[Hokage] Terukawa

Konoha.

Danzo residence.

"Elder Shimura, Konoha is sunny today, it's peaceful and bright, it's a rare good time."

The voice that sounded outside the porch was gentle and clear, like a gentle spring breeze crossing the distance between the mountains and the sea, returning from the not-too-distant future to this harsh winter—just this very iconic voice and tone, already It is enough to make most of Konoha's ninjas and even residents smile from the bottom of their hearts at this moment.

Just because everyone knows that there is only one person in Konoha who can have such a gentle voice and tone.

"Namikaze Minato."

Shimura Danzo's voice was extremely cold, like the heavy shadow that enveloped his residence.

This place is located in a remote place, and the shadow of the side rocks makes it less sunny all year round, which also makes the temperature in this area a little lower than that under the usual shadow.Group collector—no, perhaps it would be more appropriate to use the word "residence". After all, from the survey results of traces, this old man obviously prefers the simple bedroom set up underground at the root—maybe Because of the lack of care, there are more than one foot long icicles hanging under the eaves here, hanging upside down and shining coldly, it looks like a dagger is turning its edge from a distance, and the yard outside the door is also full of thick ice. The thick snow, from a distance, is still a dull white - but Konoha has not snowed for a few days, and there are bright sunshine in between.The feeling of the sun shining on people is warm, and it will always make people unconsciously think of the not-too-distant spring... So there is no doubt that these snowfalls failed to melt in time after the previous snowfalls, and finally layered on top of each other. A stack of "remnants".

"Namikaze Minato, are you here to mock me? To ridicule me, Shimura Danzo, who has dedicated himself to Konoha for many years, but in the end he will be lost in the wild of a traitorous blood—"

"Elder Shimura, you misunderstood."

Namikaze Minato's soft voice interrupted him.

"I'm just following the orders of the three generations of adults to bring you some food for dinner."

This was followed by the sound of the food box being placed on the ground.The bamboo bottom of the food box collided with the rough stone slab, making a muffled light sound—it must be a food box that was stuffed to the brim.

Immediately afterwards, there was another light sound of something being placed down, but it sounded a completely different tone from the food box, it sounded much crisper and lighter.

"Today is slightly different from the previous few days, Elder Shimura, today there is an extra bottle of shochu... I hope you like it."

The words fell to the ground, and there was another rustling sound of clothes rubbing outside the door, obviously Minakaze Minato stood up straight again.

The air froze for a moment, and the icicles on the corners of the eaves dripped slowly drop by drop with cold water droplets. It melted very slowly, but it was indeed melting.

"Shochu," until Danzo's cold voice came from the door again, and the dry mockery was confided along with his nasal voice, "Who made the idea?"

"It's me," Minato replied frankly, "Maybe you should consider changing to a sunny house, here..."

Minato couldn't finish speaking, because Danzo started talking to himself.He seemed to be talking and laughing at the same time, but the tone that was supposed to be raised was frustrating and tangled together, sometimes it was so low that people couldn't hear what he said, and sometimes because his voice was too hoarse, there was only an empty breath— ——He is already old, so old that only some ethereal things are enough to get stuck in his throat—such as long-standing resentment, and ethereal and rootless hatred.

"I, Shimura Danzo, have been studying with my teacher since I was five years old... After decades of painstaking efforts, I hid myself in the shadow of Konoha and became the root under the leaves. If it weren't for..."

"This should have been my era, but I lost, and I was not reconciled, so I chose to continue to pay for Konoha until that day came. But now, I have fallen into such a situation... Could this be my Repay—?!"

"I, Shimura Danzo, have put in so much blood, sweat and dedication for so many years, and I have been through life and death for so many years... Is this kind of treatment now my reward?! How ridiculous! I have devoted myself to Konoha Zen for decades, you guys But he easily listened to the slander and slander of a foreign animal—"

"——Perhaps you should consider changing to a sunny house, like the house of the transition consultant or Mitomon consultant. It's too cloudy and cold here, and I'm afraid it won't change in a short time."

Minato's voice did not connect to this somewhat long pause. His voice was gentle and calm, as if the conversation between him and Danzo had never been like this, and it seemed that he had never heard what Danzo meant——

"After all, it's not a day's cold to freeze three feet."

——The air suddenly became icy cold at this moment, and the dead silence inside and outside the door condensed into lumps, freezing into a bone-piercing chill.

Minakaze smelled fury in the cold air, and its source didn't even need to be thought about.Shimura Danzo still bites everything to death, but it is obviously not enough to break the "Namikaze Minato's stubbornness" - the innate temperament combined with the acquired position, under the gentle and active character, Minato's will is as firm as steel .

