The following afternoon, Root's base was completely silent.
Danzo sat in a dimly lit room, facing the ninja in front of him who was giving his report.
By this point he had already received Hiruzen's orders and had once again become the head of Root.
The ninja of Root were, in essence, Danzo's own private soldiers.
Even when Homura had held the title of Root's leader, it had been nothing more than a name.
The one truly steering Root had always been Danzo.
A Root ninja knelt before him.
He was giving a low-voiced report on recent intelligence.
"Those are the notable developments among the major clans in the village lately. What remains concerns the Anbu and matters tied to Root."
The Root ninja produced a scroll.
"Hatake Sakumo openly questioned Hokage-sama's decisions inside the Hokage's office, and directly accused him regarding the human experimentation matter..."
Danzo listened to his subordinate's report.
He let out a cold snort, a flicker of contempt passing through his eyes.
"Hmph. So Hiruzen is using me as his blade."
He slowly rose and walked to the window, gazing outside.
He had by now understood why he had been brought back to Root.
He did not object to Hiruzen's way of doing things.
Having been old partners for so long, Danzo understood his methods well.
Whatever the case, Root had nominally returned to his hands.
Going forward, it would naturally be far easier to act with proper justification.
"However, Hatake Sakumo..."
A coldness flickered in Danzo's eyes.
Sakumo's standing in the village had grown far too high. So high that even the Hokage felt wary of him.
And Danzo was the lowest, darkest root of the great tree that was Konoha.
Everyone only knew him as a Hokage advisor.
The contributions he had made for Konoha in the shadows, no one knew.
"The Hokage position is mine..."
Danzo murmured under his breath, thinking back to how Sakumo had joined forces with the Uchiha to strike at his base.
A vicious gleam passed through his eyes.
"Since you enjoy meddling so much, don't blame me for destroying your reputation."
A plan took shape in his mind. He turned to the reporting Root ninja and said coldly.
"Send someone to the Land of Fire's Daimyo residence. Spread word that Hatake Sakumo mobilized the Anbu without authorization, interfering in the affairs of the Land of Fire with ulterior motives."
"Yes, sir."
The Root ninja bowed his head to accept the order and vanished swiftly into the darkness.
The corner of Danzo's mouth curved slightly upward.
This was the signal he was sending to Hiruzen.
The two had worked together for many years. Danzo believed Hiruzen would continue along with his plan.
"Hatake Sakumo, captain of the Anbu? Hmph. Not for much longer."
...
Three days passed quietly.
Inside Konoha, the morning sunlight spread across the village, scattering the chill that had lingered through the night.
Uchiha Security Force headquarters.
Chiya stood by the window, gazing at the Hokage Rock in the distance, his thoughts drifting far away.
"Sakumo, you were a little too impulsive after all..."
He murmured to himself.
He had of course received word about Sakumo's outburst inside the Hokage's office.
He had not expected Sakumo to act so impulsively.
Still, the situation had brought one positive development.
All the major clans in Konoha had started paying more attention to the safety of their own children and had begun quietly dispatching clan elites to protect them.
The Security Force's workload had lightened considerably. They only needed to focus on the children of ordinary civilians and ordinary ninja now.
As for Sakumo himself, Chiya still thought he was a good person at his core.
On top of that, there was the system's mission to consider.
Chiya was not about to stand by and let Sakumo die the way he had in the original story.
He had already received word that Danzo had retaken control of Root.
He knew what Danzo was like.
Once he was back in power, he would certainly start making moves.
The only question was whether those moves would be aimed at the Uchiha or at someone else.
Either way, Chiya did not have the mind to deal with that today.
"Chiya-nii!"
A gentle voice came from outside the door. Mikoto pushed it open and stepped in.
She was cradling a neatly packed bento box in her hands, a sweet smile on her face.
"Happy birthday!"
She walked quickly to Chiya, held the bento box out to him, her cheeks faintly flushed.
"I made this breakfast especially for you. I hope you like it..."
Chiya took the bento box and opened it. Inside were carefully prepared sushi, tamagoyaki, and several side dishes.
The presentation was neat and delicate, and the aroma was wonderful.
Today was Chiya's birthday.
After today, he would be nineteen tomorrow.
Ever since Mikoto had learned Chiya's birthday, she had shown up nearly every year at this time of morning with a lovingly made bento.
"Mikoto's cooking keeps getting better."
He smiled and ruffled her hair. Mikoto's cheeks turned even redder. She lowered her head and said softly.
"As long as Chiya-nii likes it..."
"And there's also this!"
As she said it, she pulled out from behind her back a small, delicate cake and held it out to Chiya.
"Chiya-nii, how could a birthday be complete without a birthday cake?"
Chiya could tell the cake had been made by Mikoto herself rather than bought from a shop.
He felt a quiet warmth in his chest.
His childhood sweetheart Mikoto, whom he had nurtured from a young age.
She had turned out exactly as he had hoped, still this thoughtful and gentle.
Chiya pulled her down to sit in his lap.
Mikoto gave a small startled sound, her cheeks pink, but she did not resist.
The two sat close together, feeding each other and working through the breakfast and cake.
Mikoto stole glances at him from time to time, her eyes full of tenderness.
"Do you have any plans for today?"
Chiya asked.
Mikoto blinked, and said softly.
"Is today not Chiya-nii's birthday?"
"I... I want to stay with you the whole day."
Chiya smiled and reached over to pinch her cheek.
"All right. The Security Force does not have much on today. This afternoon we can take a look at how Mikoto's training has been coming along."
At the word training, Mikoto's mouth fell open slightly, clearly surprised.
"Chiya-nii is actually going to check on my training?"
Chiya wrapped an arm around her slender waist, drawing her closer.
"In the ninja world, strength is everything. Mikoto must train hard too."
Mikoto gave a serious nod.
"Yes, Chiya-nii, I understand."
"But since it is training, there naturally must be a reward."
"A reward?"
A bright gleam lit up Mikoto's eyes.
"Training without a reward is impossible to keep up."
"Here is the deal. If you can use all the ninjutsu and genjutsu I taught you before with full mastery, I will cook a full meal for our Mikoto today."
Hearing this reward, Mikoto's eyes immediately filled with excitement.
"Really, Chiya-nii?"
Chiya said nothing. He simply smiled and extended his pinky finger.
Mikoto saw this and quickly reached out.
Their pinkies hooked together and shook.
"One more thing..."
"I get to choose the menu, right?"
Chiya looked at Mikoto's expectant gaze.
He nodded without concern.
"Of course."
"All right, Chiya-nii. Training grounds at noon. I will be there without fail."
Mikoto said this, her face bright with excitement, and jogged out of the office.
"This girl."
Chiya laughed softly.
A short while later.
The sound of hurried footsteps came from the street outside the door.
The office door opened again.
"Clan Head, this is a gift sent to you by Lady Tsunade."
"Clan Head, this is a gift sent to you by Jonin Yakushi Nono."