"Hiruzen, you still haven't said how we're supposed to use this…" Danzo Shimura blurted, impatience practically dripping off him.
It felt like listening to one of those old storytellers. The kind who hooks you right at the good part, then calmly takes a sip of tea and refuses to continue.
It was torture.
"You're always this impatient," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, amused.
He tapped a few documents on the table. "Look through these."
"You two Konoha Commissioners need to get used to being involved in village affairs. This isn't a title you wear for show. You participate. You think. You contribute."
They were diplomatic statements from the other major hidden villages.
The wording was almost identical across the board.
All of them condemned Hidden Cloud Village's "provocation," and every line came with a generous dose of praise for Hiruzen. Not out of respect, of course. They just wanted Konoha and Hidden Cloud Village to hate each other even more.
Hizashi picked one up naturally.
Tenzo Hyuga read too, but the uneasy feeling in his chest wouldn't go away.
The Hokage's soft-and-hard rhythm had already made one thing painfully clear.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't only know how to talk about the Will of Fire.
If he wasn't playing the darker games, it might just be because he didn't want to, not because he couldn't.
"I don't know much about the Kaguya Clan," Hiruzen said, skimming the pages. "I've only heard they used to be mentioned alongside the Uchiha Clan as a 'battle clan'?"
He looked up. "From these reports, they seem… eager for a fight."
Tenzo steadied himself before answering. "Hokage-sama, they're not throwing out smoke. That's just how they are."
"It's like fighting and killing are carved into their bones. Not everyone, maybe, but the temperament runs deep."
"As for being mentioned alongside the Uchiha Clan…" Tenzo had to admit Danzo's earlier attitude fit perfectly here.
Stop riding coattails.
The Kaguya Clan could fight, sure, but did their history produce someone like Madara Uchiha?
"They're more extreme," Tenzo said carefully. "Their overall strength is balanced, but true standouts are rarer."
"If that's the case, I think I understand," Hiruzen said, thoughtful.
A rough way to put it was: an Uchiha-like clan, but Kirigakure's version. More disliked, with less legitimacy to stand on.
Madara and Hashirama Senju had ended an era together. They'd captured the tailed beasts together. Whatever else you said about Madara later, those were founding shares no one could deny.
And during the First Shinobi World War, the Uchiha Clan had paid plenty in blood.
There were too many old knots tangled between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha to ever explain cleanly. Dig into the past and you hit "founding" again and again, and the relationship between Hashirama and Madara was so absurd it sounded like something out of a pulp novel.
That was why things were always so delicate.
"Then we add fuel," Hiruzen said at last.
"The Kaguya Clan clearly can't be talked down, and there's no need to try."
"The Third Mizukage wants the legal justification to push the Blood Mist Village. Fine. We'll give it to him, and let him tear himself up wrestling with Kirigakure's Kekkei Genkai clans."
"And we'll poke him, too. Make that fire in his chest burn hotter."
He turned his head slightly. "Danzo. Write this down. After Koharu and Homura polish the wording, we'll release it publicly to the shinobi world."
Danzo Shimura immediately grabbed paper and brush.
Hiruzen spoke evenly, almost casually, like he was dictating a simple notice.
"Thank the other hidden villages for their support. Emphasize how much Konoha values peace, and our firm stance of retaliating against provocation."
"Regarding the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki incident, Konoha has reason to believe it is the Third Raikage's faction conducting a bottomless military competition within their own village, attempting to imitate the Ginkaku and Kinkaku case of consuming tailed beast flesh."
"Point out that Hidden Cloud Village's provocation stems from 'illegitimate succession.' That they are trying to incite war to cover up the fact that the Third Raikage was once entangled with the Ginkaku and Kinkaku faction, and rose to power after an attack on the Second Raikage."
"Instead of focusing on their own people's lives, they treat their shinobi as tools. When something goes wrong, they shamelessly dump the blame onto other nations. A cancer on the shinobi world."
"Because Hidden Cloud Village exists as a threat, Konoha encourages the other hidden villages to make moderate preparations for war. We also hope each village will inherit the will of the previous Kage, govern properly, and not attempt to redirect internal conflicts through war."
Danzo's brush flew across the page.
Tenzo's eyes lit up.
On the surface, every sentence was aimed at Hidden Cloud Village.
But the blade was really aimed straight into Kirigakure's ribs.
"Illegitimate succession," huh?
