At this moment.
From Danzo's perspective, Aoba was watching the show that Hiruzen invited Danzo to come out of the mountain.
When he saw this scene. It also confirmed his conjecture. Danzo was only a somewhat radical young man at this time, far from the original work.
It seems...
Danzo was also developed by Hiruzen!
Now, through Danzo's perspective, Aoba knew many things that had never been shown in the original work, which made him more clear about the past of Hiruzen and Danzo.
After a short period of thought. Aoba was once again immersed in Danzo's memory.
Instantly, the memory continued.
After Danzo heard Hiruzen's invitation, even he did not know why he did not have the slightest intention of laughing. Instead, his heart was somewhat moved.
"Are you really willing to believe in me?"
Danzo looked at Hiruzen in front of him in a daze. His eyes flickered with thoughts. Perhaps only he knew that in the deepest part of his heart, he did not want to obtain the recognition of everyone but only wished to get Hiruzen's recognition.
"Danzo, have you not noticed that we are like light and dark sides?" Hiruzen immediately asked. When he asked this question, his tone suddenly became even more excited. It was as if he was expressing some special feelings.
"I just feel that we are always on the opposite side," Danzo said in a bad mood.
"That is because you misunderstood the light and darkness!" Hiruzen's voice became calm again. His tone paused slightly as if he was adjusting his state. Then he continued, "Light and darkness are actually not opposing each other, but one. There is light, and there is darkness. This is complimentary. Light will not completely dispel the darkness, and darkness will not completely replace the light. Therefore, we should not be fighting but governing Konohagakure together!"
"Governing Konohagakure together?" After hearing Hiruzen's words, Danzo seemed to be a little tempted. However, after thinking for a while, he hesitated a little and could not help but say, "Then why am I not on the side of the light, you on the side of the darkness? I also want to be the Hokage!"
"Danzo, my position as Hokage was entrusted to me by Tobirama-sensei before he died. Do you not even care about Tobirama-sensei's last words?" Hiruzen said without hesitation. He seemed to have thought that Danzo would ask this. He had already thought of an answer. Then, he did not allow Danzo to interrupt. He continued, "What's more, now that I have Tobirama-sensei's last words, I have to face many difficulties if I want to become Hokage. If you want to become Hokage, do you know how to face it?"
"This..."
Danzo was indeed persuaded by Hiruzen's words. If it were so easy to become the Hokage, Hiruzen would not have come to him for help.
Now, even Hiruzen, who had been given the title of Hokage, would have to face many difficulties if he wanted to inherit the position of Hokage formally.
In this one month.
Even if he lived in seclusion and didn't ask about the world, he could still hear the rumors in the village.
The Senju clan was competing for the Hokage position.
The Uchiha clan was the same.
The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan had different voices.
Moreover.
Among them, the one with the highest voice to inherit the Hokage position was not Hiruzen. Instead, it was Uchiha Kagami who had come back with them.
Apart from the Senju clan, the Sarutobi clan, and the majority of the Hyuga clan. The rest of the people were very optimistic about Kagami.
This also made Danzo understand a principle.
Even if he did not help Hiruzen, he would not be able to become the Hokage.
Now there was no chance to stand on the side of the light. There was only darkness left. If it was someone else who became the Hokage… He would not even have the chance to become a Hokage!
"What do you need me to do?"
Danzo's face was gloomy and solemn. He was a decisive person. When he made a decision, he would not hesitate easily. This was his firm character.
After hearing Danzo's words, Hiruzen nodded. He understood Danzo and knew his character. After seeing Danzo's performance, he knew they had reached a consensus.
"I want you to be my Hokage assistant and take over the Anbu that Tobirama-sensei has built. I can feel at ease only if this power is in your hands." Hiruzen said in a deep voice.
"The Anbu are much more complex than you think, and they are not monolithic. The interests of each other are involved. I am afraid it is difficult to form substantial power. If you want to use the power of Anbu to do things, it is very, very difficult!" Danzo held his chin with his right hand and assumed a thinking posture. Now, it was like he was starting a business with Hiruzen. He began to express his own opinions and fully expressed his thoughts.
"What do you think?" Hiruzen's eyes suddenly lit up. He had come to find Danzo because he had taken a fancy to Danzo's style of doing things. He was comparable to their teacher. He would come up with some things that he did not expect.
