Chapter 585: Chapter 585: I Like Renya! "Danzo, do you have some problem?"
Uzumaki Mito noticed Danzo standing frozen in place, silent for a long time, and frowned, thinking he was trying to avoid the matchmaking.
It was already bad enough that that brat Renya refused to marry no matter what, but she absolutely could not let Danzo end up single like that father and son pair!
So early in the morning she had brought a young girl directly to his door. Matters like this had to be handled swiftly.
A decisive cut through the chaos.
Delay would only bring complications. This could not be dragged out!
Shimura Danzo tightened his grip on the note in his hand and turned around, looking at Uzumaki Mito with a complicated expression.
Although the method his good friend provided was extremely embarrassing, it was currently the best solution.
But did he really have to say it in front of so many people?
"Danzo, are you feeling unwell?" Uzumaki Mito noticed his face turning pale and flushed by turns.
"N-No, I’m fine..." Danzo said in a low voice. "Mito-sama, it’s not that I refuse to marry, it’s just..."
The rest of his words were so quiet they were almost inaudible.
"Just what?"
Uzumaki Mito grew somewhat impatient. She assumed Danzo intended to use some excuse to brush things off just like Renya.
So she made up her mind—no matter what reason he gave today, she would not accept it!
"It’s just..." Shimura Danzo clenched his fists, blushing as he forced out the remaining words. "The person I like isn’t a woman... but a man!"
After saying it, he let out a long breath, as if that sentence had drained all the strength from his body.
To avoid marriage, he was truly going all out!
The moment those words fell, Uzumaki Mito’s eyes widened in shock.
Behind her, the girls all looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Heavens! What did we just hear?!
The Hokage doesn’t like women—he likes men!
The reason the Hokage hadn’t married all these years had finally been revealed!
"Y-You..." Uzumaki Mito pointed at Danzo, unable to speak for a long while.
Over the years she had imagined countless reasons why Danzo remained unmarried, yet she had never once considered that his orientation might be the issue!
Danzo also had a close relationship with Renya... did that mean Renya’s orientation might also be the same?!
And Renya was Tobirama’s adopted son... did that mean Tobirama had influenced him subconsciously?!
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and she felt her entire worldview collapsing.
"I’m sorry, Mito-sama. I appreciate your kindness!"
After saying those words, Danzo realized Mito-sama had truly been shocked into silence. The shame he had felt earlier immediately vanished.
His good friend’s method was embarrassing—but undeniably effective!
As long as Uzumaki Mito stopped pressuring him to marry, losing some face didn’t matter.
In a few more years he would retire anyway. When the time came, he would simply move into Renya’s home and spend his retirement there together. There would be no need to care about the village’s gossip.
Uzumaki Mito stared at him with a complicated expression before finally speaking.
"Alright. I understand."
Since Danzo’s orientation was different, she couldn’t force him to meet the girls.
That would only hurt both sides...
Seeing that Mito-sama no longer insisted, Shimura Danzo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had finally fooled her!
"Everyone, I hope you can keep today’s matter confidential."
Although he had been forced to use Renya’s method to escape marriage, he didn’t want today’s conversation to become common knowledge.
After all, he hadn’t retired yet.
"Hokage-sama, we promise to keep this secret!" The girls looked at Danzo with complicated expressions.
They had thought they might have a chance to marry the Hokage, but now it seemed impossible.
Though being his sisters probably wasn’t a problem...
"You may leave first."
Hearing Uzumaki Mito’s words, the girls hurriedly lowered their heads and departed.
What happened today had shaken them deeply. They truly needed time to recover.
"Danzo, tell me honestly—who is the man you like? Are you two secretly together?"
She didn’t understand relationships between two men, but she respected them.
If Danzo truly liked men, then his refusal to marry all these years finally made sense.
And something this private certainly wouldn’t become public knowledge.
Perhaps Danzo and that man had already been secretly together. That wasn’t impossible.
Indeed, no matter a woman’s age, she always carried a heart fond of gossip.
Faced with Mito’s sudden question, Danzo’s mind went completely blank.
He had never expected Mito-sama to ask this. He hadn’t prepared any explanation at all.
If he answered poorly and revealed a flaw, wouldn’t he be dragged back into matchmaking again?!
Seeing his hesitation, Uzumaki Mito smiled reassuringly.
"Danzo, don’t worry. My lips are sealed. I won’t let a third person know!"
She wanted to learn exactly who the man Danzo liked was.
In truth, Mito already had a guess in her heart—she just didn’t dare confirm it.
If it really was as she suspected, everything would make sense.
"I... I..." Shimura Danzo stammered, nearly collapsing internally.
You suddenly ask like this—how am I supposed to know which man I like?!
Meeting Mito’s expectant gaze, Danzo truly didn’t know whom to use as a shield.
If he casually named someone and Mito later went to verify it, wouldn’t he be exposed immediately?
If he had to choose someone, it had to be a person he was close with...
Suddenly, Shimura Danzo noticed something in his palm—the crumpled note he had been clutching. His eyes flickered.
Sorry, good friend!
The excuse about liking men had been provided by Renya. Using his good friend as a shield should be understandable!
Even if Mito-sama went to confirm it with Renya later, Renya would surely handle it calmly.
After all, the plan had been his idea.
Thinking this, Danzo’s gaze changed from guilt to determination. With an extremely serious expression, he declared:
"Mito-sama, the person I like is Renya!"
(T/N: This is so cringe...)
Uzumaki Mito’s smile instantly froze, and she subconsciously stepped back two paces.
The thing she feared most had finally happened.
When Danzo admitted he liked men, she had already begun to suspect. She never expected her guess to be correct.
The person Danzo liked... was Renya!
Both of them had refused marriage for years. It seemed they had long since pledged themselves to each other in secret.
That recent trip outside the village... it was probably a honeymoon.
She never imagined that Renya, whom she had watched grow up, was actually gay!
Just how had Tobirama raised that child...
No—perhaps Tobirama himself had issues with his orientation.
Realizing this, she felt as if the sky itself had collapsed.
"...Yes. I understand..." Uzumaki Mito forced out a stiff smile. "I won’t mention this to anyone."
With that, she hurriedly turned and left, never again bringing up matchmaking for Danzo.
"My, my... I’ve discovered something quite incredible."
Not far away, a White Zetsu who had witnessed everything wore a thoroughly entertained expression.
