Heavy cane taps echoed down the Hokage Building corridor.
With a stormy face, Danzō planted each step hard, as if to vent his anger into the marble floor.
He had rehearsed countless ways to flay Sarutobi Hiruzen's indecision.
Just as he reached for the office door, a roar punched through the wood.
"What is going on with Kushina? Old man, do you sit in here all day peeping at the women's bath?"
Danzō's hand paused. He recognized Tsunade's voice and was taken aback.
As the First Hokage's granddaughter and Hiruzen's student, she was special. Loud she could be, but shouting at Hiruzen like this was new.
He pushed the door open to find Tsunade thumping the desk, papers rattling.
Hiruzen sat with his pipe forgotten, wearing a helpless look.
"She is a child. Is it wrong to look after her? Or can you not even manage the Academy teachers? She is being bullied there, and an Uchiha has to stand up for her. Ridiculous."
Catching Danzō in the doorway only deepened Hiruzen's headache, but he answered Tsunade first.
"Scuffles between children are normal. It is hard for the teachers to step in."
"Fine. I will explain it to Grandma Mito. You can explain it to her afterward."
Tsunade's patience snapped. She shot Danzō a glance, then strode out.
Danzō narrowed his eye at her retreating back, then came to the desk and struck the cane down.
"Hiruzen, we cannot delay. That Uchiha brat is not seven and has already defeated Uchiha Fugaku, a jonin."
Hiruzen relit his pipe, exhaled a dense cloud, and watched Danzō perform.
When Hiruzen did not bite, Danzō slammed the desk.
"I sent men to bring him for a talk today. All three chunin are missing. Do you know what that means?"
Hiruzen's eyes turned grave.
"Why did you contact him through Root without my leave? You know the border situation. War could flare any time. Do you want to provoke the Uchiha now?"
"I know. That is why we must keep the inside stable. And it was an Uchiha who attacked allied shinobi."
Danzō's voice rose, refusing to yield.
"Enough."
Hiruzen's shout cut him off.
"I allowed Root for the village, not as a tool for your ambition, and not so you could ignore my orders."
He drew a long breath, then spoke with flat resolve.
"I have decided. After Uchiha Jin graduates, he will serve under Orochimaru for a time. The Uchiha should already have the news."
Danzō stared, incredulous.
"Have you forgotten the Second's teachings, Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
"I remember them better than you. Do not forget, Kagami was Uchiha. I am doing exactly what Lord Tobirama did."
Hiruzen blew smoke and answered without flinching.
Danzō realized Hiruzen had planned this all along.
With war looming, it would court the Uchiha and fold Jin into the Hokage's line as a disciple's disciple.
Kushina clearly liked Jin. With that tie, Hiruzen could even nudge them together, win the future Nine Tails' favor, and tether Jin.
All benefits for Hiruzen. None for Shimura Danzō.
Worse, Hiruzen might punish him over today's stunt to placate the Uchiha.
Danzō's face sank.
"For now, you will not leave the village. Root mobilizations require my approval."
Hiruzen's voice broke his thoughts. "Reflect on your actions."
Danzō understood at once. It was house arrest in all but name, with his authority over Root suspended.
His grip whitened on the cane. His single eye burned.
At last he only snorted, turned, and left. The cane taps faded, and the office held only Hiruzen's heavy sigh.
...
Outside, Danzō could not choke back his rage and drove a fist into a stone wall.
Cracks spidered across the rock.
"So I am the scapegoat," he ground out. "In your dreams."
He refused to be the sacrifice offered to woo the Uchiha.
Root was his force, raised under the Anbu Training Division's cover. Hiruzen could not match his control.
One line would not strip him of command.
He resolved to send most elites to the borders at once. It would preserve strength and use readiness as a shield against censure.
When war came, he would regain full authority under the banner of Root's deployment.
He hurried toward the base, never noticing the shadow behind him.
In it, a pair of scarlet eyes bored into his back.
As Danzō turned the corner, the black shade warped with his movement, a vague human outline flickering.
A moment later it melted into the building's darkness and vanished.