Chapter 607

Chapter 607: Changes in the Anbu Department

Kuroto leisurely walked through the bustling streets and paid attention to the conversation of the village folks… at this moment, there were several discussions going on all over Konoha about the results of the second Vote of Confidence that was held yesterday.

The second Vote of Confidence was held to determine whether Shimura Danzo is credible enough to become the Hokage…

According to the operative rules of Konoha Village, only after passing the Vote of Confidence will a candidate be allowed to take the position of Hokage.

This is nothing strange and that’s why even if Shimura Danzo was the only Hokage Candidate for the position of the Godaime Hokage, he still had to go through the Vote of Confidence to be elected as the Godaime Hokage.

So naturally, the Vote of Confidence was held and all the Shinobi above the rank of Special Jonin were allowed to vote… after the voting was completed, the result of the Vote of Confidence was calculated…

But when the result of the voting was announced, everyone was taken aback and some couldn’t help but laugh… The result of the voting was something that nobody, or perhaps only some had expected.

The result was funny because Danzo, despite being the only candidate competing for the position of the Godaime Hokage was still defeated by a very big margin, which is completely ridiculous… And this defeat of Shimura Danzo has become a hot topic of discussion in the village today.

Listening to the funny comments of several drunkards, Kuroto couldn’t help but chuckle lightly.

From the moment he chose to become the ‘Root’, the shadow of Konoha, he had drifted so far away from the light, that the position of Hokage is no longer within his sight.

Although the Konoha Shinobi were dissatisfied by Sandaime Hokage and at his inability to protect the village, which led to the destruction of the village and over two thousand deaths, they still didn’t want someone like Shimura Danzo, who hasn’t left a very good impression on the most to become the next Hokage of the Village.

Many people can see that for a very long time, Shimura Danzo has been doing his best to build his momentum, but in such a short period of time, it is impossible for him to reverse the negative impression he has left on the most Konoha Shinobis he has interacted with so far.

Moreover, there was also a question ringing in the minds of everyone… where was Shimura Danzo on the night the Akatsuki Organization attacked Konoha…?

Where was Shimura Danzo on the night Kyuubi attacked Konoha?

It is said that no matter how many acts of goodness one does, just one wrong action is more than enough to ruin them in the eyes of people… and of course, this doesn’t work the other way around… so how can Danzo, who has done so many wrong actions over the years reverse all those actions with just one act of goodness?

The result of the Vote of Confidence has clearly proven this… And as such, Danzo was not elected as the Godaime Hokage…

Of course, Konoha must have a Hokage, and since Sarutobi Hiruzen had already resigned, so the next Hokage, or better yet leader had to be selected…

And obviously, because Danzo was the only Hokage candidate, so despite failing the Vote of Confidence, he was able to take over the power over the village using the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

As per Daimyo’s instructions, Shimura Danzo is appointed as the temporary Hokage Agent for a period of one year, and he has to show visible results in this one year. Until then, the power of Konoha will be distributed among the Temporary Hokage and the Advisory board consisting of Village Elders.

As for whether Danzo can officially succeed as the Godaime Hokage, it will depend on what all things he did in this one year, and if he is able to win in the next round of Vote of Confidence that is going to be held a year later from now.

So, despite failing to become Hokage, Danzo still managed to gain some power over the village.

After becoming the temporary Hokage, Danzo made several changes one after another, obviously, these changes were not for the benefit of the Village, rather they were to consolidate his power and authority over Konoha.

Among the several changes made by Danzo, he removed some of the most senior shinobi from the Anbu department who are considered Sarutobi Hiruzen’s subordinates. These shinobi are mostly the squad leaders including Hyuga Kuroto, Uchiha Shisui as well as several others…

Because he has been removed from the Anbu department, Kuroto is now on his way to the Anbu Base, to complete the follow-up procedure related to the handover of his position as the squad leader of Team-Ro.

When he received the notice of being ousted from the Anbu department, Kuroto was the least bit surprised, because he had long since anticipated this situation.

