Outside the window, the sky was clear. Inside the Hokage's office, white smoke drifted like a scene from a fairy tale.
"Phew..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had just finished processing the day's documents. His face weary, he took a drag from his pipe and exhaled, but the smoke couldn't dispel the worry etched on his brow.
Too much had happened recently. The rollercoaster of emotions had almost exhausted him.
Initially, the good news from the Land of the Moon battlefield had filled him with joy. Hyuga Kawa, with his exquisite tactics and Lightning Release ninjutsu, had annihilated thousands of elite Cloud ninja on the Land of the Moon battlefield in one fell swoop.
Even Cloud Village's Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii, and the battlefield commander, Samui, had become captives. What glorious results!
Then, at his suggestion, Jiraiya proposed to Cloud Village exchanging the captives for a ceasefire, making peace seem within reach, which finally allowed Hiruzen Sarutobi's taut nerves to relax.
However, at the Memorial Stone, upon hearing the urgent report from the Anbu ninja at the border, learning that Hidden Sand Village had used a Tailed Beast to attack the Land of Fire's border, his heart leaped to his throat.
What happened next confirmed his unease.
Cloud Village's reaction was chillingly fast. One moment they were verbally sparring with Jiraiya at the negotiating table, the next they received news of Hidden Sand's attack on the Land of Fire.
The Fourth Raikage immediately overturned the table, decisively overriding all objections, swiftly responding to Hidden Sand's offensive, and once again dispatching troops to sandwich them.
This led to Jiraiya's main forces, who hadn't yet managed to withdraw from the Land of the Moon, instantly falling into a difficult encirclement.
Konoha's war situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
"Fortunately, Kawa managed to boost morale at that time, otherwise, panic would surely have set in again, and mobilizing reinforcements would have been another difficult task."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gently rubbed his temples, feeling both vexed and fortunate.
It was precisely thanks to the fervent fighting spirit Hyuga Kawa had ignited that he was able to issue orders at the fastest speed. Countless elites were urgently dispatched to the border to meet Hidden Sand, barely managing to tie down Hidden Sand's forces on the Land of Rain battlefield, preventing them from further harassing Jiraiya's main force, which had retreated to the Land of Hot Water.
The current war situation primarily involved confronting Cloud Village in the Land of Hot Water and Hidden Sand in the Land of Rain. The battle had reverted to a fierce, tangled stalemate, with Hidden Stone still lurking ominously.
"Cough! Cough cough! But why hasn't Hanzo made a move yet?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed, choked by his smoke, then sighed with resignation, "It's a pity to waste such a favorable situation that Kawa and the others worked so hard to achieve."
He hadn't expected Hidden Sand Village to dare directly attack the Land of Fire through the Land of Rain. And so far, Hanzo of Hidden Rain Village had shown no action whatsoever.
With Konoha facing Hidden Sand and Cloud Village alone, the continuously reported casualty figures from the front lines now weighed heavily on his heart.
However, thinking of that exceptionally outstanding, even perfect young man, a hint of warmth couldn't help but surface on his troubled face.
Whether it was dominating the Jōnin meeting, achieving brilliant results on the Land of the Moon battlefield, or boosting morale and fighting spirit as a "hero" after learning that Hidden Sand had breached the border defenses...
Not just once or twice, Hyuga Kawa had done exceptionally well.
As long as Konoha's spirit hadn't broken, the war still had a chance.
All of this made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a sense of pride, believing that he alone possessed the foresight to discover Hyuga Kawa.
"It's a shame. Such a young man, one who discards clan prejudices and possesses the Will of Fire, why must he be from the Branch House?" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed with regret.
During this time, he had more than once entertained the idea of training Kawa as his successor.
But each time, he would remember that Hyuga Kawa was from the Hyuga clan's Branch House, and thus, Kawa's life was ultimately held in the Hyuga clan's hands.
He could not allow the Hokage to become the private property of any ninja clan, so naturally, he could not allow Kawa to succeed him as Hokage.
Unless the Hyuga clan's Main House died out...
A thought flashed through his mind, and Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head with a hint of resignation.
How could such a thing be possible?
Thump, thump...
A knock on the door broke his scattered thoughts.
But before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even speak, the person outside pushed the door open and entered.
Undoubtedly, only one person in all of Konoha dared to barge directly into the Hokage's office.
"Danzo, Koharu?"
Looking up at the two, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"What, can't we just come to see you without anything being wrong?"
Koharu Utatane retorted testily, gracefully settling into a chair by the window.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained noncommittal, bringing the mouthpiece of his pipe to his lips. The tobacco in the tip glowed with fire, and a few wisps of white smoke rose with each puff and were carried out the window by the wind.
"Cough, cough, Hiruzen, aren't you smoking too much lately?"
Koharu Utatane coughed, choked by the smoke, and waved away the drifting fumes, reminding him, "I know you're under a lot of pressure right now, but you should still pay a little attention to your health, shouldn't you?"
"I heard you've been staying here this whole time, not even going home. You even missed Konohamaru's first birthday."
Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored her reminder, raising his eyes to look at Danzo standing before him, and directly asked, "Alright, just tell me, what is it?"
If Koharu Utatane had come alone, it might have been out of concern.
But Danzo, that fellow, never acted without self-interest; he always only showed up when there was something to gain. How could he just be here to visit him?
"Hiruzen, are you aware that the Uchiha clan has been holding clan meetings at the Naka Shrine more and more frequently recently?" Danzo Shimura also spoke directly.
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively frowned.
To be honest, he wasn't really clear about anything concerning the Uchiha clan. Recently, external affairs had already been bothering him greatly, naturally causing him to neglect internal Konoha matters.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't show it, his expression remaining normal, his tone calm as he said, "I know. So, what do you want to say?"
"According to my understanding, dissatisfaction with Konoha within the Uchiha clan is growing stronger, and complaints are becoming more frequent."
Danzo Shimura said in a deep voice, "Hiruzen, don't you understand what this means?"
"..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi, of course, knew what it meant.
Ever since the Nine-Tails Attack incident, the rift between the Uchiha clan and the village had grown wider and wider.
On one hand, it was because during the Nine-Tails Attack, the Konoha higher-ups issued directives for the Police Force to strengthen village security tasks. This led the Uchiha clan to believe that the higher-ups suspected them of releasing the Nine-Tails.
On the other hand, after the Nine-Tails Attack, a meeting was called for Konoha's major ninja clans to re-arrange the village's districts, moving the Police Force to the outskirts of the village.
Furthermore, there was the ongoing conflict between the Anbu and the Police Force that had yet to be resolved...
It could even be said that, if not for the outbreak of war, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village would have been the most headache-inducing problem for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This problem had never been truly resolved; it had only been temporarily overlooked by him.
And now, the Uchiha clan's problem was once again laid bare before him.