Escape From Konoha

In a dark and damp cell.

The gloomy old man held the scroll he received from his subordinate and scanned the information planned out on it. From the beginning to the end, his face and eyes did not change at all.

"Anbu... the medical department... the security force... it only took just over two months to infiltrate her power to this point. Her actions were faster than expected."

This old man is Danzo.

When he said this, he seemed to be weighing the weight of a whole series of events.

Tsunade's actions after taking over the position of Hokage were faster than he expected, and she controlled the ANBU and medical troops in a well-founded manner. At least she avoided the possibility of becoming a puppet Hokage, and would not let her own The decree cannot leave the Hokage's office.

If a Hokage cannot even leave the office according to his own government orders, then this is the real tragedy, and he will eventually become a chess piece controlled by others.

"But the next step is the key. It is difficult to create a gap within the Ninja clan with just the three clans of Pig, Deer and Butterfly."

Danzo saw these things very clearly.

Although Tsunade used her reputation and the Hokage's righteousness to successfully place her own personnel in the ANBU and medical troops, she was ultimately a Hokage who rose to power in a hurry.

Moreover, it is still unknown how much power the Senju clan still retains in the village.

But Danzo only understands one thing. If Tsunade wants to attack the ninja next, she will just attack the stone with an egg.

The current strength of the Hokage faction is not enough to confront the Ninja clan head-on, otherwise it will turn into an embarrassing situation that is difficult to get off, and reduce the Hokage's prestige in the village.

"I think Hokage-sama should also know this."

Aburame Tune stood in front of Danzo and said.

Danzo nodded. Judging from Tsunade's series of methods, she couldn't be so simple and crude in her thoughts. She seemed careless, but in fact she had a very careful and meticulous personality.

As long as her mind wasn't broken, there was no way she could face the ninjas so soon.

She has not accumulated enough power and prestige. She needs to accumulate more political capital to compete with other groups in the village.

Among them, the biggest obstacle is not the traditional power within the Inar, Deer, and Butterfly clans, nor the wealthy families like the Hyuga clan, nor the neutral families such as Aburame and Inuzuka, but the Sarutobi clan!

Mastering the Anbu meant offending the Sarutobi clan.

Since the Third Hokage came to power, the Sarutobi clan has been the real power controller of ANBU for generations.

Even if a Kakashi appears later, there are still many departments and members in the ANBU who are directly controlled by the Sarutobi clan, but they are not usually exposed.

Because only in this way, the Third Hokage dared to hand over his own safety to the ANBU, if Kakashi, an alien, had not appeared.

And thanks to the decades of political influence of the Third Hokage, how much benefit the Sarutobi clan has gained overtly and covertly in these decades is unknown even to him, the root leader.

I just know that the Sarutobi clan is very powerful now. When he imprisoned the Third Hokage, he also used many of the forces of the Roots and the Fighting Faction to monitor the Sarutobi clan, and at the same time forced the other families to stand in the neutral camp, so that they did not dare to act rashly before they dared to start their own plans. Otherwise, with the power that the Sarutobi clan has not shown for decades, fighting to the end, the outcome will be unpredictable.

As far as Danzo knows, the Sarutobi clan not only has considerable connections among the ninja clan, they also use their assets and land to secretly sell a large number of civilian ninjas, and they also have considerable influence among the people of Konoha. .

The only shortcoming is that there are no outstanding ninjas in this generation who can shoulder the responsibility of Hokage.

"Next, Tsunade should avoid confrontation with Sarutobi and other ninjas, and point the finger at the two guys on the advisory group..."

The power of the ninja clan, led by the Sarutobi clan, is the biggest obstacle on Tsunade's path to taking control of Konoha.

But in addition to the ninja clan, the power of the advisory group must also be obtained to further strengthen his power.

Because apart from this path, Danzo couldn't think of any other tricks for Tsunade to break the situation.

