After Azula left, the meeting room fell into an awkward silence with no one speaking.
At that point, I wanted to stand up and leave too, every second wasted here was another second Azula spent plotting something.
But as Hokage, this was a responsibility I couldn't escape.
I looked around. Apart from my three old friends, and maybe someone like Tajima, no one dared to meet my eyes.
Not even Sakumo, and that was a very bad sign.
I knew Sakumo was one of the strongest in the village, and easily the most qualified to be ANBU commander. But I hadn't chosen him for a simple reason: his relationship with Azula.
Back then, I followed Danzō's advice. Later, I thought I might have been too paranoid, she was just a child, after all.
Now it turns out Danzō was right.
If I had chosen Sakumo, Azula might already have the ANBU commander under her thumb. That would have been an extremely bad outcome.
I couldn't help but sigh. "Due to the Daimyō's new intervention, this meeting will be adjourned. As a Hokage, I need to address any directive from the Daimyō with the highest priority."
I found an excuse to end what this meeting had become. I could see the relief on their faces as they left.
Some didn't even bother with the usual polite courtesies.
Tsunade gave me a weird look when she left, which was unsettling. She didn't even tease me like she usually does.
After a moment, only the four of us remained in the big meeting room. Danzō turned toward the door to make sure it was truly locked.
The meeting room had a seal. Once locked, no one from outside could hear or see what happened inside, whether you had the Byakugan or the Mind's Eye of Kagura.
"This is what I meant. This is what I've been saying." Danzō's voice was expressing anger, barely restrained. "The girl is completely out of control. If only you had listened to me back then, this wouldn't have happened. I know it, the Uchiha cannot be trusted. How can a clan that kills its own relatives for power ever be trusted?"
I took a deep breath. Danzō's nonsense made my mind go blank for a moment, but what came out of my mouth was completely different from what I was thinking.
"I know."
'I know what, exactly?'
I didn't have time to reflect. Koharu spoke up.
"Now, we should first send ANBU to the capital and contact the Daimyō. Azula had no known contact with him, and we have no record of him sending her a letter. I can only think she teleported there using the Flying Raijin and threatened him into writing it."
As absurd as it sounded, threatening the Fire Daimyō, theoretically the most important person in the world, this was exactly Azula's style.
I nodded, showing my approval and a little gratitude for steering the conversation away from Danzō's blame-throwing.
"I'll handle the ANBU dispatch personally," I said, standing up. "Wait here."
I didn't want Danzō to hear my orders. Not because I distrusted him (believe it or not), but because I needed to think clearly.
I walked to the door, unlocked it, and stepped into the hallway. The ANBU captain was exactly where I expected him, standing at attention.
"Owl," I said quietly. "Send a team discreetly to the capital. I want to know who visited the Daimyō in the last two days. Anyone who had contact with Azula, and any possible way she could have reached him directly."
But I knew what was done was done. It was almost impossible to truly stop her if she wanted to contact someone, she had too many ways.
Owl nodded. "Understood."
"And check on the Daimyō's behavior. Has he been… unusually agreeable? Any signs of coercion?"
"It will be done, Hokage-sama."
I turned back to the door, then paused. "One more thing. This goes through me directly, not through Danzō of anyone, understood?"
"Understood."
•••
As soon as I returned to the meeting room, Danzō stood up before I even sat down. I looked at him, my face practically asking what was going on.
He didn't flinch. We just stared into each other's eyes, and that was when I saw a hidden madness behind those eyes that used to yearn only for greatness.
"Hiruzen," he said, struggling to mask that madness. "Is this really what you're going to do? Waste time investigating the Daimyō while that girl consolidates power?"
I could hear the disappointment in his voice, and the worst part was the fact It was genuine.
"What do you want me to do?" All these disappointed looks, after everything I've done. "Aren't we sitting here to come up with solutions? Why are you standing up? Do you want to leave?"
