He was summoned before sunset.
This time, it was official.
No masked messenger. No underground corridors.
The Hokage's Tower stood calm against the fading sky, its windows reflecting warm light as if nothing unusual had occurred along the eastern perimeter only hours before.
But the guards at the entrance were tighter than usual.
Measured.
He ascended the stairs without hesitation.
Inside the office, the air smelled faintly of paper and tobacco. Scrolls lay stacked neatly along the desk, though several had clearly been opened and reread.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not look surprised when he entered.
The Third Hokage observed him quietly, hands folded atop the desk, expression neither stern nor warm.
"You were present at the riverbank," the Hokage said.
Not accusation.
Confirmation.
"Yes."
"And you witnessed the foreign captive's escape."
"Yes."
Hiruzen's gaze lingered on him longer than necessary.
"You were also present during the elimination of four Root operatives two days ago."
Silence settled.
There was no anger in the Hokage's voice.
Only gravity.
He did not deny it.
"Yes."
The Hokage exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair.
"Danzō has provided a partial explanation," he said. "He claims you interfered with an ongoing classified evaluation."
"Is that what he calls it?"
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Tell me your version."
There it was.
Opportunity.
He chose his words carefully.
"They staged missions to measure me," he said calmly. "When results were unsatisfactory, they adjusted variables."
"Adjusted," the Hokage repeated.
"Elimination," he clarified.
The room fell quiet again.
Outside the window, the village moved as it always did—civilians unaware, shinobi maintaining routine, life continuing as though the foundation beneath it had not shifted.
"And the artifact?" Hiruzen asked.
He did not pretend ignorance.
"It responded to me," he said.
"Responded how?"
"It does not use chakra," he replied evenly. "It exerts force."
The Hokage studied him carefully.
"Force," he repeated.
"A different system," he continued. "The man at the riverbank confirmed it originated beyond known territories."
Hiruzen did not look surprised by that either.
So he knew more than he admitted.
"You understand what this implies," the Hokage said quietly.
"Yes."
"If word spreads that Konoha possesses power beyond chakra," Hiruzen continued, "the Five Great Nations will respond."
"They already will," he replied.
The Hokage did not immediately argue.
Because he was right.
The hunter's arrival proved that the east was aware.
And awareness meant movement.
Hiruzen stood slowly and moved toward the window, gazing out over the rooftops of the village.
"You are young," he said. "Yet you speak as though you have already stepped outside it."
He did not respond to that.
The Hokage turned back.
"I will not imprison you," he said. "Nor will I permit Danzō to claim you."
That was significant.
But it came with cost.
"You will remain under direct Hokage supervision," Hiruzen continued. "You will not leave the village without authorization. And you will not activate this… force… recklessly."
Not threat.
Condition.
"Understood," he said.
Hiruzen's eyes softened slightly.
"The shinobi world is built on fragile balance," the Hokage said. "If something new enters it, we must decide whether it is threat… or evolution."
He met the Hokage's gaze steadily.
"And if it is both?"
A faint smile touched Hiruzen's expression.
"Then we tread carefully."
As he left the tower, he felt it again.
Not the pressure of the fruit.
Not surveillance.
Something distant.
East.
Moving.
The hunter had not failed.
He had retreated.
And now, the Hokage himself stood between Root and revelation.
The balance had shifted.
Quietly.
Dangerously.
And for the first time—
The future was no longer entirely controlled by shadows.