However, even he could see this kind of thing. Will the ninja forces headed by the Sarutobi clan let Tsunade deal with the advisory group?

Therefore, in Danzo's view, there is still no difference between this road and a dead end.

The difference was just whether Tsunade died early or late.

After he failed to become the Fifth Hokage, the power within Konoha was completely unbalanced.

This kind of chaos makes Danzo feel like he has returned to the early days of Konoha. The ninja school has not yet been established, and all departments in Konoha are decentralized and controlled by the ninja clan behind the scenes...

It can be said that the situation is very bad.

"Lord Danzo, do you need us..."

Takegen's eyes were slightly sharp.

Danzo said nothing, just narrowed his eyes, and then shook his head in denial.

Today's ninja clan has become too powerful to lose its power.

Although their number is far less than that of the common people, their voices can directly overshadow the common people and occupy a dominant position.

To deal with them, you cannot use the same method as dealing with the Uchiha clan.

Unlike the Uchiha clan, this group of united ninja clan really has the power to change Konoha.

"Ignoring the Sarutobi clan for now, how is the matter that I asked you to investigate?"

Danzo remembered something and asked instead.

Torine nodded slightly and replied respectfully: "Some clues have been uncovered. Although there is no definite evidence, Orochimaru and Kakashi may indeed have been chess pieces on the surface in the previous turmoil. Even Kakashi Cassie’s position is currently unclear as to which side he belongs to.”

unconfirmed.

There is no definite evidence either.

But to Danzo's ears, the answer was actually obvious.

Sometimes, he doesn't need evidence.

Because the evidence is too rigorous and logically linked, it looks even more suspicious.

For him, as long as there is doubt, it is the most sufficient evidence.

Just like if he wants to execute a ninja who is unfavorable to Konoha, he does not need evidence. He only needs doubts about that person. If they reach a certain level, he will directly kill them and make them disappear from the village.

"Keep an eye on the Kingdom of Ghosts, don't go deep into the position, and wait."

Danzo said.

"wait?"

"I need to observe the next actions of various countries to decide how to act in the future. There should be ghosts from the Kingdom of Demons in Konoha, and their levels are definitely not low. The medical department is keeping an eye on me! As long as they are suspicious Don’t miss any of the people, and investigate all their details!”

A sharp look flashed in Danzo's eyes.

"Yes, Lord Danzo."

Torine's mind was trembling, he bowed to Danzo and left the room.

◎

"Lord Takegen."

In a secret room, after seeing the roots come in, the two root ninjas responsible for searching for information and documents here got up.

"No need to be polite, what's the result of the investigation?"

Takene, who came back from Danzo, asked the two root ninjas working here.

One of them replied: "Some of the suspicious persons have been eliminated so far. However, there are several high-level officials of the medical force here, and it is difficult to conduct a thorough investigation on them."

The secret room is surrounded by bookshelves. There are various scrolls and books on the bookshelves. In the corner, there are desk lamps and workbench, which are also filled with a large number of intelligence documents.

Takegen walked to the workbench and glanced at the survey results above.

He flipped through the pages page by page, even though he was just looking at them briefly, but with his memory, he could remember the contents clearly even after just one glance.

Among the medical department personnel under investigation, some were labeled as suspicious, some were cleared of suspicion, and some simply evaporated from the world after being taken away by the Anbu. It is obvious that these medical personnel exist. There is a big loyalty issue.

Either they were manpower inserted by the Ninja clan, or they were spies inserted by external forces.

When you turn to the end, they are basically the middle and high-level cadres of the medical department. The name, information, and photos of each person from childhood to adulthood are all there.

"Asami Masumi..."

Turning to one of the pages, Zhigen frowned slightly.

A considerable portion of the information above has been cut out.

The records before the age of nine are very detailed. The family environment was poor, his mother died early, and his father was addicted to gambling and stealing. He eventually died due to an accident, causing him to become an orphan at a young age.

