Chương 27: Thank you, Danzo, for the donation!

Inside the dimly lit Root base, Root elites lay scattered on the ground, suffering heavy casualties; only a few remained standing. Richard, true to form, made his usual move: "I'll only use one attack. If you can live, you live; if not, you die."

Anyway, these people in the Root live like wooden puppets, so death might be a relief for them.

"Are you trying to make an enemy of Konoha?" Danzo asked, his voice trembling with fear. He knew he had messed up; Root was finished. This time, it would take Root several years to recover.

However, if he could control this guy, it wouldn't be a loss. Danzo cautiously glanced at one of his trusted confidants beside him, a man surnamed Nara. He secretly vowed to torture this kid severely when the time came.

"What, you also want to control me with your tongue-and-mouth technique? Just like you control your subordinates?" Richard said jokingly.

Danzo's pupils contracted slightly. How did he know such a secret?

"Or perhaps, are you hoping Izanagi will save your life?" Richard continued to scare him.

Danzo...

If the opponent knows all our cards, what's the point of fighting?

Richard casually waved his hand, and the remaining people instantly fell to the ground. They probably wouldn't die. The ninja world would lose so much fun without Danzo, the king of scapegoats. Let's keep him alive.

Richard then leisurely searched the entire root base. He obtained a lot of useful information, as well as experimental materials such as Hashirama cells. Indeed, there are still many good people in the world; knowing he wanted these things, they invited him to visit. The people of Konoha are so warm and hospitable!

When Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with his men, they found a base that had been completely looted, with corpses and wounded soldiers scattered everywhere.

Richard, however, had already left.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to order the wounded to be treated first. Fortunately, his old friend Danzo had not died.

"Hiruzen, this man is a dangerous element, harboring ill intentions towards Konoha. We must capture him," Danzo said weakly. Severely injured by Richard, the Hashirama cells and Sharingan within him were somewhat imbalanced. Had Richard not suppressed it with a casual strike, he might already be dead from the backlash.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, with his pipe dangling from his mouth, took a deep drag, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his expression shifting uncertainly.

He knew, of course, that this person was ruthless and far from friendly towards Konoha. Yet, his strength was so formidable that he single-handedly destroyed the Root base.

With such strength, how much would it take for Konoha to take them down if they turned against them? Not to mention Tsunade's attitude.

Danzo's thinking was too simplistic.

"I understand. You take good care of your injuries. I'll handle it." Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this." Danzo knew immediately that this guy was about to compromise. Wouldn't he have suffered a loss for nothing? Since becoming the leader of Root, this was the first time he had suffered such a great loss, and he absolutely couldn't swallow this insult.

"I am the Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi said instinctively.

The two remained silent. The situation ended with Danzo, unable to maintain the stalemate, leaving.

Fortunately, the Root medical ninjas did not participate in the battle, otherwise Danzo would have had no one to treat his injuries.

Anyway, he didn't dare go to Konoha Hospital; he didn't dare expose the secret he carried.

After leaving the Root Base, Richard leisurely returned to the Thousand Hands Old House.

By this time, Tsunade had already returned from the Hokage Building.

Upon seeing him, they asked, "You're back. Did you kill Danzo?"

"No, what, do you want me to kill Danzo?" Richard asked.

Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief; at least Danzo wasn't dead. As long as Danzo was alive, there was still a chance to salvage the situation.

"How's the root now?" she asked with a hint of schadenfreude.

"The root, it's alright, I didn't kill them all. There must still be some alive," Richard said.

"Wow, that's ruthless? Have you finished your business here? Should we leave Konoha?" Tsunade asked. Let's hurry up and leave. Let's stop causing trouble in Konoha and go cause trouble somewhere else.

"What? Are you afraid I'll clash with Konoha?" Richard said with a smile.

"Otherwise what?" Tsunade said irritably. Don't you know how strong you are? If a real conflict breaks out, you'll be fine, but Konoha will probably be wiped out by you.

Richard nodded and said, "Alright, there's nothing else. I'll stay for two more days and then I'll leave."

"Why stay for two more days?" Tsunade asked. She just wanted this guy to leave immediately, the sooner the better.

"Well, I've been in Konoha for several days now, and I haven't gone out to explore yet. It wouldn't be right to come all this way and leave without seeing what Konoha is like, would it?"

"Fine, let's go for a walk then," Tsunade said through gritted teeth.

"I've been following you around like glue for the past two days, let's see what other trouble you can cause."

Unfortunately, Tsunade's painstaking efforts to guard against Richard failed her against Hiruzen Sarutobi. Such a formidable figure had arrived in the village, yet there was absolutely no information about him; he seemed to have sprung from a crack in a rock. Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't sleep until he got all the information he needed.

So, the next day, Richard ran into the Third Hokage not long after he went out for a stroll.

Richard glanced at Tsunade, his meaning clear. This isn't my fault.

Tsunade sighed, unable to persuade Hiruzen Sarutobi; conflict seemed inevitable. Everything depended on Hiruzen's choice.

"Heh, young man, welcome to Konoha. Tsunade, aren't you going to introduce me?" Hiruzen Sarutobi pretended not to know about the Root base.

"This is Richard, this is..." Tsunade was about to introduce Hiruzen Sarutobi when Richard interrupted her.

"I know, the Third Hokage, the strongest Hokage of all time. I've heard of you. I've long admired your name," Richard chuckled.

The strongest Hokage of all time? This guy really dares to boast. Does he really think all the old guys from the previous era are dead? Putting aside everything else, the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, has seen the imposing figures of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and was even traumatized by Madara Uchiha.

Hearing the rumor that the three Hokage of Konoha were the strongest Hokage in history would probably make you laugh to death.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile froze slightly. Saying this in front of Tsunade—he was definitely doing it on purpose. What had I done to offend him? Why was he so hostile towards me?

"A little bit of fame is not worth mentioning," Hiruzen Sarutobi could only say dryly.

What followed was a series of pleasantries and probing questions, such as my background, how I met Tsunade, what I'm doing in Konoha, and my future plans. Then they brought up Konoha again, talking about ideals and the legacy of beliefs. With thirty years of experience in pyramid schemes, I'm sure I can fool you.

Unfortunately, Richard wasn't willing to cooperate. This little bit of rhetoric was only enough to fool these well-educated ninjas in the ninja world.

Where leaves dance in the air, the fire will never die. The firelight will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout. It sounds amazing.

But such a vague metaphor can be interpreted completely differently by different people, and those in power can easily use it as a tool for control. Why make a policy document so vague? Can't it be more straightforward?

Richard didn't refute, basically implying that everything Richard said was true and he wouldn't argue with a fool.

Finally, seeing that he couldn't fool Richard, Hiruzen Sarutobi left.