Hokage's Office.
"No. This child cannot join Root. Not Leo, and certainly not Minato Namikaze either, Danzo."
Standing by the window of the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was grave, his expression firm and resolute.
Beside him, Danzo—his trademark spiky hair bristling—looked defiant as ever. Others might fear the Hokage's authority, but he did not.
Both men had been students of the Second Hokage and had inherited his ideals.
Hiruzen was gentle and compassionate; Danzo was cold and ruthless.
Light and shadow—two halves of the same whole.
"Leo's just a kid from another village," Danzo said coolly. "Wouldn't it be better for him to join Root? Root needs children like him, Hiruzen. Don't you understand that?"
He was determined to have Leo. The boy would become his blade—his weapon—striking wherever Danzo commanded.
That was the fate of a shinobi!
"Danzo, don't think I don't know what you're plotting. You want to use Leo against the Uchiha. You'd destroy his path as a shinobi for your schemes. That boy has the potential for a much brighter future. The ninja world is about to fall into chaos, and Konoha needs gifted shinobi like him."
"So what? If a child from another village must be sacrificed, so be it. What's the harm in that? If not Leo, then Minato Namikaze—you must choose one," Danzo said, leaving no room for argument.
"No. I will not agree to this, Danzo. You needn't say more. Remember—I am Hokage."
Hiruzen's tone hardened, his voice carrying the full weight of his authority.
Danzo's hands clenched, his body trembling with fury.
He looked bitter and unwilling. That position—the Hokage's seat—should have been his. Yet it had been the will of the Second Hokage, and Danzo could not defy it.
All he could do was sink into the shadows, rooting himself in Konoha's dark underbelly, doing the deeds that could never see the light of day—hated, but necessary.
"Hiruzen," Danzo snarled, "you'll regret this. Forget Minato for now—Leo is dangerous. Don't you see it? He killed Uchiha Shiro with a calmness that would chill your bones. Do you really think you can control someone like that? If you don't act now, you won't be able to later."
The public knew nothing of Uchiha Shiro's death, but both the ANBU and Root had witnessed it from start to finish.
Danzo had sensed it already—this boy was dangerous, frighteningly talented. That was why he was so desperate to claim him.
"You're wrong, Danzo," Hiruzen said quietly. "Do you know why Konoha has endured this long? Because of the bonds between shinobi."
"Hmph. How laughable."
Danzo gave a cold snort, turned on his heel, and stormed out.
Watching his old friend's back grow smaller and smaller, Hiruzen sighed deeply.
Then he said to the empty room, "You can come out now."
With a puff of white smoke, a man in a jonin's flak vest appeared in the middle of the Hokage's Office.
His features were sharp, his presence radiating a quiet edge. What stood out most was his short white hair—a striking sight among Konoha's elite shinobi.
"Sakumo," Hiruzen said, returning to his seat, "what do you think about this matter?"
It was none other than Sakumo Hatake, current head of the Hatake clan—and father of the future "Copy Ninja" Kakashi Hatake.
A master of the blade, renowned throughout the nations as The White Fang of Konoha.
So feared was his name that enemy ninja would abandon missions rather than face him.
Sakumo bowed respectfully. "Lord Danzo is… too extreme. I believe the boy should join the ANBU instead. The ANBU are a place for shinobi to grow. Compared to Root, it would be much better for him."
"That's what I was thinking as well," Hiruzen nodded. "Sakumo, you're the ANBU captain. Leo is talented—if he trains under you, I'll have no worries. If we hand him to Danzo, we'll lose a promising seedling."
"Understood, Hokage-sama. Leave this matter to me," Sakumo replied.
"Very well. But before that," Hiruzen said, eyes glinting with curiosity, "I'd like to see the boy for myself."
He had decided—to pay Leo a secret visit.
At the border of the Land of Fire.
A squad of Konoha shinobi moved silently through the forest, masking their presence with great care.
Among them was Okamoto, Leo's academy instructor—though, regrettably, he had not lived to see Leo win the Chunin Exam's combat tournament.
Perched on a thick tree branch, Okamoto blended into the shadows of the great trunk. Beside him crouched another shinobi.
"Okamoto, we must be careful on this mission. We're infiltrating the Land of Rain—avoid confrontation with other villages if possible," the man whispered.
His name was Fushigen, an ANBU operative skilled in tracking and reconnaissance.
"I understand," Okamoto said with a weary smile.
They were only chunin. In the grand wars between villages, they were barely worth mentioning.
Though the Great Ninja War had not yet begun, tension hung in the air like a storm waiting to break.
If they were ambushed, the weaker ones might escape—but if they ran into elite forces, they were as good as dead.
Such was the fate of shinobi—to walk toward death with eyes open, bound by duty to carry out every mission.
As their squad rested, Okamoto gazed back toward Konoha, lost in thought.
Not far away, a small wooden puppet shaped like a lizard burrowed silently into the ground.
Konoha Village – The Rear Mountains.
The wind rustled through the forest, setting the leaves to whisper.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A rhythmic pounding echoed through the trees.
Leo stood before a massive wooden training post, fists slamming into it again and again.
The surface of the post was wrapped in thick iron plating—two to three centimeters thick—and the metal was deeply dented from countless blows.
Faint traces of blood marked the dent.
Though Leo's fists were wrapped in bandages, they were long since soaked with blood, sweat mingling with crimson.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of punches.
His eyes burned with unwavering resolve, his spirit forged by sheer will.
Even though he possessed the Three Haki and a Devil Fruit's power, Leo had never slacked on his training.
It was now the second day after the Chunin Exam's tournament.
He was putting himself through hellish training—both to grow stronger and to reflect on his battle with Minato Namikaze.
"Hm?"
Leo's brow furrowed. His Observation Haki detected someone nearby.
He stopped and turned sharply—only to see a short, gray-robed old man standing behind him.
That short old man could only be—the Third Hokage himself!
Leo froze, stunned. He hadn't even sensed Hiruzen Sarutobi's presence until the man was right behind him.
So this was the power of a Kage-level shinobi!
Forcing down his surprise, he bowed respectfully.
"Lord Third!"
"Haha, child, there's no need to be so tense," Hiruzen said with a warm smile.
But when his eyes fell upon the iron post—at the deep dents and the faint blood stains—his pupils contracted sharply.
He was astonished.
Now he understood—why this child's strength was so terrifying at such a young age.
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