In the underground ward, Shikamaru once again saw Danzo lying in a wheelchair with his right arm covered with needles.

Shikamaru had no doubt at all about the air of gossamer breathing and the decadent and rotten air that appeared on his face. The other party was just using medicine to hold on to his last breath and did not die.

The skin on the right arm is pale and bloodless, with scarlet three-magatama Sharingan inlaid on it. Even the right eye, which is covered by a white cloth band, probably hides a Sharingan.

"Danzo-sama, Nara Shikamaru has arrived."

Aburame walked to Danzo's side, called Danzo who was sleeping, and then stood upright on one side, her unsmiling posture full of seriousness and indifference.

Hearing Aburame's call for a root, Danzo slowly opened his turbid but sharp eyes and saw Shikamaru, who was already standing two or three meters away in front of him.

The other party looked calm and seemed not to be affected by the environment here.

But Danzo could still tell that the other party's psychology at this time was somewhat tense.

Since the establishment of the Roots, this place has been a dangerous and forbidden place that everyone talks about in Konoha ninja's mouth.

Countless cruel missions of dark nature, including various inhumane experiments, can basically be related to the root cause.

"Elder Danzo."

Shikamaru called out respectfully.

Although Danzo was deprived of his position as an elder, in fact, he still held extremely high power in the village. It could be said that he was a real elder, and there was a huge difference in nature from the two dead advisors.

During this period, he learned about the development history of the Roots, and Shikamaru deeply realized the darkness and horror of this organization.

"Don't be nervous. Now that you're here, I won't do anything to you. Now I don't have much life left. I just rely on the forbidden medicine developed from the roots to hang on to my last breath. This place in the future belongs to you young people.

.”

Although Danzo's breath was fading, his voice was very clear and had a power that penetrated people's hearts. It was unnatural that he would show an ugly look of nervousness and panic in front of him.

"yes."

Not knowing what Danzo was thinking, Shikamaru could only nod in agreement.

Regardless of Shikamaru's careless attitude, Danzo would not think that in such a short period of time, the other party would really integrate into the root organization.

In any case, the reputation of this organization can be described as infamous in the eyes of many people.

Shikamaru's rejection was not unexpected by Danzo.

"Given you so many days, you should have an understanding of the roots of my management. If you have any ideas, just tell me directly. I will arrange everything before I die."

Danzo's face showed neither joy nor sadness, as if the person who was about to die was not himself.

Shikamaru pondered for a moment, then finally plucked up the courage, looked directly into Danzo's eyes, and said, "I want to know what Elder Danzo thinks about the next placement of the Roots and the Fighting Faction?"

After years of intensive cultivation, the Roots organization secretly protected Konoha from the beginning. Over the course of time, it gradually developed its own independent thoughts. This also means that this organization not only belongs to Konoha, but is also independent of the village's management system.

In addition, during the most powerful period, even the Hokage's decision-making can be intervened, destroyed and organized.

Even... a coup to seek power!

Especially this organization has begun to control the voice of the fighting faction in the village. Once it loses control and goes berserk, Konoha will immediately fall into endless civil strife and become a mess.

At that time, not to mention resisting foreign enemies, whether it can maintain internal rule will still be a key issue.

"The power of the martial arts faction will gradually be consolidated under the Hokage, but the fundamental responsibilities will remain unchanged."

Danzo gave this answer as if he had anticipated this question.

“Why should the root responsibilities remain the same?”

Shikamaru frowned.

If the root is not dissolved, the blade will hurt itself sooner or later.

From a long-term perspective, disbanding the roots will be of great benefit to Konoha, as it will not cause serious internal divisions in Konoha.

"Those who do not plan for eternity are not enough for a certain moment. Those who do not plan for the overall situation are not enough for a region. Your vision is not long enough. Let's put it this way, Shikamaru boy, do you think the next Hokage after Tsunade will fall in

Whose body?"

Danzo looked into Shikamaru's eyes and asked these words.

Shikamaru thought for a moment and said a name: "Naruto."

Danzo nodded, seemingly satisfied with Shikamaru's judgment.

"As a Hokage and a ninja, one's own strength is the foundation of success. The strength of a ninja is composed of many factors. Uzumaki Naruto is unique in this regard. But he did not lead a pack of wolves in troubled times.

His talents are too naive. Therefore, although he has great strength, if the management power is also given to him, his own existence will be the greatest instability for the village."

As if he had seen through Naruto's character, Danzo expressed his feelings.

