Naruto: The Wind Calamity

Chapter 931: Chapter 924 : Reckoning after the end!

A heavy silence followed Danzo's words, as if the very walls of the underground chamber were trying to absorb the weight of what he had just declared.

Tsunade furrowed her brows, visibly shaken. Shizune glanced sideways, unsure if she had misheard. Kakashi's single visible eye widened for the first time since entering the base. Hiruzen, though composed outwardly, felt a tremor deep in his chest.

Danzo… was placing Konoha's survival on Fujin?

Their reactions were understandable. Everything about Danzo — his past schemes, his ruthless pragmatism, his suspicions towards Fujin's sudden strength — pointed to one thing: distrust. Yet here he was, in death, with no more political games left to play, uttering a sentence that contradicted everything he had ever stood for.

Tsunade thought in disbelief, 'Astounding! To think death can change someone to this extent… Even though most are unaware, every leader in Konoha is aware of the conflict between Danzo and Fujin. Yet, he's backing Fujin now!'

Hiruzen sighed internally, 'To think only death could bring you back to the right path, old friend…'

Hiruzen never imagined he'd wish for Danzo to have died sooner. It would have saved him from a mountain of headaches. And, unlike other ninjas who disliked their rest being disturbed, Hiruzen believed Danzo would have no qualms in being reanimated regularly and provide his assistance to the village.

Danzo rolled his eyes at their exaggerated reactions and explained, "I still don't trust him, but there's no point in keeping him at a distance without any solid proof. It'll merely generate resentment in him and could force him to the same path that Orochimaru took. You should still investigate him thoroughly once more, perhaps I could aid you in doing so, but if we still don't find any proof, you should pour everything into ensuring he continues growing without any bottlenecks!"

He paused for a moment, before emphasizing, "That includes giving him access to every forbidden technique in our village!"

In a secret base hidden underground in one of the countless islands in the Land of Water, Fujin's clones were recording all the forbidden techniques and secrets Fujin acquired from Danzo's soul in scrolls. Fujin, who was focused on the Edo Tensei jutsu, could never have imagined that the person he killed not too long ago would convince Hiruzen into giving the very techniques that made Fujin target him in the first place! It reached a whole new level of absurdity! It was unimaginable what Danzo and company would think if they were to learn of this truth!

Luckily for Fujin, it was almost impossible for them to discover the truth. The prospect of Fujin and Akuro being the same person was just as absurd. No one even considered it to be the case simply due to how different the two were in their personalities and skills.

Hiruzen sighed, "Don't worry, I plan on letting him have them, just not so soon. It's best for him if he continues on his current path. Besides, he already knows the Eight Inner Gates. He won't take too long to learn Reaper Death Seal and Edo Tensei. So, there's no need to hurry right now."

Danzo nodded, trusting Hiruzen's judgment. He recalled every investigation he ordered on Fujin and said, "Fujin's trajectory as a ninja has been rather surprising. He was one of the orphans my recruiters checked while searching for young blood for Root. However, his potential was deemed insufficient.

However, he started flourishing once he joined the academy, even outshining other students in several aspects. It wasn't a big enough anomaly to attract my attention back then, but it surprised me when he eventually caught my eye. Regardless, he didn't stand out as much as once in a generation geniuses like Itachi or Kakashi. He could be said to barely be above average among talented youngsters.

Yet, as time passed and he gained more experience, his prowess continued growing at a rate that was far from ordinary. It was almost as if he never faced any bottleneck. As if his potential for growth had no limit despite his seemingly unimpressive talent.

As a result, everytime I felt I underestimated the boy and reanalyzed his strength, a few months down the line, I'd still end up feeling that I underestimated him. This is something I have never seen before, even from you, Hiruzen. This is what makes me believe he'll play a crucial role. The boy…"

Danzo paused for a moment and gazed at Hiruzen, before continuing, "He has an insatiable hunger for strength! Irrespective of how strong he becomes, he never eases up on his training. He's quite similar to Guy in this aspect, though he doesn't need to be as relentless as Guy to maintain his strength."

He turned his gaze to Kakashi as he continued, "Despite his achievements, I still believe his talent lacks compared to yours. However, he has left you far behind simply because his hunger was never satisfied.

In addition, he is unscrupulous and unrelenting in matters that could boost his strength. Despite always opposing me and my plans in the council, he set aside all his differences and willingly traded with me to improve his Wind Vacuum technique. Even though you never told me, I suspect he was far more liberal with you in this aspect, Hiruzen."

Several past traumas resurfaced in Hiruzen's mind on hearing Danzo's words. In spite of not responding, everyone understood the truth by looking at his reaction.

Danzo chuckled at his old friend's reaction. For once, he felt that it wasn't a bad thing that he failed to recruit Fujin into the Root. He added, "The most important factor in his favor is his age. The next 7-8 years have traditionally been the golden period for most ninjas. It's the period when a ninja's strength experiences explosive growth. How far Fujin progresses during this time will depend on two important questions.

How long will Fujin sustain this insatiable hunger? Will he face the same bottleneck you did and stay at that level for the rest of his life, or will his strength keep growing, surpassing your peak?"

Danzo's question made everyone curious. Tsunade and Hiruzen knew they had no reason to worry about the answer to the first question. However, they weren't too positive about the second question.

Hiruzen sighed internally, 'It's difficult… Very difficult… However, Danzo is right about one thing. Fujin's age is a big factor. I reached my peak in my forties, an age where most ninjas retire. However, Fujin should reach it before he's 25. He has the best chance of surpassing my peak. His chances are perhaps even greater than Minato's! Sigh, this war would have been easier to handle had he survived…'

Danzo continued, "If he fails to surpass your peak, you'll have to arm him with all the important forbidden techniques. It's especially important for him to learn to open the final gate, the Gate of Death. Our chances of survival will lay with finding the next reincarnations of Ashura and Indra or with reanimating Lord First with his peak strength, but it'll be Fujin who'll be responsible for deterring the ancient experts and buying us sufficient time.

If he surpasses your peak and continues to grow stronger, all the other cards we discussed earlier will revolve around him, aiding him in defending the village or taking down the ancient experts.

Regardless of which situation it'll be, he'll be the pillar that supports the village, just like you did after the First Great Ninja War. And, just like then, the more cards we possess to assist him, the better our chances of survival will be."

Hiruzen didn't disagree with Danzo. After all, he was the first one to have seen the possibility of Fujin leading Konoha in the future. Even though Kakashi had some major gains recently, giving Konoha's leadership more options, Hiruzen understood very well how far ahead Fujin was.

Kakashi's ability still lagged behind Fujin's performance during their battle against Suna and Oto. And, knowing Fujin's nature, Hiruzen had solid reasons to believe that Fujin still possessed several hidden cards which no one knew about. More importantly, he had no idea of Fujin's progress after he left the village and went on a journey.

So, irrespective of who succeeded Tsunade, Hiruzen believed Fujin would be the most important ninja in ensuring Konoha safety in the future.

However, there was one issue. An issue Hiruzen didn't believe existed, but his old friend was stuck up on. He wanted to see how Danzo, who finally saw the entire picture after death, would answer. He asked, "And, what if our investigations on him reveal a problem?"

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