"Hiruzen, the current Anbu, has been severely refined by Tobirama-sensei. The Intelligence Division has a captain from the Intelligence Division, the Assassination Division has a captain from the Assassination Division, the Torture and Interrogation Division has a captain from the Torture and Interrogation Division, and other such division has their captain. Tobirama-sensei scattered the power of Anbu because he did not have the energy to manage Anbu after he became Hokage, and he did not want to hand over the overall power of Anbu to one person. Now that this situation has been formed, it is impossible for us to take back these rights from the hands of those captains, just like you can't take all the power scattered in the village into your own hands." Danzo began to mutter. He analyzed the current situation while quickly thinking of a solution in his mind. After he figured out that he wanted to cooperate with Hiruzen, he immediately entered the Hokage assistant position.
"I understand what you said. This is what Tobirama-sensei did to weaken everyone's rights, but this also directly weakened Hokage's rights, leading to this stage of power replacement; I have no way to win more support." Hiruzen said helplessly. He knew very well what his teacher had done. He could not say that there was a problem with this move. He could only say that there were pros and cons. Right now, he was on the side where he did not enjoy the benefits. What he felt were all drawbacks.
"I have a solution." Danzo raised his eyes and stared at Hiruzen. He had already thought of a solution just now, but he had not said it. He was still hesitating in his heart. Should he stand on the same side as Hiruzen and not on the opposite side?
"I knew you could do it!" Hiruzen immediately praised Danzo. His eyes flashed with light, and he said, "Danzo, without your help, I will not be able to become the Hokage; I really want you to help me!"
"I understand."
Hiruzen's speech moved Danzo. They were still hot-blooded youths at this time, and he was not as shrewd as Hiruzen. So many words of approval from Hiruzen made Danzo feel a great sense of recognition.
Now he seems to feel like a bachelor dying for his confidant.
Treat me like a ruler, and I will repay you as befits a ruler!
Danzo was feeling this way right now. His heart was warm, and he had already abandoned his prejudice against Hiruzen. He was willing to do anything for Hiruzen, even if it was to become the darkness under the light.
"We can't touch the Anbu's right, just like we can't do anything like the power of the big clans. We need a little time to support our forces. So I think you can inform the public that you guard the door for Tobirama-sensei. You will not inherit the position of Hokage within three years." Danzo immediately said.
Hiruzen took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with suspicion. He carefully stared at Danzo, hesitated for a moment, and could not help but ask, "Will this lead to a lot of dreams at night?"
"What we want is long nights and many dreams!" Danzo nodded directly. He had already entered a state of mind.
Hiruzen was an indecisive person, to begin with. He had been too hesitant in handling many matters, causing him to miss out on many fleeting opportunities.
Of course, Hiruzen took hold of the most decisive opportunity in his life. From then on, he became the Third Hokage.
Through that time, Danzo also discovered his problem. He might not be able to stand in front to shield himself from the wind and rain, but if he had to retreat behind the scenes to participate in the planning, he could be said to be able to do it with ease.
"If we fight them head-on now, the one who will lose will be you. If there is no accident, the candidate for the Third Hokage will be Kagami."
Danzo stared at Hiruzen, his eyes flashing with wisdom as if everything was under his control.
"If you, who has Tobirama-sensei's last words, do not inherit the position of the Hokage, then the person who is supported by the popularity of the village can not inherit the position of the Hokage at this time. This way, it will be directly pushed to three years later."
Danzo's voice was a little low. When he said these words, his brain was running fast. As he said these words, his thoughts became clearer and clearer.
"You mean that we will have a big decisive battle three years later. This is our three-year agreement to fight for the position of Hokage?" Hiruzen's breathing became rapid. He thought of the possible future battle between the two parties, and even his heart began to beat faster.
"What are you afraid of!"
Danzo rolled his eyes at Hiruzen. He could not connect Hiruzen's useless appearance with the person standing up in the forest and said he was willing to sacrifice himself as bait for everyone.
However, things had already come to this. Danzo was no longer bothered about the past. Instead, he continued to look forward.
"These three years are meant to calm them down and give them mental time. But we don't need to wait for it to end; we can take action in between." The corners of Danzo's mouth slightly curled up, and he said something that directly subverted Hiruzen's inherent thinking.
"You mean a sneak attack?" Hiruzen was stunned. He felt that finding Danzo here was the correct choice he had ever made.
