After an hour, Izanami exited the Hokage building. She had a very tired expression as she got into the carriage.
Today she learned another thing about Tsunade. And that is how she perfectly inherited Hashirama’s shameless begging.
The girl literally cried, holding her legs, saying that she would abdicate the next day if Izanami left. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel•fire.net
Izanami should have been very happy about this, but she really couldn't. The reason Tsunade didn't want her to leave was because her workload would be increased if she left. So in short, Tsunade was basically begging Izanami to find someone who would take care of her job until she was away.
And if she didn’t find anyone before her departure, Tsunade would resign from her position the next day.
Although Izanami was hesitant, she ultimately caved in and asked Nanami to send someone who would act as her replacement.
‘Sigh, the things I do for world peace,’ Izanami thought as she came back home. She was mentally and physically exhausted. Although she could just let Nanami handle all these preparations and slack off, she couldn’t do that with a clear conscience.
After all, she is still the matriarch of Japan. Until she managed to find a suitable successor, she was responsible for all the citizens in Japan. And it is because of this duty that she is leaving Konoha.
Even though she adores Naruto, she couldn’t really abandon all those people who placed their trust in her and stay in Konoha forever. And she had already completed one of her missions by letting Naruto meet with Kushina and Minato.
This time she is sure that Naruto won’t be brainwashed by anyone because he now has his parent's guidance and her backing. And with Tsunade and Jiraiya there, he wouldn’t be isolated anymore.
The only hidden danger Naruto would have would be Hiruzen wanting to control him, but Izanami had placed many guards so he won’t be able to do that anytime soon. Izanami even prepared someone to assassinate Hiruzen if he really went mad and wanted to play rough. No matter how much chaos it would cause, Izanami wouldn’t dare gamble on Naruto’s safety.
As for Hiruzen trying to make trouble with the Uchiha clan. Well, Izanami would love it if that guy did that. With her giving the talk to Itachi, she was pretty sure that guy would go ahead and kill Hiruzen the very next day he made a move.
Don't underestimate the determination of someone who could even massacre his whole clan. With Izanami's advice, Itachi would slowly begin to fall in love and finally realize the true Will of Fire. And then he would do anything to protect his current lifestyle.
Unlike in the original story, Itachi still hasn't lost all hope and didn't crumble under the pressure. With Tsunade around, Itachi didn't need to fear Hiruzen and Danzo, as the Hokage is Tsunade and not these old fossils.
And besides, Danzo will be out of the picture very soon. Well, she had already sent a very capable man to take care of him, so his death is just a matter of time. The only reason why Danzo was still alive was because Konan and Kakuzu were still arguing about how to split the bounty money amongst them.
Danzo was reviewing the intelligence reports his men brought when the ground began to shake, startling him. He frowned as he looked up with confusion. He then ordered his men to go up and look at what was happening.
While they were doing that, Danzo hesitated for a moment before deciding to go to the emergency escape route he had prepared beforehand. Although he didn’t know why a sudden earthquake happened, he wasn’t taking any chances. He had already stored all of his important stuff in a scroll just in case.
As Danzo left his secret hideout with his men, a small snake came out from the cracks. It looked at the retreating Danzo with a smirk. And without anyone noticing, he slipped into the ground again, disappearing.
As soon as Danzo exited his secret passage, he was not expecting a giant water bomb jutsu aimed at his head. Fortunately, one of his men used his own body as cover to protect him.
Danzo wasted no time as he attacked, “Wind Style Vacuum Blades! “ Danzo shouted as he took a deep breath and shot five vacuum blades from his mouth.
The vacuum blades tore through the surrounding area as they shredded the wooden substitutes into pieces.
“Hehehe, I see you are still as lively as ever, Danzo. “ A hoarse voice sounded as Orochimaru walked out from the nearby trees.
His eyes had a calculating light as he smiled like a snake.
Danzo visibly tensed slightly as he saw Orochimaru appearing in front of him. In the past, he didn’t fear Orochimaru since he had the whole Root and Hiruzen’s support as his backing. But now he has none of them, so he was extra wary of this snake.
“Hehehe “, seemingly feeling the nervousness from Danzo Orochimaru, began to chuckle ominously. In his eyes, he held a deep resentment and disgust as he looked at Danzo.
In the past, he was always bossed around by this old man like he owed him money. He endured all of it since Danzo was sponsoring him with research materials. But this bastard had the audacity to report on him and kick him out of the village.
Even though Orochimaru doesn't have much love for the village, he still feels betrayed. After all, he did live and fight for this village for many years.
And it was this old man who convinced his teacher to kick him out. Or else, with his teacher's mentality, he wouldn't have gone after him.
After all, all he did was research. The materials and equipment were supported by Danzo himself, so why should he be the one who took all the blame? He was just doing his job as one of the researchers in Root.
“ Orochimaru, what are you doing here? “ Danzo asked gloomily, trying to fish information out of him. He was sure he hid himself very well.
Orochimaru smiled sinisterly and said, “Why, Danzo, aren't you supposed to be the smart one here? Why don't you take a guess? “
“Orochimaru, stop playing these games and speak up! “ Danzo shouted in anger. How dare this bastard talk to him like that?
“Hehehe, Danzo, do you still think you are head of Root and assistant of Hokage? Now you are just a wanted man who has a big prize on his head. “ Orochimaru sneered as he made a signal with his hand.
He had done his part, acting as the distraction to keep Danzo in place.