Chapter 139. I'm Retired, Danzo!
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Sarutobi Hiruzen stood tall and imposing. Though his hair was graying, his once-hunched back straightened, showing no signs of diminishing his reputation as a hero of the ninja world.
With mastery over all five nature transformations and his ancestral Enma: Adamantine Staff, he moved with ease in battle.
However—
He was vastly outnumbered.
His sudden burst of energy quickly left him gasping for breath.
He was still a little too old!
As for Danzo... The so-called "Darkness of the Ninja" was highly overrated. Even though he still had both arms, without the Sharingan or Wood Release, his strength was diocre at best—far below Hiruzen's level.
No wonder... He eventually beca the second major stepping stone in his second nephew's journey to glory—right after a certain "artist."
Though his second nephew took many beatings along the way, he still had real strength.
Right now—
They were on the verge of losing a billion.
[Luckily.]
Minato arrived just in ti, leading the remaining Konoha ninja to reinforce them.
Unless the enemy possessed overwhelming power or bizarre abilities, sheer numbers ant little against Namikaze Minato.
The Sand ninjas started to hesitate.
They didn't expect to fail again.
Clearly—
Konoha now protected Shimura Danzo as fiercely as their Jinchuriki!
A Sand ninja's eyes sharpened. [I must report this to the Kazekage!]
anwhile, for the Konoha advisors...
Aside from Hiruzen, whose strength was slightly superior, the other three—Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo—were all roughly the sa in terms of combat ability. At most, Danzo was just more skilled in Wind Release.
With no other choice,
Kakuzu leveraged their lack of intel on him to stall Minato. He lowered his voice. "Move! Grab what you can and retreat!"
"Understood!" Biwa Juzo nodded.
As an assassin, he knew retreating was the best option. However, given his current predicant... If he fled now, both Konoha and Kirigakure would put bounties on his head. That ant he'd have to escape the Five Great Nations entirely.
But at this mont—
He wanted to give it one more shot.
Maybe—just maybe—if they succeeded, he could escape with a billion in hand, making his life a lot easier.
Juzo swiftly evaded attacks and charged toward Danzo.
Unfortunately, without an absolute powerhouse on their side, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu were enough to hold him off. Not to ntion—Orochimaru was watching gleefully from the side.
In the end—
The mission... failed!
Yuto, who had been secretly observing, shook his head in disappointnt. [Spending this 1 billion ryo is harder than I thought!]
Indeed—
Hiruzen and Danzo's bond ran too deep. To kill Danzo, one would first have to step over Hiruzen's dead body.
Why did Danzo die later on?
It's because the man behind him was gone!
That's the unshakable tradition of Konoha's bonds!
It had existed since the ti of the First Hokage.
Why did Hashirama die?
Because he also felt that the man behind him was gone!
Now that there was no hope left for the enemy, as a true rchant of the village, it was ti for Yuto to step in. He confidently stepped forward. "That's enough! This battle ends here! You no longer have a chance!"
The battlefield fell silent.
Everyone stared blankly.
Who the hell was this guy?
A Konoha ninja?
Minato and the others were equally shocked.
In a mont like this, Yuto had the courage to step forward?
Such strong "Will of Fire"!
"Interesting," Orochimaru chuckled, his eyes gleaming as if he'd found sothing amusing.
"Yuto, get out of here!" Minato's face darkened. "This is a battle between ninjas!"
However—
Yuto boldly declared, "No worries! These third-rate ninjas dare to target our village's Shimura Danzo? Laughable! Are they looking down on Konoha? Even as a businessman, I am not afraid! If you have guts, bring more people next ti!"
"..."
Although it makes so sense, why does it sound weird?
Especially Danzo... His eyelid twitched violently.
[This brat... is he holding a grudge because I haven't repaid that 100 million yet?]
"Yuto? Uchiha Yuto?" Kakuzu frowned. "The owner of Yuto Milk Tea?"
As soone who frequently bought the "Second Cup Half-Price" deal, he knew exactly who owned the business.
