The next day, inside the Hokage's Office.
The Third Hokage (Hiruzen Sarutobi) was frowning as he looked over the documents in his hand. A voice came from outside the door: "Lord Hokage, Hiashi's brother, Hizashi Hyūga, has arrived."
The Third Hokage put the papers away and nodded. "Send him in."
The door slid open, and a man with calm eyes and a stern face walked in, asking respectfully, "Lord Hokage, you summoned me?"
The Third Hokage tapped his pipe on the desk and smiled. "Hizashi, you haven't served as a squad leader for graduating students since you made Jonin, have you?"
Hizashi nodded. "That is correct."
The Third Hokage chuckled. "You are widely regarded as one of the Village's strongest Taijutsu specialists. I'm thinking of entrusting two young kids who are following the Taijutsu path to you. What do you think?"
Hizashi was slightly surprised. The Village rarely assigned Jonin from the major clans to be squad leaders for Academy graduates. Why was he being chosen this time? Surely there were many other Taijutsu experts in the Village.
Though he was curious, he didn't question the reason. He simply accepted the mission respectfully. "Yes, I will complete the task."
The Third Hokage smiled. "One of those children is very interested in Tenketsu (Chakra Points). You can give him some extra guidance."
"Tenketsu?" Hizashi was astonished. Without the Byakugan (White Eye), how could an outsider possibly hit Chakra Points with the naked eye?
"Understood," Hizashi promised earnestly. Lost in thought, he walked toward the door, where he bumped into a man with his right eye wrapped in a bandage who was just coming in.
"Lord Danzō!"
Danzō nodded and walked up to Hiruzen's desk. He spoke sternly, "Hiruzen, I heard that the Cloud Village (Kumogakure) is demanding we hand over the culprit. This is completely unacceptable!"
"Cloud... culprit..." Hizashi's heart jumped. Fearing he would hear something he shouldn't, he quickly walked away.
The Third Hokage frowned slightly. He had intended to remind Hizashi to be careful of Sa-na's power and perhaps not personally spar with the team when testing their abilities, but Hizashi left too quickly for him to call back. Moreover, he didn't want Danzō to know too much about Sa-na.
"Well, that boy Sa-na should know better than to go overboard," the Third Hokage sighed inwardly, then slowly addressed Danzō's concern. "The Cloud's demand just reached my hands, and you already know about it, old friend. Your reach is getting a bit long."
Danzō frowned slightly. "That's not the point. The point is we absolutely cannot hand anyone over! How would the outside world view Konoha if we did?"
The Third Hokage shook his head. "The Second Great Ninja War may have ended years ago, but the local conflicts between Konoha and the Cloud haven't stopped. How could I possibly bow to an enemy?"
Danzō couldn't help but scoff. "So, you're saying that if it were peacetime, you would hand someone over?"
The Third Hokage's tone was calm. "Since you haven't sat in this seat, of course you can be relentlessly stubborn regardless of the consequences. After all, you won't be the one to bear the responsibility if a war breaks out."
Danzō snorted. "Ultimately, it's because the current Konoha is too weak. If the First Hokage were still here, would those bandits from the Cloud dare to threaten us like this?"
The Third Hokage chuckled. "Given the First Lord's personality, they might actually still dare."
Danzō clenched his fist tightly. "Which is why we should cultivate another ninja as powerful as the First Hokage, one who can be used for our purposes."
Sensing a hidden agenda in Danzō's words, the Third Hokage frowned. "A powerhouse like the First Lord can't just be cultivated."
"Why not?" Danzō said in a seductive tone. "Don't we have the First Lord's cells?"
The Third Hokage's expression instantly turned cold. "You want to restart that experiment? I absolutely forbid it! Too many volunteers sacrificed their lives in that research. One painful failure like that is enough!"
"Failure? It wasn't entirely a failure," Danzō whispered.
"What do you mean?" the Third Hokage asked, puzzled.
