A battle report. A sealed letter.
Both sent straight back to Konoha on Orochimaru's orders.
Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the secret letter first—the one focused on Uchiha Fugaku.
The front lines were bleeding badly, and Hiruzen needed any edge he could grab. That's why he'd pulled Fugaku out of the doghouse and sent him to fight. He'd hoped the clan head would deliver some real firepower.
But trust? Hiruzen had none.
Uchiha Mikoto was still in the village. So was their newborn second son. Yet Fugaku's eldest boy had vanished like smoke. No trace. No warning. Just gone.
That disappearance lit a fresh fuse of suspicion in Hiruzen's chest.
"Rat-Rat Fruit – Fire Rat Form? Another superior Devil Fruit?"
Jealousy burned hot.
"Why the hell do all the good toys keep landing in Sunagakure's lap? Is the universe handing out participation trophies for living in a damn desert?"
"Fugaku performed way worse than I expected."
"Too long sitting on his ass in that tiny compound?"
Ever since the Uchiha rebellion, the ones who stayed behind had been locked down tight. Only a handful had any real freedom. Fugaku was under constant Anbu watch—basically a prisoner in his own home until this mission.
"Facing one ordinary Sunagakure jonin—even one with a superior Devil Fruit—Fugaku shouldn't have looked that pathetic. He's dragging the whole Uchiha name through the mud."
Hiruzen set the letter aside and cracked open Orochimaru's report.
"Talk to Danzo? Activate the spies he planted in Sunagakure?"
His brow creased hard.
"Orochimaru, you little snake. You want me to bring Danzo back in? This is Danzo's play, isn't it? Figures now that I gave you command of the army, he thinks he can cash in favors."
"Danzo, you're reaching too far."
"And you, Orochimaru—Danzo asks, you just hand it over? Is your loyalty to him really stronger than to your own teacher?"
Only after that did Hiruzen pick up the actual battle report.
His eyes went wide.
"The Sun Disk is that fucking terrifying?"
"Sunagakure again. Always Sunagakure."
"Thank God it hit Iwagakure instead of us."
Cold sweat ran down his spine. The report painted a nightmare: over a thousand Stone ninja dead in minutes. One weapon, one army erased.
If that had been Konoha forces…
"So Orochimaru wants the spies because of the Sun Disk."
"No wonder Ōnoki was obsessed with it."
"Danzo… fine. I've kept him caged long enough. Maybe he's learned his lesson."
An Anbu operative sprinted into the Shimura compound.
"Danzo-sama, the Hokage wants you at the Tower."
"Hiruzen's calling for me?"
Danzo raised an eyebrow, then smirked.
"Alright. I'll head over shortly."
He took his sweet time—tea, small talk, another cup—before finally walking out and making his way to the Hokage Tower.
"Hiruzen."
Hiruzen had been waiting, irritation clear on his face.
The Sun Disk threat was too big to ignore. Konoha's own spies in Sunagakure had been wiped out in a purge. Yakushi Nono wasn't delivering results. If they wanted real intel fast, only Danzo's network could do it.
"Danzo. Sit."
Danzo dropped into the chair.
"You summoned me for something? Last I checked I'm still under house arrest. Walking in here won't cause any… complications, will it?"
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
"Danzo, I know you're pissed. But I punished you because you screwed up—went rogue, acted without orders, and left me holding the bag. If I didn't do something, how would it look to everyone else?"
"We've worked together for decades. You're not still holding a grudge, are you?"
Danzo's mouth twisted into a half-smile.
"Not at all. Just tell me what you need."
Hiruzen's expression turned deadly serious.
"Front-line report just came in. Sunagakure deployed that Sun Disk thing. In minutes they slaughtered over a thousand Iwagakure shinobi and shattered their entire army."
"That weapon's too dangerous. Until we figure out how to stop it, it's hanging over all our heads."
"We need intel on it—fast. I'm putting you on this, Danzo."
Danzo hesitated.
"Hiruzen, I'm not saying no… but right now I'm just a regular guy. I don't have the resources."
"I'll restore your elder seat."
Danzo shook his head.
"You know that seat's just a fancy title. I need people."
Hiruzen frowned. Greedy bastard.
"What else?"
"Root."
"Danzo, Root is disbanded."
"Then I can't help you."
Hiruzen's face went dark, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"Fine. You can rebuild Root—but no more than ten operatives. That's the hard limit. No more bargaining."
Danzo grinned.
"Relax, Hiruzen. I'll get you everything on the Sun Disk as quick as possible."
He stood and walked out without another word.
Hiruzen watched him go and let out a long breath.
"Giving Danzo Root again isn't smart. Not with everything going on."
"But Sunagakure… they're getting too strong, too fast."
"Right now the village doesn't have enough reliable people. Only Danzo can handle this kind of dirty work."
"Still, we've got time. The Sun Disk hit Iwagakure, not us. Stone will be furious—they'll probably throw everything they have at Sunagakure now. We just play containment. That buys us breathing room."
His shoulders eased a fraction.
Then an Anbu burst through the door, out of breath.
"Hokage-sama—something's wrong with the Hyuga clan."
"Hyuga?"
Hiruzen's brow furrowed deep.
"What the hell happened to the Hyuga clan now?"