"Your grandpa slashed my dad…"
That kind of down-to-earth exchange between the Hokage and Assistant Danzo left the Inuzuka and Aburame shinobi frozen in place.
Even En Uchiha, who had been standing stiff with his chin raised, found himself leaning in to listen.
"There was something like that," Danzo Shimura said, eyes half-lidded. "But that was during the Warring States era, wasn't it?"
He snorted. "And if we're talking about that, your father burned my uncle with Fire Style."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's father was named Sasuke Sarutobi.
He could not be compared to legends like Madara or Hashirama, but in his time, he was a name spoken with respect.
Back in the Warring States era, Danzo's grandfather had set his sights on Sasuke Sarutobi, hoping to snuff out that rising genius before he could fully mature.
The story between Sasuke Sarutobi and Danzo's second uncle followed the same pattern.
That was the Warring States era. Without blood ties to bind trust, shinobi clans killing each other was nothing unusual.
Allies one year. Enemies crossing blades the next.
And even blood was no guarantee.
Clansmen. Cousins. Turning on each other was hardly rare.
"Heh. That was just how the Warring States era was."
Hiruzen's tone softened. "That's exactly why the village matters. Why it's precious."
"Whether it's Konoha or any other hidden village, if you really dig into the history of every clan, who hasn't fought someone else at some point?"
"But now, we've built something different. A community that supports one another."
En Uchiha found himself nodding before he realized it.
The Uchiha Clan may have clashed most fiercely with the Senju, but that did not mean their relationships with other clans had been any better.
In the suffocating pressure of the Warring States era, the proud and warlike Uchiha would sometimes kick a stray dog on the roadside just to vent their bloodlust. When battle fever took over, even their own were not spared.
At the height of Izanagi's popularity, the Uchiha had even turned on one another, slaughtering their kin to seize each other's Sharingan and grow stronger.
Hiruzen's words made one thing clear. The hatred between Senju and Uchiha was not some singular, sacred grudge.
The Hokage's clan and Assistant Danzo's clan had once carried blood between them too. And now?
They stood side by side.
"The grudges and obsessions of the Warring States should be buried with that cruel era."
"Standing united and looking forward. That's the belief we need to hold onto now."
Hiruzen's gaze swept across them. "I won't make grand promises as Hokage. But I can promise this. I'll treat every Konoha shinobi fairly. I'll do everything I can to make sure everyone lives a little better. That, I can say with my hand on my heart."
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and calmly tore it open.
He had swiped it from his eldest son, Shinnosuke.
The pipe had long since become part of his image, but when he was out and about, cigarettes were easier.
En Uchiha remained silent.
Another Uchiha might have argued back at those words.
But as a member of the Patrol Unit, he had personally felt the village's support and recognition.
Sakumo Hatake had come to his home in person. The Inuzuka and Aburame treated him with genuine respect.
For an Uchiha who had lived through the Warring States era, that kind of regard was not easy to dismiss.
He had even heard that the Patrol Unit's funding came from Hiruzen's personal donation to the village.
The stiffness drained from his neck. He nodded quietly and spoke, his voice rough.
"Third-sama, you're right."
"I only hope you can remain this way."
"I will."
Hiruzen pulled out two cigarettes. "Want one?"
En accepted it. With proper courtesy, he lit a small flame at his fingertip and held it up to light Hiruzen's cigarette.
Hiruzen shielded the flame with his hand and patted En's wrist.
The two of them stood there, exhaling smoke side by side. As the gray wisps drifted upward, the tension that had filled the air seemed to disperse along with it.
From a distance, En Uchiha and Hiruzen Sarutobi looked less like Hokage and clan elder and more like old friends who had happened to run into each other and stopped to chat.
Danzo ground his teeth silently.
Hiruzen really did have a way with words.
Even an atmosphere that sour, and he could smooth it over.
Yet for some reason, watching Hiruzen and an Uchiha share a smoke made something twist unpleasantly in his chest.
You're the Hokage. He's Uchiha.
Do you have no awareness at all of being Lord Tobirama's disciple?
"Hiruzen, you should smoke less. Even if you're under pressure as Hokage, you ought to restrain yourself."
"Smoking isn't a good thing." Danzo's voice cut in abruptly.
"Mm, yeah, I know. You're right." Hiruzen replied with a smile.
Danzo's expression darkened further. He turned to En. "This isn't personal. But as a member of the Patrol Unit, carrying a noticeable odor while on duty is negligence."
And then something else clicked in his mind.
Wait. Couldn't Fire Style light a cigarette?
There was no way Hiruzen, who could manipulate flame to the point of turning it white, couldn't manage something that simple.
So when he had been explaining the concept of a "buffer layer" earlier and pretended to rummage around for a lighter… had he been doing that on purpose? Just to make Danzo step in and light it for him?
Unbelievable. And I only just realized.
What Danzo had not expected was En Uchiha's response.
The one-armed veteran nodded seriously, without any trace of defiance.
"Assistant Danzo is right. That's my mistake."
"I'll submit a written explanation to Lord Sakumo and request punishment. I guarantee it won't happen again."
En's thinking was straightforward.
Right was right. Wrong was wrong.
It might have sounded like provocation to bring it up at that moment, but the issue itself was objective. So it should be acknowledged.
Danzo's lips twitched.
You old Uchiha fossil. Why are you being so agreeable?
"I should reflect on this as well."
Hiruzen tucked the entire pack of cigarettes into En's hand. "It did affect work. It won't happen again."
En accepted it and nodded. "Thank you, Third-sama."
I'll report everything truthfully to the clan, he thought.
A pack of cigarettes won't buy me. I'll use these eyes to see the truth for myself…
His hands, however, carefully tucked the pack away.
Their eyes met by chance.
For some reason, both men suddenly laughed.
It was unclear what exactly they found amusing.
Danzo's face grew even darker.
Are you two that close?
After En and the others resumed their patrol and moved out of earshot, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Danzo, the resentment and unease the Uchiha Clan feels toward the village won't disappear anytime soon."
"What I said earlier was diplomacy. The bloodshed of the Warring States was common, yes. But the impact your teacher brought was during the era of nation and village."
Danzo blinked.
Wait. Weren't those my lines?
If you say them, what am I supposed to say?
And I thought you actually meant what you were saying.
"We have to move step by step. We can't relax our vigilance toward the Uchiha. But we need to be smarter about it."
"Having the Anbu monitor them openly is crude and ineffective."
"If the Patrol Unit, the Anbu, and the Police Force interact under the guise of work, our people can gather intelligence naturally while strengthening village security."
For a fleeting moment, a thought rose unbidden in Danzo's heart.
The one who resembled Lord Tobirama more… might not be him.
It might be Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"No. It's me. I'm the one…" Danzo muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Danzo exhaled slowly, warning himself once again that he could not afford to lose. There was something to learn from all of this.
"I said… it's the Hokage."