Collusion, The Third Hokage's Tolerance of Danzō
Shisui had no choice but to accept the mission, but he was no longer as resistant as he had been at the beginning.
What Shimura said made sense. The value of a Kage-level shinobi was immeasurable.
Especially since she possessed Scorch Style, whether alive or dead, Pakura was of great significance to Konoha.
The only difficulty lay in rescuing her from the ambush set by the Mist Shinobi and the Sand Shinobi, without being discovered by either nation.
Shisui asked for more details, and Yami didn't hide anything, telling him everything he'd gathered from Matsumoto and his own analysis.
After listening, Shisui felt more confident and said decisively,
"I'll go to the Police Department to request leave now. I'll head out tomorrow."
Although there were still more than ten days left, Shisui needed time for thorough preparation. He couldn't afford to waste a single moment.
"Good luck on your mission, Shisui-senpai."
As he watched Shisui's figure weaving through the woods, Yami waved, his voice precisely carried to Shisui's ears.
"I'll be waiting for you with Itachi.."
Shisui landed on a large tree, only to lose his balance and crash through its thick trunk.
That kid's got a mean streak.
After leaving the cliffside, Yami thought it over and decided to inform the old man.
After all, once Pakura was brought back, she would be placed under Root's control. It wasn't something he could keep from him.
On Konoha's territory, the old man had more spies than Hiruzen.
When Yami arrived at Root's base, Danzō was, as usual, randomly choosing some poor souls in his office to manipulate.
Yami got straight to the point, explaining his plan and arrangements.
Danzō frowned but didn't interrupt until Yami finished speaking.
After a moment of contemplation, he stood up, pacing slowly as he spoke:
"Yami, you're still too idealistic."
"As shinobi, we are tools. Even if the higher-ups use us in exchange for benefits, someone like Pakura may be dissatisfied, but she must learn to understand."
Yami didn't refute, only nodded.
Not because he agreed, but because in this twisted world, that's how most people thought.
Take Shisui, for example. After Danzō gouged out his eyes, his first reaction wasn't revenge, he simply thought Danzō didn't trust him enough, and he tried to understand him.
Or Itachi—after Danzō killed his dear brother, he still acted as a spy for both Hiruzen and Danzō within the Uchiha clan, feeding them information, and ultimately wiped out his own clan for the sake of the village.
All this just proved that, after generations of brainwashing, many people's thoughts and behavior were no longer understandable to Yami.
But Pakura was different.
In her impure state, she clearly expressed hatred toward Sunagakure, though in the original plot, she was eventually persuaded to return to the Pure Land.
As long as she could be brought back and subjected to over a decade of brainwashing, there'd be nothing to worry about by then.
"Old man, don't be so absolute," Yami said with a smile. "She's a Kage-level shinobi, she's worth a try."
"If it doesn't work, we can just kill her. We won't lose anything."
"That's true." Danzō smiled. "So I'm not objecting."
"Let Uchiha Shisui give it a try. Whether it succeeds or not doesn't concern us."
"But..." Danzō's eyes gleamed coldly. "Your methods of threatening people are too soft. What's an Uchiha Itachi? Next time, if you want him to do something, use the entire Uchiha clan to pressure him."
"For example... Shisui. You don't want your clan assigned to high-mortality missions in the future, do you?"
He had thought he was shameless enough, but it turned out he was still a novice in front of a master.
What else could he say?
Elsewhere, the Interrogation Division had finished gathering all the intel from Matsumoto Giku.
Holding the report in hand, Yamanaka Inoichi frowned deeply, as if grappling with a serious dilemma.
As the sun began to set and the warm red glow filled the room, he finally gritted his teeth, took the report, and headed for the Hokage Building to meet with Hiruzen.
"Third Hokage, the spy captured by Hizashi's team has been interrogated."
"Any important intel?" Hiruzen asked, still puffing on his pipe.
"This is the compiled report. Please take a look." Inoichi respectfully placed the information on the desk and stepped back.
Hiruzen quickly skimmed through it, marking several key points in red.
Seeing that Inoichi wasn't leaving, he asked in confusion,
"Inoichi, is there something else?"
"Hokage-sama..." Inoichi lowered his voice, "I found... someone tampered with part of the spy's memories. The method is very familiar, it resembles the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques."
Hiruzen paused and slowly set down his pipe.
"Can it be restored?"
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't manage it," Inoichi replied helplessly.
"I see." Hiruzen didn't blame him, instead gently encouraged him:
"You've worked hard recently. Go home early today and spend time with your family."
"Protecting the village is important, but so is the bond with family."
Inoichi was deeply moved. He bowed again before leaving the office.
Once he left, the smile vanished from Hiruzen's face.
How could he not understand Inoichi's implication? The only ones capable of this, and with the nerve to do so, were people from Danzō's Root.
Still, Hiruzen wasn't worried about Danzō's intentions. The two had worked together and clashed for years, their political views dividing and merging again and again. Hiruzen was confident that Danzō would never betray the village.
Even if at times Danzō acted more like a pig teammate than a comrade and often caused more damage than a traitor might, at the end of the day, his intentions were rooted in loyalty.
So after noting the information, Hiruzen didn't give it much more attention and moved on to other matters.
The next document to catch his eye was news regarding the Uchiha clan.
[Uchiha Shisui was accidentally injured while training ninjutsu and requires half a month of rest. Leave has been reported to the Police Department.]
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