If it was Yasaka Terukawa who appeared outside this door, then Yasaka Terukawa would not intentionally do anything unnecessary, but he might feel "indescribably bored" during this short silence, and then "state Seemingly "unintentionally", he folded an icicle under the eaves and played with it in his hands, and then was "extremely surprised" to find that Shimura Danzo still had a certain degree of perception of the outside of the door, and finally made Shimura Danzo "unconsciously" His fury was even higher—it would be even better if he could really piss him off to death, but unfortunately he couldn’t—Of course, Zhao He wouldn’t really say this.

Namikaze Minato is not Yasaka Terukawa, so naturally he doesn't have the bad corners of Yasaka Terukawa's character.Even so, he still became the target of Shimura Danzo's rage, but because he is Namikaze Minato, he can remain indifferent to the current situation.

"It's an old saying, you know it, don't you?"

Minato's tone was flat and his tone was calm.

"It seems that you still have nothing to convey to me, so it's inconvenient for me to continue bothering you."

He takes a step back.

"Elder Shimura, please take care of yourself."

……

…………

"Come in." Shimura Danzo said.

It was still in the afternoon at this time, but the interior of this house hidden in the shade of the mountains was already so dark and dark that it was almost night. Although it was not too dark to reach out, it was only enough for ordinary people to barely see the outline of things here.Of course, Danzo is not an ordinary person—there are no ordinary people here, so he just sat quietly in front of the window, the shadow behind him was so thick that it was almost swallowing, but he was here like a fish in water.

No one answered, but there was a slight sound of the originally closed window, and a gust of wind that came from nowhere secretly brushed over the cold things in the house, and stopped precisely before being caught by Danzo.

Danzo let out a sneer.

"You don't need to hide when you come in," Danzo said, "You came back late, I pray that you are not found by Namikaze Minato."

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

It was a young man's voice that answered him. It sounded very young, but in fact he was indeed young.He ordered a wet white cloak, and inside was the same uniform as Anbe.It stands to reason that the white cloak should have been particularly eye-catching in the dark, but the fact is that until the moment before he answered, he perfectly immersed himself in the darkness of the room, as if the shadows under the trees were seamlessly integrated. Melt into the night.

"When I was hiding in the snow, Namikaze Junin didn't show any abnormalities."

Danzo sneered again, obviously dismissing the subordinate's explanation, but he didn't pursue it too much at this moment: "Since you dare to come to see me, it means that you have already got what you said?"

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

"Are you sure it was Orochimaru who gave it to him?"

"It's certain. When Yasaka Terukawa left the research institute this morning, he had those things in his hands, and his series of actions since then centered on them, and he obviously values ​​them very much."

As for the "unqualified experimental materials" that Yasaka Terukawa himself said...who would believe it?

"...Take a look."

Orochimaru must have foreseen the situation that I will expose him. According to his mind, it is absolutely impossible to hide in the research institute and wait for death. On the contrary...

Danzo was thinking in the darkness of the room, his face was cold.

On the contrary, it must be the second hand who can help him get rid of the crime in the future. Although Namikaze Minato is in the limelight right now, as long as Orochimaru is successfully exonerated, with his resourcefulness and courage, the fourth Hokage is not without a fight And that damned brat... Yasaka, although he is still an accomplice of Orochimaru now, it is unknown what position he will be promoted to when Orochimaru succeeds.

On the other hand, leaving aside the issue of Orochimaru's attempt to escape the crime, but that brat surnamed Yasaka... has clearly been designated as a direct descendant of Namikaze Minato, but in private, he has a close relationship with Orochimaru In this way, no matter who the last four generations of Hokage belonged to, he would at least become a confidant of Hokage on the surface. How ridiculous... How ridiculous! !I, Shimura Danzo, who was once famous, would be reduced to this point because of such a despicable and shameless villain...! !

Kneeling on the ground, holding the bright red fruit, the root ninja couldn't guess why the aura around his boss became more and more violent and dangerous. He had no time to care about the clothes soaked in snow and the deep cold penetrating from the pores to the bone marrow. He just lowered his head more and more humblely and cautiously, maintaining a gesture of offering.

Fortunately, his boss didn't remain in that horrific state for long.Danzo quickly took the fruit from his hand.

The bright red fruit flips back and forth between Danzo's fingers. It has a round shape, slightly wrinkled skin, and feels dry and hardened. When knocked, there will be a sound that is not dull. It can be said that apart from the bright color, this fruit There is nothing special about it.

"..."

Orochimaru's offender... what do they want to do?

Danzo closed his eyes slightly.

"You go back."

"Yes."

The root ninja who was half kneeling on the ground stood up, perhaps because his clothes were already soaked in snow water, when he made such a large movement of getting up, there was a rustling sound also no.

"Wait, stop."

The root endures the stagnation of the limbs.

"Leave the knife."

"Yes, Danzo-sama." Genin obediently took off the wakizashi around his waist.

"Idiot, use your brain, are you afraid that the Anbu people won't find it?" Danzang said in a high-pitched tone, "Keep the dagger, but take the knife away."