"That's right!"
Danzo nodded and continued, "With your current support condition, it is absolutely impossible to surpass Kagami openly and fairly, so we have to use other means."
"Do you have any plans?" Hiruzen immediately asked. His mood was very heavy. After all, he was very clear about what Danzo meant. As the successor chosen by their teacher, he was very clear that before the accident, whether it was the favor of the teacher or the crowd, Kagami could be said to have the upper hand.
"Yes!"
Danzo immediately nodded. Now that he had said it to this point, he naturally would not hold back anything.
"The first step is to accumulate our power. This power must belong to us. It can't be obtained from other existing power. Otherwise, there will likely be problems."
"So I suggest..."
"We have to set up a special Anbu team, which only listens to you alone. It is similar to Tobirama-sensei and the six of us. Its name is Hokage's Anbu!"
"Correspondingly, I want to establish a force that only listens to me in the dark. This force is different from Anbu. It is called Root!"
"These two forces will be important weapons for you to ascend to the position of Hokage!"
Danzo said one sentence after another, directly speaking to the most crucial point of this matter.
They had no power, then they needed time to accumulate power. This power must be a loyal and trusted subordinate.
"Okay!"
Hiruzen nodded repeatedly. For the matter of the Hokage position, he had been so anxious that his hair had turned white in the past few days. He had no way to calm down and think about it.
This state made him fall into a strange circle. The more anxious he was, the more confused he became. The more he couldn't think of a way, the more anxious he became in the end.
Now, Danzo had clearly explained everything. This made him feel much more confident in his heart. He then silently remembered Danzo's decision in his heart.
"Hiruzen, remember this. In the early stage of the development of these two power, we have to focus on elites. We would rather have fewer people than have more!" Danzo warned Hiruzen.
"Understood!" Hiruzen nodded again.
"Then I will go on to the second step!"
Seeing that Hiruzen had fully understood his meaning, Danzo began to change the topic.
"What I want to say next..."
"It might sound a bit harsh!"
"But this is the only path you must take to become the Hokage!"
"There is no other way!"
"Do you understand what I mean?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes and asked Hiruzen. He had to confirm whether the person he entrusted was really worth it or not. Otherwise, no matter how many ideas he had, he had no room to use them.
"I understand!" Hiruzen nodded. At this time, he didn't want to pretend to be the Hokage with Danzo. He just wanted to fulfill their teacher's last wish. He had already clearly expressed that he wanted to be the Hokage.
"This is what I said we must do in these three years!"
Danzo began to tell Hiruzen about his plans. These plans really made many people feel uncomfortable.
"Your Hokage's Anbu only has one purpose, and that is to protect your safety. Because in these three years, you will be assassinated countless times. You have to be mentally prepared for this." Danzo had just said this sentence, but before he could enter the main point, he was interrupted by Hiruzen.
"Assassination? Why? Aren't we Tobirama-sensei's students? Even if we compete for the position of Hokage, they won't assassinate me, right?" There was doubt in Hiruzen's eyes. Although he was very shrewd, he was still a young man, and his understanding of the sinister nature of the various clans in the village was not that deep.
"In the fight for the Hokage, the winner becomes the king, the loser becomes the thief. There is only one person between you and Kagami who can live. The one who survives is the Third Hokage. So, do you think the Uchiha clan will not do anything to you? Don't be too naive, and don't think that everyone in the world is naive like you!" Danzo said snappily. When he spoke, he did not forget to roll his eyes at Hiruzen. He felt that this person was thinking too little.
"So, your plan is..." Hiruzen's pupils slightly shrank, and an ominous premonition emerged in his heart.
"That's right!"
Danzo nodded with an evil smile on his face.
"You don't need to do these things. Leave everything to me in secret. I won't leave any evidence behind and do things beautifully!"
"It's just as you said."
"You have to be on the bright side, show your kindness and heart to the people in the village. Use these two or three years to make the people of the village love you and secretly express that you are being assassinated. You must let the people in the village know that the other party is using some nasty tricks on you."
"But what you have to express is that you don't need to do this at all because you are the Hokage personally appointed by Tobirama-sensei. You are justified and fearless!"
"This is what you have to do."
"What I want to do is to collect Anbu's resources through the Root's power. Take the assassination division as an example. If the captain of the assassination division is willing to stand on our side, it is a good thing, but if he doesn't know how to appreciate kindness..."