Danzō took a deep breath. He didn't mention that he and Orochimaru had secretly restarted the experiment, only speaking vaguely: "Actually, there was one successful case back then. I took that child and raised him myself. He has now successfully mastered Wood Release (Mokuton)! "
"He truly mastered Wood Release?" The Third Hokage was genuinely shocked. Was the incredible power that the First Hokage used to suppress the Tailed Beasts about to reappear in the Ninja World?
But he quickly realized something was wrong. "Wait, the volunteers back then were all adult ninja. But you just said 'child'?"
Danzō spun a lie. "He was a posthumous child. One of the ninja who volunteered was pregnant but didn't know it. In any case, that's not the main point."
The Third Hokage was suspicious. "You've hidden this for so long. Why tell me now? That's not like you."
Danzō looked rather embarrassed. "There may have been some deviation in the experiment back then. That child's Wood Release doesn't possess the great power the First Hokage had. Of course, it's possible he's still young and unable to tap into the true potential of Wood Release."
The Third Hokage was slightly confused. Wood Release was synonymous with power in the Ninja World. He couldn't imagine what a "not-so-powerful" Wood Release would even look like. It couldn't be real-estate-development-style Wood Release, could it? "So, what is your proposal?"
Danzō spoke in a deep voice. "I thought about it seriously later. It's likely because his physique isn't strong enough. Rumors say the First Lord could fight Madara Uchiha's Susanoo with just his body."
The Third Hokage had a hunch about Danzō's intentions, and his voice chilled. "Why don't you speak more plainly?"
Danzō's voice was calm. "I heard the Village has a Taijutsu genius with no Ninjutsu talent. No Ninjutsu talent means he won't reject the Wood Release. A strong physique means he might be able to bear its power. He is a rare specimen for Wood Release experimentation. Through him, we might be able to recreate the strength of the First Lord and the glory of Konoha."
"Enough!" The Third Hokage slammed his hand on the desk. "I will not pursue the matter of you privately concealing a Wood Release ninja, but you will abandon any thoughts concerning that boy!"
Danzō spoke coldly. "You must sense it too. The clouds of war are drawing near. The Land of Fire occupies the most fertile territory in the Ninja World. If war erupts, we will certainly be the target again. We might have to fight three or even four nations at once, just like the last Great Ninja War. If we don't increase our strength quickly, we may lose the war, and lose the future. Your soft-heartedness will only bring greater loss to the Village!"
The Third Hokage retorted sharply. "That boy's parents already sacrificed themselves for the Village! If we can't even preserve their lineage, what is the point of the Village's existence?"
Danzō stood his ground. "The meaning of the Village's existence is the future of the greater population! Ninja are weapons of war; that is the destiny of a ninja. Furthermore, he won't necessarily be in danger. Who knows, he might even master the strongest power in the Ninja World because of this?"
The Third Hokage recalled the power he witnessed the previous day and shook his head slightly. "How do you know that he can't become the strongest in the Ninja World on his own someday?"
Danzō frowned. "Are you serious? A Taijutsu ninja?"
Seeing the Third Hokage wouldn't budge, Danzō pressed further. "Hiruzen, are you really going to stop me from upholding our Master's will?"
The Third Hokage scoffed. "I don't recall our Master ever passing on that kind of will to you."
Danzō said in a low voice, "Don't play dumb. You've been Hokage for so many years. You must know that our Master conducted no fewer human experiments than I have."
The Third Hokage was silent for a moment. "Regardless, our Master never conducted experiments on the bodies of Konoha's own ninja."
"Oh, really?" Danzō sneered. "Our Master conducted many experiments on the corpse of Madara Uchiha. While Madara did betray the Village, the First Lord never truly defined him as a rogue ninja."
The Third Hokage didn't want to continue on this point. "There's no need to discuss the past any further. That's enough."
"You..." Danzō tried to say more, but the Third Hokage cut him off directly. "I said, that is my decision. Don't forget, you are only the Hokage's Assistant—I am the Hokage!"
This line seemed to pierce Danzō's composure, and his face became ugly. "Hmph! You will regret this!"