But after the age of nine, some of the information was cut.

Continuing to turn the page, part of the information is still cut, causing the content presented above to look very inconsistent.

This kind of record didn't start to become normal until the other party was sixteen or seventeen years old.

Then, just like a genius who became famous at a young age, he made great achievements during the Third Ninja War and rose step by step to the position of director of the pharmacy department of Konoha Hospital.

During the reign of the Third Hokage, he performed conscientiously. Although he had occasional flaws, in general, he was a very good medical ninja.

It was not until the Fifth Hokage came to power and his position was promoted to the deputy director of Konoha that his power and prestige in the medical department began to increase.

“Where did this part of the information that was cut out go?”

Takegen turned back to the previous page and asked the two root ninjas.

"I'm sorry, Lord Togen, this was already the case when we got this information."

The two lowered their heads and answered.

"Can't you find the missing part?"

Get to the root and continue to ask.

"Yes, regarding this part of the lost information, I heard that the ANBU seems to have found no clues. We have also inquired with the intelligence department, and this part of the information was deleted more than ten years ago."

"Delete? Who?"

"The Third Hokage."

"..."

Takegen frowned.

With so much information deleted, it stands to reason that he should be one of the seriously suspicious persons.

However, during his tenure as the Third Hokage, he knew that Asami Masumi was one of the Third Hokage's valued confidants and was highly regarded by the Third Hokage.

This also means that the Third Hokage himself trusts Asami Masumi very much and regards him as a senior cadre of his faction.

So, why should part of her resume be eliminated?

Although the Third Hokage himself has passed away, the many problems he left behind still trouble many people.

For example, the Sarutobi clan.

"Do a little research on her."

Get root issued this order.

However, the two root ninjas looked at each other, a little embarrassed.

"What's wrong?"

"Master Togen, Vice President Asami's anti-tracking ability is very strong. The people we sent to track her before were all knocked unconscious by her without knowing it. Her strength is probably at least the level of a squad leader. of."

There are not many ninjas of this level in the entire Konoha, and all of them are elite jounin who are highly valued by the upper class.

If you want to track these jounin silently, unless you are a ninja with special tracking ability, it will be difficult to get close to them.

Moreover, because of their reckless actions, they have aroused the other party's vigilance.

The other party now has a close relationship with the Fifth Hokage. If the root of following her is leaked, it must be to protect the safety of her subordinates. As the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade cannot remain indifferent.

He took the root and rubbed the center of his eyebrows, feeling a headache.

He had forgotten this.

Maybe the medical ninja gives people the impression that he is weak.

But Asami Masumi is a medical ninja of the same type as Tsunade. While they possess superb medical ninjutsu, they are also female ninjas who value their own combat abilities.

There are very few such ninjas, not to mention among women, even among men.

"In that case, I will look for candidates myself. You continue to investigate other suspicious people."

Now that Danzo is behind bars, as a close confidant of Danzo, he has the power to make his own decisions to a certain extent.

In his opinion, Asami Masumi was very suspicious, and he felt uneasy if he did not investigate the other party's details clearly.

"yes."

The two root ninjas nodded in agreement.

◎

The mental health personnel training project is being established.

With Tsunade's order, the establishment of this project went more smoothly than imagined and did not encounter much resistance.

The only problem is how to train the relevant personnel and how much initial investment is required.

After a busy day, Asami Masumi returned directly to her home after get off work in the evening as usual.

After working all day, her face showed a lot of tiredness.

Since the hospital director is not very involved, most decisions are made through her as the deputy director.

Although it has increased her authority, this will make her affairs more burdensome than before.

Not only that, but now she has to deal with some rats who are secretly watching her schedule.

Is it that guy from Gen again? He is really haunting. Asami Masumi thought unpleasantly.

Although they knew that the roots had not lost much power after Danzo's collapse, they used the remaining strongholds to hide their whereabouts again, dormant under the water as they had in the past.