Genin silently untied the dagger tied to his leg, and held it respectfully in front of Tuanzo.Danzo reached out to take it, and took out half of the blade to take a look—the blade of the dagger is long and narrow. A few gleams of cold light flashed.

Danzo's face turned pale, and then he raised his head as if he just remembered, and asked hoarsely, "Did you get the thing?"

Gennin maintained a bent posture, and replied, "No, it's not me, my lord."

"who is it?"

"It's Jiasan."

"The one with the brown hair?"

Genin's tone was flat, apparently he was used to this kind of conversation: "No, that was the last one, the last Jiasan died four months ago under the hands of Sanshoyu Hanzo in the Land of Rain. The one who got the things was New Jiasan, black hair, always smiling, the one with the short knife very well."

"Oh...it's him, that's still a child."

For some reason, Danzo let out a low sigh.His tone softened a little, and his voice became soft and hoarse—from the outline of his face that was not completely hidden in the darkness, he seemed to raise the corners of his mouth, vaguely, as if he was smiling .

"A two," he said, "I guess you're impressed with the new A three."

"For the sake of Konoha, for the sake of the roots, remember that every member is what the subordinates should do." Jiaer said respectfully.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then..." Jia Er tensed his body subconsciously, and the dark indoor space was quiet for a few seconds before his voice resumed, "Because he tried to ask you for a name last time."

"That's still a child, not a root yet."

Danzo said.

"..."

clatter.clatter.

The extremely light sound echoed in this extremely dark space, its rhythm was neither fast nor noisy--on the contrary, it was calm and steady, like the remaining water drops dripping from the leaves after the rain, Then slowly into the soil.

Shimura Danzo's fingers tapped lightly on the leather surface of the armrest.

Jia Er's heart pumped out warm blood one by one.

It wasn't until Shimura Danzo spoke again that the chaotic backwater surged up again.

He asked softly: "What is the pseudonym he used for this mission?"

A Er was stunned for a moment: "My lord, this subordinate has neglected his duty, I won't—"

"You don't know, it doesn't matter," Jia Er's voice was quickly interrupted, "Just give him that pseudonym, this is the reward he deserves."

The voice fell, and the room fell into silence for a moment, and at the next moment—almost visible to the naked eye, Jia Er's body stiffened for a moment, he opened his eyes unconsciously, and when he spoke again, his voice was already uncontrollable. Raised: "Wait, Danzo-sama! We are roots, I don't think—"

"A second, do you want a name too?"

——It was just a light sentence, and it seemed to turn into a binding rope.Jia Er's voice was choked in his throat at this moment.

He froze in place, his lips trembling slightly.

"..."

After a long silence, Jia Er finally spoke again.

"The leaves are as bright as the leaves, and the roots are as deep as the roots," he said hoarsely, but clearly, "the roots in the soil don't need a name."

The last word came out of his mouth, and Jia Er suddenly lowered his head.He didn't dare to look up, and he didn't dare to listen or look carefully. He just lowered his head, waiting like a timid ostrich, waiting for this false alarm to pass, or a punishment that didn't know what would happen. Waiting--

——Until thin applause came from the darkness.

Jia Er raised his head in astonishment, and he saw a real smile on Shimura Danzo's face that had been locked away by murderous intent and coldness for a long time... No, he was clearly still talking... Yes, Although he didn't make a sound, judging by his mouth shape, he was clearly speaking word by word——

——"You are the one who really understands me."

……

In the cold and dark room, the silence still continued, just like the shadow on the back of the rock that continued to extend over time.

However, the atmosphere immersed in it is already quite different.

Jia Er looked up at the silhouette of Shimura Danzo hidden in the darkness, with a surge of enthusiasm in his eyes - he was still excited by Danzo's straightforward approval just now.

"I understand," Danzo said, "Because the last A-san died, the task that should have belonged to him to lead the next fell on the current B-san."

"Exactly, my lord." A and Er replied.

"You also said just now that the new Jiasan is very good with a short knife."

"Yes, my lord, his ninjutsu is also very good."

"Then let him prove himself," Danzo's voice was extremely calm, just like the chaotic sky outside the house that turned red at some point, "Go and check the pseudonym he used this time, and ask Yisan to use that pseudonym Leave it to him."

"……Yes."

After Jia Er answered, Danzo did not immediately give the next instruction.His eyes were deep and dark, as if he was born with this almost suffocating sense of oppression.He just looked at Jia Er who was half kneeling on the ground expressionlessly, with a condescending posture, like a falcon overlooking the ground, and his expression was elusive, like a venomous tongue entangled in a branch.

This kind of scrutiny lasted for several minutes before Danzo sneered and said slowly: "Let A[-] bring his dagger, let B[-] bring that name, and the location will be in 'that room', if he can If he does, his pseudonym will no longer be a pseudonym."

"!" Jia Er hurriedly raised his head, "You mean——"

Danzang said: "Understand, let's do it."

"..." Jia Er lowered his head vigorously, "Yes!"