steel striking steel echoed through the forest.
The sounds grew closer.
Sakumo fought while retreating, steadily drawing Danzo toward the prepared killing ground.
Akira exchanged a glance with Hiruko.
The two of them burst from hiding.
The three surrounded Danzo together, gradually forcing him toward the trap zone.
When the timing was perfect, Akira threw a shuriken.
The blade sliced through a concealed rope.
The mechanism activated.
Dozens of arrows rained toward Danzo.
Danzo merely formed hand seals before slamming a palm onto the ground.
“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.” A thick earthen wall rose instantly.
But just as it blocked the arrows, green poisonous gas spread from the arrowheads, flowing right over the wall and enveloping everything within a three-meter radius.
Danzo’s expression shifted slightly.
His body vanished.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, he leaped onto a nearby tree.
But Sakumo’s blade was already there, catching him completely off guard.
After exchanging several blows, Danzo was driven toward another trap.
Akira made a slight adjustment to the firing angle.
Another barrage of arrows launched in rapid succession.
This time…
Explosive arrows.
Every arrowhead carried a miniature grenade.
The arrows either flew directly at Danzo or struck the ground around him, triggering continuous explosions.
Shrapnel scattered in every direction as thick smoke filled the air.
Meanwhile, Sakumo had already slipped back beside Akira.
Watching the endless explosions, he secretly clicked his tongue.
That’s brutal…
What if we actually kill Sensei?
Even Hiruko looked worried.
“Akira…
we didn’t actually kill Danzo-sensei, did we?” Akira curled his lip.
“You’re seriously underestimating a jonin.” “On an actual battlefield, the three of us could all die before he even got hurt.” “A few explosions aren’t enough to kill him.” Without making a sound, Danzo appeared behind the three of them and clapped his hands.
Hiruko nearly jumped out of his skin.
Akira was just about to attack when Danzo called out.
“That’s enough.” “I’ve seen enough to understand your abilities.” “Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin taking missions.” “Dismissed.” Akira and Hiruko exchanged helpless looks before shrugging and preparing to head home.
After the three students had left…
Danzo’s figure instantly vanished.
Inside the Hokage Assistant’s office, the real Danzo, who had been helping the Hokage process classified documents, frowned slightly.
Those brats are pretty capable.
They actually destroyed one of my Shadow Clones.
Good thing I prepared in advance and stationed two Shadow Clones near the training ground…
Otherwise, that would’ve been embarrassing.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ [Translator’s Notes] Hello, everyone!
I just posted another new story called.
Don’t forget to check it out.