Chapter 382 The conspiracy behind the conspiracy

After hearing this, Sasuke was slightly stunned and looked puzzled.

He also recently learned that his tribe members were not extinct but were just in hiding. How did Naruto know this information? Does Naruto have the ability to read minds?
But after thinking about it, Sasuke gradually reacted.

When carrying out the mission in Wave Country, Naruto, like him, was rescued by a mysterious ninja. The ninja who rescued him was Shisui. The ninja who rescued Naruto must be related to Naruto.

Maybe the mysterious ninja who saved Naruto was in the same camp as Shisui.

Thinking of this, Sasuke shook his head and said, "I don't know what they are thinking. They don't seem to be planning to reveal their identities and hope to continue lurking in the village. Are you planning to show up?"

Naruto also shook his head and said, "No, she doesn't seem to have any plans to show up. I don't know what they are thinking. They clearly planned this operation, but they didn't come out to distribute the benefits."

After some communication with each other, the exchange process came to an end.

Sasuke is still no match for Naruto, but he has long been used to it. Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and before he awakens the Mangekyō Sharingan, he could never be Naruto's opponent.

Although Naruto doesn't look strong, he can still use the full strength of the Nine-Tailed Fox in his body to help him.

Naruto can burst out strength comparable to that of a Hokage in a short period of time, and it is difficult to find a ninja in the entire ninja world who can completely suppress Naruto.

However, the two had been communicating for such a long time, and there was not much discussion about the disappearance of the Third Hokage.

Naruto treats the Third Hokage as a stranger. He used to be very grateful for the special care he received from the Third Hokage, but when he thought about the fact that the Third Hokage deliberately concealed his identity and had been taking advantage of him.

His gratitude towards the Third Hokage was nothing but indifference. He couldn't say he hated him, but he didn't like him too much either.

After all, the Third Hokage was a typical politician.

Sasuke's attitude towards the Third Hokage was more hateful. He learned from Shisui that the Third Hokage and others had suppressed the Uchiha clan, and even ordered the extermination of Uchiha Itachi.

Maybe the Uchiha really were a threat to Konoha's stability.

But as a Hokage, failing to resolve the conflicts within the village is itself a manifestation of incompetence, not to mention that the Third Hokage even condoned the existence of Danzo Shimura.

If it weren't for Shisui who killed Danzo, the Uchiha would have lost more than just the clan name.

……

As time went by, the news of the disappearance of the Third Hokage could no longer be concealed and gradually spread throughout the village and beyond.

In the Konohagakure, after hearing the news that the Third Hokage was missing, most of the ninjas did not believe it at first, but soon realized that something was wrong. Could it be that something really had happened to the Third Hokage?

If it were a normal situation, when the village was attacked, the Third Hokage would be the first to step forward and calm people's hearts.

But now several days have passed and the Third Hokage has still not appeared, which makes the Konoha ninjas and villagers begin to doubt the authenticity of the rumors.

Soon, Konoha's top leaders came forward to announce the news of the death of the Third Hokage, causing an uproar.

The death of the Third Hokage, like the Fourth Hokage, was a pain that Konoha could not bear, but the Fourth Hokage's rule lasted only one year, while the Third Hokage ruled for several decades.

It can be said without exaggeration that the Third Hokage witnessed the lives of most of the Konoha ninjas.

Many people are unwilling to believe that the Third Hokage has died, and they wishfully think that he has simply disappeared. They don't know who the next Hokage will be and where he will lead the Konoha Ninja.

Foreign candidates taking the Chunin Exam also learned the news and sent the information back to their respective ninja villages.

For the small countries in the ninja world, the death of the Third Hokage is a big event, as it concerns the future relationship between their own ninja village and the Konoha Village, as well as the future situation in the ninja world.

They have all signed many treaties with the Third Hokage, and I wonder if the new Hokage will make any changes.

After hearing the news of the death of the Third Hokage, Ohnoki of Iwagakure and the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure were filled with shock, and they began to consider whether to take this opportunity to attack Konoha.

After losing the Third Hokage, Konoha will definitely be in chaos because of the fight for the Fifth Hokage.

If they take this opportunity to send troops, even if they cannot attack the city, they can still bite off a piece of meat on the border of the Fire Nation and satisfy their ambitions.

