Danzo entered the Hokage Office without knocking.
As Danzo walked in, Sarutobi Hiruzen was standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window in the Hokage Office, overlooking Konoha.
The Hokage Building was very tall, tall enough that one could take in the entire main district of Konoha from atop it.
"Hiruzen, is there something you want to discuss?" Danzo asked.
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around, nodded, and said, "Take a look at the documents on my desk."
Danzo walked over to the desk, picked up the documents and started to flip through them. The name "Habu Mokgetsu" instantly caught his eye.
Seeing Mokgetsu's name, Danzo squinted slightly, and a guess flashed through his mind.
"I just reminded him not to expose his identity, and he's already been found out. Truly incompetent," Danzo thought to himself.
However, as an experienced actor, Danzo's expression showed no change. He quickly finished reading the documents, which contained nothing but Mokgetsu's information.
"Isn't it just the promotion of a Special Jonin with outstanding educational abilities? Do we really need both of us to confirm this?" Danzo said with a look of calm indifference.
Since Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't making it clear, he pretended to be ignorant too.
Hearing Danzo's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen burst into laughter.
"Haha, Danzo, are you sure this is just an ordinary Special Jonin?" Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, looking at Danzo.
"Does he have other special qualities besides what's recorded about his strong teaching abilities?" Danzo continued to feign ignorance.
He would never admit to placing people in the Ninja Academy on his own accord.
Sarutobi Hiruzen placed a pipe in his mouth, took a puff, and said, "Danzo, stop pretending with me. I know he's a Root member you illegally trained."
Then Sarutobi Hiruzen tossed some more documents at Danzo.
After reading them, Danzo's face instantly changed. Not only did they contain information on Mokgetsu's secret training, but also on the nurturing of other operatives.
"How does he know this?" Danzo was bewildered, not expecting his so-called operatives to be completely transparent to the Third Hokage.
Though Danzo had established another Anbu-like unit known as Root under the guise of Anbu training, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't foolish. He wouldn't allow Danzo's power to grow unchecked, thus limiting the number of Root members.
This was the reason Danzo resorted to secretly training operatives like Mokgetsu—to circumvent the restrictions.
"I'm doing all this to protect Konoha. With the limited number of Root members, it's impossible to ensure Konoha's safety," Danzo said, not admitting his mistakes but attempting to persuade Sarutobi Hiruzen to loosen the restrictions on the Root.
"A great war is on the horizon, and Konoha will need more Root personnel to defend it. Hiruzen, don't tell me you believe Konoha can stay uninvolved."
Danzo attempted a topic shift, from the violation of training regulations to whether Konoha would be dragged into war and how to protect it.
But Danzo's wit, compared to Sarutobi Hiruzen's decades of experience as Hokage, was lesser. Sarutobi understood Danzo's intention and wasn't misled, tapping the table and saying:
"Let's put other matters aside for now and discuss your illicit training of extra members."
"There are five people in total here, three of whom are descendants of war heroes. You actually dared to target them, Danzo. Are you trying to destroy Konoha's Will of Fire?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze became sharp, his eyes piercing as he stared at Danzo with imposing pressure.
The so-called war heroes were the ninjas who had sacrificed themselves in battles, like Mokgetsu's parents who perished in the war.
Danzo remained silent. Usually, it's not easy to deceive or target ordinary children, and as a descendant of ninjas, Mokgetsu generally wouldn't lack talent.
"I'm also nurturing talents for Konoha," Danzo thought for a moment but ultimately made a feeble argument.
"Didn't you promote Habu Mokgetsu to a Special Jonin? Doesn't that count as talent?"
"Perhaps he'd be more exceptional without your interference," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied bluntly.
In Hiruzen's eyes, Mokgetsu indeed had notable talent, with standout teaching abilities, a strong gift for Fuinjutsu, competent skills in Water Release and Fire Release, and adept social behavior.
"Mokgetsu doesn't belong in the Root. Come to the Hokage Building tomorrow and remove the Curse Seal from him," Sarutobi Hiruzen stated his ultimate purpose.
Acquiring Mokgetsu was his goal today, while reprimanding Danzo was ancillary.
"What do you mean, Hiruzen? I invested effort into training him, and I am the leader of the Root," Danzo said, clenching his fist.
Although Mokgetsu wasn't a Root member Danzo valued highly, having him taken away felt like the fruit of his labor being picked by someone else—a real aggravation!
"If you refuse me, you'll regret it," Sarutobi Hiruzen said flatly.
Danzo's expression fluctuated, and he didn't immediately respond to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"What about the resources I've invested in him?" Danzo finally spoke up.
Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and pointed to the documents on the table.
Danzo instantly understood Sarutobi Hiruzen's implication—there would be no compensation for illicit training.
Danzo took a deep breath and coldly said, "I'll come tomorrow."
After finishing, Danzo turned to leave. As he reached the door, he spoke again: "Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
"I am the Hokage," Sarutobi Hiruzen, seated, reminded him.
Bam!
The office's wooden door slammed shut violently.
After leaving the office, Danzo's expression returned to normal.
It was just losing one Special Jonin. He might be upset, but certainly not furious. His display of anger in the office was merely to convey his discontent and to prompt Sarutobi Hiruzen to offer compensation.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had no desire to compensate, but correspondingly, aside from Mokgetsu, the other four individuals trained illicitly could be ignored by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
This was the underlying message when Sarutobi pointed to the documents on the desk. Hence, aside from Mokgetsu, the two didn't discuss the other individuals.
The four, apart from Mokgetsu, would effectively become Root Organization members, though they wouldn't appear on the official Root Organization member list.
"Fortunately, Yo wasn't found out," Danzo thought to himself.
Upon seeing those lists of operatives, Danzo felt a jolt as he thought his hidden Wood Release Ninja was discovered.
As long as his Wood Release Ninja remained hidden, even if other operatives were exposed, Danzo felt the damage wasn't significant. He believed in the power of Wood Release.
As long as he could nurture the Wood Release Ninja, who would have the final say in Konoha in the future was uncertain.
However, on the way back to the Root Base, Danzo still felt a bit irritated. Just yesterday, he was contemplating that once Mokgetsu reached a high position in the Ninja School, he would essentially have another sphere of influence in Konoha. Yet today, Mokgetsu was promptly taken away.
"Go inform Yo to come over," Danzo instructed his subordinates upon returning to the Root Base.