That night, Root Base, Konoha.
"Kushina Uzumaki, Uzumaki Clan..."
In the quiet room, Danzo looked at the file in his hand, his face sinking like water.
His gaze fell on Nonō, who was standing with her hands down: "What's with this girl who suddenly appeared beside Minato Namikaze? Why wasn't it reported to me?"
"Does this... also need to be reported?"
A trace of just the right amount of doubt appeared on Nonō's face, and she asked anxiously.
"..."
Danzo fell silent. He couldn't figure out if this little girl was really stupid or just pretending.
Slamming the document heavily in front of Nonō, Danzo snorted coldly.
"A girl temporarily living in Tsunade's house and having a close relationship with Minato Namikaze. Can't you see that her existence is an obstacle to you? If it weren't for today's accident, I wouldn't even know about this!"
Nonō looked ignorant. "But she didn't hinder my interaction with Minato?"
Danzo frowned slightly. The other party's reaction didn't seem fake.
Thinking that Nonō really didn't have experience in this area, he could only suppress the anger in his heart.
"That girl is not as simple as you think. She is from the Uzumaki clan and plays a very important role in the village."
Thinking that Hiruzen Sarutobi even hid the matter of the reserve Jinchuriki from him, Danzo's mood became even worse.
"The Third sent that girl to Minato to cultivate their relationship, intending to give Minato Namikaze a powerful aid, paving the way for him to become Hokage!"
"Um..."
Nonō looked blank. "Is... is there any problem with this? Minato has such a good personality, he will definitely become an excellent Hokage, right?"
Hearing this, Danzo groaned immediately, feeling as if a depressed breath had gathered in his chest, unable to go up or down, making him extremely uncomfortable.
But he couldn't say anything!
He couldn't say "I want to be Hokage," right?
Speaking his ambition to a five-year-old child, even with his thick skin, Danzo would feel ashamed...
This shame was not because of ambition, but because he knew deeply that apart from his brainwashed subordinates, even the little girl in front of him would not think he deserved to sit in that position!
This self-knowledge made his heart feel as if countless ants were gnawing at it, extremely painful.
It also forced him to want to prove himself even more, prove that his ability was not worse than Hiruzen's, prove that he would not be surpassed by juniors, and prove that his teacher's choice was wrong!
So urgent that his heart was almost twisted!
As the Hokage's assistant, everyone was respectful to him on weekdays, and he heard flattering words.
Danzo enjoyed this feeling very much. The pleasure of power made him addicted and unable to extricate himself, and also made him crave the position of Hokage even more.
However, now, he was pulled back to reality by Nonō's childish ignorant words, having to face the fact he least wanted to face.
At this moment, Danzo felt that there might really be something wrong with his judgment.
Because a smart child might have realized his purpose, but Nonō's appearance didn't look like she was pretending to be stupid...
Forget it, so be it if she's a fool.
A fool is easier to control!
Thinking of this, Danzo seemed to sigh ruefully. "The position of Hokage is not as simple as you think, nor as glamorous as it appears on the surface. Minato's personality is not suitable for being Hokage."
"His personality is too simple. He is more suitable to be a powerful combat force, not a leader."
Bullshit!
Nonō disdained in her heart, but her face remained calm.
If Minato isn't worthy, are you?
Although she was glad to have muddled through Danzo's probing, the other party obviously had no intention of stopping.
Recalling the back of Kushina who unhesitatingly blocked in front of her, Nonō made up her mind secretly that she would absolutely not let Danzo harm her!
"Forget it, you can't understand these things yet. Just do your mission well and don't forget your identity."
Danzo waved his hand, and Nonō bowed and withdrew.
There was some regret in her heart that she couldn't get more information.
But now it seemed that the method of playing dumb was still effective.
Because the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal would show a seal mark, in order to prevent being detected by Minato, Danzo didn't place a cursed seal restriction on Nonō.
In his opinion, the other party was just a five-year-old child. Even without a cursed seal, he could easily manipulate her.
But this also gave Nonō ideas.
In the past two months, she had been observing Minato, not out of infatuation, but to explore his character.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to feel a certain quality hidden under his sunniness.
That feeling wasn't darkness, but more like a kind of detachment.
What she said to Kushina before was the truth. Minato was gentle to everyone, but she indeed dared not be sure of Minato's definition of their relationship.
And she could sense that there seemed to be some scrutiny in Minato's eyes when he looked at her.
Nonō vaguely suspected that Minato might have already noticed something.
She wanted to talk to Minato openly and honestly, but once she chose to show her hand, no matter the result, she would have no room to turn back.
But she couldn't make a decision easily because she still had the orphanage behind her.
Danzo had threatened her with the orphanage more than once.
For the current Nonō, Danzo was a big shot she absolutely couldn't resist.
He didn't even need to do anything. Just by slightly using the power of the Hokage's assistant, he could easily cut off the orphanage's funding.
And the priest and the fat nun couldn't even meet the Hokage...
The children would also go hungry, unable to eat enough or dress warmly.
She had experienced that kind of life. Precisely because she had been in the rain, she wanted to hold an umbrella for others.
What should I do...
All the way back to her residence, Nonō was preoccupied. Worried about being monitored, she still put on a calm and normal appearance.
Cooking, washing clothes, taking a hot bath, and then lying in bed, reading the romance books Danzo bought for her...
Now she was temporarily living in a small apartment provided by Danzo, which was the only good thing he did.
...
"How is it?"
After a while, in the quiet room, Danzo's voice sounded again.
"The target giggled multiple times while reading. Apart from that, there was no abnormality."
A Root ninja suddenly appeared in front of Danzo, kneeling on one knee.
"Could she really be a fool..."
Unconsciously clenching the armrest of the chair, Danzo's face turned slightly dark.
Because Nonō's simple reaction conflicted with her previous calm composure, he inevitably became suspicious, so he sent someone to monitor her secretly.
The result turned out to be no abnormality...
Even with good acting skills, a five-year-old child couldn't maintain it all the time, right?
But this was too simple. Are children nowadays so simple?
Danzo frowned tightly. Apart from Nonō, he couldn't find a more suitable candidate.
Thinking about it, he could only attribute it to her young age.
If Nonō didn't get it, then start with the Uzumaki clan brat!
After all, this clan didn't just have this one person left...