Konoha, inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk. He had just finished listening to the Anbu's report.
Uchiha Chiya and Tsunade had shared a meal together, talking at length and in good spirits, even touching on the medical ninja training plan.
Hiruzen took two puffs from his pipe and spoke toward the Anbu standing outside.
"Have Danzo, Homura, and Koharu come over."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The Anbu ninja at the door vanished in an instant with the Body Flicker Jutsu.
Before long, the three arrived.
"Hiruzen, Uchiha Chiya had a meal with Tsunade at the barbecue restaurant today. That scheming little Uchiha brat certainly knows how to find an opening."
Danzo was the first to speak. A cold light flickered in his single eye.
"There are also those in the Uchiha clan who are close to the village. Do not forget what Kagami gave."
Hiruzen gave him a sideways glance.
An unnatural expression crossed Danzo's face.
The name Uchiha Kagami was one Danzo had no wish to bring up and no willingness to recall.
Homura Mitokado, seated on the sofa, pushed up his glasses. His tone was flat.
"Hiruzen, you called us here today. Has something happened on the war front?"
"Let us discuss the matter of the medical ninja."
Hiruzen withdrew his gaze, then took a scroll from his drawer.
"The medical ninja proposal itself is sound. It is only the timing that needs careful thought."
"Careful thought?"
Danzo gave a cold laugh.
"Resources are already stretched thin during wartime. Where is there any spare capacity to train medical ninja? And on top of that, the Uchiha clan suddenly getting involved in this matter. Who knows what they are after?"
"Danzo!"
Hiruzen's brow furrowed slightly.
"The Uchiha are also members of Konoha!"
Danzo did not yield. His voice was low and sharp.
"Hiruzen, you are too naive. The Uchiha clan has never truly had the village's interests at heart. They are simply using Tsunade's emotions to serve their own ends."
Koharu Utatane cut Danzo off.
"Arguing about the Uchiha right now is pointless. Let us talk about the medical ninja. A decision has to be made."
"A decision?"
Danzo let out a cold snort.
"Then reject it outright. In wartime, combat strength comes first above all else."
"Reject it?"
"Danzo, are you trying to send the ninja on the front lines to die for nothing?"
The atmosphere inside the office suddenly froze.
Homura Mitokado let out a sigh and tried to ease the tension by bringing up Uchiha Chiya's proposal.
"Actually... the short course approach that Uchiha Chiya put forward is a reasonable middle ground. Training a batch of medical ninja in a short period would ease the pressure on the front lines without consuming too many resources."
"Middle ground?"
Danzo scoffed.
"Homura, since when did you become so soft? War is not a game. What we need are ninja who can be thrown into combat immediately, not a bunch of half-trained medical ninja."
"Danzo!"
"The ones you call 'half-trained' may well be the very people who save the lives of countless comrades in the future. In your eyes, are the lives of ninja worth so little?"
Danzo narrowed his single eye. His tone turned cold and dark.
"Hiruzen, you let your emotions run too much. War calls for an iron hand, not sentimentality."
Koharu Utatane, seeing the state of things, could not hold back.
"All this arguing only gives our enemies something to laugh at."
She took a deep breath and looked toward Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, on the matter of medical ninja, proceed according to Tsunade's proposal. But the scale must be kept in check, and resources must go to the front lines first."
Hiruzen was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"That is my thinking as well. The medical ninja training will be handed over to Tsunade."
Danzo let out a cold snort. He was clearly dissatisfied with the outcome, but he did not argue further.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane took the scroll regarding medical ninja training and left.
Inside the office, only Danzo and Hiruzen remained.
"There is one more matter."
Hiruzen's tone was low. He looked toward Danzo.
"Orochimaru's human experimentation must stop."
A flicker of something unusual passed through Danzo's eye.
"Stop? Hiruzen, do you know that the Wood Release research has reached a critical stage?"
"Konoha has already lost enough people recently."
Danzo laughed coldly.
"For the sake of the village's power, what does it matter to sacrifice a few test subjects? The adult subjects may have failed, but if we begin the cultivation from children..."
At the word children, Hiruzen's expression shifted sharply.
"Enough!"
"Children are the future of the village. They are the ones who carry on the Will of Fire. What you are describing is trampling on the very foundation of Konoha."
Danzo looked at the anger on Hiruzen's face.
He finally pulled back somewhat, but the ambition in his single eye had not gone out.
He slowly stepped back one pace. His tone turned dark.
"...Very well. Since you insist, it will be stopped for now."
"Not for now. Permanently."
Hiruzen spoke each word with deliberate weight.
"Orochimaru's experiments are to be halted and sealed off completely, at once. Otherwise, do not blame me for showing no mercy."
Danzo glared at Hiruzen.
"Wood Release is a power that can bring order to a chaotic world, and the most effective tool for suppressing the Tailed Beasts. If a Jinchuriki ever appears on a battlefield against us Konoha, how are we supposed to respond?"
Danzo's expression darkened to the point where it seemed ready to drip.
The thought of the Wood Release he had long coveted, along with all the effort he had poured into the experiments during this time, made him slam his fist on the table and fix his gaze on Hiruzen.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen!"
"Use titles when on duty."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo and said calmly.
"Danzo, you need to understand. I am the Hokage."
Danzo's expression stiffened.
"Hmph!"
A nameless fury rose in Danzo's chest. He turned and slammed the door as he left.
With a bang, the entire office fell silent once more.
However, as Danzo turned and walked away, a cold curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
The power of Wood Release was not something he intended to give up.
Such a thing had to be in his hands.
...
Evening, the Uchiha clan grounds.
Chiya was summoned to the clan council once again.
Unlike the tension of the day before, the expressions of the elders today were subtle, and even carried a trace of... anticipation.
"Chiya."
Uchiha Yashiro spoke slowly.
"After deliberation, the clan has decided to support your contact and plans with Tsunade."
Chiya's brow lifted slightly. A quiet satisfaction stirred inside him, but nothing showed on his face.
"Oh? What does Senior mean by that?"
"If the medical ninja proposal succeeds, the Uchiha clan must have a share in it. Since you are able to get close to Tsunade, find a way to bring the Uchiha into it as well."
Chiya understood his meaning immediately.
As expected, the clan's support was never unconditional.
But he had prepared for this long ago.
"I will do my best to push for it."
He bowed slightly. His tone was respectful but carried an edge beneath it.
"However... if the Uchiha truly want to be brought into the core of the village, medical ninja alone will not be enough."
"Oh?"
"What else are you thinking?"
Chiya raised his head. The Sharingan opened on its own, casting a crimson glow in the shadows.
"Start by changing how the security force carries out its duties. There is one rule above all. Follow the village's laws and codes, but never lose sight of warmth. This is the first step in changing how the villagers see our Uchiha clan as a whole."