Danzō chuckled bitterly. "Discuss? Discuss what, Hiruzen? Why can't you understand that when it's time to act, you just act? Are you seriously considering wasting hours with all of us blaming each other, each seeking his own interest, instead of each of us taking action?"
I didn't have time to reply before he continued.
"Anyway, I won't. This time, I'm going to take real, strong measures, and none of you will stop me. Since you can't deal with her, I'll do it my way."
He spoke with such conviction. I couldn't remember the last time any of the four of us had been so determined to achieve something.
After thinking hard, I realized it was back when I first became Hokage, when I swore I would give my soul and everything I had to maintain the village's peace and live up to sensei's expectations.
That's why I didn't have the courage to stop him, assert my authority and reminding him that I was still the Hokage.
The room was left with just the three of us.
'Is Danzō also about to leave us? Like Kagami and Torifu did?'
I sighed for the third time in the few minutes I'd spent in this meeting room. And as fate likes its irony, unexpectedly, we all sighed at the same time.
Homura chuckled. "I've never been interested in the Hokage position. Always looked like too much trouble. Now I'm glad, if I were in your place, the pressure would have crushed me by now."
His voice was soft, his face relaxed. He wasn't acting. I could tell he was genuinely trying to understand my position.
I smiled at him. "In this whole village, as ironic as it sounds, probably only you, Azula, Tajima, and maybe one or two others truly understand my difficulties."
I knew Koharu would be somewhat offended at not being mentioned. But I'm sure she can't understand me. It's as simple as that.
"Hmph." She snorted, but for once, she wasn't sarcastic. Instead, her face turned serious. "I think we may be in big trouble."
Seriously? I looked at her to see if she was joking. Who wouldn't guess we're in big trouble with a chaotic but strong teenager who doesn't play by the rules breathing down our necks?
"No, that's not what I meant," she said, as if reading my mind. "I meant more trouble, on top of what we already have. And guess who's the cause? Your righteous friend who just walked out."
Danzō? What could he possibly have done to make things worse?
"His experiments have leaked. And there's solid proof." Koharu's voice was tense. "I even suspect it came from Iwagakure."
As soon as she spoke, I remembered the report about the ANBU protecting her clan yesterday. How she had suddenly appeared on her rooftop, and when asked if everything was alright, she just snorted and went back inside.
I looked at her. If this was what I thought it was—
She nodded.
Yes, things were definitely getting worse. It was in Iwa's interest to keep Konoha's internal conflict burning.
"What do you suggest?" I asked. Because honestly, I didn't have an answer myself.
"What do I suggest?" Koharu shot back. "Hiruzen, are you serious? Are you the Hokage, or am I?"
She didn't wait for an answer. "You know what to do better than any of us. You swore your philosophy was 'everything for the village.' And if those documents leak, you know how bad it will be for us. Unfortunately, we don't have the power to stop it."
She leaned back slightly. "Whoever sent that letter wants us to isolate Danzō, to fracture our relationship. If we don't, they'll probably send the information to Azula instead. And if it reaches her?"
She chuckled dryly. "Heh."
Homura nodded in agreement. "Add to that the look on Danzō's face earlier. I think he's about to do something drastic and extreme. But we all know—no matter what he does, he can't kill Azula. And even if he somehow did…"
He paused. "There are people behind her. Tajima, Mito, Sakumo, the three clans and basically, even in the improbable case that he eliminates Azula, the situation in the village would be worse than it's ever been."
As always, Homura was analyzing everything. His words painted vivid, ugly pictures in my mind.
I should have brought my pipe, I thought, resisting the urge to sigh again. Because if I didn't, I could feel the suffocating pressure tightening around my lungs.
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
This if Hiruzen's POV, I felt like I've put much effort on them in my work instead of just making them generic, I mean, although I truly hate Danzō and genuinely don't like Hiruzen, but if you really push yourself, you can get their point of view.