But what was a medical ninja doing to stare at her now?

Did you find something? Asami Masumi thought.

However, she quickly abandoned the idea.

If they really found something, based on Genbu's style, they would not just follow her, but treat her as a dangerous person and directly execute her secretly.

Asami Masumi has always been very clear about the style of this organization.

The only direct participant in Nebe at that time was Ryoma Aburame, who died a few years ago... Thinking of this, Asami Masumi became even more certain that Nebe's behavior of following her this time was only at the initial suspicion stage, and he was far from treating her as a dangerous person. Let’s look at it.

It was probably because of the Third Hokage's act of erasing part of her resume that these hyenas smelled something.

It's a pity that the original insiders are either dead, have left Konoha, or don't know much about it... What's more, what if they find out everything?

It's just that he would choose to hide it, it's impossible to let her know even half of the content, and then continue to let her work for the village.

When she is no longer of use, find an excuse to get rid of her casually.

When he thought of this, a dark emotion brewed in Asami Masumi's eyes, but he soon regained his composure.

——In a dark corner.

A short boy with a mask on his face.

He held an open scroll and a pen in his hand, and his eyes glowed brightly in the darkness.

Soon, the brow under his mask frowned.

The 'scout' he sent out lost his reaction and got lost?

Just when he stood up to take a look at the situation, a voice suddenly appeared from behind:

"Dark little mouse, is that you?"

The masked boy was startled, turned around quickly, stepped back, and at the same time quickly drew on the open scroll with his pen.

The tiger, as black as an ink painting, let out a roaring roar and charged into the darkness with its fangs and claws.

Without hesitation, the moment the ink tiger rushed into the darkness, the masked boy started running without looking back.

He knew he had been discovered.

Moreover, with his own strength, he cannot be his opponent.

Retreat is necessary here.

The ink tiger made a whining sound, and then turned into black juice, splattering on the surrounding walls and ground, like blood.

Asami Masumi didn't pay attention to the masked boy who escaped, but took a look at the black liquid on the wall and ground with interest.

"Ink...a very interesting ninjutsu. The root is to find ninjas with some weird abilities."

Not only that, but this time she was looking for an underage ninja to follow her.

The reason is probably because of this secret technique of using ink.

If she hadn't had the ability to perceive, she might not have been able to detect the fact that she was being followed.

In the distance, the masked boy ran away quickly, heading back towards the root base.

While running towards the stronghold, he looked back behind him and found that no one was pursuing him.

Dumped her?

Just when he was thinking this, a strong wind suddenly hit him.

He did not hesitate, lowered his head slightly, dodged the attack, and quickly moved his body to the side.

He looked forward, but there was no one in front of him.

Where? The masked boy glanced around, trying to find the enemy.

"it's here."

"What?"

A chuckle came from behind, and before the masked boy had time to react, he was hit with a hand knife on the back of his neck.

In an instant, the masked boy let out a whimpering sound and fell to the ground with a thud.

Looking at the unconscious masked boy lying on the ground, Asami Masumi squatted down and took off the mask on the other person's face, revealing a young and delicate face.

Judging from his age, he is about thirteen or fourteen years old.

At this age, it only takes a year or two to graduate and become a genin.

However, since it belongs to the root, even an underage kid cannot treat it with common sense.

Judging from the hand he just showed, he was at least at the level of a chuunin.

Coupled with the fact that he can also use secret techniques, he can be regarded as a seed-level potential talent at the root level.

"This brat should be left to the ANBU to deal with."

Asami Masumi thought about it and decided to hand over the boy to the ANBU directly under the Hokage.

With her current status, it is not convenient to offend the root. At this time, letting Tsunade, the Hokage, step in to solve the problem would be more effective.

◎

The next day.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

Entering the Hokage Building, the staff passing by in the corridor greeted Tsunade one after another and bent down to salute.