Most of the senior Anbu shinobi like him, Shisui, and several others that are removed by Danzo were all personally recruited by Sandaime Hokage during his reign over Konoha, so obviously, they are all considered Sandaime’s supporters and are loyal to Sandaime Hokage. Unless the person taking over the village is truly ‘succeeding’ Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime’s loyal and trusted subordinates will obviously be removed or transferred into other departments.

Moreover, Kuroto is also very happy that he no longer has to fulfill his duties as an Anbu, after all, the identity of Anbu is not only no longer helpful to him, but in fact, it is quite burdensome and tiring these days, as he has to spare a lot of time and energy to complete the Anbu missions assigned to him, which he will no longer have to if he leaves the Anbu department. As such, leaving the Anbu department is not necessarily a bad thing for him.

And that’s why he is here… after completing all the procedures, as soon as Kuroto walked out of the base, he encountered his four subordinates from the Team-Ro.

Kuroto noticed that Yuhi Kurenai, Gekko Hayate, Uchiha Itachi, and Uzuki Yugao seemed to be waiting for him, and as such, he asked with a casual smile, “Were you people waiting for me?”

“*Cough-cough*…” Hayate was the one who stepped forward, and said, “Captain… we too have decided to resign from the Anbu department…”

As Hayate stated, both Kurenai and Yugao nodded along with him, only Itachi was silent and expressionless…

Obviously, Danzo couldn’t remove all the members of the Anbu department at once as it would push the entire Anbu department into chaos… so only the squad leaders like him and Shisui were ousted, meanwhile, others were either only transferred into other teams or left as they were, therefore, Kuroto’s former subordinates aren’t affected for the time being.

“If it is because of me… then you people don’t have to resign from the Anbu…” said Kuroto with a calm face, “Although Sandaime-sama may no longer be Hokage, he is still the head of the advisory board… And there he would definitely need the support of his trusted and loyal subordinates… as such, the four of you should continue to work in the Anbu department…”

Having resigned from the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen is now the head of the advisory board. The advisory board consists of three elders including Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Senju Tsunade who took over that position following the death of former elder Mitokado Homura.

“But…” it seems that Kurenai wasn’t completely satisfied…

But before Kurenai could finish her words, Kuroto interrupted her and said while looking in the direction of the Hokage Building, “Shimura Danzo-sama may have been appointed as the temporary Hokage agent, but I have a gut feeling that he won’t be able to stay in that position for very long… so don’t worry about the political mess, and leave it to concerned people…” then he took a pause and added in a low whisper, “Besides, even if I have resigned from the Anbu department, I would still need eyes and ears on the inside matters… And you people will become my eyes and ears… is that reason enough?”

Asked by Kuroto, the four members of Team-Ro nodded lightly, clearly expressing that all four of them are loyal to him…

Kuroto smiled slightly, and after giving a brief nod, he passed the four of them and left in the direction of the Hokage Building…

Looking at the back of Kuroto from the distance, Kurenai couldn’t help but mutter to herself, “I have a feeling that he knows something… but as always, his behavior is a complete mystery…”

Hayate said, “Since captain has ordered us not to resign, then let’s continue as is… our team is also not split or transferred or changed so we don’t have to worry about these issues…”

Yugao nodded lightly, and then immediately added, “Yes, and since we don’t have any task today, we should go to practice now… Moreover, Captain is also no longer part of Team-Ro, so we have to work on filling that strength gap… after all, we can’t allow the reputation of Team-Ro to fall… else it would bring shame to the captain…”

At the thought of training, Kurenai immediately forgot what she was thinking, and nodded with an excited expression, “Yes, Itachi-kun, I also want your insight on this Genjutsu I have been trying to master…”

Itachi nodded lightly stating that he didn’t have any problem, “In that case, we should go to our regular training field…”

Only Hayate was helpless, and said with a helpless expression, “Hey, you guys… it’s a rare day off, shouldn’t we rest for the day?”

As soon as Hayate spoke, he was subjected to the murderous gaze of a pair of ladies… In this situation, he could only gulp in nervousness and stated with an awkward smile, “Or, we can train… after all, it’s a rare holiday, we shouldn’t waste such a good opportunity…”

Both the ladies nodded, and Itachi smiled seeing Hayate’s helplessness… as the team of four proceeded to the training field.