334. Don't Disappoint Me, Monkey

In the Hokage's office in Konoha, Danzo sipped his hot tea while carefully reading the intelligence report sent by Ryoma. A faint smile crept onto his lips.

"Heh, it seems our Daimyo is quite impatient," the old man known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi" chuckled softly.

The secret plans that the Daimyo believed to be confidential had been fully exposed to Danzo through Ryoma's surveillance.


Not only Danzo, but Minato and Shikaku, who were also present, showed strange expressions after reading the report.

"What exactly is this Twelve Guardian Ninja?" Minato placed the report on the table and scratched his head in confusion.

As the Hokage, Minato's focus was primarily on internal village affairs.

He wasn't very familiar with matters in the capital, nor did he pay much attention to them.

After all, with Danzo and Shikaku keeping an eye on things, there shouldn't be any major issues.

His main responsibility was ensuring the village's reconstruction proceeded smoothly.

However, upon reading the report, Minato couldn't help but feel a strong curiosity about the Twelve Guardian Ninja, whom the Daimyo seemed to place such high hopes on.

Just how strong were they to dare speak of ambushing Danzo, a man of high calibre?

Hearing Minato's question, Shikaku couldn't help but rub his face, barely suppressing a laugh.

After composing himself, he explained:

"Well, to put it simply, they're a group of idealists whose mission is to protect the Daimyo. Some of them want to elevate the Daimyo to become the sole 'jewel' of the Land of Fire, hoping to abolish the special status of the Hokage.

Others wish to maintain the current system of one country, one village, allowing the Hokage and the Daimyo to coexist peacefully. But both factions now seem to share the same goal: to eliminate the radical leader of Konoha..."

At this point, Shikaku naturally glanced at Danzo, making it clear who their target was.

Hearing this, Minato looked even more puzzled. "Are they really that strong?"

After all, Danzo was a figure even Onoki and the Third Raikage couldn't defeat together.


How could this Kazuma guy be so confident? Were all twelve of them Kage-level? If so, Minato would have to mobilize Konoha's elite forces to accompany Danzo...

Faced with this question, Shikaku chuckled helplessly again.

He shook his head and shrugged, pulling out a document from the table and handing it to Minato.

"Their strength is decent, I suppose. About half of them are at the Jonin level, and the rest are probably Special Jonin?" Shikaku estimated based on the intelligence he had gathered.

Hearing this, Minato's expression turned even more bewildered.

"Wait, that's it?"

To be fair, a group of seven or eight Jonin and four or five Special Jonin was by no means weak.

Such a force could easily crush many smaller villages or even topple a nation!

But their target was none other than Danzo Shimura, the so-called "God of War of Konoha," who had single-handedly held off the Cloud ninja forces and annihilated thousands of them in one move.

A few Jonin-level opponents would likely be wiped out by a single area-of-effect attack from him.

Seeing Minato's reaction mirroring his own earlier thoughts, Shikaku smiled wryly.

"Perhaps this is the essence of unity. The nobles in the capital have no idea how brutal the battlefield truly is.

Just like they'll never know what it feels like to go hungry."

These words quickly sobered Minato.

As the first Hokage to come from a commoner background, he deeply empathized with ordinary people.

Having experienced multiple wars, he had witnessed the horrors of the battlefield and seen countless impoverished and displaced civilians.

It was precisely because of this that he had chosen to stand by Danzo's side.

If their ideals hadn't aligned, Minato would have rather resigned as Hokage than compromise with Danzo.

"Still, we shouldn't let our guard down," Shikaku added, perhaps worried that Danzo might underestimate the enemy.

He pointed to four members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. "These four, named Kitane, Seito, Tōu, and Nauma, are exceptionally skilled in Lightning Release techniques. They're known as the 'Lightning Release Four.' When combined, they can use a technique called 'Limelight,' which is incredibly powerful. It can destroy an entire village in an instant. Please be cautious, Lord Danzo."

Danzo did have some recollection of these four.

In the original story, Kazuma had used the "Earth Release: Resurrection Technique" to revive them and planned to use their "Limelight" to destroy Konoha.

However, whether this technique could even breach the defenses of Susanoo was debatable.

Still, it was better to overestimate the enemy.

Danzo took the report from Shikaku and carefully reviewed it, including the details of Kazuma's radical faction members.

As Danzo flipped through the report, Minato spotted a familiar name: Asuma Sarutobi, the son of the previous Hokage.

"I didn't expect Asuma to really side with the Daimyo," Minato frowned.

Since Shikaku had included Asuma's information in the report, it meant that Asuma had firmly chosen to align with the Daimyo.

Danzo merely sneered in response.

"It's not just Asuma who wants to side with the Daimyo. I suspect some of the old-timers in the village might also make a move," Danzo said.

This immediately caught Minato's attention.

In Konoha, there were only a handful of people Danzo would refer to as "old-timers."

The most likely candidates were the two elder advisors who had been stripped of their power and the former Hokage himself.

Knowing Danzo, if these individuals conspired with the Daimyo to stir up trouble, Konoha would once again be plunged into chaos.


Even old friends wouldn't be spared in such critical times.

"Should we send someone to keep an eye on the elders?" Shikaku asked cautiously.

Danzo shook his head decisively. "Let them go. I want to see what choices they make."

Danzo slowly stood up and gazed out at the increasingly prosperous village.

In a voice so low only he could hear, he murmured, "Don't disappoint me, Monkey."