Although that was the case, the one who came was Gekko Chizan, and the one who killed Danzō was also Gekko Chizan.
This made Kazuma unable to stop thinking about it.
After all, during the battle at the Daimyo's residence back then, he had gained a deep understanding of the person called Gekko Chizan.
Not only was his strength formidable, but the twists and turns of his mind were even more numerous. Facing someone like this required extreme caution.
"That damned Danzō, he just had to go after Konohagakure's cake. If he had restrained himself a little, this situation would never have happened."
"Suichi, tell everyone not to take any missions for the time being."
"I suspect that Danzō's methods crossed the bottom line, which is why Konohagakure has come to investigate the Daimyo's residence."
"Have our people lie low for a while."
"Oh right, how did the matter I asked about earlier regarding the sensory barrier turn out?"
When dealing with someone like Gekko Chizan, who could turn invisible and use space-time ninjutsu, not having sensory ninjutsu was truly troublesome.
Just like this time—he didn't even know when the other party had arrived at the Daimyo's residence.
"No."
"Sensory barriers are generally the trump cards of the major ninja villages."
"There hasn't been any news about them, even on the black market."
Hearing this, Kazuma sighed. The foundation of the Guardian Ninja was still too thin. There was simply no way to compare with the major ninja villages.
Although they had gathered quite a number of ninja, they were all ordinary ones. This was also the reason he had cooperated with Danzō.
"Keep searching."
"As long as you can find it, no matter the price, we'll take it."
"Understood."
...
Several days later, Konohagakure.
After returning, Gekko Chizan took the initiative to find Namikaze Minato and requested that the three advisors also be called in for a meeting.
For the first time—this was definitely the first time—Namikaze Minato, who was familiar with Gekko Chizan, could tell from the look on his face that the guy must have gained something.
So without any hesitation, he directly summoned Sarutobi Hiruzen, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu, the three Hokage advisors, and gathered everyone in the conference room.
"Hokage-sama, you called us here so urgently—what's the matter?"
"Hmm? Chizan, you're back?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was still holding his pipe, but he looked somewhat mentally exhausted.
The other two looked about the same.
It couldn't be helped—Konohagakure currently had a mountain of matters to deal with. Even Namikaze Minato, the Hokage himself, hadn't gone home for several days.
"Oh my, oh my, why do the three advisors look so terrible?"
"Have you not been resting properly? That won't do. All three of you are veteran pillars of Konohagakure—how can you treat your bodies so poorly?"
Gekko Chizan would never miss an opportunity to tease someone.
Especially when the ones being teased were Konohagakure's Hokage advisors.
"Hmph, what's the point of making sarcastic remarks?"
"These are things you young people should be doing. This old man is merely cleaning up the mess for you."
"Gekko Chizan, as one of Konohagakure's Twin Stars, shouldn't you contribute more to the village?"
Utatane Koharu immediately began criticizing Gekko Chizan as soon as she spoke, even revealing her dissatisfaction with him through her words.
Mitokado Homura, sitting beside her, didn't say anything but kept nodding repeatedly.
Clearly, the two of them shared the same opinion. If the younger generation were reliable, these old folks would have long since retired.
Just look at Sarutobi Hiruzen—he had retired at first, but what happened in the end? Because of the village's situation, he had to return.
"Oh my, oh my, how could we young people possibly compare to esteemed seniors like you?"
"You should continue shining and giving off your warmth. A young person like me lacks experience and simply isn't capable of handling such work."
Don't be ridiculous—there was no way Gekko Chizan would lose in a battle of words.
Trying to restrain him? Maybe in the next life.
"Alright, Chizan. Everyone's here now. Speak."
"Why did you call us here?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood Gekko Chizan's temperament very well. Since he had personally shown up, it meant there was definitely something to say.
And it wouldn't be something trivial.
"See? As expected, old man Sarutobi understands me best."
"Come, come, everyone—look over here."
With a grin, Gekko Chizan took out a scroll from his clothes. Then he walked to the side, found a relatively open spot, and placed the scroll on the ground before opening it.
"Bang!"
As the scroll opened, a cloud of white smoke instantly appeared in the conference room.
A massive dark shadow appeared before everyone's eyes.
When the smoke dispersed—
The four people present immediately widened their eyes and stood up in unison.
"Danzō?"
"Shimura Danzō?"
All four of them blurted out at the same time.
This was Shimura Danzō, who had been entombed in crystal by Gekko Chizan. Because of the crystal, the current Danzō had completely become a statue.
Inside the transparent crystal, Danzō's face was twisted in ferocity. His right eye was tightly shut, and one of his arms had a Sharingan embedded in it.
Seeing him in this state, the four of them fell into shock.
"The greatest gain from my trip to the Daimyo's residence."
"There—Shimura Danzō, the missing-nin from our village, along with the Root under his command. I've taken care of all of them."
"In order for you to understand what this bastard did, I specifically preserved him intact and brought him back."
Standing beside the crystal, Gekko Chizan moved his right hand slightly. The crystal condensed again, forming something resembling a pointer.
Then he began giving the people present a lesson.
A lesson about what exactly Shimura Danzō had done.
"There—this eye."
"A Mangekyō Sharingan. Its ability is somewhat like corruption. Take a look at my clothes—this eye caused it."
"In order for you to see the effect, I didn't even bother changing my damn clothes."
He first pointed at Danzō's tightly shut right eye, then pointed at his own torn clothes.
"And over here—what's this? I assume everyone here isn't unfamiliar with it."
"Old man Sarutobi, you should know it best. This research was carried out with your approval."
"In the end, many sacrifices were made, and only Yamato benefited from it."
"But Danzō tried this technique on himself—and succeeded."
"Although he probably could have used Wood Release… well, I didn't give him the chance."
"There—this posture was right before he was about to use Wood Release."
This time, Gekko Chizan pointed at Danzō's unusual right arm.
On the shoulder was also a face resembling that of the First Hokage.
Clearly, this was an arm modified using the First Hokage's cells.
The continuous explanation immediately darkened Namikaze Minato's expression. As for the three Hokage advisors, their faces also became extremely unpleasant.
Especially Sarutobi Hiruzen—his face was dark.
"As for these Sharingan..."
"I wonder if any of you know about a certain ocular technique of the Uchiha clan?"
"It's called: Izanagi."
"A very strange dōjutsu—one that lets you gain several extra lives at the cost of blindness."