Ito Hirofumi didn't say much more, only repeating what he had just told the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The classmates in the room had completely lost interest in the lesson. After all, they'd just witnessed something way too exciting!
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Building…
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, clouds of smoke swirling around, obscuring his expression.
Across from him sat Danzo Shimura.
"Hiruzen, what do you make of today's events?!" Danzo asked.
"What do I make of it? I saw it with my own eyes, obviously!" Hiruzen replied.
Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Hiruzen, you know what I mean!"
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at that. "No, I don't know what you mean!"
Gripping his cane tightly, Danzo spoke again. "Hiruzen… hand over Ito Hirofumi to me! I'll train him to become an exceptional ninja! He'll be a pillar of strength for the Hidden Leaf!"
"Danzo, aren't you reaching a bit too far? Your Root organization doesn't exactly lack for ninja. Every year, you take in droves of talented shinobi. You don't really need Ito Hirofumi, do you?"
"Hiruzen! Everything I do is for the Hidden Leaf!!!" Danzo barked.
Hiruzen took another deep drag from his pipe…
Everything for the Hidden Leaf, huh?
Heh…
"Hiruzen! Why aren't you saying anything?!" Danzo pressed.
"Danzo, there's no need to bring this up again. Ito Hirofumi will not be handed over to you. I've already sent word to Jiraiya to return to the village and take him under his wing."
Danzo's brow furrowed tightly. It was clear Hiruzen was dead set on keeping Ito for himself!
"Hiruzen! Don't you think you're being a bit greedy?! First Sasuke Uchiha, then the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and now Ito Hirofumi? It's always the same!"
Danzo's single eye narrowed as he stared at Hiruzen, who sat there wearing the Hokage's hat.
"Danzo!!!" Hiruzen snapped, his voice sharp. "Watch your words! Greedy? I am the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! Everything I do is for the Leaf!!!"
Danzo was momentarily speechless. Wait, isn't that MY line?!
"Hiruzen!!!!"
"Danzo, enough! Ito Hirofumi will not join Root, so I suggest you drop those ideas!"
"Hiruzen!!! You'll regret this!!!"
"Danzo!!! I am the Hokage!!!"
"You!!!" Danzo was at a loss for words.
Fine, you're the big shot!
You're the noble one!
You're the high-and-mighty Hokage!
You're the flourishing tree with all its branches and leaves!
And me?
I'm just a root, hidden in the dark depths!
"Danzo, is there anything else? If not, I have work to do!" Hiruzen said coolly.
"Hmph! I understand!!!" Danzo growled.
SLAM!!!
Danzo stood, stormed out, and slammed the door behind him.
Hiruzen sat at his desk, reflecting on what Ito Hirofumi had said earlier. Truth be told, he didn't know much about the three great sage lands.
Compared to him, his three students—Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya—knew far more about them.
But Orochimaru had defected, Tsunade had left the village, heartbroken, and Jiraiya was off gallivanting like some carefree wanderer.
Sigh…
Hiruzen let out a long breath, then picked up some documents and began reviewing them.
As for Ito Hirofumi, Hiruzen wasn't worried. He didn't doubt the boy's words either. The Ito clan was fiercely loyal to the Hokage!
The previous head of the Ito clan, Ito Daiga, had been a member of Hiruzen's personal guard back in his youth. When Daiga grew old, he retired to live quietly at home.
The current clan head, Ito Aoyama, was just as loyal to the Hokage!
So, no matter how you looked at it, Ito Hirofumi was a good kid with solid roots!
Meanwhile, at the Ninja Academy…
After school, Ito Hirofumi walked home alone, his mind replaying the day's events.
He hadn't expected today's incident to draw the attention of not only the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but also Danzo Shimura!
The Third Hokage wasn't so bad. In the original story, he was a polarizing figure. In his youth, he was hailed as a hero of the ninja world.
But as he aged… sigh…
He was weak against external threats but ruthless with internal affairs.
He let his buddy Danzo run wild in the village!
Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, ended up taking his own life.
His weak diplomacy led to the death of Hyuga Hizashi.
All three of his students either left or betrayed the village.
And then there was the way he handled Naruto Uzumaki—letting the whole village know Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, which made people despise him, only to swoop in and play the kind grandpa to win Naruto's favor.
Saying he kept Naruto's identity a secret to "protect" him…
Protect, my ass! Even random villagers knew Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki! What difference did it make whether it was "public" or not?!
Still…
The Third Hokage would never move against Ito.
If anything, he'd try to win him over.
Like today at the academy—Hiruzen's words heavily implied he wanted Jiraiya to take Ito as a student.
So, Ito didn't have to worry about the old man pulling any shady tricks.
But Danzo, that scheming old fox!
That guy was the type to do anything to get what he wanted. From what happened today, it was clear Danzo had already set his sights on Ito!
Just then, Ito felt a stir in his summoning space…
"Kid!!!"
Uchiha Madara's voice rang out, his tone sour.
Ito kept walking toward his clan's residence, but within his body, he gathered chakra in his summoning space and came face-to-face with Madara, who was currently inside it.
Ever since acquiring Indra's Chakra, Ito hadn't noticed any obvious boost in his strength, but he did feel like he could manipulate chakra more naturally.
The speed at which he could draw out chakra was on a whole other level!
Even his body seemed to be undergoing some subtle, incomprehensible changes…
But that was a good thing.
After all, his body was steadily getting stronger!
Ito could sense that clearly.