Just as night began to fall. Uchiha Itachi had not yet found Uchiha Shisui, and the two certainly hadn't started their Susanoo brawl yet.
After finishing dinner and resting briefly, the Third Hokage returned to his office. On one hand, a mountain of miscellaneous paperwork awaited him. On the other, given Konoha's current tense situation, he needed to remain on duty for extended hours.
Besides, he wouldn't be able to sleep if he went home anyway. Might as well stay and work. Look, truly a work ethic worthy of admiration from all diligent workers. However, unrelated to the long hours, it was the inner sorrow and mental exhaustion that primarily contributed to the Third Hokage's dispirited appearance. Throughout the day, the embers glowing in the pipe held perpetually in his mouth had never once died out.
The Third Hokage had initially thought today would be just another ordinary day spent under a tense atmosphere. But the moment he stepped into his office, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
It had to be said, while the governing abilities of those who become Hokage might vary, their combat instincts as top-tier shinobi were definitely not lacking. Stepping into his incredibly familiar office, which appeared utterly unchanged, the Third Hokage still instantly perceived a sense of incongruity, triggering a corresponding sense of caution.
Unfortunately, regardless of how sharp one's senses were, there's always a slight delay between detecting an anomaly and executing the correct response. If someone had attempted a direct assassination, the situation might have been better, as the Third Hokage would have counterattacked immediately. His strength was undeniable; he was ready to face any challenger.
The problem arose from the four ANBU shinobi assigned to guard duty here. The very instant the Third Hokage stepped into the room, the four, positioned at each corner, completed their hand seals simultaneously. Immediately, a squarish, translucent barrier sealed off the entire office.
"Four Violet Flames Formation…"
The well-versed Third Hokage recognized the sealing technique instantly, but that didn't mean he had a way to break free quickly. Leveraging the combined power of the weak to subdue the strong – that is one of the fundamental principles of sealing techniques.
However, the sealing barrier didn't induce much panic in him. The Third Hokage possessed the composure of a leader and the dignified air of a true master. Since escape was difficult in the short term, he decided he might as well see who was behind this and what they intended to do.
The Third Hokage took a few steps forward, retreating towards the window. As expected, the initiator revealed themselves.
Ripples spread across the barrier at the office entrance. Two individuals, hands forming seals, passed through the barrier one after the other, calmly entering the space just as the Third Hokage had done a minute prior. Once they were through, the ripples on the barrier smoothed out naturally, returning it to its previous, seemingly unbreakable solidified state.
"Orochimaru…"
The Third Hokage's eyesight hadn't deteriorated to the point of failure yet; he recognized the visitor even through the blurry barrier.
"Sensei, it certainly has been a while. You still look quite healthy."
Orochimaru spoke with a smile. Although dangerous, sinister light constantly flickered within his narrow, serpentine pupils, his words were polite, lacking any hint of confrontation, as if the nefarious events unfolding had nothing to do with him.
Initially, the Third Hokage wanted to demand how Orochimaru had infiltrated Konoha, but he quickly realized the question was unnecessary. His gaze shifted past Orochimaru, fixing on the person following behind:
"Danzo, what do you think you are doing?"
What was the saying? Partners in crime? Thick as thieves? Acting in cahoots?
"Sarutobi, I believe Konoha is straying further and further down the wrong path. It has reached a point where correction is imperative. If we rectify it now, there's still time. Otherwise, once the problems become too deeply entrenched, you and I will be sinners against Konoha."
Facing the Third Hokage's accusation, Danzo Shimura seemingly didn't answer what he intended to do, yet in a way, he had answered completely.
Although Danzo used "you and I," seemingly grouping them together, the underlying tone clearly separated them: You are the one leading Konoha astray; I am the one who will correct this error.
"Wrong path? The Uchiha problem has deep roots; it cannot be resolved simply."
"The Uchiha are merely a minor ailment! More serious is that your thinking has gone wrong! Blindly trusting young people who know nothing, establishing some 'honored ninja' system, causing originally emotionless shinobi to develop numerous unnecessary thoughts! Blindly increasing the power of commoner ninja, intentionally or unintentionally suppressing other clans, causing an imbalance in Konoha's class structure! Weak control over subordinates, leading to problems with the Hokage's centralized authority, loss of prestige…"
Danzo Shimura spoke words akin to "cleansing the sovereign's side," but as everyone knows, such campaigns are always truly about cleansing the sovereign himself; the 'side' is irrelevant. Danzo pointedly berated Hiruzen, looking as if he were about to compose an essay on Konoha's 'Seven Great Grievances.'
The Third Hokage had expected Danzo to focus on the Uchiha issue, but was surprised the man instead attacked changes in other aspects of Konoha. Their perspectives were severely misaligned. Hiruzen viewed the Uchiha problem as Konoha's major internal threat, while seeing the new changes as necessary evolution – times change, and so must ninja villages. Thus, he saw no issue with pilot programs.
Danzo's view, however, was the exact opposite. He considered the Uchiha insignificant; Konoha's traditions were paramount.
Well, tradition or not, it was merely a pretext. Fundamentally, Danzo Shimura simply couldn't stand the Third Hokage's methods anymore, to the point where he could no longer tolerate them. So, he wanted to seize power.
