As Minato was leaving the village...
Inside Konoha Village's Root base.
Shimura Danzō sat in his seat, quietly listening to the report.
"He took a mission to exterminate rogue ninja? Hmph, brat. I've waited a long time for this. Without Jiraiya's protection, let's see how you escape from the palm of my hand."
Shimura Danzō said sinisterly after his subordinate finished reporting.
Ever since witnessing Minato's strength at the graduation exam, Shimura Danzō had wanted nothing more than to eliminate Minato at every moment.
It wasn't just because Minato had tricked him once, but even more because of his level of genius. If Minato fully matured, the Hokage's faction would gain another significant force.
This could not be allowed. If the Hokage faction's power was allowed to grow, when would he ever be able to become Hokage?
Because of this, he had been watching Minato closely. After Jiraiya left, he finally knew his chance had come. These past few days, he had his confidants watching for Minato to accept a mission.
After waiting so many days, that brat finally took a mission.
"You four, follow that brat. Wait for him to exterminate the rogue ninja. After he is mostly exhausted, rush in and finish him."
As he spoke, Shimura Danzō revealed an astonishing killing intent, showing how much hatred he had for Minato.
"Yes, Lord Danzō," the four people below Shimura Danzō replied.
These four were not to be underestimated. Two were Jōnin and two were Elite Jōnin, belonging to Shimura Danzō's core forces.
Because of Minato's performance at the graduation exam, and the investigation into his actions over the past few months, Danzō had dispatched four high-end combatants just to be safe, which showed how seriously he was taking Minato.
But they had no idea Minato was basically a cheater.
In the months he followed Jiraiya, his strength had skyrocketed. He was now already an Elite Jōnin.
In Shimura Danzō's estimation, after the past few months and having killed a few Jōnin, Minato should be at the Jōnin level. By sending four experts of the same level or higher, he should be captured easily.
"Also, there is a girl from the Uchiha Clan on his team. After you kill her, remember to bring back her Sharingan." Shimura Danzō had coveted the power of the Sharingan for much longer than a day or two.
He just couldn't use that power himself. But he believed that through research, he could definitely obtain the Uchiha Clan's power. He had his sights set on a collaborator for this: Orochimaru.
He saw the ambition in Orochimaru's eyes, so he wasn't worried at all that Orochimaru would refuse to cooperate.
"Yes, Lord Danzō," the four replied again.
"Go. Don't leave any traces. This is a top-secret mission. If the mission fails or you are discovered, don't bother coming back to see me."
Shimura Danzō's tone was ice-cold and merciless. Even if they were his core forces, what needed to be abandoned would be abandoned.
But even with such cold and merciless words, Shimura Danzō wasn't afraid of hurting his subordinates' hearts, because he had planted a seal on their bodies—the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.
If any of them dared to betray him or leak information, the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal would instantly rob them of their lives.
Watching his four subordinates leave, Shimura Danzō closed his eyes.
"Namikaze Minato, enjoy your last few days. Konoha doesn't need you; it needs me. Only I can lead Konoha to greatness."
The cold, merciless, and ambitious voice echoed in the room of the Root base.
The four Root Anbu trailed Minato slowly after leaving the village. Because they knew the final destination, they kept a great distance from him to prevent being discovered.
...
Two days after leaving Konoha, Minato, Mikoto, and Nagakaze arrived at the village and observed it for a considerable time.
"What should we do? Go in directly, or sneak in?" From a large tree, Mikoto asked Minato beside her.
"This village definitely has spies from those rogue ninja. Otherwise, it's impossible they could plunder the villagers' resources on schedule every time. So, we must sneak in. I'll find the village head and get information."
Minato chose to sneak in to avoid alerting the enemy.
Mikoto nodded.
"I'll go find the village head. You two monitor the village and see if anyone sends a message out. It's dark now, which is the best time to send messages."
Minato continued to give orders to Mikoto and Nagakaze. He was clearly the team's captain, a fact that both Nagakaze and Mikoto had tacitly accepted.
"Okay, I'll keep a good watch." Mikoto activated her Sharingan, watching the entire village for any movement.
Minato smiled slightly at this. Then, following the information on the mission scroll, he went to find the village head.
As Minato snuck into the village, the four ninja sent by Shimura Danzō were also not far away. They were now waiting for Minato to start fighting the rogue ninja, at which point they would carry out their decapitation strike.
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