But after thinking it over carefully, Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage gave up this plan.

They had all been defeated by Konoha before, and Konoha was also an ally of the Hidden Rain Village. Even though Konoha was in chaos due to the loss of the Third Hokage, the Hidden Rain Village should not be underestimated.

Unless the two families join forces, they will never be able to be a match for Konoha and Amegakure.

However, the possibility of the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Iwagakure Village joining forces is very slim. The two sides are sworn enemies, and it is impossible for them to join forces unless they face a crisis of village destruction.

……

A few days later, Konoha held the funeral of the Third Hokage.

The funeral of the Third Hokage was held at the Heroes Cemetery. Just like the Fourth Hokage and his wife, the Third Hokage's coffin did not contain the Hokage's body, only some used clothes.

At the funeral of the Third Hokage, many Konoha ninjas burst into tears, recalling every little detail of their time with the Third Hokage.

Some of them received favors from the Third Hokage, while others were persecuted by him.

But in this solemn occasion, everyone wanted to quietly send the Third Hokage off for the last time.

After all, after today, the time belonging to the Third Hokage has completely come to an end, and no one knows where the future will go.

Looking at his own funeral in the distance, the Third Hokage looked very embarrassed, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

He was clearly not dead, but the Konoha ninjas thought he was dead, and even held a grand funeral so that he could witness his death with his own eyes.

There is nothing more ridiculous than this in the ninja world.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage turned his head and looked at Shisui beside him, with mixed feelings in his heart.

After being defeated by the Uzumaki Ninja and Shisui that day, he thought he was dead. Even if he didn't die, he would be permanently controlled by Kotoamatsukami and become Shisui's puppet.

But unexpectedly, Shisui did not kill him, but brought him to his funeral.

This made the Third Hokage unable to see through Shisui. Shisui was no longer the Uchiha boy who was full of the will of fire and whose thoughts were easily seen through by him. Now Shisui was the leader of the Root organization and a more terrifying conspirator than Danzo.

However, there was one thing that the Third Hokage couldn't understand. After his "death", why didn't Shisui strive to become the Fifth Hokage? Hokage had not been the dream of the Uchiha clan for decades.

Could it be that Uchiha and Shisui have a bigger conspiracy?
At this time, Shisui looked at the Third Hokage with a playful expression, and then said: "Sandakeme, how does it feel to attend your own funeral? Except for you, no one else in the ninja world has this treatment."

Seeing Shisui taking the initiative to mock him, the Third Hokage was not angry, and asked the doubt in his heart: "Shisui, you and Orochimaru teamed up, are you just going to fake my death?"

Shisui glanced at the Third Hokage and said, "It was Orochimaru's idea to kill you. He was a good disciple of yours and didn't want to see you continue to decay. He wanted to give you a decent ending."

"To be honest, I don't want to participate in Orochimaru's plan, because your existence is the biggest obstacle to Konoha's strength. Only by letting you continue to live can Konoha continue to weaken."

Hearing this, the Third Hokage's expression changed.

Shisui's words were simply heartbreaking. What did he mean by saying that only with him could the Konoha ninjas be continuously weakened? Without him patching up the tattered ship of Konoha, it would have sunk long ago.

After a moment's silence, the Third Hokage turned to Shisui and said, "You said that my life has weakened Konoha. Then let me ask you, what have I done wrong all these years?"

"If I hadn't forcibly suppressed the conflicts in the village, the village would have fallen into civil strife long ago."

"I regret it now. I regret not taking action against the Uchiha earlier. If I had taken action when the Uchiha showed signs of rebellion, we wouldn't have fallen to this point."

"Shisui, you don't think the Uchiha has done nothing wrong?"

"I can be sure that even if you Uchiha became Hokage, you would not be able to lead Konoha to prosperity. You would only cause Konoha to fall apart, and it might not even last until now."

Facing the questioning of the Third Hokage, Shisui responded calmly: "Third Hokage, I know everything you said, so I did not lead my clan members to launch a coup and remove the Uchiha from the Konoha Village.

"My people are arrogant and emotionally unstable."

"If they don't suffer an unprecedented defeat, they won't be able to live in peace, so I deliberately hide my identity and wait until they are in dire straits before rescuing them. This is to change their minds and change the future of Uchiha."

