Konoha.
Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in a wide wooden chair, a long-smoking pipe clenched between his teeth, calmly flipping through documents with full focus.
There was a thick, unmistakable curiosity sitting behind his gaze.
He hadn't even been reading for long when the office doorknob twisted violently. A perfunctory knock landed almost at the same time, and a man with his head wrapped in bandages and a cane in hand strode in.
Recently, Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen seriously ill, bedridden with a high fever for several days, leaving a pile of work untouched…
Lazy. Too lazy.
He needed to give this Hokage a proper wake-up call.
Danzo, out of habit, was just about to bark out "Hiruzen," triggering the smooth little combo he'd been using for years.
But then Hiruzen looked up.
His eyes held a strange, amused edge.
Danzo's heart tightened, and he stopped where he stood without thinking.
What was this?
Hiruzen, freshly recovered from his illness, looked… younger. His posture was straighter, his frame more upright than before.
Was it his imagination?
"I was wondering who it was."
Unhurried, Hiruzen tapped the bowl of his pipe against the edge of the desk. He paused, then said, "So it's the Hokage…"
He deliberately stressed the last two words.
"…assistant."
Danzo's face darkened.
In that brief pause, his thoughts had actually wavered.
Because Hiruzen never called him "Hokage assistant."
So was there a possibility, a very small possibility, but still one that could exist?
The monkey finally realized I'm the one most fit to be Hokage, and today he's going to hand the position over to me.
But the moment that emphasized "assistant" landed, Danzo understood immediately.
Hiruzen was expressing dissatisfaction.
"Hiruzen…"
Danzo frowned. His fingers tightened unconsciously, wrinkling the file pouch in his hand. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you've been doing well lately." Hiruzen's smile looked almost approving. "The Foundation keeps expanding. Per-person funding and equipment standards have already surpassed Anbu…"
"You've added trench coats to their uniforms, given them masks that look even more vicious than Anbu's, and in that organization, you're law."
"The Foundation in Konoha has the Shimura name, doesn't it?"
Danzo's thoughts spun at high speed.
Something was off…
By all logic, he was secretly carrying out Wood Style experiments that had already been banned. Hiruzen shouldn't be picking a fight with him right now.
At the very least, Hiruzen would wait until he noticed and confirmed Danzo had achieved results. Then the Hokage would step in, try to take the fruit born in the dark, and hand Danzo a punishment that was neither too big nor too small.
In that process, even if Danzo's personal authority expanded beyond the boundaries of an "assistant," it was the price Hiruzen paid for the darkness to do its work.
That had been their unspoken understanding for years.
And now Hiruzen wanted to tear that contract up?
Wasn't he afraid Danzo would stop the Wood Style project entirely?
If Hiruzen tried to do it himself, as someone standing in the light, would he dare take the blame?
"Hiruzen, I'm doing this for Konoha!"
Danzo raised his voice. "The Foundation operates in the dark. We face the cruelest environments and the harshest missions. Of course we need massive manpower and supplies!"
"You're the Hokage. You should be thinking about the village's future and the shinobi war that's bound to come again, not nitpicking the Foundation over some trivial issue. This is meaningless infighting!"
Hearing that, Hiruzen slowly stood, pipe in hand, and strolled right up to Danzo.
He gave him a scornful little smile and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke straight into his face.
The sharp smoke made Danzo's fists clench immediately.
That was humiliating.
Even if Hiruzen was the Hokage of Konoha, he couldn't treat his assistant like this…
But what Hiruzen said next froze the so-called darkness of the shinobi world in place.
"You think I'm criticizing you?"
Hiruzen shook his head and patted his old friend's shoulder hard. "I'm reminding you that you've taken the wrong road."
Danzo's brow tightened. "What road have I taken wrong?"
Hiruzen made a rough, dismissive wave.
"From the Five Great Nations down to the tiniest no-name shinobi tribes, who doesn't know you want to be Hokage?"
"But like this, how are you supposed to become Hokage?"
"You're always walking in the dark. As the head of a special department, you have privileges that ordinary shinobi fear."
"But the further you go down this path, the farther you get from the Hokage's seat."
"For example, why do you think Lord Tobirama made the Uchiha Clan take sole responsibility for the Military Police Force?"