When Danzo said this, he suddenly stopped. His tone suddenly became very cold, full of killing intent.
"Then I will change it to an obedient assassination division captain and let him lead the assassination division!"
"Any division among Anbu should be like this!"
"I can't integrate the power of the entire Anbu, but I can turn all the division captains into my people so that we can control the entire Anbu!"
While Danzo was talking, Hiruzen felt his scalp go numb.
Hiruzen has some tricks up his sleeve. But it was only some small black-bellied thing, and it wasn't even ruthless.
But if you put it in front of Danzo, who found his position after being activated. It was really heaven and earth.
Now, it was like small dirt seeing the big dirt!
"Hiss..."
Hiruzen couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. He couldn't guess how many people would die in this process.
However, Danzo had yet to finish his sentence.
The next words.
This caused Hiruzen to be even more shocked.
"When the Anbu is integrated into one, it will be the time to attack the various big clans!"
"If they are willing to support you, such as the Sarutobi clan, then there is no problem."
"But the clans that are unwilling to support you, such as this generation of Ino-Shika-Cho, and are actually partial to the Uchiha clan. There is a problem with this kind of clan head. We will replace them with people who are willing to support you."
"This way, the three core clans of Nara clan, Yamanaka clan, and Akimichi clan will stand on your side because the new clan head is on your side."
"In this way."
"It won't even take three years."
"You can gain the upper hand in terms of support."
Danzo's analysis was very logical. After he said all of this, Hiruzen's expression changed. He really wanted to say that this was not in line with his doctrine.
But...
He might as well just close his eyes.
Danzo did these things. It had nothing to do with him. He had done nothing!
Hiruzen had already begun to brainwash himself.
"There is still one last step!"
Danzo's voice sounded again at this time, pulling Hiruzen back from his struggle. He immediately focused his attention on Danzo.
"That is to eliminate the competitors!"
The moment Danzo said this, Hiruzen's expression changed greatly, and it changed again and again. Complicated emotions appear in his eyes one after another, but in the end, he still did not say a word and just waits for Danzo to finish his words.
"Everything I said just now was very ideal. The actual progress would not be so smooth. Any slight mistake could lead to failure in the end. Then there is the best solution."
"Get rid of Kagami!"
"This way, other than you, there was no one else who could become the Hokage!"
Danzo's voice was cold and full of killing intent, which made Hiruzen shiver and feels a little creepy.
"Danzo, Kagami is our companion!" Hiruzen took a deep breath. He was not feeling good right now.
"But he is also your biggest competitor!" Danzo shook his head and said, "Even if you win in the end and become the Hokage, there is still someone in the village who can stand against you. Will your position be so stable?"
"No!" Hiruzen firmly shook his head.
"Leave Kagami to me. You need to know nothing. After all, you still care about the feelings of your peers, and I am not so kind. Everything in front of me is an enemy!" Danzo coldly said. In fact, he was not completely thinking about Hiruzen. This was also to clear the obstacles in his taking over the Hokage position. After all, when Hiruzen successfully became the Hokage, he only needed to get rid of Hiruzen!
"Let's do as you say!" Hiruzen nodded with pity on his face, but he disappeared in a flash.
Aoba was, in Danzo's perspective, watching all of this. He had been focusing on observing Hiruzen. He wanted to see if this person really felt that this was not a good thing and pretended to say so.
However...
Aoba needed to see it more clearly. He could only say that if this scene of Hiruzen was not real but an act, then his acting skills were really good.
No matter what was said. Aoba was already certain of one thing. That was, Hiruzen was an extremely hypocritical existence!
On the surface, he stood in the place where the sun was shining, but inside he outsourced the darkness to Danzo. This also made Aoba understand why Danzo could get Hiruzen's forgiveness no matter what he did.
Because...
Danzo was the other half of Hiruzen.
They were one!
These things were all tacitly approved by Hiruzen behind Danzo's back!
For Hiruzen, Danzo was also a sharp knife that he could use. However, this knife had always been hidden in the dark and was already invisible.
All of a sudden, Aoba had a clearer understanding of the relationship between Hiruzen and Danzo.
Then, Aoba opened his eyes. His gaze focused on the diagram in front of him.
He picked up a pen and drew a few more lines between Hiruzen and Danzo, placing them on equal sign.