Kotetsu and Izumo arrived at Konoha before dawn, weary but swift.
Within the hour, their report was on Tsunade's desk.
The contents made her temples throb.
"Kusagakure, too?" she muttered, rubbing her brow. "What kind of mess are they planning this time, old man?"
Across from her, Hiruzen exhaled a long stream of pipe smoke. The faint glow of embers flickered against his lined face as he gave a quiet order.
"Summon Danzō."
An Anbu emerged soundlessly from the corner, bowed, and vanished.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. The name alone brought back the lingering irritation she'd been carrying for months.
After all, it hadn't been long since she'd confronted the Third about Danzō's secret contact with Itachi—something that had even drawn open criticism from Koharu and Homura, both of whom rarely opposed Hiruzen's decisions.
At that time, Fugaku had already begun cooperating with Konoha's leadership. There had been no need for Danzō to interfere.
The outcome had been clear: Root's authority was temporarily curtailed, and much of their jurisdiction absorbed by the Anbu under the Hokage's direct command.
Even so, Danzō was a man who always found a way to slither back into relevance.
Moments later, slow, deliberate footsteps approached. The office door creaked open.
Danzō entered with his usual measured gait, leaning lightly on his cane. His single visible eye swept the room, pausing briefly when he saw Tsunade.
"Hiruzen," he began, then stopped. Her presence changed the tone entirely.
The Third Hokage slid a thin report across the desk toward him.
"Read this first."
Danzō's expression didn't flicker. He picked up the document, scanned it quickly, then again, slower. His gaze sharpened slightly before he set it down.
"Root intercepted something similar some time ago," Danzō said calmly. "Rumors that Kusagakure possesses a ninja tool—one allegedly dating back to the era of the Sage of Six Paths."
Tsunade's tone turned cold. "And why wasn't this reported to the Hokage's office?"
Her glare was sharp enough to make most men falter.
"Kusa borders the Land of Fire. Every unusual movement there is our concern."
But Danzō remained unmoved, his voice as smooth and clipped as ever.
"It was nothing but unverified legend. Had it held any real worth, Kusagakure wouldn't still be groveling between the Great Nations, scraping for survival."
He paused, his single eye flicking toward her.
"And as for reporting structure—Hiruzen and I have long had our division of responsibilities. You are not Hokage yet, Tsunade."
The sound of Tsunade's knuckles tightening was loud in the silence. Her chakra stirred faintly, cracking the wood beneath her fingertips before she exhaled and forced herself to relax.
"Then tell me, Danzō," she said, voice low. "What kind of 'ninja tool' is it?"
Danzō finally turned back to Hiruzen. "It's called the Box of Paradise. A relic said to grant the wish of whoever opens it. Of course—merely a rumor."
Hiruzen's eyes closed, the smoke from his pipe curling lazily toward the ceiling. When he finally spoke, his tone was thoughtful, almost weary.
"Does Root still have operatives in Kusagakure?"
"No." Danzō's answer came instantly. "Manpower is limited. Root's focus should remain on critical threats, not chasing old fairy tales."
In truth, he'd once placed agents there—but after deeming the "Box" a useless myth, he'd withdrawn them.
Hiruzen nodded slightly, but the lines on his face deepened. The timing was poor.
The upcoming Chūnin Exams weren't merely an internal affair—they were a political theater, a display of Konoha's renewed strength. Sunagakure and Kumogakure had both confirmed participation; the Raikage's conditions were tough but manageable.
The world's eyes would soon be on Konoha.
Starting a dispute with Kusagakure now—over something as vague as "suspicious movements"—would only make them appear unstable.
Kusagakure's actions—hunting missing-nin—could be painted as local law enforcement. Konoha had no grounds to intervene.
And if they overstepped, they risked driving smaller neutral nations into the arms of the other Great Villages, erasing the very buffer zones that kept Konoha's borders safe.
The Third Hokage set his pipe aside. "Deploy Root."
Danzō's single eye glimmered.
He didn't need further instruction. He understood perfectly.
Disrupt them quietly.
If Kusagakure's operations were legitimate, Root would simply "assist." If not—Root would make certain those operations never succeeded.
How Danzō chose to interpret "disrupt" was something even Hiruzen didn't bother clarifying.
After Danzō left, Tsunade's frown deepened. The air seemed heavier.
"You're letting him move again?" she asked flatly.
"There's no helping it," Hiruzen said. "The Anbu are already stretched thin. And for better or worse, Danzō understands Kusagakure better than anyone."
He took another slow puff, the smoke coiling like mist between them.
"Tsunade," he said softly, "focus on the Chūnin Exams for now. Roshi is still in the field, and his report will give us the full picture soon."
Her eyes met his, searching his calm expression for something—anything—that suggested unease. But there was none. Only that steady, infuriating calm he always carried.
Then Hiruzen looked past her, toward the window, where the morning sun struck the faces on the Hokage Rock.
"When you sit in this chair," he said quietly, "you'll understand something, Tsunade."
His voice carried the weight of decades—of wars fought, of decisions that had no clean answers.
"There is no village without its shadows. If you can't accept that darkness, then when the time comes—dismiss Root."
He turned back to her, his tone even.