Danzo's expression turned… complicated.
How could he not understand?
It was just that standing in the light, for Konoha's power players, had always been a privilege that belonged to Hiruzen alone.
There couldn't be two suns in the sky.
So Danzo could only tighten his grip on the darkness.
Because power in the dark was still power, and no matter what, he was still the Hokage's assistant, second only to one and above ten thousand.
"Of course I know!"
Danzo's voice came out hoarse. "What are you trying to say, Hiruzen! I'm willing to shoulder the darkness for the village! A shinobi must have the will to sacrifice!"
"Let me ask you something." Hiruzen smiled suddenly. "Do you want to be Hokage? I'm only asking you this once, Danzo."
In the past, Danzo had always believed no one understood Hiruzen Sarutobi better than he did.
But today, he couldn't read the Hokage at all.
Of course I want it. How could I not? I want it day and night. I want it every day. I want it in my dreams. I want that damned Hokage seat so badly I could choke on it.
But faced with a Hiruzen he couldn't predict, the words stuck in his throat.
Somewhere deep in his mind, the scene from years ago surfaced: Lord Tobirama asking who would stay behind.
He hadn't dared raise his hand then…
Was he going to be too afraid to even say he wanted to be Hokage now?
Danzo inhaled, steadying himself, and forced out a single stiff word:
"Yes."
"Mhm. That's an improvement." Hiruzen nodded with an easy smile.
That tone left a sour taste in Danzo's mouth.
You think you understand me? You don't understand a thing. What is that tone? Who do you think you are, my superior?
But even as he grumbled inside, he listened with both ears.
"If you want it, I can help you, but that doesn't mean I'll name you as successor."
"I'm making that part clear."
Hiruzen returned to his seat and took a sip of hot tea. "In the past, I've provided official cover for certain things the Foundation has done."
Danzo's breathing grew heavier without him noticing, confusion rising fast.
Danzo couldn't wait for Hiruzen to continue, but Hiruzen only sipped his tea, unhurried. Then he glanced at Danzo and lifted his chin slightly.
The message was obvious.
I've shown you my sincerity.
Now it's your turn.
Danzo's mind raced.
Should he bring up the Wood Style test subject?
That was a precious Wood Style shinobi.
But Hiruzen's relaxed posture made it impossible to tell what he really knew.
"Under Orochimaru's request, I cooperated with him on some Wood Style experiments."
Danzo chose his words carefully. "I paid a price, but the results are extremely promising. We've produced a subject who survived the intensity of Lord Hashirama's cells."
"That's what I came to report today."
It was a lie.
He'd come here to chew Hiruzen out.
Hiruzen motioned for Danzo to sit and poured him a cup of tea himself.
He looked completely indifferent to Wood Style.
Danzo's brows furrowed. That was Wood Style.
He couldn't help calculating.
Was Hiruzen pretending not to care to drive down the price of Danzo's confession, waiting to bargain? Or had he known all along?
The tea was clear and cool on his tongue, but with all the tangled thoughts weighing him down, it tasted like nothing.
Hiruzen, as if the Wood Style experiments hadn't mattered at all, smiled and asked, "That's it?"
"A few days ago, I asked the Aburame Clan for a talented shinobi."
Danzo's tone sharpened with irritation. "Hiruzen, does that even count as an issue? If I don't go to those arrogant clans for people, how is the Foundation supposed to have combat strength? How do we establish the authority of the Hokage's faction?"
Hiruzen laughed. "There you go again, getting worked up. The two of us are old brothers. It's been a long time since we sat down and actually talked. I'm asking about your work and your life."
"These years haven't been easy for you."
Danzo sneered internally. This monkey's playing the warm-and-fuzzy card now?
But the dead stiffness in his face eased a fraction anyway.
"Sometimes I see you building up armed forces inside the Foundation, trying your best to hide it from me…"
Hiruzen's tone shifted sharply. "I'm not angry. I just… feel for you."
"You know you're not in the normal line of succession. So you build private troops. Maybe you're thinking that if I die one day, you can try your luck with an armed takeover."
"And your research into Lord Hashirama's cells, aside from the village, you want that power for yourself too, don't you?"
