In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the first to come out, his face unusually excited.
Senju Tobirama had told him a secret about the mysterious medical ninja, and had given him a very special mission.
"I thought my guess was already shocking enough," Hiruzen clenched his fist, his excitement somewhat uncontrollable. "That person is actually the legendary medical ninja, Emiya Shirou himself!"
During this time, he had been curious. Even when he asked his father, Sasuke had resolutely refused to reveal anything, only warning him to maintain the highest respect. The more mysterious, the more curious.
He had guessed the man might be a descendant of Shirou; he never expected it to be Shirou himself, resurrected by Tobirama.
As for the special mission, it was naturally to protect Emiya Shirou. Though Hiruzen didn't think he was strong enough, Tobirama had still resolutely chosen them.
"Lord Emiya's power does not need your protection," Tobirama had said, his voice steady. "Monkey, you and Danzo are the most outstanding new-generation ninjas in Konoha. The process of this mission is far more important than the result. I hope the two of you can gain Lord Emiya's recognition, make him willing to believe in Konoha's future, and let him understand that only Konoha's ninjas are willing to shoulder the peace of the ninja world."
Hiruzen didn't quite understand. Tobirama said no more, first sending him out and leaving Danzo in the office, seeming to want to scold him for being too ruthless in the match. Though Hiruzen wanted to plead for his friend, Tobirama's attitude was stern.
-----
Inside the office, Tobirama sat calmly. Danzo stood anxiously in front of the desk.
"Danzo," Tobirama's eyes were cold, which made him look somewhat majestic. "Rest assured, I don't want to blame you for the problem in this match. In fact, I should praise your quick wit. In the Warring States period, you would have been an excellent ninja. That Wind Style jutsu was released beautifully, almost killing Monkey. In order to win, one should use any means necessary. Monkey's soft-heartedness will sooner or later become a fatal weakness."
Danzo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had expected to be scolded, not praised.
"However, you still need to be a little gentler with your companions," Tobirama reminded him. "You and Monkey are companions who can entrust your lives to each other, not enemies who fight to the death."
He got to the point. "You've already heard the mission about protecting Lord Emiya."
"Yes..." Danzo's mood also became a bit excited. To be selected for such a top-secret mission, he couldn't help but feel a sense of being entrusted with a great responsibility.
The position of Hokage in the future...
A burst of ambition suddenly arose in his heart.
"However, you also know Monkey's personality," Tobirama's expression became more serious. "This mission requires you to be by his side to seriously check for and fill in any gaps."
"Yes!" Danzo loudly agreed.
What does that mean? This clearly means that Teacher Tobirama values me more! Although that fellow Hiruzen is outstanding, Teacher Tobirama is dissatisfied with his personality. It's obvious that he values me more!
Otherwise, why would he specifically keep me behind?
"Danzo, the burden on your shoulders will be heavy," Tobirama saw through the excitement in the boy's heart but didn't care about his ambition. "You should know that the major countries have successively established ninja villages, and there is competition between them. Lord Emiya is also an important figure we need to compete for."
He thought of his brother's lifespan issue, and his face couldn't help but become heavier. "For Konoha, he is an indispensable existence, especially since he also knows many of our secrets, including the highest secrets."
"Then," Danzo didn't quite understand, "shouldn't we keep him in Konoha?"
"Now, at least for now, Konoha cannot control his will," Tobirama couldn't say Shirou was vital to Hashirama's lifespan. He could only use easy-to-understand words. "A great figure like him, who has made huge contributions, Konoha cannot act disrespectfully towards him. However, he holds secrets of the ancient era and powerful abilities. We also cannot ignore his influence after he leaves Konoha."
He extended his arm to show the cursed seal. "For example, his cursed seal can greatly enhance a ninja's combat power. An ordinary ninja who obtains it can quickly possess the combat power of a Jonin."
Danzo was startled. A hint of greed surged in his heart. "This power must absolutely not fall into the hands of other ninja villages!"
"That's right," Tobirama nodded in satisfaction. "For Konoha, we can only take some other measures. You and Monkey carrying out the mission to protect Lord Emiya is just on the surface. You only have one true mission: no matter what means you use, you must prevent that Lord from leaning towards other ninja villages."
"For this, I will dispatch an ANBU squad to follow behind you to assist you. This squad will help clean up some people who shouldn't appear."
"Yes!" Danzo knelt on one knee.
"Very good," Tobirama's face finally calmed down. Of course, nominally it was to assist Danzo. In reality, the ANBU were the ones responsible for execution.
However, he also had to place a suitable person by Shirou's side. The assistant he had assigned had already been conquered by Shirou's noble character and might not be willing to carry out such a mission. But he also had some other thoughts.
He certainly couldn't tell Danzo about these little thoughts. In this mission, Hiruzen was the true trump card. Tobirama believed he was the most likely person to gain Shirou's recognition. Danzo was just a dark piece, to solve some troubles that shouldn't appear in the darkness.
Of course, Tobirama had thought about Danzo's future. He noticed the boy was unscrupulous in his actions, very similar to himself in some aspects, which in his eyes was not a bad thing.
Unfortunately, his talent was not outstanding enough. His training was a bit off; he liked to practice powerful ninjutsu and always hoped to become strong through shortcuts. On this point, Tobirama had to admit, the other was more like himself.
His own talent was not high. He could never keep up with the top experts like his brother and Madara. He didn't have any excellent kekkei genkai, so he had to develop some strange and peculiar jutsu to make up for the gap.
"Oh, right," Tobirama looked down at the cursed seal on his arm. "You seem to like using sealing-type cursed seals. I haven't researched this one yet, but it is undoubtedly the most powerful human enhancement-type cursed seal I have ever seen. If you can obtain this from Lord Emiya during this mission, it will also be a good thing for your future, and your future path will also be smoother."