When thinking of the unfortunate death of Elder Homura, Kurotos gaze swept over Shimura Danzo standing in the first row.

Although Kuroto didnt actively inquire about it, he still heard a lot of whispers in the past three days. And whats interesting is that almost all of those whispers were either connected to Shimura Danzo, or Sandaime Hokage, clearly indicating that something is happening between Shimura Danzo and Sandaime Hokage.

Understanding how someone is trying his best to increase his influence by the means of rumours, whispers, and evening tea talks, Kurotos lips arched in an evil smile, filled with contempt

Kuroto doesnt know if something is seriously wrong with Shimura Danzos brain or what, but the old coot doesnt seem to be able to understand such s simple truth that The position of Hokage not only represents authority and power but also serious responsibility

Although the village was destroyed by the Akatsuki Organization, although, Sandaime-samas prestige fell to the bottom, because of his failure and inability to protect the village, the position of Hokage that Sandaime holds is still not something that the likes of Shimura Danzo will be able to replace who was not even visible on the night the village was suffering the threat of annihilation at the hands of the Akatsuki Organization.

Even if the entire village expresses dissatisfaction towards Sandaime Hokage, and the entire Jonin Council votes for Sarutobi Hiruzen to step down, the ones to step up and replace Sarutobi Hiruzen will either be Sannin Jiraiya or Sannin Tsunade, no one in their right mind is going to vote for Shimura Danzos succession to the position of Hokage

The old fool is not even capable of realizing such an obvious situation and is jumping up and down like a clown at the time of the reconstruction of the village, only to insult himself and lose even the last bits of whatever meager reputation he has left.

Whats more, if you ask Kuroto he would definitely say that the more you love the feeling of power, the more you love to be in control, and the more you should avoid taking the center stage at this time Because at this time, the position of Hokage is nothing more than a ticking time bomb which might result in your doom any instant

After all, the Hokage will have to continuously lead the charge of attack and defend against the Akatsuki Organization even if you know that you arent capable of doing so and will most likely end up dying, you still have to do it, because you are Hokage!

Shimura Danzo neither has the required strength nor the required character, and yet he wishes to take the center stage at this point this just proves that either he is too delusional, or there is something giving him the necessary confidence

I am quite curious as to what exactly is giving him such confidence Is it the Chimera Jutsu? realizing this, Kuroto thought, Even if Chimera Jutsu is improved and Chimera Buds are made suitable to meet the conditions of his body, what can he do? Its not like he will be able to survive the ceremony in the first place!

Which means that Danzos dream will always remain a dream and never ever succeed muttered Kuroto with a disdainful chuckle.

The reason why Kuroto thinks so and believes so is not that he has any inherent prejudice against Shimura Danzo, but this is Kurotos observation of Shimura Danzos character.

The more familiar Kuroto has become with the person named Shimura Danzo over the years, the more Kuroto feels that Shimura Danzo is more of a politician than a Shinobi, and a politicians stage is obviously not on the battlefield of life and death

It doesnt matter how strong a politician becomes, he will always remain a politician and wont ever become a Shinobi, because a Shinobi is just a tool who is willing to go to any length to complete the task assigned to him.

Moreover, a politician like Shimura Danzo will never be able to match a true Shinobi in a life-and-death battlefield

This was repeatedly proven in the cannon and clearly showcased in the Sasuke vs Danzo battle in the Land of Iron.

With just a single use of his Susanoo, Uchiha Sasuke was able to reap Shimura Danzos life several times within just a few seconds of the beginning of the fight between the two. The performance of Shimura Danzo in his battle against Uchiha Sasuke was extremely pathetic it was definitely not something you would expect from a war veteran and experienced person like Danzo.

All these negative points of Shimura Danzo repeatedly prove that neither is suitable for becoming the Hokage nor will he succeed.

After drawing such a mocking conclusion, Kuroto shifted his gaze to the back of the Patriarch of the Hyuga Clan.

The princess of the Hyuga Clan was kidnapped from the village if such a thing were to happen in the past, then it is more than shocking enough to shake the whole village and cause too much chaos, but such a village-shaking thing happened on the night the Akatsuki Organization attacked, and everyone digested this information calmly without any panic or chaos.

Especially Hyuga Hiashi, the Patriarch of the Hyuga Clan, and the father of Hinata

Hyuga Hiashi knew that Hinata was kidnapped in the presence of Yui, yet he did not blame Yui for being unable to protect Hinata and only gave her light punishment in order to curb the dissatisfied voices of the members of the main family.

Kuroto doesnt know why he did this and does not put the blame on Yui

Perhaps he knew the truth of the matter, and understood very well that even if he was present in her place, he might not have been able to stop Orochimaru and Kabuto

Or maybe he did not earn Kuroto dissatisfaction

Regardless, Kuroto is still quite grateful because he has no desire to engage in meaningless conflict within the Clan

Anyway that aside, the fact that Hinata and Neji were kidnapped on the night of Akatsukis attack has dealt a severe blow to the Hyuga Clan. In the face of such a situation, not only has Hyuga Clan organized special rescue teams, but they are also trying to use the underground Black Market to get in touch with the kidnappers with the hope of buying the hostages in exchange for ransom, of course, being the nature of the Hyuga Clan, the priority is still given to Hinata, so the ones trying to rescue Neji are only his parents and uncle.

