Danzo's words were true and false, and his attitude seemed to be sincere.
After leaving the ward, he walked on the streets of Konoha.
He could see that the current Konoha was in a state of chaos.
Most of Ninja was helping rebuild Konoha.
In the plan for Konoha's collapse, both the Suna and Konoha suffered heavy losses.
Only Orochimaru was the only winner.
Back to Root, after a series of arrangements, Danzo got preliminary contact with Orochimaru.
...
In the forest near Konoha.
"I don't know if I should call you Yondaime or Minato." Orochimaru smiled coldly, while Minato stood in front of him.
After leaving Konoha, Orochimaru first sent his subordinates back to the Otogakure, while he waited in the hidden forest for Minato to meet up with him.
Because Minato left a mark on Orochimaru, he quickly found him.
In the face of Orochimaru's teasing, Minato smiled: "Just call me Minato. We will be partners in the future."
"Minato, if you have no feelings for Konoha, then our cooperation will be very pleasant."
"I will do what I say and cooperate with you."
Orochimaru was very satisfied with Minato's answer. He looked up at the sky and revealed a strange smile.
"There will be guests coming soon. Would Minato mind hiding himself?"
"It seems that I have no choice but to be willing," Minato said coldly.
In his heart, he roughly guessed that Orochimaru had an appointment with someone.
He would see the forest near Konoha, and there were many Root Ninjas hiding in the distance.
It was Danzo.
"If you want to stay, Minato, it's no problem, but this might cause Naruto trouble."
"I'll come back after you finish talking." Hearing Orochimaru's words, Minato snorted coldly.
He didn't like being threatened.
Especially when he threatened him with his family.
With a flash, he disappeared from Orochimaru's sight.
"Hmm? Is this one that Naruto used? With Reiatsu's footwork and Hiraishin no Jutsu, it seems that Minato's strength is even more terrifying." Orochimaru was speechless as he looked at the space where Minato had disappeared, his eyes full of fear.
This Yondaime was terrifyingly strong.
If we cooperate with him, we must be on our guard.
Orochimaru waited in place for a moment, and soon he heard the sound of footsteps.
Danzo appeared, and he kept approaching.
The stooped voice was very straight at this moment, and his temperament was cold.
"Orochimaru!" The walking stick knocked against the ground, and from time to time, it made an ear-piercing sound.
"Why didn't you kill Sandaime?" Danzo came to Orochimaru and asked with a dark face.
"Danzo, our deal seems to only make Sandaime abdicate, right?" Orochimaru said slowly.
"But you had the chance to kill him directly, so why didn't you do it?" Danzo asked coldly.
Although Root's intelligence was very strong, the content of the conversation between Sandaime and Jiraiya was hard to listen to.
Therefore, Danzo did not know that Orochimaru promised someone not to kill Sandaime.
Faced with Danzo's questioning, Orochimaru was very calm. He even sat on the rock and explained in a soft voice: "Whether you kill Sandaime or not, you have achieved your goal, haven't you? He lost his arm and even made Konoha a Shukaku toy. He is no longer qualified to be Hokage."
"I have already completed the transaction. It's your turn to calculate the rest of the reward."
Orochimaru's eyes were bloodshot.
After Konoha's plan to collapse was over, he predicted that Danzo might have some reaction next.
"Hiruzen is indeed going to abdicate. This time, the other elders also put pressure on him." Danzo did not hide anything.
After all, they had worked together with Orochimaru for many years, and they had long established a reliable connection.
With Orochimaru's help, their research progress was almost rising in a straight line.
If they were to collapse with Orochimaru now, it would be a loss for Root.
"I will send the follow-up experimental monsters to the trading place."
But before that, I need you to tell me what the monsters in Konoha are.
"What monsters?" Orochimaru pretended to be stupid.
However, the malicious smile at the corner of his mouth exposed his inner thoughts.
"That monster was really released by you. Why did you do this?"
"Our cooperation has always been very pleasant. This time, Konoha's plan to collapse has been very smooth."
"You brought the Sand to create chaos, making Hiruzen lose his reputation. I will provide you with experimental materials."
"Everything was perfect, but to satisfy your selfish desires, you turned Konoha into your laboratory."
"It caused heavy damage to Konoha, and the other villages will most likely wage war against us in the future."
"You broke our trust without permission."
"You crossed the line, Orochimaru!" Danzo's tone suddenly turned cold.
"It seems like... the scapegoat." Orochimaru felt bitter in his heart.
But at the same time, I also really want to complain: "A traitor, how can there be any trust at all."
Returning to the main topic.
Hollow was not released by him, but Naruto who released Hollow also had a cooperative relationship with him.
