Chapter 28 – A Word of Warning
Inside the Hokage's office, Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi sat across from each other.
The two most powerful figures in Konoha drank tea in silence, neither making the first move to speak.
Danzō was waiting for Hiruzen to open the conversation.
He wanted to know whether his old classmate was truly unaware of the suspicions surrounding Minamoto Ren.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, wasn't thinking along those lines at all.
The greatest difference between him and Danzō was that Hiruzen could tolerate others.
Once he decided to let someone go, he would not keep circling back to doubt them.
That was a world apart from Danzō's habit of holding grudges and returning every slight tenfold.
"Has Ōnoki made a move against Kumo yet?" Hiruzen, unable to read his old classmate's intentions, decided to start with a question about the war.
"A few minor skirmishes—nothing serious," Danzō replied, face expressionless.
"The Tailed Beasts?"
"No. Neither of them has managed to produce a perfect Jinchūriki yet. They wouldn't dare recklessly deploy them on the front lines."
Danzō's eyes stayed locked on Hiruzen.
"Then… did you uncover some sort of secret pact between them?" Hiruzen grew even more puzzled.
"No… Enough! Hiruzen, even now you're still playing dumb! Or maybe you really are that blind!"
Danzō suddenly slammed his teacup down, shattering it.
The ANBU standing guard outside heard the sudden outburst and quickly shut the door tighter.
Having his face slapped in this way, and still not knowing what exactly was going on, Hiruzen's expression turned grim.
"What exactly are you implying?"
"What am I implying?" Danzō sneered, tossing a portrait onto the desk.
It was the registration image ANBU had taken of Minamoto Ren.
"This man is suspicious. He's either a spy or a ninja resurrected through some forbidden jutsu. Hand him over to me, and I'll pry open his mouth!"
Hiruzen only needed a glance to recognize Ren.
Such a distinctive face was rare among ANBU.
But how had Danzō come to suspect him?
"Do you have any evidence?" Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, fatigue settling in.
"Evidence? The fact that I came to you is evidence enough! Think about it—a mere genin, and in a single month he's capable of killing a jōnin. Even if it was during a chaotic battle, it was still a jōnin!
You're the Hokage, Hiruzen—you know better than anyone the gap between a genin and a jōnin!"
Danzō slammed his palm heavily on Hiruzen's desk.
And in truth, he wasn't wrong—on paper the difference was just two ranks, but in reality, they were worlds apart.
It was only natural for a jōnin to kill a genin.
A genin killing a jōnin? That was the kind of event that happened once in decades.
"I know. But Ren has already proven his loyalty to me. There are reasons—details—you don't know, Danzō. You can't go around doubting everyone in the village. They are our comrades, the very roots of Konoha!"
Hiruzen's own patience had worn thin.
Seeing Danzō press harder and harder, he too slammed his hand down, his voice louder than Danzō's.
"Heh." Danzō gave a cold chuckle. "And what about his sycophantic behavior toward Nawaki and Tsunade? Is that loyalty to Konoha too?"
On this point, Danzō had struck true.
He had grasped part of Ren's motivation—something Hiruzen had deliberately overlooked.
Ren had indeed approached Nawaki to get closer to Tsunade, bending rules in the process.
But Hiruzen had turned a blind eye because the results had been beneficial—Ren had entered the "Crown Prince" training squad, saved both Nawaki and Hyūga Haining, and even managed to get along with the Sannin.
Those three were famously proud and difficult to befriend.
Getting them to open up to anyone was no small feat.
"This…" Hiruzen faltered.
"You can't examine a person through a magnifying glass. There's no such thing as a perfect shinobi.
Maybe Ren just happens to think Tsunade is beautiful and wanted to get close to her brother, hm?"
That layer of truth did exist.
But Danzō hadn't expected Hiruzen to go so far as to tell such a self-deceiving story.
It proved Hiruzen's trust in Ren had reached a dangerous level.
Words alone would no longer sway him.
So Danzō played his final card.
"Hanegawa, come in. Tell the Hokage what you've found."
His voice was cold and sharp.
An aging ANBU captain entered, holding a ninjatō engraved with the character "苦" for "Pain".
It was the blade Ren had taken after killing Yoru Kurayami.
Bowing deeply, the man spoke respectfully to Hiruzen:
"Hokage-sama, I've traced the origin of this sword. Its owner was Yoru Kurayami, an elite jōnin of the Hidden Rain, codename 'Raincutter' within the Rain ANBU.
He was a close confidant of Hanzō of the Salamander—and a prime candidate for the position of Rain ANBU commander."
Hiruzen's reaction was like a knee-jerk reflex—he shot to his feet, mind reeling.
The situation had completely changed.
Killing an ordinary jōnin…
and killing a candidate for the leader of Rain's ANBU…
Those were two matters of an entirely different nature.
The first point, Hiruzen Sarutobi could easily brush aside by telling himself that Minamoto Ren was simply a prodigy.
But the second… if Hiruzen still tried to deceive himself, it would be nothing short of willfully ignoring the elephant in the room.
Danzō said nothing. Instead, he left Hiruzen to think it through on his own. In moments like this, letting a man reach the conclusion himself was far more effective.
After a long silence, Hiruzen took the blade from Hanegawa's hands, studied it for a moment, then slid the exposed steel back into its sheath.
"No. This child's actions have earned my trust. A village cannot be governed under the principle of 'guilty until proven innocent.'
As long as he has done nothing to harm Konoha, I will not lay a hand on him."
For once, the Third Hokage displayed the spirit of a true shinobi leader—standing firm on matters of principle. As the Hokage, he judged people solely on their deeds, not on whatever secrets they tried to hide.
In this regard, Danzō fell far short of Hiruzen.
Seeing that even with such concrete evidence, Hiruzen still refused to hand the man over, Danzō grew restless. He cursed inwardly—if only he were the Hokage!
If he were in charge, how could the village have fallen into such a pitiful, weakened state?
Striding to the door, his grip tightened so hard on the handle it seemed it might shatter.
"Hiruzen, everything I do is for Konoha. I have overseen the ANBU for years. No one understands the enemy's spies better than I do, nor the endless stream of forbidden and secret techniques that appear in the shinobi world—some of which even you may not yet comprehend.
I'll say this only once: if you refuse to listen to me, you will regret it."
But the Hiruzen who had made up his mind was beyond persuasion. Sitting in the Hokage's chair, he let out a long sigh and, as though speaking to an unavoidable fate, declared—
"Danzō… I am the Hokage."
Bang!
Danzō slammed the door behind him, storming out. Hanegawa followed quickly in his wake. By the time they left the Hokage's office, the anger had already drained from Danzō's face, replaced with cold composure.
After all, in politics, if you couldn't change your face at will, you wouldn't last long.
Hiruzen might have spoken firmly, but Danzō's legs carried him.
If the Hokage refused to allow a public arrest or open investigation, then he would simply act in the shadows.
It wouldn't be the first time—and for Konoha's sake, he would bear as much of the darkness of the shinobi world as necessary.