Hiruzen Sarutobi sat slumped in his chair, his brows furrowed deeply. After a long moment, he raised a hand. A masked ANBU appeared before him, kneeling on one knee.
"How's Uzumaki Naruto doing lately?"
The ANBU in the cat-faced mask responded calmly,
"He's been staying at home these past few days. Hasn't stepped outside once."
"Oh? Then tell me what he's been doing at home. Anything out of the ordinary?"
"Lord Third, Naruto cried a few times at first—quietly, when no one was around. But after that, he gradually calmed down. His mental state seems stable."
"No signs of resentment toward the village?"
The ANBU shook his head.
Hiruzen's expression didn't betray much, but a flicker of guilt crossed his face. It was hidden behind the smoke curling from his pipe, adding to his air of quiet mystery.
He waved the ANBU away and returned to the paperwork piled high on his desk.
Time passed—how long, he wasn't sure—before the two village elders, Koharu and Homura, arrived alongside the head of Root. Hiruzen glanced up at them in surprise. His eyes then shifted to Shimura Danzo, and a sense of unease stirred in the back of his mind. He could already guess who was behind this visit.
"Ahem…" He cleared his throat and took a deep drag from his pipe before speaking. "What brings all three of you here together? Something urgent, I assume."
"There is something we need to discuss," Koharu began. "It's about Uchiha Sasuke. What do you plan to do with him?"
The truth behind the Uchiha massacre had somehow spread across the shinobi world. No one knew exactly where the leak had come from, but the other villages had jumped at the opportunity to slander Konoha's name. While Konoha could suppress the truth internally, there was no guarantee that Sasuke wouldn't hear something he shouldn't. In fact, spies would probably go out of their way to tell him the full story.
Hiruzen exhaled a smoke ring.
"Sasuke is the last Uchiha in Konoha. We must treat him well. And let's not forget—he's the only thing Itachi asked of us."
Danzo scoffed. "Why go to so much trouble? Just hand him over to Root and inscribe the Tongue-Curse Seal on him."
Hiruzen shook his head.
"Itachi has already sacrificed enough for the village. And besides, with Sasuke's potential, even if he learns the truth, he won't be able to stir up much trouble."
Danzo's eyes narrowed, his disdain barely concealed. He knew the conditions required for an Uchiha to awaken the Sharingan. Compared to prodigies like Itachi or Shisui, Sasuke was a failure. Not even the clan's destruction had been enough to trigger his awakening.
Homura adjusted his glasses, frowning thoughtfully.
"I reviewed Sasuke's records from the Academy. His grades were excellent. Even if his talent doesn't match Itachi's, he should've awakened the Sharingan by now. Something about this feels off."
"You can't judge the Uchiha by common standards," Koharu interjected. "And Academy grades don't mean much anyway." She was quick to steer the conversation away. "The village has bigger problems right now. The Uchiha matter can wait."
Though the crisis Konoha faced was clearly tied to the massacre, none of them said it aloud. Regret was out of the question. At most, they could reflect that perhaps things hadn't been handled carefully enough.
"Then let me get to the point," Danzo said, his tone firm. "I believe the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should be handed over to Root for training."
"Absolutely not!" Hiruzen rejected the suggestion without hesitation. "Root is not the right environment for a Jinchuriki."
Danzo chuckled coldly. "The Nine-Tails nearly lost control not long ago. People could've died. The villagers hold deep resentment toward Naruto. What he'll face out there may be even worse than anything Root could throw at him."
Hiruzen fell silent. But his stance was unwavering. Letting Root get its hands on Naruto? Over his dead body.
Danzo could read him like a book.
"Hmph. You still cling to the idea of bonds. Fine, if you insist, I won't force it. But for the sake of stability, I will send Root agents to monitor him. Call it protection if you like."
With that, Danzo rose and walked toward the door, disappearing into the shadows of the hallway beyond. Though his exit seemed calm, it had the air of someone retreating from a confrontation.
And truthfully, he had reason to be guilty—so much of Konoha's current chaos was tied to him in one way or another.
Hiruzen let out a long sigh. No matter how many mistakes Danzo made, he always chose to forgive him. But the situation with Naruto… that was different. The villagers used to at least keep some semblance of restraint. Now, things were spiraling out of control. He worried the whetstone of hatred might dull the edge of that blade before it ever had a chance to shine.
Koharu seemed to sense his inner turmoil and offered a few kind words.
"Don't worry so much, Hiruzen. Naruto's still young. Time is on our side. You did right by Itachi and Shisui. And just look at Kakashi—even after losing his father, his sensei, and his closest friends, he still found new bonds. He still loves this village. Naruto will be the same. He'll find his own path. He'll find his own bonds."
She smiled as she spoke, the corners of her eyes crinkling like withered flower petals.
But Hiruzen didn't look convinced. "That's easier said than done…"
Then Homura spoke up. "Perhaps it's time to shift our thinking. A Jinchuriki doesn't have to be just a weapon of war. The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure—Yagura—was a Jinchuriki too. Naruto may be a bit dense, but he's a good-hearted boy. I believe he can truly inherit the Will of Fire."
There was something pointed in Homura's tone, though he didn't elaborate. Hiruzen chose not to dig further.
"We'll talk about that later," he said. "This old body can still hold up."
From there, the three elders moved on to discussing Konoha's tensions with the other villages. War seemed unlikely—at least for now. The other villages had simply sensed weakness and wanted a chance to bite down hard.
If nothing unexpected happened, Hiruzen would probably have to compromise.
...
Sasuke walked alone through the silent remains of the Uchiha compound. Once lively and bustling, it now stood empty and desolate. The stillness gnawed at his chest. When he reached his house, he threw himself onto the bed and focused inward. Before long, his consciousness began to sink once again—into his mental world.
The space had changed. It was even darker than before. Tangible black smoke drifted across the ground, and in the center stood the same shadowy figure, still and silent, without joy or sorrow.
Sasuke got straight to the point.
"Let's talk. I don't care how you ended up in my mind, but I want to know your goals. What do you want from me? And what do I get in return?"
He was unusually calm. Based on what he knew so far, he'd concluded that the shadow was a powerful outsider who had forcibly entered his mind. It clearly had its own motives—and that meant he had room to negotiate.
The shadow let out a chilling laugh. "Who I am doesn't matter. My goal? I already told you—kill. That's all I want. And in exchange, I'll give you power."
Sasuke's young face twisted in resistance.
"Killing for the sake of killing… that's meaningless."
"Shut up, you little brat." The shadow's tone turned cold and impatient. "I'm done with your crap. You've got two choices: either do what I say, or I'll take your body and use it myself."
He was already regretting the whole "mysterious mentor" act. He should've gone with a mindless system that erased host resistance without a second thought.
Sasuke froze. He didn't understand why the shadow had suddenly turned so hostile.