Sarutobi Hiruzen saw the flicker of anger in Danzo's eyes and instantly understood what was going through his old friend's mind.
But he didn't care.
Every one of the late Hokage's students had dreamed of wearing that hat. Hiruzen wasn't surprised. He just didn't let it bother him.
"If you have something to say, then say it," Hiruzen said flatly. "Otherwise, get back to Root."
Danzo inhaled sharply, biting down his irritation.
When he spoke, his voice was cold and precise: "Uzumaki Kushina is far too important. She needs to be placed under Root's supervision immediately."
He leaned forward slightly, a gleam in his eye.
"Don't worry. As head of Root, I guarantee I'll turn her into the perfect kunoichi—completely obedient."
Once Kushina was brought into Root, it wouldn't matter what happened after. Danzo was confident he could reshape her, mold her mind and loyalty entirely.
As for Lady Mito... well, her time was nearly up anyway. Danzo's visit today was more of a test run—to see where Hiruzen stood. When Mito died and the Nine-Tails moved to a new host, Danzo planned to make his move.
But Hiruzen just rolled his eyes.
"What are you thinking?"
Was Danzo blind in both his eye and his mind?
Did he really believe Hiruzen would hand over Kushina to him?
What was wrong with this guy? Was it amnesia? Early-onset dementia?
"You—!" Danzo growled, stepping forward. His single eye stared daggers.
He tried to reel himself in, forcing the anger back down.
"The other villages have perfected their jinchūriki systems," he said, voice sharp. "And they've been stealing the Uzumaki sealing arts. Their methods are getting better. Stronger."
"You saw the last war. The signs of tailed beasts were all over the battlefield."
"When Konoha faced an alliance of four great villages, every last registered Senju shinobi was lost. We barely won."
He paused.
"Can you really promise that next time, we'll win again?"
This time, Hiruzen didn't answer.
Because—deep down—he couldn't.
Danzo wasn't wrong. Ever since the Hidden Villages formed, the wars had gotten bigger. Bloodier. What used to be clan skirmishes had escalated into full-scale military conflicts between nations.
Back in the Warring States era, a few hundred casualties made a battle memorable.
Now? If a war didn't take thousands—tens of thousands—it wasn't over.
In the last Great Ninja War, every village deployed their tailed beasts. Lightning. Earth. Wind. Water.
Even though the sealing techniques were still flawed and the jinchūriki couldn't fully control the tailed beasts, Konoha was battered.
Crushed.
He couldn't lie to himself. If war broke out again, he wasn't sure they could survive another round.
And if they lost?
The price wouldn't be just reparations.
They'd lose land.
The Land of Fire itself would be carved up.
Konoha would fall.
Just one loss, and their enemies would bury them.
Hiruzen puffed harder on his pipe, eyes drifting to the glowing crystal ball on his desk.
Danzo was right about one thing: the Nine-Tails was too powerful to gamble with.
And Danzo... was incredibly effective at raising shinobi.
Root agents were cold. Efficient. Task-driven.
They never hesitated.
He used them often—quietly, but often.
Silence filled the room.
So long, in fact, that Danzo's patience started to crack.
Finally, Hiruzen spoke.
"Your suggestion is... a good one."
Danzo's mouth twitched. Hope stirred in his chest.
Honestly, he hadn't expected Hiruzen to agree right away. He figured he'd have to keep returning—wearing him down, whispering in his ear until the old man finally gave in.
But now—
"But I won't agree."
Danzo's smile froze.
Even the muscles around his bandaged eye spasmed.
"...What did you say?!"
He hadn't even snapped out of his fantasy yet.
Hiruzen ignored him, gaze still locked on the crystal ball.
"The Nine-Tails is simply too powerful. The only ones who could suppress it were the First Hokage and... that man."
"And right now, we don't have anyone in Konoha who can use Wood Release."
He tapped the ashes out of his pipe and continued.
"Your training works well for typical shinobi. But for a jinchūriki? It's too risky. I won't take that chance."
Danzo's cane trembled in his hand, knuckles going white.
