Hokage Office
Bang.
The office doors swung open.
Shimura Danzō stepped inside.
He was not leaning on a cane. His arm bore no bandages. He stood upright, composed, his presence heavy and deliberate.
His aura alone reminded anyone in the room why he stood at the level of a Kage.
"Give him to me."
No roar. No theatrics.
Just certainty.
Hiruzen did not look surprised.
He slowly lifted his gaze from the stack of documents before him. The crystal ball beside his desk shimmered faintly.
Within it—
Ken moved through the Forest of Death like a storm.
Hiruzen exhaled softly.
"…I'm not sure who you're referring to."
Danzō's eye narrowed.
"Do not insult me."
Without waiting for permission, he took a seat.
"That boy," he continued evenly, "has fire in him."
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
"Under your guidance, that fire will be smothered."
His gaze sharpened.
"Under mine, it will burn our enemies."
Hiruzen drew slowly from his pipe. Smoke coiled upward in lazy spirals.
He had not expected this to happen so soon.
Minato had mentioned it.
But Hiruzen had not taken it seriously.
A child who clawed his way up from nothing would naturally fight harder than most.
Yet now—
Watching through the crystal ball—
He saw something else.
Even Minato's warmth cannot temper him, Hiruzen thought.
"He is heavy-handed," Hiruzen admitted. "But he is not lost."
"Not yet," Danzō replied.
Silence stretched between them.
"The coming war will not be won by children who hesitate," Danzō continued calmly. "He will kill for Konoha."
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened.
"So you intend to make him a weapon."
Danzō did not flinch.
"All shinobi are weapons."
The air grew still.
Hiruzen tapped ash from his pipe.
"A weapon that burns too hot," he said quietly, "eventually consumes its wielder."
Danzō's eye gleamed faintly.
"Or it purifies weakness."
Their gazes locked.
Old comrades.
Old rivals.
Still on the same side.
For now.
After a long pause, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"If you wish to take him," he said calmly, "ask him."
Danzō's expression did not change.
But the faintest curve touched the corner of his mouth.
That was not a refusal.
He rose without another word and walked out.
The door closed softly behind him.
Hiruzen watched it for a long moment.
Then he turned back to the crystal ball.
Ken stood in the forest.
Blood traced slowly down his chin.
Three bodies lay at his feet.
And he was smiling.
Hiruzen exhaled.
"…Fire must be guided," he murmured.
"Not unleashed."
Later That Evening
The Forest of Death was behind him.
The results had been confirmed.
He passed.
More than that.
He dominated.
And yet—
Ken walked through the quiet streets of Konoha with a faint crease between his brows.
He wasn't satisfied.
For three days, he had fought relentlessly.
Hunted.
Crushed.
Endured.
But Kakashi?
Kakashi had done what he always did.
Collected enough tokens.
Then gone straight to the center tower.
Efficient.
Clean.
Clinical.
Ken exhaled.
"…Tch."
He had wanted that fight.
Not for rank.
Not for promotion.
Just to measure himself properly.
To see where he stood.
Instead—
Nothing.
The opportunity slipped past him.
By the time he entered the residential district, dusk had settled over the village. Lanterns flickered to life along the streets.
For a brief moment—
It felt peaceful.
Then—
A presence.
Sudden.
Directly ahead.
A masked shinobi stood in the middle of the street.
No animal motif decorated the porcelain mask.
No insignia marked allegiance.
Just smooth white.
Empty.
Ken stepped back instinctively.
Stone crawled over his forearm.
The shinobi did not react.
Did not blink.
There was no killing intent.
No hostility.
No emotion at all in those dead eyes.
"Lord Danzō wishes to meet you." He said in flat tone.
Ken's pupils constricted.
Danzō?
Root?
His thoughts accelerated.
Why?
Did he cause trouble?
He replayed the exam in an instant.
No deaths.
Then what?
Was it his performance?
The instant casts?
Did he stand out too much?
Wasn't he firmly in the Hokage's camp? What happened?
Even now, Ken assumed it was talent that had drawn attention.
He did not consider that what truly caught Danzō's eye was something else.
The brutality.
The lack of hesitation.
The way he smiled while bleeding.
To Ken, they were not children playing ninja.
They were shinobi preparing for war.
As long as no one died—
Everything was within bounds.
He forced his expression into calm neutrality.
The Earth Skin receded.
"…Lead the way."
The ANBU turned without another word.
Ken followed silently.
After all—
Refusing a fanatic like Danzō was never wise