399. Little Junior

Aside from the Five Kage, the person who reacted most strongly to Danzō being named the "Father of the Nation" of the Land of Fire was undoubtedly a certain "Tobi" (Obito Uchiha).

Obito Uchiha, who had been sliced in half by Danzō's space-tearing blade, was now hiding in a secret base left by Madara Uchiha in the Land of Grass.

When White Zetsu handed him the newspaper, Obito, despite his heavily bandaged body, flew into a rage.

"That damned Danzō! What right does that old fool have to be called the 'Father of the Nation'?"

"Is it because of his scheming, deceitful mind?" Obito cursed loudly in the base, his agitation causing his barely healed wounds to reopen, staining the bandages with fresh blood.

Seeing this, Black Zetsu rolled his eyes in exasperation.

After all, to heal Obito's horrific injuries, Black Zetsu had used up a significant portion of the resources Madara had left behind.

He had even sacrificed several White Zetsu with strong life forces to pull Obito back from the brink of death.

Yet, despite all this, Obito's violent and arrogant personality hadn't changed one bit...

Black Zetsu couldn't help but feel regret. If he had chosen Danzō as his pawn instead, would he have already succeeded in freeing Mother (Kaguya) from her seal?

But what's done is done. Now, he could only grit his teeth and endure Obito's foul temper.

After all, the current situation wasn't favorable for him. If things didn't work out, he might have to postpone the plan...

——————

Meanwhile, inside the Konoha Intelligence Division's research facility.

Kabuto Shimura took the newspaper from his assistant and raised an eyebrow upon seeing the headline.

"'Father of the Nation'? That title does seem fitting for the contributions Teacher has made to the Land of Fire..."

As an orphan Danzō had picked up from the battlefield, Kabuto knew all too well how much his teacher had sacrificed for the country over the years.

Whether it was external wars or internal reforms, Danzō's influence was everywhere.

In a way, the current Land of Fire was entirely Danzō's creation—it could almost be called his child...

Moreover, Kabuto felt that the title "Father of the Nation" suited Danzō far better than titles like "Konoha's War God" or "Konoha's Hero."

After all, Danzō had always been a man who worked silently and selflessly for the Land of Fire and Konoha.

Just as Kabuto was reflecting on his teacher's greatness, a commotion broke out outside.

This immediately made him frown.

After all, this was the Konoha Research Institute, one of the most heavily guarded places in the entire capital.

Anyone who dared to trespass here would face severe punishment, let alone cause a disturbance.

Of course, there was one exception...

His little junior sister, Chino!

As soon as Kabuto thought of her, he heard a voice calling out, "Senior!"

The next moment, the door to his research lab was flung open, and a golden-haired girl burst in, her face filled with excitement.

"Senior, Senior! Did you see today's newspaper?"

"Of course I did."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses with a hint of exasperation, then tried to put on a stern face.

"Before we talk about the newspaper, shouldn't you be at the ninja school right now?"

Hearing Kabuto's question, Chino chuckled awkwardly and said, "The classes at the ninja school are so boring, so I left early!"

Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly became defiant. "But, Senior, aren't you supposed to be at the ninja school right now too?"

Seeing his dropout junior sister acting so brazenly, Kabuto immediately gave her a sharp knock on the head.

"I have special permission from the ninja school. As a special researcher, I'm allowed to take a leave of absence without affecting my studies."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!!"

Chino cried out in pain, clutching her head.

She pouted, mumbling under her breath, "Special permission, my foot. It's just Teacher giving you special treatment..."

Hearing her mutter, Kabuto raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "What did you say?"

Chino immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum, forcing a flattering smile onto her face. "Nothing, nothing! I just said Senior is the best!"

She tugged at Kabuto's sleeve, swaying it like a child throwing a tantrum.

This immediately set off alarm bells in Kabuto's mind.

This little junior sister of his was notorious for throwing her weight around in the village using their teacher's name. Why was she being so obedient today?

Something was definitely up!

He narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing across his glasses.

"Alright, out with it. What trouble have you caused this time?"

Hearing this, Chino grinned mischievously. "Little Chino is so well-behaved. How could she cause trouble?"

"I just heard that the military district is holding a defense exercise today, and I wanted to go check it out."

Kabuto's eyes narrowed further, a sly, fox-like expression appearing on his face.

"Are you really just going to 'check it out,' or are you planning to cause some mischief?"

Chino immediately put on an aggrieved expression. "I really just wants to see what's going on! I can't believe Senior would think of me as some troublemaker. Sigh, forget it. If Senior doesn't trust me, I won't go!"

Seeing his junior sister's dramatic performance, Kabuto remained unmoved. In fact, he almost felt like laughing.

Someone as clever as him could easily see through Chino's little act.

Just as he was about to call her out and tell her not to cause trouble for their teacher, an idea suddenly popped into his head.

If he could use this opportunity to let Chino experience the reality of the battlefield and teach her a lesson, it might not be such a bad idea...

With that thought, Kabuto adjusted his glasses again.

"In that case, let's bring Itachi along too."

"Itachi?"

A question mark appeared above Chino's head.

She knew Itachi—he was a classmate of Senior's and the top student of their year.

From what she'd heard, he was a pretty arrogant guy!

To be honest, Chino thought that if Senior hadn't gone easy on him, Itachi would never have gotten the top spot.

Unfortunately, Senior didn't care for such superficial titles.

Kabuto didn't explain much to her, though. He simply set down his research and led his clueless little junior sister toward the Uchiha clan's compound.

At the same time, a secret message from the Root swiftly made its way into Danzō's hands.