Deep within Konoha's darkest shadow lay a windowless underground chamber.
Shimura Danzō leaned on his cane, listening in silence as a Root shinobi knelt on one knee and delivered his report.
"...Aburame Ryūma's mission failed. He's been captured alive."
"The Tongue Curse Eradication Seal has been exposed."
With every sentence, it felt as if the temperature in the room dropped another degree.
Danzō said nothing. He simply turned and stared at the enormous mural on the wall—depicting the First Hokage ending the era of chaos.
After a long pause, he gave a cold snort—like a rusted blade scraping metal.
"Useless."
His cane struck the floor with a heavy thud.
"Relay my order. Root is to enter total silence immediately. Cut off all contact with external personnel and await further instructions."
"Yes!"
The Root shinobi vanished into the darkness in a blur.
The chamber was left with Danzō alone.
He raised his unbandaged hand and lightly touched the empty socket of his right eye.
Sakuya Chigen… Hiruzen Sarutobi… Minato Namikaze…
Names passed through his mind one by one—until his hand stopped at the face of Hashirama Senju on the mural.
"Hiruzen… you think you can protect him like this?"
"For Konoha… any unstable factor must be removed."
---
The Training Ground Three was a wreck.
Hiruzen's face had darkened to the point it seemed ready to drip.
He didn't look at anyone. He simply issued a cold order to the ANBU beside him.
"Take Aburame Ryūma to Interrogation. Keep him under strict guard. Without my explicit command, no one is to see him."
"Yes!"
Two ANBU hoisted the unconscious Ryūma and disappeared at once.
Hiruzen's gaze swept the field and finally landed on Sakuya Chigen, complicated emotions flickering in his eyes.
His lips parted, as if he meant to say something—but in the end, it became only a sigh. He turned and left with the assembled jōnin.
A day that should've been a celebration of rising geniuses ended instead with an assassination attempt so blatant it nearly tore the village's mask clean off.
The villagers and shinobi gradually dispersed too. But the way they looked at Chigen had changed—no longer disdain or curiosity, but awe… sympathy… and a faint, hard-to-name fear.
Soon, only Minato Namikaze, Hatake Kakashi, and Sakuya Chigen remained—standing at the center of the crater, his clothes shredded, looking like he'd crawled out of a burn pit.
"Chigen-kun."
Minato walked over and offered him a bottle of water.
Chigen took it, twisted off the cap, and drank deeply, finally pushing down the smoke-and-ash dryness in his throat.
"Your secret jutsu… is remarkable."
Minato looked at him with sincere admiration in his blue eyes.
"Trading chakra—burning it—to gain speed and strength beyond your limits… I've never seen such an elegant concept."
Chigen wiped soot from the corner of his mouth, acting as if it meant nothing.
"My chakra's too small. Had no choice but to gamble with a dirty trick."
Half truth, half lie.
That was how his Asura Mode worked—compressing and consuming chakra for explosive output—but his chakra reserves were no longer what they used to be.
"But still… thank you, Jōnin Minato."
For once, Chigen's tone turned serious.
"If you hadn't stepped in, I might've really died out here."
Minato smiled—sunlight breaking through the lingering gloom.
"Protecting comrades of the village is my duty. And besides…" He tilted his head slightly, eyes glinting.
"I suspect that even if I hadn't intervened, you had a way out, didn't you?"
He pointed toward where Chigen had appeared as "Danzō."
"That Transformation Jutsu fooled everyone."
Chigen's eyelid twitched. He didn't bite on that.
"Either way, the exam's basically over," Minato said, then invited them with a lighter tone.
"How about we grab some barbecue? Kakashi too. Consider it a celebration—for the two of you… well… 'passing' today."
He hesitated for a moment, and in the end could only settle on the word "passing."
Nearby, Kakashi gave a silent nod.
Chigen, however, shook his head without even thinking.
"No. I've got something to deal with at home. I need to get back."
Yeah—because there's a terrifyingly strong, blackout-drunk legend still in my house, he thought. And I have no idea what she'll do when she really wakes up.
If he didn't hurry back now, she might tear the place down before he arrived.
With that, he waved at Minato and Kakashi and limped toward home—his exhausted silhouette inexplicably lonely.
Minato watched his retreating back, thoughtful.
Kakashi stepped beside him, glanced at his still-throbbing shoulder, then looked after Chigen in silence.
---
Not far away, within a patch of trees, Shizune hugged Tonton tight—one hand clamped firmly over the pig's mouth.
"Mmph! Mmph—!"
Tonton struggled wildly, little hooves pointing insistently in the direction Chigen had gone, snuffling and squealing in urgent little bursts.
Shizune's face cycled between red and pale.
She understood perfectly.
Tonton was saying: Lady Tsunade's scent! It's that man! He's covered in Lady Tsunade's scent!
Shizune stared at Chigen's dwindling figure, grit her teeth… and made a decision.
She loosened her hold on Tonton and pointed after him, whispering.
"Tonton… follow him."
---
At the Hokage's Office...
Hiruzen kicked the door open and slammed the Hokage hat onto the desk hard enough to rattle everything.
"DANZŌ!!!"
The roar made the windows hum.
His chest heaved, his anger so intense it seemed almost physical.
"What is he doing?! Trying to murder a Konoha shinobi in front of the entire village!"
"Where does he put the Hokage's authority? Where does he put the village's laws?!"
The office was empty—yet he shouted as if an unseen enemy stood before him.
He strode behind the desk and yanked open a drawer, pulling out a scroll stamped TOP SECRET.
It was an order for the dismissal and punishment of Root's highest commander.
If he signed it, he could, with full legitimacy, dismantle the dark empire Danzō had built beneath Konoha.
He picked up the brush—
but his wrist trembled.
Just as the tip was about to touch the paper…
A voice drifted from the shadows—raspy, magnetic, carrying a lazy amusement.
"Sensei… getting this angry will shorten your lifespan."
Hiruzen froze. Then snapped his head up.
Orochimaru.
He wore a plain, pale kimono. His golden, serpent-like eyes gleamed strangely in the dim light.
At some point—without a sound—he had already entered the office.
"What are you doing here?" Hiruzen's voice turned cold.
"Checking on you."
Orochimaru stepped out of the darkness, a faint smile playing at his lips.
"And also… to advise you not to do anything foolish."
His gaze slid to the scroll on the desk.
"Elder Danzō certainly went too far this time. But moving against him now… is not a wise choice."
"He's gone mad!" Hiruzen snapped. "For power, there's nothing he won't do!"
"Precisely why you cannot touch him."
Orochimaru's voice was calm to the point of chilling.
"The four great nations are aligning. A major war could ignite at any moment. Right now, Konoha needs stability more than anything."
"Purging Root would only tear the village into internal conflict—and hand our enemies an opening."
Hiruzen fell silent. The hand gripping the brush tightened until veins stood out.
Orochimaru walked up beside him, reached out with pale fingers, and gently removed the brush from Hiruzen's hand, setting it back in its stand.
"Sensei… anger doesn't solve problems."
He paused. A sharp glint flashed in those golden eyes, and his voice lowered further.
"Instead of chasing a conspiracy that has already failed… you should move quickly to confirm the Fourth Hokage."
"War won't wait for us to finish settling family matters."