And when thinking of the kidnapped Hinata and Neji, Kurotos gaze subconsciously shifted to the Uchiha father and son pair that was standing not far away from the Hyuga Clan.

It is ironic to say that not only Uzumaki Naruto but even Uchiha Sasuke was also kidnapped on the night of Akatsukis attack.

As a result, the reincarnation of both Indra and Asura were taken away at the same time, and are now facing one of the worst situations they have ever faced. Kuroto even found this situation to be extremely funny considering that Rikudo Sennin must be anxious and jumping around in panic regarding the safety of both his children.

While Kuroto thought about a lot of things, the funeral ceremony continued and was finally finished with the dispersal of Team-Ro for the evening.

As soon as Kuroto got free, he was hurriedly approached by tensed Shisui and Itachi. Both of them arrived at their usual meeting place, and upon seeing Kuroto Itachi even asked with a bit of an impatient tone, unlike his usual self, Kuroto-san when should we make our move?

Kuroto obviously knows what Itachi means by make our move.

On the night the Akatsuki Organization attacked the Village, Shinichi managed to cleverly and carefully reveal the coordinate of the new hiding base of the Akatsuki Organization to Uchiha Fugaku.

And Uchiha Fugaku obviously passed this information to Sandaime-sama, and Uchiha Shisui.

In other words, because of Shinichis cleverness, Konoha managed to secretly get a hold of the location of the Akatsuki Organizations new secret base.

And now that both Shisui and Itachi have approached Kuroto to ask, when are they going to make a move? obviously means that they are eager to attack the base of the Akatsuki Organization.

Looking at Shisui and Itachis worried and impatient expressions, Kuroto said calmly, Its not the right time yet.

Kuroto has already considered the thought of rescuing Naruto and Sasuke who are the reincarnations of the children of Rikudo Sennin, as well as Hinata and Neji both of whom have a very close relationship with Kuroto and Yui

These children have been kidnapped and are facing the most dangerous situation of their lives. As responsible adults, and family members Kuroto must do his best to save these children

But no matter how Kuroto thought about it, he just wont be able to defeat the current Nagato If you cant defeat him, you cant defeat him This is an objective, and it doesnt change or depend on anyones will

Of course, Kuroto perfectly understands that to rescue the four children he doesnt need to try to kill Nagato, just distracting him long enough would be fine But recklessly dealing with the situation might make the situation worse and lead to the death of the four children This is why Kuroto has been calmly considering things and trying to find a way to bring the four of them back to the Village

Itachi may not know Kurotos difficulties, but as a qualified Shinobi, he understands that there must be a reason, so he curbed his anxiety and questioned, Kuroto-san is there a reason why now is not the right time?

In the minds of Shisui and Itachi, Kuroto, when taking the Yama form is undoubtedly the number one Shinobi with invincible strength making him akin to the God of Shinobi. Even the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, who has the Rinnegan can not match Yama and has to run away to save his life So they are unable to figure out the reason why now is not the right time.

Kuroto coughed lightly, and said, Think about it Akatsuki Organization is targeting the Tailed Beast, so their target should have been the Jinchuriki of Kyuubi Uzumaki Naruto, not Uchiha Sasuke. And as far as I know, Orochimaru has been coveting the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan, so his target should have been your brother Uchiha Sasuke, not Uzumaki Naruto While Hinata and Neji were just bystanders who got mixed up in all of this without any reason

Itachi nodded after understanding what Kuroto meant, basically, he has also figured out this and said, It is as I guessed, they have caught the wrong targets Which means they are going to find a way to exchange hostages

Shisui questioned with a thoughtful expression, Hmm, Kuroto-san, are saying that we should wait for a while, and use the opportunity of hostage exchange to rescue all four children in a single attempt?

Kuroto nodded lightly, Yes I think this will be the most efficient and feasible option.

With Orochimarus characteristic cautiousness, it is impossible to agree to a hostage exchange in Nagatos presence, so the place where the Hostage exchange will take place will definitely not be Akatsuki Organizations base. At the same time, Orochimaru wont be foolish enough to invite the members of the Akatsuki Organization to his base considering how precious the samples stored in his secret bases are

So the hostage exchange will neither take place in the Akatsukis sphere of influence, nor in Orochimarus sphere of influence, and Nagato of all people will definitely not be part of the Hostage Exchange Such an opportunity will be perfect for safely rescuing all four children.

Shisui bobbed his head in agreement, I see, this is indeed a good idea

In Shisuis eyes, Sasuke is very important as Sasuke is equivalent to his younger brother, but Shisui also knows that Naruto who is the Jinchuriki is also very important for the Village, especially now that the Akatsuki Organization is crazily capturing tailed beasts Moreover, this matter also involves the princess of the Hyuga Clan, and the Kurotos personal disciple, therefore, they cant be hasty in trying to rescue Sasuke and endanger the safety of the other three.

Itachi also understood this very well, still, he cant help but be worried about Sasukes safety, and asked, Kuroto-san Sasuke he will be fine, right?

Kuroto patted Itachis shoulder and said in a comforting tone, Have faith in him, he may be a kid, but he is your younger brother I say he has as much preservation in him as you, no, in fact, his preservation is higher compared to you Trust me what I am saying, this setback and horrible experience will undoubtedly nurture Sasuke and stimulate his growth

Hearing Kurotos words, Itachi smiled slightly and calmed down his anxiety.

What Kuroto really wanted to say, but chose not to say is that Have confidence in Rikudo Sennin.