Ninja School Teacher, I Can Become Stronger by Teaching - Chapter 120

Danzo didn’t bother to knock as he entered the Hokage’s office.

When Danzo walked in, Hiruzen Sarutobi was standing by the large floor-to-ceiling window of the Hokage’s office overlooking Konoha.

The Hokage building was tall, tall enough to stand on and take in the central district of Konoha at a glance.

“Hiruzen, is there something you wanted to discuss?” Danzo asked.

Hiruzen turned around, nodded, and said, “Take a look at the documents on my desk.”

Danzo walked over to the desk, picked up the documents, and started flipping through them. The name Hany? Mokutsuki instantly caught his eye.

Seeing Mokutsuki’s name, Danzo’s eyes narrowed, and a suspicion flashed through his mind.

“He was discovered just after being reminded not to expose his identity. Truly incompetent,” Danzo thought.

However, as an experienced actor, Danzo’s expression didn’t change. He quickly read through the documents, which contained nothing else but information about Mokutsuki.

“Isn’t this just about promoting an outstanding educator to Special Jonin? Does that need both of us to confirm?” Danzo said calmly.

Since Hiruzen wasn’t being explicit, Danzo decided to play dumb.

Hiruzen chuckled. “Haha, Danzo, are you sure this is just an ordinary Special Jonin?” Hiruzen said, smiling and staring at Danzo.

“Is there something special about him besides his outstanding teaching abilities?” Danzo continued to feign ignorance.

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke, and said, “Danzo, you don’t need to play dumb with me. I know he’s a Root member you’ve illegally trained.”

Hiruzen then threw some more documents to Danzo.

Danzo’s face changed dramatically after reading them. The documents contained not only Mokutsuki’s secret training details but also information on other undercover agents.

“How does he know?” Danzo was stunned, not expecting his so-called secret agents to be so transparent to Hiruzen.

Although Danzo claimed to be training additional personnel for the ANBU under the guise of Root, Hiruzen wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t allow Danzo’s power to grow unchecked and have limited the number of Root members.

That’s why Danzo secretly trained Mokutsuki and others as covert operatives. Hiruzen’s limits forced his hand.

“I’ve done all this to protect Konoha. The number of Root members you allow isn’t enough to safeguard the village,” Danzo argued, not admitting his wrongdoing but instead trying to get Hiruzen to loosen the restrictions on Root.

Danzo wanted to shift the discussion from illegal training to whether Konoha would be drawn into the war and how to protect the village.

But Hiruzen, having been the Hokage for decades, was even more astute than Danzo. He wasn’t misled and tapped on the desk, saying:
“Let’s focus on your illegal training of extra members for now.”

“Of the five individuals, three are the descendants of war heroes. How dare you target them, Danzo! Do you want to destroy Konoha’s Will of Fire?” Hiruzen’s eyes sharpened, his gaze intensely pressuring Danzo.

The so-called war heroes were those who had fallen in battle. For instance, Mokutsuki’s parents, who died in battle, were considered war heroes.

Danzo remained silent. Usually, it was not easy to manipulate children, and the descendants of renowned ninjas typically had considerable talent.

“I was also training talents for Konoha,” Danzo retorted.

“Perhaps they would have been more excellent without your interference,” Hiruzen shot back.

In Hiruzen’s view, Mokutsuki was indeed a good talent with remarkable teaching abilities, a promising aptitude for sealing techniques, decent proficiency in Water Release and Fire Release, and commendable interpersonal skills.

“Mokutsuki doesn’t belong in Root. Come to the Hokage building tomorrow and remove the curse mark from him,” Hiruzen stated his primary purpose.

Taking Mokutsuki under his wing was Hiruzen’s goal today. Chastising Danzo was just secondary.

“Are you implying that I, the leader of Root, should let go of someone I’ve nurtured with my own efforts?” Danzo clenched his fists.

Although Mokutsuki wasn’t a top priority for him, having someone taken away felt like having the fruits of his labor snatched. It was frustrating!

“If you refuse, you’ll regret it,” Hiruzen said coolly.

Danzo’s face fluctuated with emotions, but he didn’t immediately respond.

“What about the resources I’ve invested in him?” Danzo finally asked.

Hiruzen, puffing his pipe, pointed to the documents on the desk.

Danzo instantly understood Hiruzen’s meaning. Violating regulations meant no compensation.

Taking a deep breath, Danzo coldly said, “I’ll be there tomorrow.”

As he turned to leave, Danzo added, “Hiruzen, you’ll regret this.”

“I am the Hokage,” Hiruzen reminded him from his chair.

Bang!
The wooden door of the office was slammed shut.

Once outside the office, Danzo’s expression immediately returned to normal.

Losing a Special Jonin might be irritating, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t handle. Acting furious was just to express his discontent and seek some compensation from Hiruzen.

Hiruzen didn’t want to compensate, but in return, he’d overlook the other four covertly trained individuals, effectively making them Root members but not officially listed.

Hiruzen’s message was clear. Apart from Mokutsuki, they didn’t discuss anyone else.

Danzo understood this as Hiruzen’s tacit approval of his other agents, provided they remained unofficial.

“So long as Kinoe remains undiscovered,” Danzo thought.

Seeing the list of agents had made Danzo’s heart race, fearing his Wood Release ninja had been exposed.

As long as his Wood Release ninja remained hidden, losing other agents wasn’t a big deal. He believed in the power of Wood Release.

Back in the Root base, Danzo still felt a bit annoyed. Yesterday, he had hoped that Mokutsuki would extend his influence within Konoha. Today, Mokutsuki was being taken away.

“Inform Yoru to come over,” Danzo instructed his subordinates upon returning to the base.

(End of Chapter)

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