"That Uchiha brat actually said that?"
Inside the Root base, Danzō sat upright in the main seat. Behind him hung a framed calligraphy scroll: "Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die out," signed by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Yes, Danzō-sama."
Beside Danzō, Ikku knelt on one knee and confirmed the accuracy of the report in person.
Receiving Ikku's confirmation, Danzō leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. After a brief pause, he let out a cold snort and said,
"Hmph, it's rare to see a clear-headed child among the Uchiha."
Clear-headed… huh?
Ikku tilted his head ever so slightly in thought. From what he had observed, Uchiha Obito had nothing to do with the term "clear-headed."
But if Danzō-sama said so, then so be it.
"Just like Uchiha Kagami back in the day..."
On the other side, still thinking over Obito's words, Danzō's mind began to overlap Obito's image with that of Kagami.
"If I remember correctly, that boy has always firmly believed in the Will of Fire that Hiruzen preaches, hasn't he?"
Opening his eye, Danzō lightly tapped the armrest of his seat with his finger.
"Yes."
Ikku's reply was simple and direct.
"I see..." Danzō leaned on the arm of his chair, his single remaining eye filled with calculation.
"Danzō-sama."
Before Danzō could issue his next instructions, Tatsuma, who had just finished reporting in to Hiruzen, appeared before him.
Bowing respectfully, Tatsuma paid his greeting to Danzō, ignoring the still-kneeling Ikku. He stepped directly to Danzō's side and bent down to whisper something in his ear.
"Hmm, I understand. Ikku, you don't need to oversee Takeshi's training for now. Just focus on protecting his safety. Also, it seems the lighting system in the passageway from the estate to the base has encountered an issue. Check on it when you return. That's all."
After hearing Tatsuma's whispered report and confirming there were no major discrepancies between the two updates, Danzō lifted his chin slightly and glanced at Ikku, who remained unmoving on the ground, signaling that he could leave.
"Yes!"
"Since that's settled, let Takeshi and the others participate in this year's Chūnin Exams," Danzō said once Ikku had left. He then turned his head toward Tatsuma. "You've worked hard these past few weeks. Once Takeshi is promoted to jōnin, you can fully devote yourself to Root's work again."
Though Tatsuma served as the jōnin leader of Team 11, he hadn't neglected his duties in Root. As a result, Tatsuma had been working in a dual-capacity role during this time.
"Yes, Danzō-sama. Regarding the new recruits..." Tatsuma referred to the new batch of children Danzō had ordered his subordinates to select from among Konoha's war orphans to fill the gap left by the recently fallen Root members.
As per Root's usual training methods, these children would be thrown into a secret training ground to engage in life-or-death combat with death-row criminals—men with no background, no identity, and no one who cared if they lived or died.
Only those who survived had the qualifications to join Root and become Konoha's true guardians.
Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Danzō paused the tapping of his fingers. For Takeshi's sake, he had already halted all human experiments within Root. Right now, he wouldn't risk staining Takeshi's path to promotion over training matters.
"Aren't we the training division for the Anbu? In that case, we should select our members the way the Anbu do." Danzō's meaningful words made Tatsuma understand his stance. He nodded silently without further comment.
Seeing that Tatsuma had no more to say, Danzō was about to rise when he suddenly recalled that there were two secret bases in the village where human experiments had previously been conducted. They had yet to be cleared.
Because the experiments were carried out without Hiruzen's approval, only he and Orochimaru knew of them.
It was necessary to personally visit those places and bury those secrets deep in the trash heap of history.
So Danzō thought to himself, his expression revealing nothing.
...
Meanwhile, having just finished a long-distance inspection, Hiruzen finally found time to ask the jōnin before him about his son's training progress.
The jōnin standing before Hiruzen was from the Sarutobi clan and, by relation, counted as Hiruzen's cousin.
"Asuma has a high aptitude for Wind Release in addition to Fire Release. Unfortunately, neither I nor anyone else in the clan knows Wind Release very well. Only you are capable of teaching him." Sarutobi Santō looked apologetically at the man known as the Professor of Ninjutsu.
"No worries. Asuma is still young. It's already impressive that he's mastered Fire Release. After all, trying to master too much at once is a recipe for failure. Hahaha."
Hiruzen let out a hearty laugh, motioning for Santō to be at ease.
"Our Sarutobi clan was known for Fire Release even during the Warring States period. When it comes to Wind Release expertise, that lies with the Shimura clan, so..." Hiruzen chuckled, then suddenly paused mid-sentence, a thoughtful look spreading across his face.
Seeing the Hokage enter a contemplative state, Sarutobi Santō didn't dare interrupt and stood quietly in place, his gaze drifting to the calligraphy piece written by Hiruzen himself.
"My apologies. It seems age really is catching up with me." After a long silence, Hiruzen finally worked out his thoughts and looked up to find Santō still respectfully waiting. He realized what had happened and offered an apology.
"Not at all. You've done so much for the village. Besides, you're not that old. Isn't Ōnoki of Iwagakure, who served in the same era, still leading his village?"
Santō hurried to offer praise, unwilling to accept Hiruzen's apology.
"Hahaha, anyway, I'll leave Asuma in your hands. As for Wind Release, I'll find a good teacher for him," Hiruzen said with a warm smile, steering the topic away.
A good teacher, huh...
In Sarutobi Santō's heart, the best teacher in the entire village was the man standing right in front of him—his Hokage cousin. His true purpose in coming here had been to ask Hiruzen to personally guide Asuma.
But...
Looking at Hiruzen's face lined with wrinkles, Santō sighed inwardly and said nothing more. Instead, he bowed respectfully and left the room.
Watching Santō depart, Hiruzen finally lit his pipe and turned his gaze to the photograph of the First Hokage nearby.
He knew full well what Santō had hoped for.
But as someone who had been personally taught by both the First and Second Hokage, Hiruzen had always worked to diminish the influence of clans over the village. That was why he had placed his exceptionally talented eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, into the Anbu, away from public view.
"It's time to visit an old friend."
Exhaling a puff of smoke, Hiruzen stared at Tobirama's photo, a decision settling in his heart.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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