“As everyone knows, the project to reduce redundant middle-ranking positions has made little progress.”
Minato had barely begun the meeting when Danzo interrupted him.
“Isn’t the project moving slowly because the person responsible is incompetent?”
“That brat made grand promises, yet he hasn’t produced a single result.
Is he truly qualified to serve as chief advisor?”
“No one is more suitable than Arashi—”
Minato tried to defend him, but Arashi quickly took over the conversation with a narrow-eyed smile.
“Then what has Danzo-sama, who promised to offer his full assistance, accomplished?”
“Did you arrange troublemakers to stab me in the back?”
“Did you secretly instruct Orochimaru to sabotage Obito’s experiment?”
“Or were you busy eliminating that child named [A] to destroy the evidence?”
Arashi had used the same secret to threaten Orochimaru yesterday.
Today, he exposed it during the meeting without hesitation.
He specialized in breaking promises and acting shamelessly.
What was that saying again?
There was no need to observe honor when dealing with evil men.
Besides, Arashi had never cared much about honor in the first place.
He was simply using one secret to devour two victims.
“You!”
Orochimaru was occupied with stealing forbidden techniques and relocating his research assets, leaving him no time to warn Danzo.
In Orochimaru’s eyes, [A] might have been exposed because Danzo betrayed him.
Otherwise, how could a secret known only to the two of them have suddenly reached Arashi?
Once again, Arashi used his advantage as a transmigrator to viciously scheme against both old conspirators.
Danzo was completely unprepared for the information Arashi suddenly revealed.
The earlier accusations about arranging disturbances and instructing Orochimaru to sabotage Obito were nothing more than slander.
However, the mention of [A] threw Danzo’s mind into chaos.
His guilty reaction made every accusation sound true.
“Danzo, what is the meaning of this?!”
Only then did Hiruzen realize that something had been hidden from him.
He genuinely knew nothing about [A].
Otherwise, he would not have been so shocked during the assassination attempt in the original story.
“Third Hokage-sama, now isn’t the time to change the subject.”
Arashi refused to give Danzo any chance to think and immediately solidified his accusations.
“As you can see, with such an outstanding assistant as Danzo-sama ‘helping’ me, how could the project possibly progress quickly?”
Minato seized the opportunity.
“Danzo-sama, you have undoubtedly made many contributions to Konoha.”
“However, your recent actions make me question whether spending so much money on Root is a mistake.”
“Therefore, our reduction of redundant positions will begin with Root.”
“Root is not some middle-ranking department!”
Danzo slammed the table furiously.
“This old man bears Konoha’s darkness.
Root is far more important than those useless officials who collect salaries without doing their jobs!”
“You have carried so much darkness that you may have become part of it yourself.”
Minato’s voice turned cold.
“If you don’t want Root to change from an organization bearing Konoha’s darkness into one rotting inside it, reduce its personnel and budget by half.”
“Following Arashi’s proposal, those resources will be used to establish the standing army and improve orphanages and education.”
“Improving the villagers’ lives is far more important than satisfying a group of old men hiding in the darkness.”
“Especially when those people attempted to assassinate the chief advisor.”
Danzo’s wrinkled face twisted with frustration as he glared viciously at Arashi.
Hadn’t they agreed that the incident was over?
However, Arashi merely smiled without supporting Minato’s words.
Danzo immediately understood.
The matter had ended only from Arashi’s perspective.
Minato was now pursuing it independently.
“Root performs Konoha’s filthiest yet most essential duties.”
“We monitor internal traitors and infiltrate enemy villages.”
Forced into a corner, Danzo produced his greatest trump card and slammed an intelligence report onto the table.
“Look at this!
Kumogakure is expanding its military.”
“If Konoha weakens its intelligence network, who will take responsibility when the next war begins?!”
It was certainly a powerful card capable of reversing the situation.
Unfortunately, Arashi refused to play along.
His narrow-eyed smile vanished, replaced by an expression of genuine shock.
“Danzo-sama…”
“You already knew Kumogakure was mobilizing, yet why did you delay reporting it?”
“Do you not recognize Minato as the Fourth Hokage?”
“Or did you believe this information could bring Root greater benefits if you kept it hidden?”
Danzo instantly fell silent.
‘Damn it!’
The information about [A] had shaken him, and in his desperation to protect Root, he had played the wrong move.
Hiruzen’s eyelid also twitched as he cursed inwardly.
‘That fool…’
Danzo had not concealed the report from the Elder Council.
The moment he received it, he shared it with the others so they could analyze the situation and prepare a response.
However, they had not informed Minato.
Everyone on the Elder Council knew that Hiruzen remained Konoha’s true ruler.
Minato was a commander without troops who could barely order the ANBU.
What purpose would informing him serve?
