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Chapter 322: Hari: It's Back, Everything's Back!
Chapter 322: Hari: It's Back, Everything's Back!
"Hari, what's the matter?"
Upon entering the Hokage's office, Danzo naturally noticed the presence of the Shinzo Clan leaders, but he paid them no mind.
"Danzo, give me the recruitment list!"
Hari extended his hand.
The list he had just signed must have been problematic.
"Here!"
Danzo produced the list.
Hari unfolded the list and scanned the names, his face darkening as he did so.
Fake.
The list had only a few names, including a handful from the Mountain Clan and just two from the Yuki Clan.
With such a small number, Hari believed the major clans would not refuse to give him face, which was why he had signed it in the first place.
"Danzo, I want the real list, the actual one!"
Hari's voice was low, like a lion about to roar in anger.
Shinryuu!
This was one of his old titles, though Dong Ping had jokingly referred to him as 'Shinryuu the Bear'. Nonetheless, it was a testament to his formidable aura.
Without this kind of aura, it would have been impossible for him to rise to power and keep Danzo firmly under control.
Seeing this side of his old friend, which had not been displayed for many years, Danzo had no choice but to reluctantly produce the real list from his pocket.
Without the Hokage's signature, the clans would not obey Root's orders.
This was the restriction Hari had placed on Root, so when it came to large-scale recruitment, they needed to obtain orders first.
Of course, if it was just one or two 'troubled' clan members that Danzo lured into Root, then it was their bad luck.
After obtaining the real list, Hari barely glanced at it before almost fainting.
Are you stocking up on discounted goods?
The sheer number of names on the list made him dizzy just by looking at it, let alone agreeing to it.
Especially the Yuki Clan.
Good heavens, Hari exclaimed, the Yuki Clan had requested over half of their ninjas, and even their leader was on the list. It was practically an annexation, not a recruitment.
No wonder the usually silent and docile Yuki Chimei had spoken up this time.
You're trying to wipe out the clan; it would be strange if they didn't protest.
"Danzo, how dare you!"
Hari looked at his old friend, genuinely puzzled as to how he could have dared to do this.
Didn't he know that these smaller clans were the pillars of the Hokage Clan?
"Hari, I'm doing this for the village!"
Danzo, on the other hand, had a clear conscience.
Yes, he had no personal agenda; in his heart, as long as it was for the village, he was willing to do anything, even if it involved the Uzumaki Clan.
Righteous and Unyielding!
This was Danzo's mindset, which was why he dared to ignore these clan leaders who were clearly here to complain.
"You... you..."
Hari pointed at his old friend, and even with his robust physique, he felt a bit breathless.
Though he was used to cleaning up after his friend, he had never expected him to dig such a deep hole for the Hokage.
"They enjoy the village's protection, so what's wrong with contributing to the village now?"
Danzo retorted with a cold face.
After all, he had always been the bad cop in the village, so he wasn't afraid of offending these clans.
Hari, on the other hand, found the situation amusing.
Yes, they did have an obligation to contribute to the village, but not to the point of sacrificing themselves for it.
"Enough, Root is not allowed to recruit from the major clans anymore. This is the Hokage's order!"
Hari didn't want to continue the verbal sparring with Danzo and decided to put his foot down.
When it came to 'reasoning', Danzo was no match for him.
"Hari, you'll regret this!"
Danzo instinctively resisted.
Whenever he heard Hari using the Hokage's authority to suppress him, he couldn't help but shout this phrase.
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Hari also used this phrase to emphasize his Hokage status.
It's back, everything's back!
When Minato Namikaze ascended to the Hokage position, Hari felt something was amiss.
Now he realized that it was because, without the Hokage's authority, he couldn't suppress Danzo anymore.
After suppressing Danzo with his Hokage identity, he instantly felt a sense of relief, and even the fatigue and irritability from this period dissipated.
Yes, he was the Hokage, the ruler of Konoha, and nothing could stop him.
Danzo left with a grudge.
After experiencing the drama of being suppressed by the 'tyrannical Hokage' once again, his obsession with becoming Hokage grew even stronger.
As long as he could complete the surgery and then remove Hari from his position, who else could claim the title of Hokage?
"Wait for it, Hari. After I become Hokage, I'll say 'I am the Hokage' to you ten times a day."
Danzo spoke these words in a voice only he could hear.
Yes, being suppressed by Hari's Hokage identity numerous times was also a reason he wanted to take the Hokage position.
In the Hokage's office!
Seeing Danzo leave in anger, the atmosphere relaxed a little.
At least Hari was willing to stand up for them, whether it was genuine or an act, having this attitude was good enough.
"Hokage-sama, what about those who have been taken into Root...?"
Nara Shikaku spoke up, reminding the others.
Not everyone had the courage to refuse Danzo in person when he paid a visit. Some smaller Shinzo clans could only let Root take their people away.
The Yuki clan was also spared because of Chimei's firm stance, so Danzo didn't force the issue.
In other words, many Shinzo clan members had already been taken away by Root.
Now, they had to find a way to retrieve them.
If time dragged on, with Root's brainwashing capabilities, those people would soon become copies of Danzo.
"Clan leaders, please return first. I'll go to Root and negotiate with Danzo!"
Hari seemed to take full responsibility with his response.
But Nara Shikaku's gaze lowered.
He had already realized that this was a compromise.
Hari neither guaranteed to bring the people back nor mentioned a timeframe. If they waited any longer, once the situation became irreversible, the Shinzo clans would have no choice but to accept this fact.
However, even though Nara Shikaku saw through this, he dared not speak up.
Coming here to 'seek justice' was already Hari's limit of tolerance. If he continued to speak, he might easily lose the other's trust.
The Ino-Shika-Cho had always been followers of the Sarutobi clan, and they couldn't tolerate him 'betraying them'.
'Never mind, at least the Yamanaka and Yuki clans are safe!'
In the end, Nara Shikaku chose to compromise.
After this farce ended, it seemed that Danzo had lost face, but in reality, he had lost face and gained substance.
He had acquired a large number of people from other Shinzo clans.
These Shinzo clan members, whether in strength or potential, far surpassed the orphans raised by Root, so it was a significant gain.
One could say that Danzo might have an eccentric personality and be stubborn, but he wasn't stupid.
His original plan was to maximize benefits, meaning taking all the people on the list into Root. If that couldn't be achieved, he could still secure the minimum by taking those ninjas who were taken away on the spot due to his personal visit.
With these additional resources, Danzo naturally wouldn't sit idle. He immediately dispatched a large number of Root ninjas to the Heavenly Fortress.
In the past, this might have been difficult.
The population of the Heavenly Fortress was pitifully small, and even monitoring everyone wouldn't have been an issue.
But now, with a population of over ten thousand and still growing, infiltrating was genuinely not a challenge.
As for the River Country?
Root was naturally aware, after all, the disturbance was a bit too loud.
But Danzo didn't care! In his mind, only the Five Great Nations were worth his attention, and a small country like the River Country didn't deserve the concern of a 'Shadow of the Shinobi' like him.
This was also the reason why Root kept a close eye on the Heavenly Fortress but turned a blind eye to the neighboring River Country.
Unfortunately, Danzo didn't know.
In the River Country, where he paid no attention, something was happening.
A secret envoy from the Sunagakure had arrived.
In the River Country, they engaged in a negotiation that would have a significant impact.
(End of Chapter)
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