He snapped, "At least my method guarantees obedience! The Uzumaki bloodline is strong enough, and with the proper sealing, we can suppress the Nine-Tails!"
"The odds of losing control are extremely low!"
Hiruzen calmly refilled his pipe and knocked the stem clean.
Then he looked Danzo dead in the eye.
"Don't forget—I'm Hokage. And without my order, you're not touching this matter."
That was that.
Danzo stood frozen.
No comeback. No clever response.
He stomped his cane against the wood floor, glaring at Hiruzen with venom.
"You..."
His eye lingered on the Hokage's hat—longing, bitter.
Then he turned and stormed toward the door, cloak sweeping behind him.
Before leaving, he looked back one last time.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen."
Hiruzen didn't respond. He just turned toward the portraits of past Hokage hanging on the wall.
"Ahh…"
He let out a long sigh.
Was this the right decision?
His hope was that Kushina could be bound not through chains—but through will. Through the Will of Fire. That she would grow to belong in Konoha. Choose to stay.
But...
The Uzumaki clan was gone.
Most of the survivors resented Konoha—refused to come here even when tracked down. Some even said they'd rather die.
Kushina was the only one who agreed to come. That was a miracle in itself.
But even she had a limit.
Ninjas had short lifespans. If Kushina died young, like many did—what then? Another host for the Nine-Tails?
Don't be stupid.
If they just tossed the Nine-Tails into anyone with a decent chakra reserve, it'd break loose constantly.
They'd spend more time dealing with internal disasters than enemy nations.
So Hiruzen had another plan:
Let Kushina spread her bloodline here. Build a future in Konoha.
A long-term strategy.
He glanced at the crystal ball again—and focused on a particular face.
A bright, confident smile. Blonde hair.
"Namikaze Minato... hmm."
The Academy teachers talked about him constantly. A once-in-a-generation genius. Not even the Uchiha kid in his class could match him.
Hiruzen had recently met him in person.
His strength was impressive—but more importantly, he had the Will of Fire.
He'd die for the village without hesitation.
And that sparked an idea.
The Hidden Cloud's Eight-Tails had been acting up lately. If they caught wind of an Uzumaki living in Konoha, they might get ideas.
Hiruzen turned toward a sealed folder on the desk.
The label read: "Raima."
Full title: List of Hidden Cloud Spies Embedded in Konoha.
He smirked like a fox.
He hadn't exposed them yet—they hadn't crossed any lines. But now?
They might come in handy.
Still... that wouldn't be enough.
Jiraiya.
Tsunade was off gambling somewhere—not exactly the ideal mentor.
Orochimaru had become cold and obsessed with science. He'd barely shown his face lately.
That left one option.
Jiraiya could mentor them both.
Kushina. Minato.
He'd bring them into the Hokage faction early.
There's a path forward after all...
Later, during the lunch break—
Students either went home or ate the bentos they'd brought.
Ren and Minato walked to a shady spot beneath the trees and sat down.
As Minato unwrapped his lunchbox, he looked up. "Ren, what are your plans this afternoon?"
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"Sword practice, obviously."
Minato knew that.
Ren practiced with a wooden sword constantly—he never slacked off.
Which made the question… kind of weird.
He gave Minato a side-eye.
Sure, after arriving in this world, Ren had considered laying low and avoiding attention. But he couldn't just stop doing what he'd trained for all these years. It was muscle memory.
Minato, still looking flustered, mumbled, "Ren... I want to eat fish."
Ren: "..."
He looked at their lunchboxes—both packed with tempura.
Tempura was deep-fried food coated in egg batter.
You could use pork, veggies... or fish.
And today, Ren was sure his mom used fish.
So when Minato said he "wanted to eat fish"...
Ren stared at him for a second.
Then something clicked.
"Minato... do you really want to eat fish?"
"Uh... yeah." Minato nodded, face turning a shade redder.
Right.
He didn't want to eat fish.
He wanted to invite Kushina.
But was way too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Coward.
He shook his head and took a bite of his lunch.