However, certain matters weighed less than four ounces before being placed on the scale, yet became too heavy for even a thousand pounds to balance afterward.
They could secretly disregard Minato, but they could never openly display it during a meeting.
Even a puppet Hokage was still the Hokage.
It was the position Danzo had failed to obtain throughout his entire life.
One only needed to see Fugaku’s excitement as his pen nearly flew across the page to understand how explosive this revelation was.
Danzo truly was both greedy and foolish.
After Arashi and Minato applied the slightest pressure, he hurriedly revealed his supposed trump card.
No wonder the Second Hokage had never chosen him.
“The report only arrived this morning.”
Hiruzen calmly began covering for Danzo.
“He immediately informed us, and we planned to report it during this meeting.”
Danzo needed to be disciplined, but Hiruzen could not allow Root to be weakened so severely.
Otherwise, Danzo would lose his ability to oppose Arashi and maintain the balance between them.
If Arashi became the only dominant faction, he would soon turn his attention toward the other council members and forget the Will of Fire entirely.
“Then does Hiruzen-sama believe it is reasonable for the Elder Council to receive military intelligence before the Fourth Hokage?”
No matter how Hiruzen tried to calm the situation, Arashi refused to release his grip.
He was determined to tear a piece of flesh from Danzo today.
“That isn’t what Hiruzen meant.”
Utatane Koharu spoke unhurriedly.
“We old people were indeed at fault this time.”
“Because we care deeply for the village, the intelligence concerning an enemy nation captured our full attention, and we temporarily forgot to report it.”
“This old woman apologizes to the Fourth Hokage.”
“As for Danzo, he certainly acted foolishly and deserves punishment.”
“However, he is still a veteran who has worked tirelessly and made countless contributions.”
“Immediately removing half of Root’s personnel and funding would be excessive.”
“It may dishearten Konoha’s shinobi.”
Her combination was extremely effective.
First, she reduced the serious offense of disregarding the Fourth Hokage into an innocent mistake caused by concern for the village.
Then she emphasized Danzo’s seniority and achievements.
He was guilty, but punishing him too severely would damage everyone’s morale.
Once people lost faith in their leadership, they would become difficult to command.
Could this powerless Hokage truly govern Konoha without the support of its elderly leaders?
However, Arashi had never intended to punish Danzo too severely.
Killing the chicken to warn the monkeys was ultimately only about killing a chicken.
The important part was frightening the monkeys.
Naturally, Arashi also needed to profit from the incident.
“Since all the elders are speaking on Danzo-sama’s behalf, we can consider a lighter punishment in recognition of his previous achievements.”
Arashi glanced toward Minato.
Minato immediately understood.
“Then Danzo-sama, please ensure this never happens again.”
Danzo was filled with unbearable resentment.
Two juniors had suppressed him and weakened his authority.
Afterward, he still needed to explain [A] to Hiruzen.
Had he possessed the ability to overturn the table, he would already have attacked Arashi.
Arashi took out a map.
“Then we’ll reduce Root’s personnel and budget by twenty percent.”
“We’ll also symbolically close this training ground and construct a new school in its place.”
“The old Ninja Academy can then be converted into an orphanage.”
“Does anyone object?”
Building a new school only to convert the old one into an orphanage seemed unnecessarily complicated.
Why not simply build an orphanage?
However, Arashi’s punishment for Danzo was unexpectedly light.
Even if the other elders sensed something suspicious, they were willing to grant him this small concession and remained silent.
The corner of Arashi’s mouth rose slightly.
Why did he insist on building a new school instead of directly constructing an orphanage?
Because schools generated money.
Arashi had secretly purchased the land surrounding Root’s training ground.
Once the new school was completed, nearby property values would increase at least threefold.
Discussing money in a shinobi world might sound somewhat vulgar, but a man still needed to eat.
Arashi saw nothing wrong with living comfortably.
Besides, the Elder Council still controlled Konoha’s finances.
Minato could not even afford someone to cook for him.
Arashi needed to accumulate some wealth for critical moments.
Otherwise, he could not even afford to maintain the Uchiha forces under his command.
Why would anyone risk their life for him without adequate compensation?
Did he think he was a terrible employer from his previous life, paying a salary of three thousand while expecting the loyalty of a death warrior?
Trying that in the shinobi world would result in his subordinates overthrowing him within minutes.
“Then implement the project as quickly as possible and begin preparations for the new school.”
Minato gave the order with visible excitement.
This was the first successful step of his reforms.
If he could reduce even Root, the other clans would surely become more cooperative.
Arashi picked up the project document.
He first glanced at the resentful Danzo.
His gaze then passed over Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu before finally settling on Minato.
Arashi inclined his head.
“Yes, Hokage-sama.”
…