Homura Mitokado pushed his glasses and looked calmly at Shimura Danzo. "Danzo, you seem to have some opinion about that child Shinichi?"
"Of course I have an opinion."
Shimura Danzo's voice grew colder. He tossed the document in his hand onto the table with a light smack.
"Since he has such good talent! Why doesn't he focus on proper training and improving his strength? Instead, he spends all day on messy, useless things! Cooking competitions? Manga? Are these things a proper ninja should be doing?"
At this point, his gaze turned to the third Hokage, his tone becoming sharper and more aggressive: "Not only do I have an opinion about him, but I also have an even bigger opinion about Hiruzen. If Hiruzen hadn't indulged him like this, would that kid be wasting his talent like this? Letting him participate in some cooking competition, letting him draw manga?"
The third Hokage did not answer directly. He simply reached into a drawer, took out two more documents, and placed them on the table.
"This is not that child's first report, but the third. Take a look at the previous two as well."
An Anbu stepped forward and delivered the two documents to the three advisors.
A moment later, both Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were shaken again, their expressions growing even more solemn.
It turned out that in a report from two months ago, Shinichi Higashino had, based solely on public intelligence, the consistent style of the third Kazekage, and subtle movements within the Village Hidden in the Sand, directly deduced that the third Kazekage had already met with misfortune.
At that time, the entire Shinobi World assumed that even if the third Kazekage was not in secluded training as the Village Hidden in the Sand claimed, he was still planning something else. No one had thought that something had happened to him.
"This child actually predicted it back then?"
Homura Mitokado couldn't help but blurt out.
"Predicted what?"
Shimura Danzo coldly interrupted from the side. "Rumors about the third Kazekage's disappearance or even death had already been circulating. This kid just heard some gossip and happened to guess right. That doesn't count for anything."
"I say, Danzo, what's wrong with you…"
Koharu Utatane shot him an indignant look.
She couldn't even understand why Danzo had such a strong opinion about a good child like Shinichi; one could even say it's a sense of resentment.
Yes!
Resentment!
"What's wrong with me?"
Danzo met her gaze, his tone rigid. "A ninja who doesn't put his mind on the right path, spending all day on trivial matters like cooking and manga, distracted and unfocused, what great things can he achieve? Hiruzen's indulgence is the real problem!"
"Winning a cooking competition also brings honor to the village. As for manga, what's wrong with young people having hobbies?"
Koharu Utatane raised her voice, equally unyielding.
"Besides, that child draws very well, and the story is interesting. Many villagers have been trying the recipes in it. I've tried making some myself, and they're indeed quite delicious. A child who loves life and is multi-talented, why are you being so harsh? Danzo!"
"Harsh? I call this being clear-headed!"
Danzo's voice grew even colder. He hadn't expected this old partner to directly confront him for that kid.
"That kind of messy drawing, a completely chaotic story with no logic at all! And those so-called lines about cooking being an extension of one's feelings and bringing happiness through food, simply…"
"How do you know the drawings are messy and the story is chaotic? And how do you know those lines?"
Koharu Utatane quickly grasped the key point and interrupted him directly. "Danzo, you've also read the Cooking Master Boy?"
Danzo was momentarily at a loss for words, then snorted coldly. "Hmph! I just wanted to see how far our so-called genius of Konoha has gone down the path of neglecting his duties!"
Koharu Utatane let out a light laugh, mocking him: "Heh, seems like you read it quite carefully, Danzo, even remembering specific lines."
"Enough, Koharu, Danzo."
The third Hokage spoke at the right moment, stopping the argument before it could escalate again.
"Regarding that child, Shinichi's training methods and interests, we may each have our own opinions. But there's one last document. Continue reading first. After you finish, we can discuss it."
Hearing this, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane both nodded and immediately picked up the final document to read, while Danzo still slowly picked it up.
Time passed second by second.
Homura Mitokado held the paper between his fingers, turning the pages more and more slowly. In his eyes, there was first seriousness, then gradually a clarity as if enlightenment had dawned, like a long-standing fog in his mind being suddenly dispelled by the words on the page.
Koharu Utatane even softened her breathing. Her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, then knit again, clearly being led by the logic in the text, step by step, into a re-examination of the structure of the Shinobi World.
Such expressions were something Shimura Danzo had not seen on the faces of these two old partners for many years, like a shock that completely overturned their established understanding.
An inexplicable irritation surged in his heart. He let out a heavy, cold snort and finally reached out to grab the last document on the table.
"Analysis and prediction of the current situation of the Shinobi World"
He opened it with the intention of finding faults. When his gaze swept over the opening macro-level analysis, the mockery at the corner of his mouth had not yet faded, but his eyes soon slowed, his expression growing more serious, his heart more shaken.
And the moment those two sentences struck his eyes, his entire body felt as if struck by lightning.
[The economic base determines the superstructure.]
[War is merely the continuation of politics by other means.]
Danzo stared fixedly at those two lines, unmoving.
What Koharu said afterward that this child had already accurately predicted the trend of military expansion among various countries last year, and had such a clear understanding of the underlying logic of the Shinobi World.
What Homura said, that no wonder Hiruzen had so decisively initiated Konoha's war preparation procedures; it turned out he had already seen it in this child's report.
And what Hiruzen said that they should go back and study it carefully and hold another meeting tomorrow.
Danzo didn't hear a single word of it. Before his eyes, there were only those two sentences on the paper, rolling over and over again.
He didn't even know how he left the Hokage's office, how he walked through that familiar corridor, or how he exited the Hokage building.
By the time Danzo came back to his senses, he was already standing at his own doorstep. A fine drizzle fell onto his shoulders, yet he was completely unaware.
At night, in the study, the lamplight was dim and yellow.
Danzo sat at his desk, the document laid out before him. He had read it over and over countless times, for a very long time, so long that the sky outside had turned from day to pitch-black night.
But his gaze remained fixed on those few lines.
[The economic base determines the superstructure.]
[War is merely the continuation of politics by other means.]