Judging from their full and energetic expressions, they have already recognized Tsunade, and their uneasy and nervous mood has long since relaxed.

"Well, good morning."

Tsunade also responded to the staff here without any bias.

Although from the appearance, the staff here look older than her, in terms of real age, they are actually younger than herself. The oldest one is only in his forties.

They are all a group of lovely and positive juniors.

Moreover, the staff who can be recruited to work here basically belong to the category with clear backgrounds, and there is not much involvement behind them.

Of course, there were also ninjas from the ninja clan, and Tsunade treated them all equally.

In Tsunade's understanding, her opponent is not all the ninjas of the ninja clan, but the die-hard elements among the ninja clan.

She has her own scale in her mind about who can be assured and who needs to be vigilant.

Pushing open the office door, Tsunade walked directly in.

As expected, Shikaku, the Jonin squad leader, had already arrived at the office ahead of him and started sorting the documents to be processed today.

"Good morning, Shikaku, you came so early today."

"Good morning, Hokage-sama. Actually, you don't have to come so early every day. It doesn't matter if you rest more at home."

Shikaku could see the tiredness in Tsunade's eyes. She had been working at a high intensity for the past two or three months, and he was really worried that one day she would suddenly collapse at her desk from exhaustion.

"My subordinates are not late, but my boss is late. If that happens, my reputation will be greatly reduced."

Tsunade yawned in response to Shikaku.

Now is not the time to relax. If she wants to relax, she must at least wait until her power is further consolidated.

Although everyone in Konoha seems to be living a peaceful and contented life on the surface, the struggle for power and profit in the dark is happening every day.

"I have overlooked this. But in the office, Hokage-sama can be lazy a little."

Shikaku joked.

"No need, let's wait until after noon to take nap."

Tsunade sat on the office chair where she belonged, took the file next to her, and began to process it.

"Speaking of which, here is a report document submitted by Vice President Asami this morning. Would you like to have a look at it, Hokage-sama?"

Shikaku remembered something, picked up a document from the side and asked Tsunade what he meant.

"Report document? Show it to me."

Tsunade didn't think much, took the report document from Shikaku's hand, and carefully scanned the contents.

When she finished reading, Tsunade's face looked slightly unhappy.

The content to be reported in the document is very simple. As the deputy director of Konoha Hospital, Asami Masumi was followed by a root ninja when she came home from get off work last night. The other party's intention was unknown.

If I remember correctly, any activity at the root should be canceled from the outside. The responsibilities of the root department are also under the jurisdiction of the ANBU directly under the Hokage, and are in a state of demobilization.

but……

"That bastard Danzo still likes to do mischief so much. The rats he kept in captivity started to poke their heads out again."

Tsunade's eyebrows rose, obviously angry at Gen's arrogant and domineering behavior.

"How to deal with it, Hokage-sama?"

Shikaku was just asking in a business-like manner.

"I will go to the torture room to talk to Danzo later. I hope he will not push his limits."

Considering that Danzo is the leader of the Roots, Tsunade believes that this is the most direct and effective solution to face-to-face negotiations with the other party.

"Having said that, I think Hokage-sama, you may not have the leisure time to worry about Elder Danzo."

Shikaku smiled helplessly.

"What's the meaning?"

"According to time, the Daimyo's envoy will arrive before noon today."

"I almost forgot about this."

Only then did Tsunade remember that an envoy from the Daming Palace would come to visit her, the Fifth Hokage, today.

Because she was in too much of a hurry when she took office and had to deal with a lot of mess in the village, she never had time to go to the Daming Mansion, contact the Daiming, and complete the final process.

The Daimyo's envoy is here today precisely for this matter.

However, Tsunade knew that asking her to go to Daming Mansion and go through the last step of the ceremony to succeed Hokage was only an official statement. She did not know the specific important matters to be discussed when going to Daming Mansion.

"Daming Mansion? Anyway, the village has stabilized for the time being. It's really time to go there."