Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 49 Holy crap! Danzo's infrastructure building talent!

The next morning, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at his office feeling refreshed.

Last night's hot spring bath restored his mental and physical energy to their peak, and he feels he can now review a week's worth of documents in one go.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama."

A member of the secret service responsible for guarding the area appeared instantly and knelt on one knee.

"Yes, good morning."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, hanging his Hokage hat on the coat hanger. "Is there something you need?"

"Reporting back to you, sir, Danzo, the advisor..." The Anbu member hesitated.

"Danzo? What happened to him now?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart skipped a beat.

Is this guy up to something again? I just praised him, I hope he doesn't do something reckless again.

"Advisor Danzo... stayed in his office all night, without closing his eyes, just... writing and drawing on the floor." The voice of the Anbu was full of confusion. "Moreover, he refused all meals and tea, only allowing a dozen or so pots of strong tea to be sent in."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned after hearing this.

Didn't sleep all night? Just drawing and writing? What kind of operation is that?

Was he provoked and made a detailed plan overnight on "how to backstab the Hokage"?

"Is it really that bad?"

Just as he was lost in thought, there was a knock on the office door.

"Lord Hokage, Danzo, the advisor, requests an audience."

"Let him in."

The door was pushed open, and Danzo Shimura walked in.

When he saw Danzo's appearance, even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was used to seeing all kinds of storms, almost couldn't hold back.

The Danzo before me had two huge dark circles under his eyes, his eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and his chin was covered with bluish stubble.

His clothes were wrinkled and stained with ink and dust.

He looked less like an advisor or elder of Konoha and more like a manga artist who had been working through the night on a manuscript and was on the verge of sudden death.

Most outrageously, he was also holding a huge scroll that was thicker than himself.

"Hiruzen..."

Danzo spoke, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded, "I...have made up my mind."

"Ahem, Danzo, what's wrong with you...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suppressed a laugh and asked with feigned concern, "Who did you fight with tonight?"

"No."

Danzo shook his head. He walked to the center of the office, took a deep breath, and then suddenly spread the huge scroll he was carrying out onto the floor.

Whoosh—!

The scrolls covered most of the office, densely covered with lines, symbols, and annotations in various colors of pens.

The side was also covered with various annotations and explanations written in tiny, neat characters.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked closely and saw that at the very top of the scroll, several large characters were written in an extremely vigorous style—

Draft of the First Five-Year Modernization Plan for Konohagakure

"puff--"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spat out the mouthful of tea he had just taken a sip of.

Five...Five-Year Plan?

He stared at Danzo in front of him, then at the plan on the ground filled with "violent aesthetics" and "iron-blooded style," and was completely dumbfounded.

This art style is off!

How come you, a schemer who's always plotting assassinations, espionage, and scheming to seize power, suddenly switched careers to urban planning? And in such a... hardcore way?

"Hiruzen, look!"

Danzo was completely oblivious to Hiruzen's unusual behavior. Pointing to the map, he began to introduce his grand plan in an almost fanatical tone.

"I believe that the current layout of our Konoha Village is extremely unreasonable! The residential area and commercial street are mixed together, which not only affects the villagers' rest, but also poses a huge fire hazard!"

"Therefore, I suggest dividing the village into four areas centered around the Hokage Building: the eastern area for administration and the core ninja area, the western area for commerce and trade, the southern area for ordinary residential areas, and the northern area for industry and logistics, such as the ninja tool forging factory, the soldier ration production workshop, etc., all of which should be moved there for centralized management!"

"And the roads! Our roads are too narrow! In an emergency, troops simply cannot assemble quickly! I suggest widening all main roads to a width that can at least accommodate two 'human wave vehicles' driving side by side!"

"And the drainage system! I looked into it last night, and our underground pipe network is a complete mess! I've redesigned a rainwater and sewage separation system to ensure that even if it rains heavily, there won't be any standing water in the village!"

Danzo became more and more excited as he spoke, spittle flying everywhere.

It was as if he wasn't reporting on his work, but rather showcasing his most perfect work to the world.

Hiruzen Sarutobi listened silently, the shock in his heart beyond words.

Looking at Danzo's face, which looked haggard from staying up all night but radiant with passion, an outrageous idea arose in his mind.

"Holy crap... this guy... could he be a construction genius whose talent was wasted on ninjutsu?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi forcibly suppressed the sense of absurdity in his heart and began to carefully examine the planning map on the ground.

It must be said that Danzo's plan, while crude in many details and even somewhat presumptuous, was still flawed.

However, the planning approach that pursued ultimate efficiency and absolute security from a military perspective caught Hiruzen Sarutobi's eye.

This guy is genuinely planning a village using the mindset of building a "war fortress".

"What a talent... truly a talent..." Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself.

He knew that he might have inadvertently flipped some strange switch on Danzo.

A root that should have been rotting in the darkness now seems poised to grow into an unexpected towering tree under the sunlight.

Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly stood up, walked to Danzo, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hmm?" Danzo raised his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with anticipation.

He wanted Hiruzen's approval.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him with a smile that was both incredibly gratified and somewhat enigmatic.

"Your idea is excellent."

"However, it's not scientific enough."