"Strength is authority. That part isn't wrong. But in Konoha, if you treat those two as completely identical… you're straying from what Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama raised us to be."
The air grew heavy.
When a Hokage points out that a subordinate is harboring thoughts of armed seizure of power, it's the harshest accusation possible.
And for Danzo…
Hiruzen seemed to know him a little too well.
They drank their tea in silence for a long time.
"I never thought that." Danzo finally spoke, slow and rough. "Hiruzen, say what you want to do."
"After all… you're the Hokage."
But what he didn't expect was this.
No scolding.
A promise.
"Danzo, I swear to you on the honor of being Lord Tobirama's disciple. From now on, I'll regard you as one of the official candidates for Hokage."
The weight of those words was immense.
So immense that Danzo blurted out, urgent, "Hiruzen, do you mean that?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and pointed back at the portrait of Tobirama Senju on the wall.
Heat flared in Danzo's chest in an instant.
"Now that you're choosing the right road, you need to operate in the sunlight, Danzo…"
Hiruzen sipped his tea again. "Keep a few capable hands in the Foundation. Hand the rest over to me so I can reorganize them under unified command."
"Don't worry. I'll prepare an appropriate position for you."
So this was the main event.
Danzo calculated rapidly.
He didn't believe Hiruzen was suddenly benevolent enough to pull him onto the right road and still let him keep a sizeable force.
And the offer was, frankly, fair.
If Hiruzen wanted to be cruel…
What could Danzo, with his so-called assistant title and what remained of the Foundation, really do?
Just the Third Hokage alone…
Danzo hated to admit it, but the monkey could fight.
Hiruzen's three students, Sakumo Hatake, and the major clans gathered under the name of Hokage…
Even the Uchiha Clan, if ordered to suppress Danzo, would throw themselves into it for that damned monkey.
As long as Hiruzen lived, pressing Danzo down would be effortless.
"Hiruzen, about the Foundation, I think maybe…" Danzo drew in a breath, trying to bargain.
Hiruzen lifted one finger, signaling him to be quiet. "Danzo, you need to think from the Hokage's standpoint. If you were Hokage, how would you handle the Foundation?"
Danzo fell silent.
In today's Konoha, the Hokage's authority was still far from absolute.
But for Danzo, someone whose position existed only by Konoha's legitimacy, it was a chokehold.
And Hiruzen had used Lord Tobirama's honor as guarantee.
He'd dragged the question of competing for Hokage into the open and promised a fair contest.
That was enough weight.
"I understand."
Danzo set a scroll on the desk. "I'll also give you a full account of some of Orochimaru's matters, Hiruzen…"
"I'll handle the Foundation."
"But what you promised me…"
He glanced at Hiruzen, long and hard, then turned and strode out.
Two steps outside the office, Danzo paused at the open doorway.
Something stirred in him.
Reluctant as he was, he still turned back and closed the door.
In the past…
He wouldn't have closed the door for the monkey.
Slamming it would've been the best he offered.
But now was different. Some measure of respect for the old man was due…
Face sour, Danzo turned and pulled the door shut.
Hiruzen watched it close with a smile, eyebrows lifting slightly.
Clearly, he wasn't the original Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had once been a man named Kazuki, a longtime veteran of government work who had climbed fast, only to be trapped by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
He could only pursue treatment, and in his downtime, read historical trivia to ease his mind.
A few days ago, he had no idea what the algorithm was doing, but it pushed him a video that used the Hokage as a metaphor for history.
The content was muddled and half-wrong, yet it still made someone who'd never watched Naruto smile. He watched several in a row before drifting off into a foggy sleep.
When Kazuki woke up…
He found himself in this shinobi world, having become the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This body wasn't young, but it held power far beyond anything he'd understood before.
And besides.
Even if he only knew scattered fragments about this world's future, uncertain and incomplete…
He had a trump card.
With a thought, a page of red-headed white paper surfaced in his mind, its black text solemn and sharp.
[Authority], [Diplomacy], [Economy], [Education], [Military].
Five indicators, lined up in front of him.
And after the conversation he'd just had with Danzo Shimura, a faint gold tint quietly spread along the bottom of the word "Authority."
Like a progress bar.