Leaving the Hyuga clan compound, the sky had gradually darkened.
Danzo and Uchiha Kagami did not return directly to the Root base, but took a detour to the newly established Konoha Hospital.
The research department on the top floor of the hospital was still brightly lit.
When the two pushed open the laboratory door, a strong smell of alcohol mixed with various herbs wafted over.
In the laboratory, Tsunade was performing a precise titration operation on a row of test tubes, beads of sweat on her forehead, her expression focused.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was lying in front of a microscope, motionless, muttering something like "antigen-antibody binding model."
"Ahem." Uchiha Kagami coughed lightly.
"Who is it! Can't you see we're busy?!"
Tsunade roared impatiently without even looking up.
"It's us," Danzo's gloomy voice sounded.
Tsunade and Orochimaru both paused.
They looked up and were a little surprised to see Danzo and Kagami standing at the door.
"Senior Danzo... and Senior Kagami, why are you here so late?"
Tsunade put down the test tube in her hand and asked in confusion.
"We have a favor to ask of you."
Danzo got straight to the point; he never liked beating around the bush.
He briefly explained the situation with the Hyuga clan to the two of them.
"...That's the situation. The Hyuga clan has agreed to abolish the Caged Bird seal, but we need a new curse mark to protect their Byakugan."
Danzo's gaze fell on Orochimaru and Tsunade. "You are the top experts in the village. Hiruzen and I are busy with construction and can't get away. Only you can handle this matter."
Hearing the word "Byakugan," a look of interest appeared on Orochimaru's indifferent face.
A curse mark to protect the Byakugan?
That's challenging!
"No problem."
Orochimaru agreed almost without hesitation, the unique light of a research fanatic shining in his golden, serpentine pupils. "Give me some time, and I'll design a preliminary plan. But the Hyuga..."
"Don't worry."
Danzo chuckled lowly and promised, "The Hyuga family will fully cooperate with you."
Orochimaru and Tsunade exchanged a look, and both saw a hint of understanding in the other's eyes.
"Alright."
"I have no problem either."
Orochimaru nodded. He couldn't wait to start this brand-new research.
With the matter settled, Danzo and Kagami didn't stay long and turned to leave the hospital.
Walking on the way back, Uchiha Kagami looked at his companion who had been silent all this time and couldn't help but ask, "Danzo, you seem... increasingly different from before."
"Is that so?" Danzo didn't stop walking.
Uchiha Kagami's tone carried a hint of emotion. "Before, I always thought..."
"Thought what?"
Danzo interrupted him, his voice softening a bit. "Thought I was jealous of Hiruzen and wanted to seize his position as Hokage?"
Uchiha Kagami fell silent.
"Heh."
Danzo suddenly stopped. He didn't look at Uchiha Kagami beside him, but looked up at the bright full moon.
His voice was light, carrying a tone of relief.
"At first, I was indeed unconvinced."
"But now, I have to admit, Hiruzen... is indeed more suitable to be Hokage than I am. His vision is farther than mine, and his methods are more brilliant than mine."
The two walked in silence, only the sound of their footsteps echoing on the street.
It wasn't until another splash of moonlight fell that Danzo stopped again, looking up at the bright full moon hanging in the night sky.
The moonlight shone unobstructed on the entire village, just like Hiruzen's light.
"Kagami,"
The long-standing stubbornness in Danzo's voice seemed to be melting away like ice, "I probably won't become Hokage in this lifetime. But..."
The moonlight was reflected in his eyes, but so was a deeper darkness.
A brand-new, indestructible will condensed in the depths of his eyes.
"That is not the only path."
"I can become the most solid foundation supporting him as Hokage."
"If Hiruzen is the towering tree that shelters the village from wind and rain, then I, Shimura Danzo, will be the cornerstone buried underground, silently bearing all the weight, supporting this prosperity for him."
"This is my, Shimura Danzo's, ninja way."
Uchiha Kagami, who had been silent, turned his head and took a deep look at him.
On that always gentle face, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upwards, then disappeared.
"The path of a cornerstone will be very hard."
Danzo started walking again, heading into the moonlight. "But in a ninja's life, when has the path ever been smooth?"
"..."
The two returned to the underground base of Root.
Deep in the base, in the training room belonging to the Uchiha Special Response Team, Uchiha Tokko and the team members he led were waiting quietly.
Seeing Danzo and Kagami appear, they immediately knelt on one knee.
"My Lords."
Danzo looked at them, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.
These people were the sharpest blade Hiruzen had personally selected for him.
"I've already settled the matter regarding the Hyuga clan with Orochimaru and the others."
Danzo's voice echoed in the empty training room.
"If... they make any unusual moves..."
Killing intent flashed in Danzo's eyes.
"You know what to do, right?"
Uchiha Kagami stood aside, saying nothing, just silently nodding.
"Understood!"
Uchiha Tokko and the several team members behind him bowed in unison.
Then, several figures retreated into the darkness simultaneously, disappearing without a trace.
————————
The matter of the Hyuga clan was resolved in a swift and decisive manner.
Early the next morning, the old Hyuga patriarch personally brought a "Reform Agreement" signed by all the clan elders to the Hokage's Office with a humble attitude.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took the agreement with a face full of question marks. As he scanned it, the surprise on his face could not be hidden.
He looked up at Danzo, who was standing silently to the side.
His expression was as tense as ever, but his eyes revealed an undisguised pride, as if saying: This is what I should have done.
Hiruzen's heart was filled with emotion, which finally turned into a sigh of relief.
He smiled, reached out, and patted Danzo heavily on the shoulder. "Danzo, your efficiency is much higher than mine as Hokage."
"Mm."
Danzo's response was only one word, but the stiff corner of his mouth rarely twitched upwards.
The smile was faint, almost fleeting, but it was not fake.
With the big trouble of the Hyuga clan settled, Danzo's Konoha Construction Team also welcomed a powerful boost.
From then on, a peculiar scene appeared on various construction sites in Konoha.
A group of ninja wearing Hyuga clan attire, with their Byakugan activated, patrolled the construction sites like the most precise scanners.
"Foundation No. 3, southeast corner, three meters underground, there is a rock crack about one centimeter in diameter. It needs reinforcement!"
"Newly laid sewage pipe, at the junction of section 17 and 18, there is a 0.3-millimeter misalignment. Rework immediately!"
"Hey you, over there, yes, you! The wall you built is off by one degree vertically! Tear it down and start over!"
Under the X-ray vision and millimeter-level precision of the Byakugan, not a single construction flaw could hide.
The workers of the construction team were tormented by this group of "quality inspectors" who had suddenly popped up.
But the effect was also obvious.
The quality of Konoha's infrastructure projects improved at a rocket-like speed.
Danzo was very satisfied with this.
He even specially awarded these Hyuga quality inspection teams with the "Konoha Construction Team Annual Outstanding Worker" scroll, and on the scroll, with his powerful calligraphy, he personally inscribed a line of large characters—
"The Hawkeye of Inspection, the Nemesis of Flaws."
This caused the reputation of the Hyuga clan among the villagers to rise accordingly.
When the clansmen walked on the street, they could feel the respectful gazes from the villagers, which came from the bottom of their hearts.
This made them realize for the first time how fulfilling it was to contribute to the village with their own abilities.
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