Angering to death

Shimura Danzo, he was an ambitious man but a coward deep inside his heart. Currently, he was changing his hideouts to prevent his men from being killed by a threat he had recently provoked.

The shinobi who were changing their hideouts were his own personal force. Not even the Hokage was aware of these Shinobi. Some of them had been kidnapped from some of the reputed clans of Konoha.

Many of them, though came from Konoha's orphanages. Only after tens of years of training could they finally stand on the threshold where Danzo could assign them crucial missions.

However, he found that half of these shinobi had gone missing.

He had received a report of the shinobi who had successfully reached their new hideouts. However, he was surprised when the number was nearly half of the total number of shinobi under him before.

Just what had happened? Where could they disappear to?

Yet, he received no answer, which even made his heart start to tremble. He felt as if he was being targeted by someone. However, that person felt that it wasn't yet time to utterly destroy him.

To think he was living on someone's sympathy? This was an insult Danzo couldn't tolerate.

Moreover, in the Senju Clan Manor, Araki stared at the hundreds of Uzumaki Clan Members with an indifferent gaze, "Were you successful in capturing them?"

"Yes, Araki-sama. We captured nearly half of Danzo's whole force. It was all thanks to your sensing skill that you knew where their new hideouts were going to be, and we could lay a trap in advance." Uzumaki Isao said with a respectful gaze while staring at Araki.

"It was ultimately done by you. You all deserve praise for accomplishing this matter." Araki gave them a smile while praising them.

Uzumaki Isao didn't dwell on it for too long before asking Araki, "What will we do with these captured men?"

"I will be killing one every day and sending his head to our good old Danzo. Let's see how long it takes until he angers himself to death." Araki said with a casual smile on his face.

"That… Wouldn't that be inappropriate if Danzo takes those heads to Hokage?" Someone from Uzumaki Clan asked Araki. He knew that their leader was strong, but it wasn't wise to make an enemy out of the Hokage yet.

"This is Danzo's personal force. To Konoha, these men do not exist in their records. Danzo would first need to mention that he tampered with the records. The Third Hokage would first deal with Danzo before taking his anger out on me. Well, what can he do to me anyway? I can always say that I didn't know these are Konoha Shinobi, I never saw any record stating they are. At that time, even if the Hokage is so angry that he could be used to grill food, he would still swallow his anger and return to that office. He is a wise man, after all." Araki showed a cunning smile while explaining his reasoning.

The Uzumaki Clan Members who saw his smile couldn't help but shake their heads. It seemed their leader was enjoying this far too much.

"Alright, the meeting is adjourned now. Leave now…" He hastily said while telling the Uzumaki Clan Members to leave the hall.

He asked them to leave because Kushina was entering the hall.

It didn't take the Uzumaki Clan Members to leave the hall.

Kushina had a frown on her face as she entered the hall. She noticed that Araki was seated at the clan head's place. It seemed like he just had a meeting with other Uzumaki Clan Members.

"Araki… Someone is approaching the Senju Clan Manor." Kushina said with a grave look in her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I sensed him earlier as well. If my guess is right, he is probably Orochimaru. I know the feel of Jiraiya, Monkey, Sensei, and Danzo. Since it's not one of these 4, only Orochimaru remains with this power level." Araki casually stated his reasoning.

"What should we do? Although the seals around the Clan Manor are powerful, I doubt they can restrain a Sannin. Should we strengthen the seals around the Manor?" Kushina asked him with a puzzled expression.

Araki gave her a comforting smile before standing up, he says while walking towards her, "It would be an excellent opportunity to meet the Sannin. Let's find out what he wants."

"What if he hurts-" Her questions were put to rest when she felt Araki's strong yet comforting arms around her thin body.

"Shhh…" He slowly whispered in her ears, "At this time, he can't hurt me. Besides, I have you beside me. If he can still hurt me, I would just admit defeat."

"I…" Kushina swallowed the words what she was about to say. Just melting in his embrace.

She found it far too comfortable and relaxing to think of anything else.

After he had calmed down Kushina's anxious heart, he gently holds her hand and giving her a smile before saying, "His appearance might not necessarily be bad for us."

"What do you mean?" Kushina gave him a puzzled look as she didn't understand how Orochimaru's appearance might be good for them.

"He was probably the one who sold the way to Uzushio to the Three Great Villages. It would be a good opportunity to get some revenge." Araki said with a hint of anger in his voice, but mostly, he concealed it by speaking in an amused tone.

"Do I wake up that fox? We may need its help, I mean." Kushina asked Araki who simply shook his head before replying to her, "No… we can't rely on Kurama's chakra. It's a great boost, but at the end of the day, it's not our own power. Besides, you should be prepared for the time when Kurama will be extracted from your body and set to roam free in the world."

"Alright, I understand." Kushina gave him a nod.

"It's a good thing that grandma set such a loose seal. You wouldn't be too hurt while releasing the Kurama from your body." Araki gave her a smile. His grip over her tightened.

They both decided to go outside the manor. It wouldn't be a good idea to let Orochimaru break the many seals placed around the Manor. It took quite some time to set them up.

After waiting for half an hour, they finally saw the visage of the white snake. This was Orochimaru, the smartest disciple of the Third Hokage.

Upon noticing that Araki and Kushina were standing outside the mansion, Orochimaru gave them a smile. This made his objective easier.

As he looked at Orochimaru, Araki greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Orochimaru. This has been our first meeting, right?"

"Greetings, Senju Araki. And yes, this is our first meeting."