"What?!"
Aburame Torigen's expression twisted in disbelief. For a moment, he wondered if he'd misheard entirely.
Did Senju Haruto just say he was going to take over the Root division?
And this was right after he had personally killed Lord Danzō — in front of every Root operative present!
Impossible to understand. Even harder to accept.
But Haruto didn't care what Aburame Torigen thought. He wasn't a master of politics — before he found himself in this world, he had been just an ordinary man. Even now, with power at his command, he was still just an ordinary person who happened to have strength.
The difference was… he possessed a degree of omniscience.
He knew without asking that the Uchiha clan was preparing for a coup. He knew Uchiha Fugaku was torn between loyalty to his clan and loyalty to the village. He knew Danzō wanted to wipe them out completely.
So Haruto simply needed to base his plans on those facts.
Even now, every word leaving his mouth was both a lie and the truth.
He had killed Danzō because Danzō had relentlessly targeted him — even planning to use Kotoamatsukami to control his mind.
But the coup was real. And Danzō's plan was also real.
Haruto was certain Danzō had gathered so many Root operatives for one purpose — to exterminate the Uchiha, take their Sharingan, and then use that power to deal with him.
Truth and lies, reality and illusion — so mixed together that even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't spot a flaw.
Even if Hiruzen went back and confronted Uchiha Itachi directly, Haruto wasn't worried.
From the moment Itachi agreed to work with him to eliminate Danzō, Itachi had placed himself on Haruto's side — and believed Haruto had a method to resolve the Uchiha–village conflict.
Whether Itachi liked him or not didn't matter. What mattered was that Itachi needed him.
And when someone needed Haruto, they would bear the burden alongside him.
Just as the saying went: light and shadow cannot exist without each other.
In Hashirama's era, he was the light; Tobirama was the shadow.
In Hiruzen's era, Hiruzen was the light; Danzō was the shadow.
During Tsunade's time, she was the light; Jiraiya was the shadow.
Even Naruto and Sasuke embodied the same relationship.
Someone always had to do the dirty work the light could not touch. In this era, Haruto would be the light — and Uchiha Itachi would be the shadow.
"Torigen."
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally shook himself from his shock. This was a blow, yes — but he was still the Hokage of the village.
And he had already promised the Raikage that they would meet in the Land of Iron for peace talks.
Even with Danzō dead, he couldn't abandon the summit and rush back to the village now.
"Return to Konoha and inform Koharu and Homura. Tell them I already know about this, and until I get back, they are not to take any action."
Hiruzen paused, then turned to Haruto.
"Since you've dealt with Danzō… then the Uchiha clan should also—"
"Itachi is handling it," Haruto said without hesitation.
It was, in fact, what he had instructed Itachi to do — and Itachi had agreed.
Torigen shot Haruto a glare, still unhappy, but with a direct order from the Third Hokage, he had no choice.
"That's enough. This matter ends here," Hiruzen said firmly, straightening up to cut off any further complaints. Torigen was dismissed to deliver the message to Koharu and Homura.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
With a sharp breath, Aburame Torigen obeyed, turning to leave.
Only after Torigen's presence faded did Hiruzen fix Haruto with a long, meaningful look.
"This was all part of your plan, wasn't it?"
"Hm?" Haruto tilted his head, feigning innocence.
"You didn't need to go this far," Hiruzen continued. "Even if Danzō had lived, I was already planning to dissolve Root when the opportunity arose and—"
He stopped himself and shook his head. "Never mind. It doesn't matter now. Danzō is dead. That's reality, and I have to face it, whether I like it or not. But… I didn't expect you to claim Root for yourself."
"If Danzō had lived, even disbanding Root would've been useless," Haruto replied evenly. "You know better than I do that with his methods, even if Root operatives were folded into the Hokage's own ANBU, they'd still obey him."
Haruto's voice hardened. "And besides… he crossed the line."
"Crossed the line?" Hiruzen's brows drew together, as if realizing something.
"He not only implanted Lord Hashirama's cells into his body, he also grafted multiple Sharingan into his right arm. And the right eye he kept hidden under those bandages… was Shisui's Kotoamatsukami."
The color drained from Hiruzen's face.
The mention of Shisui's eye clearly hit a nerve.
If Haruto remembered correctly, when Shisui had approached Hiruzen offering to use Kotoamatsukami to stop the coup, Danzō hadn't even been present.
Yet the moment Shisui left Hiruzen's presence, he was ambushed by Danzō.
So… who had leaked that information?
Perhaps Kotoamatsukami could have prevented the coup — but such a power would make anyone wary.
"And Shisui's eye?" Hiruzen asked gravely.
"Destroyed. Danzō used the Reverse Four Symbols Seal as he died. Neither the Sharingan nor Hashirama's cells remained," Haruto said flatly.
Hiruzen's expression grew complicated.
But whatever his feelings, Danzō was gone. As Hokage, Hiruzen could not act based on sentiment.
Still… putting Haruto in charge of Root would effectively bring him into the village's upper echelons.
Haruto was a Senju, with power rivaling legends — and his decisiveness reminded Hiruzen of Tobirama.
The strength of Hashirama combined with the methods of Tobirama…
If Haruto was allowed to grow unchecked…
Hiruzen studied him carefully. Haruto had one advantage no one else did — unrelated to strength or cunning.
He was young. Just thirteen. Decades ahead before he would reach Hiruzen's age. Even physically, he hadn't reached his peak.
He was worth grooming. Worth entrusting with responsibility.
With Danzō dead, disbanding Root was no longer urgent.
"Senju Haruto," Hiruzen said at last, his tone loosening, "until I find someone more suitable, you will serve as commander of Root."
This wasn't a decision made on impulse — it was a test.
Of course, it was only Root. Hiruzen had no intention of making him a Hokage adviser or giving him a seat at high-level council meetings.
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Haruto answered with a faint smile.
And just like that, all of Danzō's subordinates had become his chess pieces. The ANBU under Hiruzen… that would come in time.
"All right. Let's keep moving — we still have to reach the Land of Iron," Haruto said aloud, though inwardly, his thoughts were already drifting toward the rewards awaiting him.
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