"A living Uchiha will be feared by Konoha and could be at risk of extinction at any moment."

"But a ninja clan that has been destroyed cannot be destroyed a second time. Only after losing the name of Uchiha can the Uchiha clan truly integrate into the ninja world, just like the Senju clan once did."

After mentioning the Senju, the Third Hokage was silent for a few seconds, then stared at Shisui and said:

"Shisui, as the leader of the Root, I wouldn't be surprised if you had such thoughts in your mind. But I'm curious about how you defeated Danzo. You shouldn't be on guard against Danzo."

Shisui's heart skipped a beat.

Before being attacked by Danzo, he had blind trust in Konoha, and even when facing a conspirator like Danzo, his heart was full of expectations.

If Master Bai Ye hadn't warned him in advance, he would definitely not have been able to escape that test. The Uchiha would have been completely destroyed by the joint attack of Uchiha Itachi and Danzo that night.

After a moment's silence, Shisui pretended to be calm and said:
"Sandaime, perhaps you have never seen my true face. I have been wary of you from the beginning. Telling you the information about Kotoamatsukami was just to lure you into taking the bait."

"Maybe so..." The Third Hokage sighed, then said: "However, I believe that you still have the will of fire. The Root under your management is completely different from the Root before Danzo."

"If my disappearance and death can lead to the revival of Konoha, it won't be a bad thing."

Shisui sneered and said to the Third Hokage: "Do you think I let you live so that you can witness my means of turning the tide and pulling Konoha back to normal from the brink of collapse? I let you live so that you can witness the day when Konoha collapses."

The Third Hokage's face suddenly darkened: "You plan to destroy Konoha in front of me? If you have anything to say, you can come to me. There is no need to attack Konoha."

"When did I say I was going to attack Konoha?"

Shisui looked at the Sandaime Hokage and said, "I am different from you Sandaime. I will not give the order to Sarutobi Asuma to exterminate the Sarutobi clan. The Uchiha are not without magnanimity."

"Do you remember the conflicts you didn't resolve during your reign? They will slowly destroy Konoha."

The Third Hokage frowned, not understanding what Shisui was talking about.

Shisui was too lazy to talk nonsense with the Third Hokage. After visiting the Third Hokage's funeral, he took the Third Hokage back to the Root organization base.

After entering the Root Organization base, the two of them wandered around and came to the deepest secret room.

This is called a secret room, but in fact it is a prison cell covered with sealing barriers. The lights are on here day and night, making it impossible to tell the passage of time.

In this secret room, the Third Hokage saw a familiar figure. This person was none other than his old friend, the former leader of the Root organization, Danzo Shimura.

Danzo sat on the tatami in the secret room, his eyes closed, no expression on his face.

If it weren't for the fact that his body was rising and falling and he was still breathing and refining chakra, the Third Hokage would have thought that his old friend was dead.

However, why did Shisui let Danzo go and why did he bring himself here?

Is it just that he wants himself and Danzo to meet, tell each other about their strength, and thus satisfy Shisui's inner evil taste?
If Shisui knew what the Third Hokage was thinking, he would definitely deny it.

What he was going to do next was the revenge plan he had formulated after consulting Lord Byakuya. Lord Byakuya told him what the Third Hokage and Danzo cherished the most.

Just as the Third Hokage was guessing what Shisui was thinking, Danzo suddenly opened his eyes.

He glanced at Shisui who was beside the Third Hokage, then looked at the Third Hokage again, and said with a smile:

"Shisui, you did a great job. Not only did you team up with Orochimaru to defeat Sarutobi Hiruzen, but you also captured him alive here. When I become Hokage, I will definitely let you rebuild the Uchiha clan."

The Third Hokage was stunned for a moment, but Shisui lowered his head and said respectfully: "Yes, Master Danzo, as long as the Uchiha clan can be rebuilt, I am willing to sacrifice my life for you, Master Danzo."

After hearing this, the Third Hokage was shocked.

Could it be that what Shisui just said to him were all lies, Shisui did not actually kill Danzo, all this was Danzo's plan, it was Danzo who secretly controlled the Uchiha and joined forces with Orochimaru.

Was all of this a conspiracy by Danzo in order to become Hokage?

(End of this chapter)