Chapter 27: Muddy Waters
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been rummaging through his entire desk for quite a while, overturning scrolls and files, before he finally confirmed it—Sakura's thesis "The Will of Fire – By Haruno Sakura" had been taken by none other than Danzo Shimura.
But at this point, going to Danzo to retrieve it would be useless.
If Danzo had taken it, it meant only one thing—he had already read it.
Whether it was submitted formally or not no longer mattered.
Damn it…
Hiruzen frowned deeply. He knew Danzo's personality far too well.
To let him lay eyes on a document like this—a comprehensive strategic war doctrine—and expect him not to act on it would be as ridiculous as expecting pigs to form an orderly line and jump into a river.
Danzo's actions had caught him completely off guard.
He never imagined that this man would be bored enough to sift through an exam paper written by a newly graduated genin.
But now the question was—what should he do?
Stop Danzo?
Prevent him from implementing the ideas outlined in that thesis?
But there's a saying—there are a thousand days to catch a thief, but not a thousand days to guard against one.
Should he then fabricate some charge and confine Danzo under house arrest?
As this thought crossed his mind, Hiruzen also thought of Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
Individually, these two were no match for him or Danzo. But together, they had enough influence to create serious opposition.
They would absolutely not stand by and allow Danzo to be confined without cause.
So then what?
What could he do?
Hiruzen sat in his Hokage chair, tapping his aged, withered fingers on the wooden desk.
At this point in his life, he really didn't want to deal with all this political maneuvering anymore.
All he wanted was to nurture Sakura properly and ensure her growth.
He had poured his life into Konohagakure. He was exhausted—both mentally and physically. He truly wanted to rest.
Yet, just as he was preparing to pass the torch, something this troublesome had to happen.
"Someone, come in," he commanded at last.
In a blur, an ANBU operative appeared and kneeled respectfully in front of him.
"Summon Sakura here. Immediately."
Even if the plan outlined in Sakura's thesis was not to be implemented, her intelligence was undeniable.
He once praised Itachi Uchiha for having a Hokage-level mindset at the age of seven.
Looking back, he now realized that he had been deceived by Itachi's calm demeanor.
After all, no rational person would carry out an act like exterminating their entire clan without thoroughly grasping the true nature of the situation.
That singular, cold-blooded action drastically weakened Konoha's overall power.
But Sakura was different.
Just from reading the limited accounts of the past wars in the Academy's history books, she had managed to identify the weaknesses of each major nation.
Then she devised a multi-phase plan to take advantage of Konoha's position and influence the entire ninja world.
That kind of vision—that strategic mind—even Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage himself, might not have been able to match.
Not long after, Sakura—who was on her way to pick up Ino after school—once again stood inside the Hokage's office.
"Sensei?" she asked, puzzled.
What could he want this time?
"Sakura," Hiruzen began, "About your thesis…"
Seeing no point in hiding it, he laid everything out honestly.
He even told her the full context of Danzo Shimura's actions and his own disagreements with the man.
"…!"
Sakura's green eyes widened slightly.
Wait a second—
That old bastard Danzo took my thesis?
Her heart nearly stopped.
Because there was a major problem with that paper.
From beginning to end, Sakura had deliberately omitted mention of one critical player.
The Akatsuki.
That shadowy underground organization, comprised of rogue ninja, supposedly fighting for "peace."
To say they weren't powerful would be a lie.
Sakura believed that if the Akatsuki mobilized fully, they could conquer any of the five great shinobi nations—and perhaps even two of them simultaneously.
If Danzo actually followed the steps outlined in her paper, the first phase of inflating food prices might go smoothly.
But the problem would arise in phase two.
At that point, the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning would all be watching Konoha closely.
To counterbalance them, Konoha would need to align with the Land of Earth and form a pincer strategy.
But between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth were two other countries—the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain.
Pulling off such a coordinated maneuver without alerting Akatsuki's White Zetsu spies was simply impossible.
At that point, no one could predict how Uchiha Obito or Nagato (Pain) would react.
They might take the opportunity to "muddy the waters" and fish in the chaos.
Obito might be a treacherous bastard, but his strength was undeniable.
If White Zetsu acted as a liaison between the Wind and Lightning countries, the entire Fire Country would be pulled into an all-out war.
And that was just the threat posed by a single White Zetsu.
The entire Akatsuki's full force would be a nightmare.
At this point in history, Rasa (the Fourth Kazekage) was still alive. Gaara still had Shukaku. Granny Chiyo was still active. The Raikage stood ready in the Land of Lightning.
Plus, they had two perfect Jinchuriki—Killer Bee included.
That was already six Kage-level threats.
Not to mention that the Eight-Tails was the second most powerful tailed beast, just behind Kurama the Nine-Tails.
Without at least two Kage-level shinobi focusing solely on Killer Bee, there'd be no hope of stopping him.
Even if Konoha and Iwagakure teamed up, it wouldn't be enough.
They'd be mired in a brutal, multi-front war.
All of that—because of one miscalculation in a theoretical plan.
Sakura had originally crafted her "Will of Fire" thesis knowing full well that Hiruzen wouldn't act on it.
She didn't expect it to land in Danzo's hands.
And with his temperament, it was obvious what he'd do—he'd follow it step by step.
"Sensei, are you saying… my strategic plan has landed in the hands of a hardened war hawk with substantial power in the village?" Sakura asked, trying to stay calm.
She was actually surprised at her own composure right now.
"Yes," Hiruzen replied, a bit hopeful. "Sakura… do you have any ideas? Any way to resolve this?"
He looked at her with a rare flicker of expectation.
From the moment he first read her plan, he had acknowledged her intelligence. That's why he called her here—hoping she might find a solution he hadn't considered.
Sakura sank onto the couch and began to think rapidly.
The simplest option?
Take down Danzo directly.
But that clearly wasn't possible.
If Danzo had managed to survive this long, it was because he was clever, cautious, and surrounded by layers of protection.
Trying to arrest him without any legitimate crime would only backfire.
Even the first phase of the plan—inflating food prices—could be easily disguised as an economic adjustment.
With a projected timeline of five years, the early indicators wouldn't raise red flags.
By the time any red flags appeared, it would be too late to prove anything.
Unless…
Unless someone inside the Akatsuki was working for Konoha.
Sakura blinked.
An insider?
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
Uchiha Itachi.
From a certain perspective—he was one of them.
His actions may have seemed traitorous, but his allegiance ultimately lay with Konoha.
If that was the case… why not make use of the weasel?
If he had already chosen to ride Konoha's ship, then she might as well make sure he rowed.
The thought brought her some comfort.
Then she turned to Hiruzen and said calmly:
"If we cannot stop what's already begun…"
"Then we don't stop it."
"…?"
Hiruzen massaged his temple, clearly troubled.
The originator of this entire mess was sitting right in front of him. And now, she was essentially saying: let it happen?
Maybe he really was getting too old for this…
(To Be Continued)
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