"No! Absolutely not! This must be stopped!"
Furious, Danzo slammed the reports submitted by his subordinates onto the desk.
The first concerned the Fourth Hokage's proposed reforms to the Uchiha Police Force.
The second was about the proposed water diversion cooperation between the Land of Rain and the Land of Wind, along with Minato's stance on the matter.
Regarding the former, Minato had suggested integrating the Uchiha clan with other village clans in jointly managing the police force, under the condition that Shisui join the Hokage's direct ANBU unit and Obito become a Hokage guard.
And the Uchiha… agreed!
As for the second matter, the new leader of the Land of Rain had proposed a water supply partnership to Sunagakure.
Under pressure from the Wind Daimyo, the Fourth Kazekage had consented!
However, due to their alliance (subordinate) relationship with Konoha, the Fourth Kazekage didn't dare to make the decision unilaterally and instead sent a letter seeking Konoha's opinion.
And Minato… agreed to that too!
No doubt Rasa was laughing his ass off right now, inwardly mocking Konoha for being a bunch of idiots.
"Naive! Utterly naive! I've said it before—Minato is far too young and inexperienced! The moment he took office, not only did he relax policies toward the Uchiha, but he even approved cooperation between the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain! What kind of behavior is this? It's nothing short of sowing chaos within the village while allowing our enemy, the Land of Wind, to grow stronger! Hiruzen, I told you you'd regret this! You truly chose the wrong man!"
Danzo also berated the Third for being blind enough to select such a Fourth Hokage, clearly pushing the village toward both internal strife and external threats!
'Hiruzen, even a ninken from the Inuzuka clan tied up there would make a more suitable Hokage than this naive brat!'
'Naive! Utterly naive!'
'And not just naive—you're betraying our master's teachings!'
'Have you forgotten the lessons our teacher left behind?'
'He explicitly told us to keep a close eye on the Uchiha!'
'And as for you, Minato Namikaze—are you sure you're not a spy from another village?'
'If you're not a spy, how could you pull off such maneuvers?'
'Then you must be truly something!'
Seeing Danzo's chest heaving and his face flushed with anger, Otae timely handed him a creamy white slice of birthday cake.
"Uncle Danzo, have some cake to calm down. Today is your 61st birthday—you shouldn't get so worked up."
Looking at his bright and talented niece, who had mastered two Wind Release jutsu and summoning techniques in just one day, Danzo's anger subsided slightly.
"Otae, this Fourth Hokage is far too naive..."
Danzo sighed deeply, his heart filled with resentment.
It was precisely because the Hiruzen faction was so naive that he never had a moment's rest, constantly cleaning up their messes!
He was busier than the Hokage himself!
"Uncle, this might not be a bad thing."
After skimming through two reports, Otae smiled and offered her perspective.
"Hm?" Danzo frowned, the cake halfway to his mouth pausing mid-air.
"Using the Fourth's hand to discipline the Uchiha clan will make it much easier when we take over Konoha. And as for our little brother, Sunagakure—with the Land of Rain's water supply, they'll likely recover and grow stronger in just a few years. A stronger subordinate means more ways to exploit them..."
Listening to Otae's words, Danzo felt she was still too young to understand and shook his head.
"Otae, you're still too young to grasp this. But remember—the Uchiha are wolves with evil ambitions! They can never be controlled by those in power! That's what my teacher, the Second Hokage, said himself!"
"Can't be controlled?"
Otae chuckled, then her expression turned cold.
"Isn't it just a matter of insufficient strength? With enough power, anyone can be brought under our control!"
Danzo was momentarily speechless, forced to admit she was right.
If he had strength like the First Hokage, he wouldn't even spare a glance at the Uchiha—let them do as they pleased.
After all, with absolute power, even if they rebelled, he could crush them in seconds. They wouldn't stand a chance.
And as for Sunagakure—let them grow stronger.
No matter how strong they got, a single Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees would put them back in their place as obedient subordinates.
But... he simply didn't have that power!
"Even so, no one currently possesses that level of strength. Even someone as powerful as Hanzo, who defeated Konoha's Three Ninja, only earned the title of 'Demigod' in the end. He couldn't change the fate of the Land of Rain and died with regrets."
"Then why does Uncle think I can't grow to that level?"
"This..."
Danzo was taken aback, utterly surprised.
Did his niece really harbor such grand ambitions?
Confirmed—she was definitely his blood relative!
After all, in the entire Shinobi World, only the Shimura bloodline could produce such lofty aspirations!
"Otae, Uncle has high expectations for you. But don't just talk big—keep working hard. Here, today I'll teach you a new Wind Release jutsu: Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere. This is a B-rank technique, similar in principle to the Vacuum Sphere I just taught you, but its power—"
Before he could finish, Danzo suddenly saw Otae clap her hands together, puff her cheeks, and spit out a high-pressure wind sphere at a nearby wooden post!
The post shattered instantly, and Danzo's jaw hung open in shock.
The way Otae had executed the technique without hand seals, simply clapping her hands, was uncannily similar to someone from the past!
"Uncle, was that it?"
Hearing Otae's question, Danzo finally composed himself and nodded calmly.
Even if she was a genius on par with himself, he couldn't praise her too much and risk making her arrogant.
In short—blessings upon the Shimura clan!
"Don't get complacent over something this basic."
"Actually, Otae has another technique. I'd appreciate Uncle's guidance."
A self-created jutsu?!
Danzo was stunned.
Creating a jutsu at such a young age—this was unbelievable!
Was the Shimura bloodline really this powerful?!
The next moment, Danzo watched as Otae suddenly closed her eyes, pressing her index and middle fingers together against her forehead.
After about a breath, a surge of compressed energy gathered at her fingertips, accompanied by crackling electricity and a sharp hissing sound!
"Ding-Dong-Ding-Ding-Ding-Dong Cannon—!" 😂
As she opened her eyes, Otae shouted the technique's name, and the so-called "Ding-Dong-Ding-Ding-Ding-Dong Cannon" shot forth like a bullet!
BOOM—!
(Note: This move parodies Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon and appeared in a Gintama OAD, where it was taught to Otae by Lake Toya Sage's father.)
...
Danzo stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the destroyed Root base and the flattened mountain behind it, his half-eaten cake still in hand.
Otae, meanwhile, looked completely unfazed.
(Note: According to a drunken revelation by a certain "Nightclub Sage" (Lake Toya Sage's father) in a Gintama OAD, Otae, after mastering this ultimate technique, became about as strong as Frieza.)
"P-passable... K-keep working hard," Danzo managed, suppressing his shock.
He cleared his throat and took a bite of his now-charred cake.
Though he couldn't taste it, in his heart, he was certain—this cake was absolutely delicious!