Hokage Tower. The Office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, eyes lowered in silence. He puffed on his pipe, exhaling thick clouds of smoke.
The air was heavy, stifling like the inside of a sealed jar.
Cough!
Utatane Koharu finally coughed, breaking the unbearable silence.
"Hiruzen, about this matter..."
Mitokado Homura exhaled a breath of relief. He glanced at the stubborn Danzō, who refused to bow his head, then looked back at Hiruzen persuasively. "This time, Danzō did go a bit too far..."
"Conducting Wood Release experiments in secret? Hiding the results and the survivor? You call that 'a bit too far'?"
Hiruzen interrupted Homura expressionlessly. "That is Wood Release. Don't tell me you don't understand what that means!"
Homura's old face reddened slightly. He looked helplessly at Danzō.
Indeed. Wood Release.
Who could have imagined Danzō had the gall to hide a Wood Release user?
If not for the investigation into Orochimaru's defection, they wouldn't have known that the legendary Kekkei Genkai had reappeared.
Danzō's control over "Root" frightened even Homura.
"Root is the root of Konoha. It is the root of the Anbu. It is my root. But now, you dare hide such crucial intelligence from me, the Hokage? Does that mean..."
Hiruzen paused, squinting at Danzō. "Has it become an independent organization for someone's personal gain?"
Hearing this, the stone-faced Danzō finally spoke. "Everything I do is for Konoha."
Hiruzen silently blew out a ring of smoke. His face was obscured by the white haze, his expression unreadable.
"Hiruzen..." Koharu tried to speak again.
"Enough." Hiruzen waved his hand irritably, cutting off their pleas for leniency.
After Teacher Tobirama died in the ambush by Kumo, Hiruzen had taken the mantle of Hokage in a time of crisis.
But being Hokage was nothing like his youthful fantasies. War and internal clan politics had shattered those dreams immediately.
The Uchiha and Hyūga clans had been insubordinate. Fortunately, Hiruzen had the "righteous cause," the support of the Sarutobi clan, and the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.
He had used a strategy of divide and conquer. With Danzō's help in the darkness, he had pitted the Uchiha and Hyūga against each other.
Only then had he secured the seat, grasping real power and placing his trusted aides in key departments.
During the era of Tobirama Senju, "Root" was merely a training division within the Anbu.
It was only when Hiruzen allowed Danzō to take control—ostensibly to handle the dirty work that the regular Anbu couldn't touch, like surveillance of the clans—that it gradually evolved into a black ops organization.
Technically, Danzō's "Root" was equivalent to a single Anbu subdivision. According to standard Anbu organization, Danzō, as a Division Commander, should only lead four squads, totaling seventeen men.
But under Hiruzen's intentional or unintentional indulgence, Root had expanded unchecked. Under Danzō's influence, its methods grew darker and more extreme, until it became what it was today...
If Root continued to grow like this, the tail would become too big to wag. It would become Danzō's private army.
It had to be restricted.
"We don't need to discuss the Wood Release user 'Kinoe' anymore. I have already assigned him to the Anbu under the name Tenzo. Now, there is another matter."
Ignoring Danzō's resentful expression, Hiruzen looked deeply at the three elders before him. "Intelligence from the border indicates that Kumogakure is mobilizing troops. They may be planning another provocation."
"What are your thoughts on this?"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura frowned simultaneously.
"Again? Disgusting," Homura muttered, his tone serious. "Regardless, we cannot act rashly."
"Homura is right," Koharu nodded. "No matter what they are planning, we just need to maintain our defenses. We cannot give them any excuse to start a war!"
Hiruzen remained noncommittal. He tapped his pipe and looked at Danzō. "What do you think?"
Danzō narrowed his gloomy eye. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a low, raspy voice. "Hit them until it hurts. Obviously."
"..."
Hiruzen said nothing. He placed the pipe in his mouth, took a deep drag, inhaled it into his lungs, held his breath, and then slowly exhaled the smoke.
Although the Third Great Ninja War was over, the Shinobi World was far from stable.
Konoha was suffering from a severe lack of high-level combat power. First, the White Fang committed suicide. Then, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki Kushina Uzumaki died in the Nine-Tails Attack.
The massive casualties from the Third War had not yet been replenished. The Nine-Tails incident had claimed even more elites. No matter how deep Konoha's foundations were, the cracks were showing.
Anyone could see Konoha's awkward position—the older generation was aging, and the new generation wasn't ready. Although Kumo and Iwa had been bruised by Konoha in the war, seeing such a rare opportunity, they were naturally restless.
They constantly probed the Fire Country's borders. Every few months, a skirmish would break out, and the casualty list would grow.
Konoha's passive, "soft" stance only fueled Kumo and Iwa's arrogance.
Fortunately, the anti-war sentiment in the Earth and Lightning countries was still strong among the populace. Their leaders didn't dare to declare total war without a justifiable cause.
They just needed a reason.
A "legitimate" reason to incite the Daimyō, the nobles, and the commoners to war.
Hiruzen endured the provocations again and again because he refused to give them that reason.
He didn't dare to gamble.
Konoha couldn't afford to gamble anymore.
"Phew."
Hiruzen blew out a cloud of smoke, looking down at the intelligence report. His aging face was obscured by the haze.