In terms of the strength of a ninja, he has nothing to fault Naruto. As long as such a guy continues to grow step by step, he will sooner or later become a powerful weapon for the village to deter the outside world.

Moreover, he also has the ability to get close enough to others, which is exactly what a Hokage needs.

However, he is too indecisive about some things, and he also has a complicated relationship with the traitorous ninja that is constantly being resolved and confused.

As far as flaws are concerned, this is the only one.

After all, no one is perfect, and Danzo does not expect Naruto to become a perfect ninja like his father, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

He is like a spring breeze to his own people, but ruthless to his enemies.

"Elder Danzo means..."

"Naruto Uzumaki is the same as Hiruzen. He is not decisive enough to eradicate the roots, and he cannot compromise. In such a chaotic world, if no one restrains him, his naive idea will lead Konoha to a place of eternal disaster.

.Those martial arts factions who came over to me were not so much recruited by me as they were pushed to my side by Hiruzen himself. Facing enemies as wolf-like as tigers, ninjas cannot just be weak and pray for peace. They can only let the surrounding people

Only if the country remains weak can they become Konoha's allies."

Shikamaru stared seriously at Danzo, who was neither happy nor sad in front of him, and fell into complex thoughts for a while.

Heartless?

No, although the other party has done a lot of dirty things in the past, the idea of ​​Konoha supremacy is not, strictly speaking, a bad thing for Konoha at the moment.

In the foreseeable future, what Danzo expected will very likely happen.

As a close friend, he knew best what kind of person Naruto was. Because of this, he could not refute Danzo's words.

It would be okay if it was a peaceful time, but in such troubled times where all countries are at risk, Naruto can only serve as a deterrent with force, but he will definitely not be able to play a leading role.

The final result may be like what happened during the Third Hokage's time, causing the conservatives and militant factions to further split.

"Even I have to admit Hiruzen's abilities. He has achieved the ultimate in balancing the various factions. However, where there is sunshine, there must be shadows. The closer the trees are to the sunshine, the roots will grow deeper into the earth.

This is a fact that is independent of personal will. Seeing you and Uzumaki Naruto now reminds me of myself and Hiruzen in the past. It's just that this shadow of me will never be able to get close to the light after all, and will have to shrink all my life.

In the dark."

Danzo may have thought of something, and his tone revealed some nostalgia and emotion.

The voice was still as cold as ever, but it seemed to be a little more humane.

As the saying goes, when a person is about to die, his words are also good. Shikamaru didn't know if Danzo was in this situation, but on the surface, it seemed that the other party was planning to let go completely and wanted to unify Konoha's power. And

Taking into consideration the matter of the next Hokage, preparations were made for the future of Konoha.

From this point of view, when Uchiha Sasuke attacked Konoha, he clearly had the ability to save Danzo, the two advisor friends, but he did not take any action at the time and allowed Uchiha Sasuke to kill the two advisors. He was probably planning to kill with a borrowed knife.

Bar.

The power of the advisory group is the first step in unifying Konoha's power.

Therefore, those two advisors, in Danzo's eyes, became people who were destined to die!

Even if he doesn't die in Uchiha Sasuke's hands, he will be secretly dealt with by the roots.

Shikamaru believed that Danzo could definitely do it and had the courage to do it.

"Why, do you still have any doubts?"

Danzo asked softly. Due to his weak look, even the gloominess on his face had dissipated a lot.

"No, I just didn't expect that Elder Danzo would make such a big change. It's completely different from what my father and the Hokage said."

Shikamaru didn't know what attitude to face Danzo, and said at a loss.

"If you give me another ten years, I will come up with another plan to strengthen Konoha. But now I don't have much life left. The only people I can trust are young people like you. In terms of ability.

, you are not the best ninja I have ever seen, but you are the most suitable person to lead the root in the future after my death."

"Is it the most suitable?"

Shikamaru smiled bitterly.

He naturally knew that people like Danzo would not treat him differently at all.

If Konoha moves towards unification in the future, then support from the roots is essential.

And he was just a chuunin. How could He De be able to lead such a huge organization?

The power of the Roots is not weaker than the Anbu led by Naruto. This means that whoever controls the Roots will immediately have the ability to arm-wrestle with Naruto.

But now, he naturally does not have the ability to do this. Both in terms of strength and ability, he is too immature.

Danzo probably judged him through various perspectives, not just based on the individual ninja's abilities.
To be continued...