In the future, he would also carry out Hollow's experiments.
It was meaningless to tell Danzo that it was not released by him.
After that, once his research was exposed, his relationship with Danzo would reach the freezing point.
He still needed to get experimental materials from Danzo.
Rather than using lies to decorate, it was better to just accept it.
After thinking about it, Orochimaru decided to take the blame.
"I did release Hollow, but the sound of Kage was beyond my expectations."
"I believe you also know that I have been doing soul research. This time, Hollow, that monster, is the result of my research."
"Originally, I only wanted my subordinates to release a small amount of Hollow to help Sand Ninja improve the success rate of our plan. However, I did not expect that Hollow would go berserk and kill my subordinates."
"Plus, I'm dealing with Sandaime. You know what happened next." Orochimaru spread his hands and explained indifferently.
He also added a few words: "I'm sorry about Konoha, but it's because of this that Sandaime was able to step down so smoothly. From another perspective, Danzo, you should thank me instead."
"I think you should understand. All I have done is for Konoha." With his hands behind his back, Danzo looked in the direction of Konoha, his voice full of sadness.
"I found the root and did all kinds of research that can't be done in the open. I carried out all dark commissions."
"Everything I did it for the prosperity of Konoha."
"Will of Fire is growing endlessly, and without the nourishment of the roots, Konoha would not grow into a towering tree."
Looking at Danzo who had moved himself to the righteous side, Orochimaru did not buy it.
After working with this dark man for more than ten years, he knew Danzo better than anyone else.
Danzo especially liked to use Konoha to hide his dark, despicable, and ambition.
His feelings for Konoha had changed because of greed.
"Don't say useless words. Tell me, what do you want?" Orochimaru asked directly.
"I want Hollow."
"Listen to my advice. Hollow, you won't be able to control it."
"?"
"If that's the case, you have to bear the consequences."
....
In the evening, Naruto prepared to go to the ward to visit Sandaime.
Before, he came to the flower shop of Ino's family.
There were potholes everywhere near the street and Ninja helped to build it.
Fortunately, the flower shop was not damaged.
The villagers were filled with sadness.
In such a big environment, Ino's family still chose to open the door to do business. The complex fragrance of flowers filled the streets, giving people a feeling that the world was not too bad.
A blond Ino stood at the entrance of the flower shop, smiling as he waited for customers.
Before entering the flower shop, Naruto heard Ino's cheerful, clear voice like a skylark:
"Naruto-kun, why are you thinking of coming here today? You don't like me, do you?"
"Good evening, Ino. I want to buy a bunch of flowers." Naruto said with a faint smile.
"Flower? Who do you want to give it to? It can't be Sakura, right?" Ino asked with a curious expression.
"Could it be that you have been in love for a long time? Aiya, congratulations ---"
"If not for Sakura, you could also consider me oh ---" I thought about it, Sasuke and I still don't seem to be suitable. I think you and I should be good" Ino grabbed Naruto's arm and said playfully.
"No, I want to give it to Sandaime." Naruto did not care about Ino's ridicule. She pulled out her arm and explained gently.
"Alright, it's boring." Ino stuck out her tongue with a face full of regret.
"If it is for Lord Sandaime, then you can choose Naixin to represent respect. Of course, lilies are also good, representing blessings, and." When it came to flowers, Ino spoke with confidence, as if she had endless words to say.
At this moment, she did not look like Ninja at all.
"Give me a bouquet of lilies. Thank you." Naruto gently rubbed Ino's head and smiled.
"Okay!" Ino looked red, took out a bouquet of lilies from the flower shop, and handed it to Naruto.
"Thank you for your patronage."
After paying the bill, Naruto walked toward the hospital with the lilies in his arms.
When he asked about Sandaime's ward, Naruto was stopped. But soon, with Anbu's permission, Naruto came to Sandaime's ward.
"You are here, Naruto." Sandaime, who had lost an arm, sat on the bed with his back against the wall.
The night wind blew through the window into the room, adding a touch of the night fragrance.
"Yes, I'm here! Sandaime Grandfather." Naruto placed the flowers on the bedside table and sat down next to Sandaime.
"It's a lily. You are the first to send flowers after my injury." Sandaime picked up the lily and took a sniff.
"Being able to smell this fragrance makes my mood much better. You are so considerate Naruto."
"Of course. I hope that you can get better quickly. Everyone is very concerned about you."
"Thank you, Naruto." Looking at Naruto who was so gentle, Sandaime felt a little touched and could not help but sigh,
"You have grown so big in the blink of an eye."
"Oh right, have you encountered any difficulties in your cultivation recently? What did you learn from Jiraiya?" Sandaime began to find topics to talk about.