Danzo lifted his head and swept a cold gaze across the room before settling on the Third Hokage. His voice was flat and hard.
"The analysis has some merit. Anyone with half a brain can see the current tensions in the shinobi world. There's nothing shocking about it. But the rest of it is pure alarmism. It's trying too hard to sound profound."
Homura pushed his glasses up and looked at Danzo evenly. "You seem to have a problem with Shinichi, Danzo."
"I do."
Danzo's tone dropped another degree. He slapped the report onto the table.
"The boy has real talent. So why isn't he training? Why isn't he focused on getting stronger? Instead he wastes time on cooking contests and drawing manga. Is that what a serious shinobi does?"
He turned his glare on Hiruzen. "I'm not just disappointed in him. I'm disappointed in you, Hiruzen. If you hadn't indulged him, he wouldn't be squandering his gifts like this. Letting him run off to cooking competitions. Letting him draw comics. What the hell are you thinking?"
Hiruzen didn't argue. He simply reached into his drawer and pulled out two more reports, setting them on the desk.
"This isn't the boy's first report. It's his third. Read the other two."
Anbu stepped forward and placed the documents in front of the advisors.
A moment later, both Homura and Koharu went still. Their expressions grew heavier.
Two months earlier, using only public information, the Third Kazekage's known behavior, and small anomalies coming out of Sunagakure, Shinichi had concluded that the Third Kazekage was already dead or missing.
At the time, the rest of the shinobi world had assumed the man was either in secluded training or quietly planning something. No one had seriously considered he might be gone.
"He predicted it that early?" Homura muttered.
"What prediction?" Danzo cut in coldly. "Rumors about the Third Kazekage's disappearance have been floating around for months. The boy just repeated what everyone was already whispering. It means nothing."
Koharu shot him a sharp look. "Danzo, what the hell is your problem with that kid? You sound like you're carrying a grudge."
Danzo met her eyes without flinching. "A shinobi's mind should stay on the path that matters. Cooking contests. Manga. These are distractions. Hiruzen's leniency is the real issue here."
"Winning the cooking contest brought honor to the village," Koharu snapped back. "And he's young. Having hobbies isn't a crime. The manga is actually well done. The recipes in it are solid—I tried a couple myself. They were good. He's a talented kid who loves life and has multiple skills. Why are you so damn harsh on him?"
"Harsh? I'm being realistic," Danzo said, voice like ice. "That manga is a mess. The story doesn't make sense. And those lines about cooking being an extension of the heart and bringing people happiness? It's—"
Koharu's eyes narrowed. "How do you know the story doesn't make sense? How do you know the exact lines?"
Danzo paused.
Koharu smiled thinly. "You read Chinese Restaurant, didn't you?"
Danzo let out a short, irritated breath. "I only wanted to see how far our so-called genius had strayed from what actually matters."
Koharu gave a quiet, mocking laugh. "You read it carefully enough to remember the dialogue."
"Enough," Hiruzen said, cutting in before the argument could flare again. "We can debate how Shinichi spends his time later. Right now, read the final report. After that, we'll talk."
Homura and Koharu nodded and picked up the last document. Danzo hesitated, then finally reached for it as well.
Analysis and Predictions on the Current Shinobi World Situation
He started reading with the clear intent to find flaws. The opening macro-level assessment made the corner of his mouth twitch with contempt. Then his eyes slowed. His expression tightened.
When he reached those two lines, he stopped cold.
Economic base determines superstructure.
War is simply politics by other means.
Danzo stared at the words like they had physically struck him.
In the background, Koharu was saying something about how Shinichi had already predicted the great nations' military buildups last year. Homura was noting that this report was why Hiruzen had moved so quickly to begin Konoha's war preparations. Hiruzen was telling them to study the documents carefully and reconvene tomorrow.
Danzo didn't hear any of it.
He kept reading those two sentences over and over.
When he finally stood and left the office, he moved like a man walking through fog. He crossed the familiar corridors and stepped out of the Hokage building without really seeing any of it.
By the time he reached his own front door, a light rain was falling. He didn't feel it.
That night, in his study, the lamp burned low.
Danzo sat at his desk with the report in front of him. He had read it again and again. Hours had passed. The sky outside had gone completely dark.
His eyes stayed fixed on those same two lines.
Economic base determines superstructure.
War is simply politics by other means.
He was over fifty. He had grown up in the final years of the Warring States period, fought under the Second Hokage across countless battlefields, survived two great ninja wars, orchestrated dozens of shadow operations, and traded in blood and favors until his hands were stained with both enemy and comrade alike.
He had always believed he understood how the world truly worked.
The strong devoured the weak. Interests ruled everything. Power decided all outcomes.
He had never imagined the entire brutal machinery could be summed up so cleanly, so coldly, and so completely by two simple sentences.
He had spent his life thinking he saw the truth beneath the surface.
Only now did he realize he had only ever watched the ripples on the water.
While a ten-year-old boy had seen straight to the bottom.
"Higashino Shinichi…"
Danzo let out a long, slow breath. He set the report down, walked to the window, and pushed it open. Rain drifted in. His gaze moved past the rooftops toward the distant cemetery.
The rain pulled his thoughts backward.
Four years ago. Another rainy night.