Danzo was forced to defect, and after the Third Hokage voluntarily stepped down, the village welcomed a new Hokage.
As one of the key instigators, Kakashi naturally gained a lot from the outcome. Jiraiya personally invited him to serve as the new Anbu Commander. If he worked steadily for another ten years or so, becoming a Hokage candidate would be almost guaranteed.
But after achieving his goal, Kakashi didn't feel any joy.
Only emptiness.
He had opposed the Third Hokage and Danzo, and supported Jiraiya's rise—not just to avenge his father, but also because he couldn't stand the suffocating atmosphere in the village.
Now that Jiraiya had become Hokage… could that atmosphere really change?
Kakashi wasn't sure.
Jiraiya was still too soft when it came to the Third Hokage. Years of tolerance and questionable decisions—could all of that really be erased just by stepping down?
Letting out a quiet sigh, Kakashi lay back on the tatami, staring at the ceiling fan as it spun endlessly.
After resting for a few days, he planned to apply for a mission—leading a team to hunt down Danzo and the remaining Root members.
If Danzo, armed with a Mangekyō Sharingan, went into hiding within the Land of Fire, he would become a long-term threat the village couldn't afford to ignore.
As for the agreement he had made with the Third Hokage a few months ago…
Those ninja academy graduates had already been sent packing by him under the excuse of "not qualified." They'd be returning to the academy for a few more years before even thinking about becoming real ninjas.
After an unknown amount of time, Kakashi finally got up, walked to his desk, and picked up a pen.
...
Within the territory of the Land of Rivers.
After several days of travel, Danzo and a dozen Root members arrived at a hidden underground base.
The moment he stepped inside, Danzo finally let out a breath. The tension in his body eased slightly, but his eyes grew colder.
Long before Jiraiya and Tsunade returned, he had already warned Hiruzen Sarutobi to be wary of those two disciples.
Tsunade inspecting the ninja academy and Konoha Hospital… Jiraiya visiting clan after clan…
They might as well have had "coup d'état" written across their foreheads.
Anyone with half a brain could see it coming.
And yet—
Hiruzen chose to give up resistance.
He voluntarily stepped down and handed power over to Jiraiya and Tsunade.
That alone was bad enough.
But Tsunade had even led forces to surround the Root base.
If Danzo hadn't prepared an escape route in advance, he might have been captured on the spot. Even if he survived, losing control of Root would've been unacceptable.
After weighing his options, he brought what remained of his forces to the Land of Rivers, waiting for a chance to rise again.
But with his current manpower, there was no way he could challenge Anbu.
And with funds running low, even maintaining his existing subordinates was becoming difficult.
At that moment, a Root ninja approached, kneeling on one knee.
"Danzo-sama, a ninja claiming to be your acquaintance has requested an audience. Based on the description… we suspect it may be Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru…"
Danzo muttered the name, then slowly stood and walked toward the surface.
Soon, he saw Orochimaru—dressed in a loose robe, a thick rope belt tied around his waist—standing there as if he owned the place.
Danzo frowned. "Orochimaru… your nose is sharper than an Inuzuka hound. You actually tracked me down here."
Orochimaru smiled, completely unbothered by the insult.
"I only found out after hearing reports from my subordinates. Jiraiya and Tsunade joined forces, staged a coup, and forced the old man to step down. Now Jiraiya sits as the Fifth Hokage… while you've been reduced to a wandering stray."
He paused, eyes glinting with amusement.
"Still… I must admit, I didn't expect those two to act against their own teacher. Konoha, that decaying windmill, seems to have found its own wind of change—without needing our help."
Danzo remained silent.
He had cooperated with Orochimaru before—planning to use external threats to force Hiruzen to step down.
But before anything concrete could be executed, Jiraiya and Tsunade had already acted.
After a moment, Danzo snorted coldly.
"You're not in a much better situation. From what I hear, you've betrayed the Akatsuki. Now you're being hunted by both Konoha and the Akatsuki."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I couldn't help it. I've never enjoyed living under someone else's control."
Then he tilted his head, voice turning curious.
"So, Danzo-sama… what's your next move?"
"Will you wander the ninja world like me… or gather your strength and try to become Hokage again?"
Danzo fell into brief silence before locking eyes with Orochimaru.
"What exactly do you want? I'm no longer an elder of Konoha."
Orochimaru sighed softly, almost theatrically.
"Danzo-sama, I simply wish to cooperate—mutual warmth in cold times. I can help you establish a new base."
He smiled faintly.
"The ninja world is no longer what it was a few years ago… the monsters lurking beneath the surface are beginning to emerge."
...
In Uzushiogakure, Naruto sat at the head seat, listening to reports from Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Homura.
As both the village leader and a daimyo, he mostly gave directions while others handled execution—but that didn't mean he could skip reading the reports.
Even though Shisui and Homura weren't high-ranking, leaving them unchecked without supervision was asking for trouble.
Given enough time, anyone could learn to exploit loopholes—gradually seizing power, secretly benefiting their clan, until everything became so entangled that even the Hokage couldn't untangle it.
Naruto paused.
…Wait.
"I'm the founder," he muttered to himself. "Should be fine."
Absolute strength crushed all dissent.
Aside from the Uchiha, there were no major clans in the village. As for smaller families… they didn't have the capacity to quietly seize power over decades.
"Mianma-sama, this is the financial report for the first half of the year. Please review it."
"Mianma-sama, these are the orphans and technical personnel recruited recently. They've been settled in the residential district. Would you like to inspect them?"
"Mianma-sama, this is an invitation from Kirigakure, requesting your presence at their graduation exam."
"…"
Naruto flipped through the documents.
For now, revenue and expenditure were balanced—thanks largely to ninja productivity, which allowed infrastructure to be built at insane speeds.
The downside?
It squeezed the living space of ordinary civilians.
In some ways, ninjas and civilians were already like two different species… just without biological separation.
As for technical talent recruitment—more was always better.
His goal was to create an environment attractive enough to draw in skilled individuals from across the ninja world.
As for Kirigakure's invitation…
Rejected.
He didn't have time to babysit someone else's graduation exam.
Just as Naruto was focusing on the reports, a ripple of space-time distortion suddenly appeared.
A Flying Thunder God kunai materialized on the desk—
With a scroll tied to it.
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