"Danzo, do you see?
The things we couldn't decide and handle, Tsunade has accomplished. Perhaps she is more suited to be the village's Hokage than I am."
Turning back to look at Danzo, who lay motionless as if a corpse, his body shriveled, the Third Hokage sighed.
Ever since Yan cut off Danzo's arm, which was implanted with Sharingan, Danzo's bodily functions began to fail.
His condition worsened day by day, and even though the hospital provided him with nutrient solutions regularly, it couldn't stabilize Danzo's bodily functions.
Perhaps this was the price of transplanting Senju Hashirama's cells.
If Danzo continued like this, it wouldn't be long before his bodily functions deteriorated significantly, and he would gradually turn into a grotesque tree, neither human nor ghost.
"Hiruzen, Danzo he..."
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who had come to the hospital room together, couldn't believe that the person on the bed was the Shimura Danzo they knew.
He looked like a pale-skinned corpse, with only a layer of skin covering the bones.
If it weren't for Danzo's faint breathing, they would have thought he was dead.
It was too horrific to behold.
Even the two seasoned advisors felt a chill in their hearts.
"Alas."
The Third Hokage lamented:
"Because Danzo transplanted the First Hokage's cells, and the Sharingan used to suppress them, but now he's suffering from cellular rejection, and the situation is getting worse by the day. If this continues, Danzo will turn into a tree, which is probably his ultimate fate."
The Sharingan could suppress the power of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama's cells, but could the village provide Danzo with more Sharingan for transplantation?
Clearly not.
Even with a heavy heart, the Third Hokage could only watch as Danzo's condition deteriorated day by day.
He realized that Yan did it on purpose, deliberately not killing Danzo, leaving him alive to suffer through his final moments.
This torment was also directed at him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and their group of old fellows.
Because they were close to Danzo, seeing him turn into this ghastly figure was a daily agony and pain.
Watching Danzo like this was distressing for them too.
So Yan deliberately spared Danzo's life, waiting for this day.
The two advisor elders fell silent.
They were indeed close to Danzo, but they weren't mad enough to want to get Sharingan to help suppress the cellular rejection.
Now, the village's targeting of the Uchiha had been lifted, and the misunderstandings were gone.
This meant they could no longer manipulate the Uchiha as before; even a slight ulterior motive would be first opposed by Tsunade.
"Is there really no other way?"
Utatane Koharu couldn't help but ask.
The Third Hokage shook his head slightly; if there were a way, Konohagakure Hospital would have already taken action.
It was precisely because there was no solution that they kept dragging on this half-dead state. Sometimes the Third Hokage even thought of giving Danzo a release from his suffering, but fortunately, he restrained himself.
"Do you have any thoughts on this matter?"
Not wanting to continue discussing Danzo, the Third Hokage changed the subject.
"Not at all"
Utatane Koharu replied helplessly, "Given what happened before, Tsunade has zero tolerance for us. At this time, how could we just reach out carelessly?
It was some of the smaller clans that came together to make the proposal and approached us. As advisory elders, it's our duty, so the proposal was sent to the Hokage's office."
"I'm afraid Tsunade might think we're involved too."
"The Misunderstanding will be cleared up sooner or later, as long as we stay steady."
On this matter, the Third Hokage didn't have much to say.
He was afraid that he might inadvertently get himself involved too.
The Sarutobi clan was already in a sensitive phase, and if Tsunade harbored any undue thoughts, the clan would be in trouble.
The Third Hokage believed that if the Sarutobi clan really got in the line of fire, Tsunade wouldn't mind giving them a bit of 'entertainment.'
Just like they used to find 'entertainment' for the Uchiha.
The frustrating part is, when you're being toyed with because someone has something on you, you can only grin and bear it, with no room for rebuttal.
"Has there been any word from Shinnosuke?"
Knowing that the Third Hokage didn't want to get involved and didn't want the Sarutobi clan to get their hands dirty, Mitokado Homura shifted the topic to Shinnosuke.
Shinnosuke had accepted the mission to investigate the Akatsuki organization in the Land of Rain for Asuma and the village, and some time had passed since then.
Normally, whether there were results or not, a message would be sent back first.
But as days passed, there was not a single piece of news from Shinnosuke.
That's why the two advisory elders came to see the Third Hokage, to see if he had received any messages from Shinnosuke.
"Not yet."
To their surprise, the Third Hokage also had no recent news about Shinnosuke.
Shinnosuke, who had gone to the Land of Rain, seemed to have vanished without a trace.
No news at all.
Could something have happened?
The thought crossed their minds, but they didn't dare voice this ominous speculation.
Asuma had already met with misfortune; if Shinnosuke had too, wouldn't the Third Hokage have lost all his sons?
At least Shinnosuke left behind a child.
That's a small consolation.
At least for the Third Hokage, it's a consolation prize, offering him some solace.
It's just that Shinnosuke's son is a bit mischievous, the kind that's a bit unruly.
Recently, the village has been abuzz with the announcement of the election for teachers, and it's only now that Yan remembers he had something to discuss with Tsunade, which he had forgotten.
Yan was about to head to the Hokage's office building when, just coming out of the Uzumaki residence, he ran into someone from the Hyuga clan.
The person immediately made it clear they came with an invitation from the Patriarch, inviting him to have tea tomorrow.
"....."
Tea, my foot!
You might as well invite me for a meal.
For Yan, having tea as a pastime is simply torture.
Every time he watched Fugaku tirelessly fussing about, he felt like dozing off.
In this regard, Hiashi was no different.
"Please convey to your Patriarch that I will arive on time"
Even if he uninterested, he must attend when invited; after all, relationships are a two-way street.
Upon receiving Yan's response, the Hyuga clan's guard left contentedly, needing to quickly report back to the Patriarch that Yan had agreed to the appointment.
"Uh..."
When Yan arrived at the Hokage's office, a busy Tsunade looked up at him in surprise:
"It's rare for you, Uchiha Yan, to come on your own initiative."
"......"
Making me sound like a loafer with nothing better to do, who would run to the Hokage's office when they have nothing else to do?
I'm an advisor to the Hokage, not the Hokage's secretary.
Even secretaries have time off, right?
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