[Land of Fire, Hokage Tower]
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the casualty report, the ink bleeding under the weight of his trembling grip.
'Another failed mission. Another squad wiped out', he thought with gravity.
The names blurred: Uchiha Ren, Hyuga Kaida, Aburame Shiro—geniuses dead, before they could even exploit their potential.
The Western Front had stabilized after Danzo's gambit, but the Eastern Front against Sunagakure was a meat grinder, their puppeteers capable of killing shinobi of the leaf with the slightest injury. Against their poison, Konoha was helpless. Despite the overwhelming difference in numbers, the casualties were piling up, and their morale plunging in darkness.
The Raikage, who had stopped his attacks in the North, had begun to become more invasive, going so far as to plunder the Land of Rice, and a part of the Land of Fire's northern merchant cities. Although they were contained by the Uchiha clan, the Fire Daimyo was in rage, pressuring him to make a move.
"Hokage-sama" Koharu's voice was a blade wrapped in silk. She stood framed in the doorway, Homura at her flank: "The council demands an audience. Again."
Hiruzen didn't look up. "Tell them I'm reviewing strategies."
"They're done waiting," Homura snapped. "The Uchiha are threatening to withdraw from the front lines. The Hyuga demand compensation for their losses. Even the civilians—civilians—are whispering that the Will of Fire is ash. The Shimura clan's destruction completely killed the glass industry sector, making merchants lose their most profitable product. Countless went bankrupt, turning comfortable position into despairing financial times"
The Third Hokage closed his eyes. Danzo's ghost haunted every word. His strategies had bled Iwa dry with minimal losses. His clan had vanished overnight, leaving Konoha weaker, exposed. Now, every failure was a reflection in Hiruzen's cracked mirror.
The council chamber stank of sweat and suspicion. Elders from the major clans sat rigid, their glares sharp enough to carve stone. At the room's center, the Nara patriarch's replacement—a sharp-eyed youth named Chinpoku—laid out a map pockmarked with red Xs.
"Kumo's raiding patterns suggest they've decrypted our codes," Chinpoku said, voice flat. "Either we have a traitor, or the Raikage's smarter than we thought. Again, I advise a full retreat to—"
"Retreat?!" A Hyuga elder slammed his palms on the table, Byakugan veins bulging. "Every inch we cede is a grave for our clansmen! Where's the Hokage's famed strategy? Or did it vanish with the Shimura?"
The room froze. Hiruzen's pipe clattered to the floor.
Koharu stepped forward, her tone diplomatic poison. "Lord Hokage, perhaps it's time to address… concerns. The Shimura Clan's departure left vulnerabilities. Some wonder if their… sudden absence was… engineered."
Homura's smile was a shard of ice. "After all, Danzo's victories outshone yours. A convenient tragedy, that fire."
Koharu and Homaru should have been on Hiruzen's side. However, they still used to be comrades with Danzo, and his sudden disappearance and Hiruzen's sudden rise on the Hokage's seat matched perfectly. This, along with the numerous defeats on multiple fronts, had led them to become political opponents. Hiruzen was alone, like a sheep among wolves.
However, he was not a simple sheep. He was more of a famined monkey.
Hiruzen's chakra spiked, the air thickening with heat. Everyone bowed. In the end, Hiruzen was still a kage-level figure, even if his strength was not even half of Tobirama's. "You think I—?!"
"We think nothing," Koharu interrupted, though her eyes said otherwise. "But rumors fester. The Uchiha claim you let Danzo die to secure your seat. The civilians whisper you fear strong successors. Even the ANBU—"
"Enough." Hiruzen's voice cracked like a whip. "The Shimura's disappearance is still under investigation, and I swear on my honour that I will do anything to find the bottom truth to it. My duty is to Konoha, not paranoia."
Chinpoku cleared his throat. "Then perhaps… a demonstration of strength? A decisive strike on Kumo's supply lines. Reclaim momentum."
Like Danzo would've done. The unspoken words hung thick.
Hiruzen hesitated—a fatal pause.
The Hyuga elder stood. "Indecision is weakness. The Hyuga will not send more sons to die for a Hokage who fears his own shadow."
One by one, clan representatives rose—Uchiha, Aburame, even the loyal Akimichi—their silence a verdict.
[Later, Hokage's Office]
The moon hung like a pale scar as Hiruzen poured over Danzo's old missives—pages filled with brutal pragmatism. "Sacrifice the few. Secure the many."
A knock. Torifu Akimichi entered, grief etched into his jovial face. "Hitori Uchiha's squad… ambushed. No survivors."
Hiruzen's breath hitched.
The Hokage's reflection wavered in the window. Danzo's face stared back, stern, unyielding.
"Prepare the ANBU," Hiruzen said, voice hollow. "We target Kumo's jinchūriki. Full assault."
Torifu paled. "But the Raikage—!"
"We have no choice." Because I waited too long, those words stuck in his throat.
As Torifu left, Hiruzen crushed Danzo's letter in his fist. Somewhere, in the shadows of a foreign land, his old friend was laughing.
[Council Chambers, Dawn]
The news spread like wildfire: Hiruzen's sending the ANBU to assassinate Kumo's jinchūriki.
Homura stormed into the chamber, Koharu at his heels. "Suicide! You'd throw away our strongest to save face?!"
The Hokage met their stares, resolve hardening into something brittle. "You wanted decisiveness. Here it is."
Koharu's mask slipped, revealing raw fear. "This isn't strategy—it's desperation! You're proving the rumors true!"
As the clans erupted into chaos, Hiruzen's gaze drifted to the Hokage Monument outside. Hashirama's stone eyes seemed disappointed.
Danzo's plans were working exceptionally well.
His suspicious departure plunged Konohagakure in chaos, leaving the Hokage seat with a frail Hiruzen on the throne. Konoha had never been weaker, and in this continent, weakness was a chaotic circle where other countries would double down on the pressure.
Kirigakure spies, in the shadow, reported this instability to their Mizukage.
The land of water, until now completely passive, was taking a stance it would have never taken otherwise.