Objectively evaluating his accusations, they weren't entirely without merit. But looking at who stood beside him revealed the absurdity of his position… To benefit Konoha, one must collude with Konoha's traitors, is that it?
The Third Hokage looked deeply at Danzo Shimura, pained by his old comrade's fall. He truly hadn't seen this side of him before… Which meant Danzo's accusations weren't entirely baseless either; the Third Hokage did have problems managing his subordinates, having indeed granted excessive authority to certain individuals – though those individuals weren't Kushina Uzumaki or Habara.
Since things had come to this, there was no point in trying to reason with him.
Quickly, the Third Hokage pieced something else together. "You intend to move against me today… What have you done to the Uchiha?"
Regardless of when Orochimaru and Danzo had started colluding, if they planned to strike at the Hokage, they needed chaos as cover. And Konoha's chaos undoubtedly centered on the Uchiha clan.
"One of my helpers will be creating a small disturbance over by the Uchiha tonight," Orochimaru stated with continued candor.
The Uchiha were a powder keg; a single spark would cause an explosion. A "small disturbance" likely meant just that… Orochimaru didn't know that Uchiha Obito had actually only half-finished his task before rushing off to try and pick up the spoils, only to get burned by Amaterasu and retreat having gained nothing.
However, under the extremely tense circumstances, even that minor incident had served its purpose… Obito using genjutsu to control an Uchiha ninja, making him run around shouting and causing mayhem in the night – that was enough.
Well, in truth, even if they did nothing, the Uchiha clan would likely erupt tonight anyway, because Orochimaru and Danzo's plan coincided with Uchiha Itachi's own.
"Enough talk. Orochimaru, you've been away from Konoha for so long. Let me see how much you've progressed," Hiruzen declared, realizing the Uchiha situation was about to blow. He had no more time to waste chatting with these two.
He focused solely on Orochimaru now, completely ignoring Danzo Shimura.
"Let me remind you both, this is Konoha. Your barrier won't hold for long."
With that, the Third Hokage summoned his personal animal companion. The summon then used the Transformation Technique, turning into a thick, long, black staff.
Present-day Konoha possessed highly efficient experts in dismantling sealing barriers. A barrier of the Four Violet Flames Formation's level might very well be dismantled by them.
Fighting in this confined space greatly favored the Third Hokage. His taijutsu prowess was off the charts. Compared to him, Orochimaru was just a useless lump, and Danzo Shimura nothing more than rotten waste.
The Third Hokage brought the Adamantine Staff crashing down. Orochimaru met it head-on. Danzo Shimura hastily retreated. In the next instant, Orochimaru's head exploded… Yes, because Orochimaru, quite literally, met the blow head-on.
Ex… Exploded?
The sudden development momentarily stunned the Third Hokage. He hadn't expected Orochimaru to be dealt with so easily. Then, he saw Orochimaru's headless neck and limbs suddenly spread out like octopus tentacles, rapidly extending and tangling around him.
The Third Hokage tried to break free, realizing the bindings couldn't actually hold him. But just as he gathered his strength, he saw a new head sprout from Orochimaru's neck. This head quickly leaned close to the Hokage and hissed, "In these matters, my skill doesn't even match Jiraiya's, but… there's no harm in trying."
Poof!
With a loud sound, a massive purple snake appeared within the office. Due to the confined space of the barrier and the snake's immense size, its appearance instantly crammed the room like sardines in a can. Fortunately, its angle was correct, and it completed its task.
The giant snake swallowed both Orochimaru and the Third Hokage whole. Then, with another poof, the Summoning Technique was instantly dispelled. Looking around the office, the figures of the Hokage and Orochimaru were gone.
The Third Hokage was right; fighting openly in Konoha would create too much commotion, making it difficult for Orochimaru to operate freely. So, from the beginning, he had planned how to change the battlefield.
This confrontation between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage occurred nearly a decade earlier than in the original timeline. At this point, the Third Hokage was undoubtedly stronger. Orochimaru also hadn't resorted to reanimating the First and Second Hokages. Thus, the power balance seemed clearly in Hiruzen's favor.
The problem was, this Orochimaru wasn't the Orochimaru who followed the 'standard' development path either. At the very least, he hadn't yet gone down the ruinous path of the Living Corpse Reincarnation.
In this sense, one could perhaps morally condemn Habara for aiding a villain. It was Habara, after all, who had filled Orochimaru's head with nonsense about the Sage Art: All Things of Nature Technique, Wood Release Sage Art, the Sage's eyes, the Sage's body… These ideas had undoubtedly 'corrected' Orochimaru's development path, pushing him towards a stranger, more extreme direction.
As for holding Habara legally responsible…
After the two disappeared, the wary Danzo Shimura finally snapped back to attention. He muttered under his breath, "Time for the next phase of the plan… Spread the news, then make the arrest."
One might ask: does such a Danzo truly feel the thrill of controlling and manipulating everything? He hadn't done any of the actual work, after all. He couldn't beat the Third Hokage himself, nor could he handle the Uchiha alone… Apologies, but yes, he truly felt it. At this moment, he was extremely satisfied with his actions. To surpass others, one doesn't necessarily need to become better oneself; one can simply make others worse.
Truly…
Those who rely on insidious schemes can only ever rely on insidious schemes. Trash can never be treasured.