Even if the Third Raikage didn't really fit that label, when it came to a war of words, you said what worked. And Hidden Cloud Village did have shinobi who'd died because of the Eight-Tails. Suspicion wasn't hard to stir.
Conspiracy didn't need a perfect chain of logic. It just needed a good entry point.
The real problem was that the Third Mizukage very much did have a legitimacy issue.
The old Mizukage forces tied to the Hozuki Clan were stubborn as stone.
Gengetsu Hozuki hadn't been a "good" Mizukage in the proper sense, but he had traits Kirigakure loved: strong, eager to fight, loud and fearless. He'd had an army of supporters.
How the current Third Mizukage had reclaimed the seat after losing it, nobody could say for sure.
But once you slapped "illegitimate succession" on him and kept repeating it, Kirigakure's internal opposition would move on its own. And it would only push the already-fraying Third Mizukage closer to the edge.
And at the same time, Hiruzen's statement about "war preparations" handed the Third Mizukage exactly the outside pressure he wanted, making the Blood Mist Village feel even more "necessary."
Danzo let out a low, pleased chuckle. "So the Third Mizukage should 'inherit Gengetsu Hozuki's will,' huh?"
Even he couldn't help imagining the Third Mizukage's face when he read that. The expression would be a mess.
And it wasn't just mockery. It was another knife placed neatly in the hands of Kirigakure's opposition.
"Tenzo," Hiruzen said, tone light, "earlier, I said you'd made some small mistakes. You didn't argue, which means you did."
Tenzo's throat tightened.
Hiruzen lifted a hand, stopping him before he could rush out an explanation. "The past is wiped clean. But don't do it again."
"Keep communication open with the Kaguya Clan. Dig into the reactions of Kirigakure's other Kekkei Genkai clans. And if the Third Mizukage drives them into a corner…"
He smiled faintly.
"Then it isn't impossible for us to provide humanitarian aid, guided by the Will of Fire."
His gaze sharpened just a little. "This is an important task. Do it well, and I'll personally give you credit."
Tenzo's heart jumped, then settled.
He understood immediately.
Kekkei Genkai clans… who wouldn't want them?
Hidden Cloud Village raided everywhere for exactly that reason, trying to stack more bloodlines into their village.
If the Third Mizukage's purge could force out a group of Kirigakure shinobi who genuinely wanted to escape, who were willing to accept the Will of Fire, then that would be a huge gain for Konoha.
"Hokage-sama," Tenzo said, voice firm, "from now on, all correspondence will be opened and archived jointly with Hizashi."
"I'll give everything I have to carry out your orders for the village."
If Hiruzen was giving him something this important, then it meant the old matters were over. They were moving forward together.
But at that moment, Danzo suddenly felt something was… off.
He shot Hiruzen a long, loaded look and cleared his throat.
This whole "illegitimate succession" angle… didn't it kind of brush against Hiruzen too, if you really wanted to stretch it?
Sure, Hiruzen was unshakable now, but still. Wasn't this inviting trouble?
"What is it, Danzo?" Hiruzen asked, turning to meet his eyes.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Old friends. Old grudges. Old understanding.
Then Hiruzen's mouth curved.
He pulled out the necklace resting against his chest. "Mito Uzumaki gave this to me. What do you think? Hashirama-sama gave it to her back then. I was lucky enough to receive her protection… and her favor."
Danzo froze.
Then he forced out the driest words of his life. "Looks good. Really… looks good."
Wait. When did that happen?
Hiruzen had earned that level of recognition from Mito-sama?
A Hiruzen who'd made peace with Mito Uzumaki, who had her openly backing him… who in the world was going to say he didn't belong where he stood?
Go argue with the dowager herself.
Danzo sank into a brief, wordless sulk.
But the next second, he straightened again, suddenly fired up.
He needed to find an excuse to visit the old lady too.
If nothing else, he could help in the fields, carry water, do some chores. Build a little closeness.
Anything was better than being left behind.
A few days later, at the Ninja Academy.
Kakashi sat with an oddly calm look in his eyes, holding a swordsmanship notebook his father had left him, reading it with serious focus.
Asuma, Shisui, and a few others who were fairly close to him couldn't help drifting over, curiosity tugging at them.
Where was the genius little cool guy who always looked annoyed at everything?
Wasn't he supposed to graduate early?
He'd been acting like he was already saying goodbye, like he was ready to leave…