"Iwagakure, Kumogakure..." After a moment, Hiruzen sighed. "Endure it for now. Deploy a batch of shinobi to the border to guard against Kumo."
Danzō frowned, instinctively retorting, "Doing this will only make those bastards more arrogant!"
Hiruzen glanced at him and said calmly, "In that case, transfer a batch of men from 'my' Root to reinforce the border."
"What?" Danzō froze.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "Is there a problem?"
If there was a problem, then perhaps Danzō shouldn't be the leader of Root anymore.
Realizing the threat, Danzō's expression shifted. He snorted coldly, turned away, and said with resentment, "Hmph. What problem could I have? It's your Root, after all."
He grabbed the doorknob, then paused. "Hiruzen. Remember your choice today. You will regret this!"
"Watch your attitude, Danzō," Hiruzen tapped his pipe on the ashtray. "Remember... I am the Hokage!"
Danzō's face twitched.
"Then be your Hokage!" He gritted his teeth and slammed the door.
BANG!!
Koharu flinched at the noise.
Homura sighed, thinking that Hiruzen still had Danzō under control. Hopefully, after this lesson, Danzō would settle down.
"By the way, Hiruzen."
Homura suddenly frowned, lowering his voice. "With the village's defenses so thin, is it really okay to let Jiraiya stay outside?"
Thinking of Jiraiya, who was ostensibly "chasing Orochimaru," Hiruzen sighed internally. "He will come back when it is time."
Homura and Koharu exchanged glances, realizing Hiruzen didn't want to discuss it further. They shook their heads helplessly and left.
Click.
The door closed. Hiruzen sat in silence, only the sound of his breathing filling the room.
After a long while, he stood up stiffly and walked to the window. His cloudy eyes were hard to see through the smoke.
Konoha after the rain was always clean. But looking at the prosperous village, Hiruzen thought of many things.
The hard-won peace. The internal and external troubles. The students who had left. Tsunade gambling away her grief. The orphan left by Minato and Kushina. And the admiring gaze of that Hyūga child...
"Hsss..."
Hiruzen took a deep, shuddering breath of smoke mixed with air, pressing all his emotions to the bottom of his heart.
"It doesn't matter," he whispered to himself in a hoarse voice. "Whatever the sacrifice... I must protect everything Konoha has now."
Forest of Death. Training Ground 44.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling the shoulders of two figures.
"Senior... power starts from the ground, travels through the spine. Hard and soft combined..."
"ADAAAA!"
The wooden training posts in front of Hyūga Kumokawa and Might Guy were both shattered. But while Kumokawa's post had exploded from the inside out, Guy's post looked like it had been mauled by a bear.
Watching Guy utilize brute force with zero finesse, the smile on Kumokawa's face began to crack.
"Phew." Guy, who usually wouldn't tire even after running laps all day, was sweating and panting. He scratched his head and laughed. "Kumokawa! This modified Gentle Fist is really hard to learn!"
"After all, Senior has studied the Strong Fist for decades. Adjusting your body's instincts takes effort," Kumokawa shook his head. "Let's stop here for today."
Kumokawa was attempting to fuse the merits of Strong Fist and Gentle Fist, aiming to create a unique Taijutsu style compatible with the Eight Gates.
"Alright, then..."
Guy started to speak, but suddenly, the hairs on the back of Kumokawa's neck stood up.
A profound, chilling killing intent spiked.
It was abrupt. It was terrifying.
Kumokawa's muscles tightened instantly. Veins bulged around his Byakugan.
Sszzt!!
Almost the instant Kumokawa reacted, a nearly inaudible whistle cut the air.
Assassination. A lethal strike aimed directly at him.
At this speed, at this distance... turning to look and then dodging was impossible.
Realizing this, Kumokawa's eyes went from dark to calm. Driven by instinct, he closed them.
An invisible wave rippled out from his body. It was as if he had stepped into another dimension.
All physical senses shut down. Only spiritual "perception" remained.
No wind. No insects. No heartbeat.
The world was dead silent. Time seemed to stop for him.
And so, he "saw" it.
He "saw" the kunai behind him, wrapped in a razor-sharp current of air.
Wind Style: Vacuum Blade. A fusion of shape and nature transformation. The assassin had honed this jutsu to perfection. It was faster than Guy could react to.
But in Kumokawa's perception, the kunai, which should have been a blur, seemed to drag a long, invisible thread, gliding toward him in slow motion.
Kumokawa didn't turn around. He raised his hand, spreading his fingers like the wing of a crane.
He caught the handle of the kunai. The wind blade sliced his palm, but it felt like it had hit an invisible iron wall. The weapon stopped dead in mid-air.
Kumokawa opened his eyes. His snowy pupils reflected Guy's tense face and the fragmented sunlight of the forest.
Courtesy demands reciprocity.
"Then... take it back."
He spun around, whipping his arm back. His movement was as fast as a falling leaf caught in a gale. His robes flared, revealing the taut muscles of his waist. His spine arched like a drawn bow, exploding with all his strength.
The kunai left his hand.
BOOM!
A sonic boom exploded right next to Guy's ear. The ground leaves were sucked up into a vortex by the sheer force of the throw.
almost simultaneously, the sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed from the distance.
Squelch!