Hiruzen Sarutobi removed his pipe from his mouth, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion as he stared down at the report in his hands.
"Several plots of land along the border villages of the Land of Fire have been found… dug up? Investigation so far hasn't revealed the cause?"
It wasn't a major matter—but it wasn't exactly minor either.
After all, it was just missing dirt. Some trees and grass had been disturbed, yes—but for the Land of Fire, that was nothing serious.
And yet… the soil's disappearance was far too mysterious. No one had any idea what was causing it. The local villagers were spooked and had escalated the issue all the way to the Daimyō's estate.
The Daimyō suspected some kind of dangerous, possibly earth-eating creature might be hiding underground—posing a threat to the villagers. He'd formally requested Konoha to send shinobi to investigate and uncover the truth behind…
The mystery of the disappearing soil.
Given that, Konoha couldn't afford to ignore the matter.
And to be honest…
"An earth-eating creature? What kind of beast would even do that? A summon animal, maybe?"
Even as the Hokage, Hiruzen was a bit curious himself.
He nodded, scribbled the character "Read" (阅) on the corner of the scroll, and set it aside.
"Kakashi's been resting long enough. Time he got back to work."
The 4WD Grand Prix… both the civilian and children's divisions had been won by competitors from the Land of Fire. A big win that earned the country some pride—it was worth celebrating.
The only disappointment was the ninja division. And based on the report Kakashi had submitted…
Well. Best not to bring that up again.
"As for Jiraiya and Tsunade… Suna's changed quite a bit. Who would've guessed the Fourth Kazekage was that capable? Hahaha…"
Hiruzen chuckled softly and shook his head.
No matter how much Suna changed, he wasn't worried. The Land of Wind's environment inherently limited its growth. There was no way the village would suddenly thrive just because of some toy cars.
But what did worry him…
Since returning to the village, Danzo had been acting… differently.
Naruto and the Uchiha clan had gained significant support from the public thanks to their performance at the tournament. Especially Shisui Uchiha—who had stayed behind to hold off enemies, demonstrating a spirit of noble self-sacrifice and embodying the Will of Fire. Add to that the Uchiha's natural good looks, and he'd unexpectedly gathered a fanbase—easing the long-standing tension between the clan and the village.
And yet, the one man who had always been the most suspicious of the Uchiha—his old comrade, Danzo—had taken no action at all. He'd been strangely quiet since returning.
Hiruzen furrowed his brow, puzzled. He took another puff from his pipe.
"That's… not like him at all."
Just then, a masked ANBU operative suddenly appeared before his desk.
"You're back? Have you found out what Danzo's been up to lately?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," the ANBU replied with a nod, though he hesitated for a moment before speaking. "According to our investigation… Danzo-sama has been… buying up land."
Silence blanketed the office.
A long pause.
"…Wait. What did you just say?"
"Buying up land?" Hiruzen blinked in disbelief, tapping his ear as if he'd misheard.
This… wasn't the Danzo he knew.
"Danzo-sama, we've acquired almost all the available farmland in the nearby areas. The plots vacated by the Uchiha have mostly been bought through the subordinates we assigned."
After the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha had been pushed into a remote corner of the village. Their former lands had been reclaimed by the Hokage's office, either sold off or gifted to replenish resources lost during the war and internal unrest.
"The remaining plots have already been picked up by several clans. They're not looking to sell. Should I—"
"No need," Danzo said coldly, casting a side glance at the subordinate and shaking his head. "What we have is enough. As for the rest—if anyone's willing to sell, make it known we're interested. And another thing…"
He paused, furrowing his brow briefly before returning to his usual emotionless tone.
"Get the personnel arranged. We'll begin construction soon. Keep sourcing food from Suna as before."
"Understood!"
Danzo gave a slight nod. After the subordinate left, he continued forward, flanked by his remaining Root operatives.
Eventually, they arrived at a slightly run-down building.
Danzo's lips curled faintly.
"…The orphanage."
...
Nono (Yakushi Nono)—more commonly known as "Mother"—was the head of the orphanage.
Despite its worn-down appearance, she truly loved this place—and every single child inside.
She had once been a war orphan herself. She knew firsthand the sadness, the loneliness, and the yearning these children carried in their hearts.
What they needed most… was love.
After the Nine-Tails incident, and the war that followed, she'd reluctantly resumed her work for Root—agreeing to go undercover in foreign nations as a spy—all to earn enough funding from Konoha's higher-ups to keep the orphanage afloat.
But even then… something strange had happened.
She'd obtained crucial intelligence—information that could have given Konoha a decisive edge in its war against Iwagakure.
And yet, instead of using it, the village signed a peace treaty with them—rendering all her sacrifices irrelevant.
When she received the news that Konoha and Iwagakure had formed a new alliance, she realized…
She was a loose end.
She knew too much. And for the sake of this newfound alliance… she would have to disappear.
That man—Danzo—would never let her live.
But… oddly enough…
Nothing happened.
The war ended. She returned to the village. She resumed her position as the orphanage director.
And the promised funding?
It actually came through.
Even now, she still couldn't quite believe any of it was real.
Of course…
Konoha had been tight on money lately. The funds they'd received didn't last long—they'd run out before the new year.
She had filed for more, but the higher-ups had remained silent. No reply, no response.
Nono could already guess what that meant…
The village had no money left to spare—not for a bunch of war orphans who'd fled from foreign lands.
Still, she didn't give up.
To make sure the kids had food, and still believed the world could be kind, she regularly went out to take missions or offered her healing skills to earn extra money.
It wasn't much—but it was enough to keep the place running.
At one point, she'd even considered going to Suna for that so-called "4WD Grand Prix." A hundred million prize… who wouldn't be tempted?
But she couldn't risk it.
Too many mouths to feed. Too many young lives depending on her.
One mistake, and…
She couldn't bear to imagine it.
She sighed and shook her head.
"I'll have to take another mission soon. And it's almost winter—we're short on blankets again."
Then she smiled softly.
"If I can get the kids some new clothes, that would be perfect."
Just then—
Knock knock~
A gentle knock came from the door.
"Director! That nice grandpa is here again!"
Came a young, innocent voice from the entrance.