"A re rchant dares to interfere? Truly worthy of an Uchiha. But..." His voice turned icy. "This is a ninja's battlefield."
With that—
"Pah!"
He pulled out two stacks of explosive tags!
"..."
Silence fell over the battlefield. Kakuzu's face stiffened.
Look at the businessman in front of you.
A rich guy!!!
Even though the war had ended and the price of explosive tags had dropped, it was still not lower than usual. Yet this man pulled out two stacks without hesitation.
He was no ordinary rchant!
But then—
Seeing that no one reacted,
Yuto hesitated for a mont... and pulled out...
Two more stacks.
"..."
Is this guy not afraid of blowing himself up?
Even Minato and Hiruzen were watching with twitching eyelids.
[As expected... Only soone without proper ninja training would do sothing so foolish.]
So many explosive tags... What a waste!
It was painful to watch.
At this mont—
The Sand ninja let out a helpless sigh, thinking about his own village... Sunagakure. After their defeat in the Third Ninja World War, they were stuck in a remote location, and the Daimyo had cut off their funding. It was clear where things were headed.
And yet—
Konoha was this rich?
Even a re businessman could casually pull out such a large number of explosive tags without hesitation.
Unforgivable!
They no longer had a chance!
They had lost.
Not to Konoha's ninjas, but to wealth!
"Sunagakure, retreat!"
There was no hesitation.
"The Land of Fire is not a place you can co and go as you please!" a Konoha ninja roared, about to give chase, but Minato stopped him.
"Minato-sama..."
"Ignore them!" Minato shook his head and said firmly, "Our top priority is protecting Danzo-sama! He must not co to harm!"
With those words—
Even Hiruzen nodded in agreent!
Danzo... must not be hard!
"Interesting." Kakuzu glanced at Danzo indifferently. "I'll keep my billion stored in Konoha, then."
After saying this, he turned to leave, but before disappearing, he shot one last deep stare at Yuto.
In his eyes—
Was that... resentnt toward the rich?
Yuto was speechless.
At the sa ti, Biwa Juzo also gave Yuto a complicated look. A high-ranking S-rank mission had co from this man.
Everything was going well...
Until that traitor, Suikazan Fuguki, got promoted! Damn it! A sycophantic bootlicker like him rose in rank, while Juzo, the honest and hardworking one, was constantly scolded!
Kirigakure is dood!
Without another word, he vanished with a few quick leaps.
One by one, more people quietly left.
And with that—
The crisis was over!
The Konoha ninja all let out sighs of relief.
Danzo looked at Yuto's back with a complicated expression. A bitter smile crossed his lips as he clenched his fists. He never imagined... that one day, he would be saved by a businessman.
Perhaps...
Hiruzen was right.
Running a business wasn't sothing just anyone could succeed at.
At that mont—
"Danzo!"
"Hiruzen!"
The two n exchanged a long, complicated gaze.
After what felt like forever—
Danzo's heart trembled slightly. He recalled the mont Hiruzen had boldly put his arm around him and said they would leave together, despite being surrounded by enemies. His lips moved, and after a pause, he finally spoke calmly. "Thank you."
"It's what I should do," Hiruzen replied with a small smile. Then, after so hesitation, he sighed and said, "Let it go, Danzo."
With those words—
"Impossible! I will succeed!" Danzo roared.
"We've already failed!" Hiruzen smiled bitterly.
"With my wisdom and your reputation—"
"Shut up! Stop talking about your 'wisdom'!"
"You're really going to do this?"
"I can't watch you go down the wrong path! Co dance with ! I'll be your partner!"
"I was wrong about you! You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
"I'm retired, Danzo!"
"Hiruzen!"
"Danzo!"
The Konoha ninja watched, deeply moved by this powerful display of the Will of Fire.
Only Orochimaru and Yuto were different.
One was licking his lips with a sly smile.
The other... was feeling a bit sick to his stomach.
[If there's nothing else... I'll leave first!]
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Read upto [Chapter 170] in advance! - /kurato6180
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