"But remember—those same deeds will still need to be done. Someone must always bear the burden."
He paused.
"If no one else can, then… let Kakashi handle it for the time being."
The office fell silent. Only the faint hiss of the pipe remained, curling between two generations of Hokage—one fading, one rising—both chained, in their own ways, to the Village they refused to abandon.
The setting sun bathed Kusagakure in a dusky orange glow.
Inside a weathered wooden house at the outskirts, Uzumaki Rina sat by the window, watching as team after team of Kusa shinobi returned. Many were wounded—limping, bloodied, exhausted—yet strangely, none came to knock on her door.
It was unnatural.
Even stranger, the food delivered since yesterday had been unusually rich—fresh rice, salted fish, and rare medicinal herbs she hadn't seen in months.
This wasn't comfort. It was a warning.
Rina's unease gnawed at her chest. She'd been a "medical tool" long enough to understand that when the cage suddenly feels more comfortable, it's only because they want to keep the bird alive a little longer.
She was still lost in thought when a sharp, startled gasp escaped her daughter's lips.
Rina turned—then froze.
A man stood silently in the middle of the room.
He wore a Kusagakure forehead protector, his expression unreadable. He had appeared without a sound, as if he'd stepped out of the shadows themselves.
Her pulse quickened. When did he get in? Why didn't he knock?
He wasn't wounded. Not a messenger either—his posture was too calm.
Then why is he here…?
She didn't notice Karin's expression—how the girl's crimson eyes, wide with tension, held not fear, but something closer to recognition.
"C-could you… please step outside for a moment?" Rina asked, voice trembling. "I—I'll be ready right away."
The man tilted his head slightly. "Are you ready?"
"Yes!" she said quickly, misunderstanding. "I can go anytime—please, don't—"
Then she realized.
He wasn't looking at her. His gaze was fixed on the small red-haired girl behind her.
"You… who are you?!" Rina threw herself in front of Karin, shielding her. "Karin is still just a child! She can't even control her chakra properly yet! Please, don't—"
"Don't resist," the man said calmly, cutting her off. "It'll only make things harder."
Before Rina could scream, everything went dark. Her body slumped silently to the floor.
"Mom!" Karin gasped, frozen in horror—until the man's eyes met hers.
They were steady. Cold. But not cruel.
No hostility. No malice.
Something deep inside her—the uncanny intuition her bloodline carried—told her to stay silent.
Roshi watched her reaction, then spoke softly. "It's a waste of time trying to convince her. Keeping her conscious would only slow us down."
He stooped, effortlessly lifting Rina's unconscious form with one arm. Then he extended his free hand toward Karin.
"Come."
For a heartbeat, she hesitated. Then, gathering her courage, she reached out and gripped his finger tightly.
The world shattered.
Colors twisted, space folded, and the air itself seemed to tear apart. Karin gasped, her body weightless as the familiar walls of her home dissolved into darkness.
When the world reformed, they stood in the middle of a dim forest, the air cold and damp.
Before she could catch her breath, the spinning returned—her stomach lurched, her vision blurred, and everything warped again.
Repeated use of the Flying Thunder God pushed even Roshi's chakra control to its limits, but for Karin, the experience was unbearable.
By the time they stopped, the girl dropped to her knees and retched violently. Her face was paper white, her small hands trembling.
Roshi stood above her, unfazed. "If you can't endure it, I can knock you out," he said evenly. "It'll be easier."
Karin lifted her tear-filled eyes, breathing hard, then shook her head stubbornly. "N-no… I can do it…"
Her voice was barely audible, a fragile whisper lost in the wind.
Satisfied, Roshi gave a small nod. They were far enough from Kusagakure to pause briefly.
He set Rina down gently under a nearby tree, checking her breathing before removing the teleportation marker he had planted earlier.
He had chosen to act tonight after confirming that several high-ranking Kusa shinobi had been gravely injured in battle. From what he'd overheard earlier, Rina would have been forced to heal them soon—drained until she died.
There hadn't been time to wait.
Karin, now steadier, crawled to her mother's side and clutched her hand tightly. "Wh… where are we?" she asked softly.
"Outside Kusagakure," Roshi replied.
She looked up at him, eyes still wet. "Who are you?"
"A ninja," he said simply.
She pursed her lips, then asked the question that mattered most. "Where… where are we going now?"
"Konoha."
Karin blinked. "Konoha…?"
Before she could speak again, her vision darkened. She slumped forward onto her mother's lap, unconscious.
Her last hazy thought before everything faded was one of mild indignation—I said I could hold on… so why knock me out anyway?
Roshi glanced down at her limp form, expression unreadable. He didn't have time to wait for her to recover—the forest was no longer quiet.
The Kusagakure ninja had already noticed their disappearance.
They reacted faster than expected.
He crouched, one arm around Rina, the other lifting Karin with practiced ease.
A pulse of chakra, a flicker of light—and all three vanished into thin air.
Moments later, several Kusa shinobi landed at the empty clearing.
"There's residual chakra here!" one of them hissed. "But no bodies!"
"Search the perimeter," another ordered grimly. "Whoever did this isn't far."
They scattered into the trees, unaware that their prey had already crossed nations—gone in a single instant, leaving only the faint scent of wind behind.
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