Deep beneath Konoha, inside Root's underground chamber, a rare gathering was underway.
Danzo Shimura sat at the low table with Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Across from them was a fourth figure, masked in standard ANBU attire. Though her face was hidden, her identity was no secret to those present. She was the newly appointed ANBU Commander and the Third Hokage's daughter-in-law.
Excluding the Hokage himself, nearly all of Konoha's real power had quietly assembled here.
The chamber was dim. Danzo narrowed his single visible eye as he calmly sipped his tea. The silence lingered until Koharu spoke, her voice thin and measured.
"The village has finally stabilized."
A simple statement, yet it cut through the tension.
Homura lowered his gaze slightly. "Yes. After the war and the Nine-Tails incident, Konoha can't afford more turmoil."
Danzo let out a cold snort. "The Second Hokage's forbidden research has already been delivered to Orochimaru. With his obsession, he won't be able to resist digging into it."
Koharu and Homura frowned at his bluntness. They disliked how openly he spoke, as if forgetting they were all senior figures playing a careful game.
Before either could respond, the ANBU Commander spoke, her tone steady but firm.
"All three of you are pillars of Konoha. The village barely survived the Third War and the Nine-Tails disaster. This fragile peace cannot be broken again."
She paused briefly, then continued.
"Although the Fifth Hokage has not been announced, voices from below are beginning to stir. And if Orochimaru becomes Hokage…"
Her gaze sharpened behind the mask.
"He already has strong backing. The Uchiha. The Hyūga. The Inuzuka and other clans. Once he takes the seat, the balance of power will shift immediately. The calm we have now will not last."
The implication was obvious.
They were the established order. Orochimaru's rise would empower new factions, and those factions would inevitably carve into existing interests.
Danzo's eye darkened. He despised Hiruzen Sarutobi, but under Hiruzen's rule, Root had enjoyed far more freedom. Danzo could pressure clans, maneuver in the shadows, and expand his influence.
Under Orochimaru?
Danzo knew him too well. Orochimaru valued results and utility, not old privileges. With powerful clans behind him, Root would be restrained, perhaps even dismantled.
That was unacceptable.
"This isn't like before," Koharu said quietly. "Orochimaru isn't someone who can be controlled through reputation."
Homura nodded. "Hatake Sakumo fell because he cared too much about his name. Orochimaru doesn't."
That was the core of the problem.
They weren't afraid of Orochimaru becoming Hokage. They feared the political force behind him.
The ANBU Commander watched them carefully, then spoke again.
"The Second Hokage researched a forbidden technique after the First Hokage's death," she said calmly. "No matter who becomes Hokage, what Konoha needs most is long-term stability. Decades of it."
It was an offer.
A promise that the current structure would remain intact.
Homura and Koharu exchanged glances. At their age, ambition no longer mattered. Peace and preserved interests were far more valuable.
Both of them turned to Danzo.
Danzo's visible eye remained calm, but inwardly, he sneered.
A fine move. Using the same method as before.
This wasn't about Orochimaru's crimes. It was about pushing him down a path that would ruin him.
Danzo, unlike the other two, still wanted the Hokage's seat.
He understood the unspoken plan clearly.
Let Orochimaru sink himself.
Then, when he fell, with Jiraiya and Tsunade absent and Hiruzen unable to return yet again, the field would be wide open.
Danzo finally nodded.
"Very well," he said slowly. "The village needs stability. And the Uchiha are too dangerous to ignore."
He had added his own condition.
If a weaker Hokage took the seat in the future, that weakness could be turned against the Uchiha. Even if it led to disaster, Danzo would not lose. Victory or chaos, both benefited him.
The deal was sealed.