Standing obediently, Roy picked up a broom placed in the corner of the wall and began sweeping up the crumbs from the low table.
Seeing this, Shizune gently said to the young man, "Let me do it."
While speaking, without waiting for Itachi to respond, Shizune took the broom from the young man's hand and began cleaning... Sunlight streamed through the window, casting spots of light on the ground, disappearing and reappearing as Shizune swept the floor... just like Roy, moving through the light, appearing and disappearing, crossing nearly half of the Konoha Business District in no time,
with one more step,
Roy emerged from the light,
slowly appearing in front of the large desk of Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Hokage's office.
"You've come...."
"I've come...."
"You shouldn't have come...."
"But, I'm already here..." Roy slowly landed his feet on the polished wooden floor, glancing around... In the Hokage's office, besides Sarutobi Hiruzen, an old man was sitting on a sofa against the south wall, holding a cane, with half his arm and face wrapped tightly in bandages....
As soon as the young man's body, surrounded by a solar aura, appeared....
all of a sudden, a sharp, piercing gaze fell fiercely on Roy!
Roy spread his hands, glanced at the one-eyed old man, and turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen saying, "Looks like I've come at the wrong time."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, glaring at Roy with annoyance, then said to the one-eyed old man, "Danzo, you may leave."
"Space-time ninjutsu? How could I not know that the Uchiha clan can produce another Minato Namikaze?" Danzo's gaze fell entirely on Roy, ignoring Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, speaking to himself... Coldness and sarcasm were evident in his tone, making Sarutobi Hiruzen frown and show a trace of displeasure on his face.
He was about to speak when suddenly... Roy slowly turned to face Danzo, smiling and said, "If you're blind, isn't it normal that you wouldn't notice?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen promptly stopped talking, leaned the back of his chair comfortably, opened the teacup in front of him, and leisurely began drinking tea, unsurprisingly hearing a cold snort!
Danzo's half of his face immediately darkened, and he heavily thumped his cane on the floor, producing a "dong~" sound!
The remaining uncovered left eye looked at Roy like a venomous snake and said coldly, "Sharp-tongued brat, do you know who you're talking to?"
"Oh~ It's Lord Danzo!" Roy pretended to be surprised, as if seeing Danzo for the first time, and apologized, "Sorry, I thought it was a stray dog barking by the roadside and didn't notice Lord Danzo, woof woof~ woof woof~"
"Pfft~" Sarutobi Hiruzen nearly choked on the tea he was drinking, almost suffocating, coughing awkwardly, waved his hand at the suddenly watching Roy and Danzo saying, "Cough cough~ don't mind me, I'll just look at the battle report...."
Danzo: "...."
A visible vein appeared on his temple, quickly concealed... The "Hokage's shadow" who violated the Uchiha corpse looked dangerously at Roy, recalling what Orochimaru told him before fleeing... he forcibly suppressed the anger surging from his chest and pretended not to hear Roy's covert insult, merely saying, "Why have you come?"
Roy looked at Danzo like looking at an idiot and pointed at the Hokage's office door saying, "The door is right there, why can you come but I can't?"
"This is the Hokage's office, not a ninja academy classroom! Students are not allowed to enter without permission!"
"Sorry, Lord Danzo, with special permission from the Hokage, I've already graduated early. I'm no longer a student; I'm a... ninja!"
"Kid," Danzo abruptly raised his voice: "Even ninjas must have permission, especially... you who aren't even a genin...."
"True," Roy nodded in agreement, casually turning to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Hokage, may I come in?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen pretended to read the open battle report in front of him, hearing Roy's voice encrypted with "Nen" gently transmitting into his mind saying, "Hokage, you don't want the village's only 'Mokuton' ninja to die on the battlefield, do you?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyebrow fiercely twitched, helplessly raised his head, softly said to Danzo, "I asked him to come."
"Hiruzen... you!" Danzo looked shocked....
Sarutobi Hiruzen timely waved his hand, "Alright, you can leave now."
"The matters on the front line require convening a Jonin meeting for detailed discussion, it cannot be hastily decided... let's wait for Jiraiya's letter." Danzo rubbed his cane, half his face covered with bandages, hiding his expression, his remaining face coldly squinting, a chilling gaze glancing between Roy and Sarutobi Hiruzen,
his butt seemingly glued to the sofa, stubbornly refusing to move.
Sarutobi Hiruzen noticed, raised an eyebrow, and spoke with a stern tone, "Aren't you leaving?"
Danzo coldly snorted, "As an advisor, I have the right to overhear."
"You do," Sarutobi Hiruzen casually picked up the Hokage hat placed on the corner of the desk and wore it, expressionless, saying, "But, you're mistaken about one thing."
With the hat on, Sarutobi Hiruzen's demeanor abruptly changed, authoritative, looking at Danzo saying, "I'm not negotiating with you,"
"It's an order!"
"And I—"
"am the Hokage!"
"Boom!" An invisible pressure suddenly descended on Danzo!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's stern face instantly merged with the Hokage statue sitting outside on Hokage Rock,
causing Danzo's mouth to twitch uncontrollably,
stood up with the cane,
forced by Hokage's authority... unable to sit still, snorted coldly, slammed the door and left!
"Humph!"
"You'll regret this!"
A cold, sinister snort drifted through the tightly closed doorway....
Sarutobi Hiruzen gently sighed, removed the Hokage hat, took out an old pipe from the drawer, lit it, took a deep puff, and then exhaled a smoke ring, casting a reluctant glance at Roy saying, "Great, it's been years since anyone dared threaten me like this, you're the first!"
Roy watched Danzo leave, glanced twice at his arm wrapped in layers of bandages, turned smiling, found a chair, sat down....
Smiling, "I also am the first one in years brave enough to spy so openly, you're the first old man!"
Old man... Sarutobi Hiruzen's eye twitched, almost coughing due to the smoke inhaled into his lungs, explained forcedly while coughing, "That's not spying, it's just concern for the younger generation!"
"If it were anyone else, you'd see me notice or not!"
"Ungrateful brat...."
"Really?" Roy expressionlessly stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen,
his gaze clear and bright as the sun, instantly made Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes sting, recalling the embarrassing withdrawal of his "Telescope Technique" caught red-handed by Roy.....
"Tick-tock... tick-tock...." time continued passing.....
The large Hokage's office, after Danzo slammed the door, fell into a long silence for the first time.....
Sarutobi Hiruzen squinted, across the desk, staring at Roy... for a while, seeing the young man persistently holding on this point, sighed helplessly, conceding saying, "You win, I won't spy anymore...."
Roy relaxed visibly, leaned back in his chair, facing Sarutobi Hiruzen, extended his right hand: "Compensation... for mental distress...."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened, "What compensation do you want?!"
"The Sealing Book," Roy squinted saying, "I want to see the Sealing Book!"