Below the Hokage Building, Danzo walked slowly, constantly organizing his speech in his heart, attempting to persuade Hiruzen with perfect rhetoric.
"Must not get angry, must not argue..." Danzo whispered a warning to himself; this was an experience he had summarized from years of working with Hiruzen.
After all, once the two of them argued and Hiruzen's temper flared, he would use his status as Hokage to pressure him, leaving Danzo in an awkward position, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
After hesitating for a moment, Danzo regained his composed and confident air, slowly walking up the Hokage Building.
From within the Hokage's office, lecherous laughter echoed out from time to time.
"Oh ho, so white, so big."
The strongest Hokage in history, the highly respected Hiruzen Sarutobi, was hunched over, staring intently at his desk.
On the Hokage's official desk sat an expensive purple cushion. In the center of the cushion lay a fist-sized crystal ball, reflecting a thick white mist.
An uninformed person might think the Hokage was focusing on the situation on the Mist battlefield, but in fact, the image on the crystal ball was within the village—the largest women's bathhouse.
With two puffs of air from his nostrils, Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands moved through empty space, manipulating the Telescope Technique to switch perspectives—clearer, more focused, highlighting two centers and one fundamental point.
(Since no one wants to read it, the scene here will not be described.)
"Hiss, that's the newlywed bride of the Inuzuka family. Hmph, that brat is lucky, slurp..."
Creak...
The door was suddenly pushed open. As soon as Danzo Shimura entered, he saw his old friend with a perverted smile on his face.
Their eyes met, and the smile on Hiruzen's face froze as the atmosphere gradually became awkward.
"Ahem, Danzo, the snow is falling so heavily. Your shoulders are wet." Hiruzen turned to look out the window nonchalantly.
Danzo followed Hiruzen's gaze; the snowflakes were fluttering down.
Retracting his gaze, Danzo said noncommittally, "It is indeed very..."
His voice paused, and Danzo's lone eye narrowed. He thought to himself, 'What speed, as expected of the Hokage!'
The purple cushion and crystal ball had vanished. The drool at the corner of his mouth was wiped clean, and his disheveled Hokage robe was smooth again. Hiruzen sat upright with an intelligence report spread before him. He took a puff of his pipe, the smoke swirling to hide his face.
"Oh, it's Danzo." Hiruzen raised his hand to lightly adjust his hat. "Remember to knock before entering next time. Some intelligence shouldn't be disclosed too early."
As he spoke, he closed the scroll in front of him and put it in a drawer.
Danzo: "..."
His lone eye was devoid of emotion, staring fixedly at Hiruzen.
Danzo felt somewhat fortunate. Although the timing and method were slightly off, he had somehow gained the upper hand in terms of momentum. Perhaps the following conversation would go much more smoothly.
The death stare from his old friend made Hiruzen feel the pressure. He coughed twice and said seriously, "Danzo, what brings you here?"
"You've seen the intelligence from the front lines, right?" Danzo walked over to the sofa and sat down.
"The ones from the Hidden Mist side?"
Danzo nodded.
Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe to steady himself. "I've seen it. It was indeed a great victory. We can spare many people now to relieve the pressure on the Western front. Jiraiya has complained to me many times."
As smoke filled the room, Hiruzen's voice sounded particularly excited. "Hahaha, next it's Homura and Koharu's turn to have a headache. The village's finances are tight, and rewarding so many people at once will make them work overtime."
Danzo's brow furrowed, and his cane struck the ground heavily. "Hiruzen, you know that's not what I'm talking about."
The smile vanished from Hiruzen's face, his tone carrying a warning. "Danzo, the war isn't over yet. Don't cause unnecessary trouble."
"It will be too late when the war ends!" Danzo pulled out a scroll and threw it in front of Hiruzen. "Uchiha Makiya and Shisui abandoned their mission without authorization, causing huge losses to the village. This is the Root's assessment. They need to be held responsible."
"They saved their comrades, ended the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and accelerated the end of the war. They are heroes!" Hiruzen's tone was stern, attempting to settle the matter.
"But abandoning the mission is a fact!" Danzo clung to his point. "Missions and commissions are the foundation of the village. If everyone learns from Makiya to abandon missions at will, where will the village's credibility be? How will we accept commissions in the future? What will the nobles think of Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a heavy drag of his pipe. The tobacco burned, glowing with sparks, and he exhaled a large cloud of smoke, shrouding himself entirely.
Danzo's eyelid twitched. Hiruzen was like he had released a Hidden Mist Technique, shrinking his body into the smoke to avoid eye contact.
He took a deep breath, enduring the epic intake of second-hand smoke, and suppressed the urge to cough. "Have you forgotten our teacher's teachings? Always be wary of the Uchiha. The war against the Mist has greatly increased the Uchiha's prestige. According to the latest intelligence, their clan is planning to nominate Fugaku for the position of Hokage!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mouth curled slightly, but he didn't speak.
Uchiha Fugaku would never become Hokage. Other clans would never support the Uchiha. Konoha was like a cake, and the slices had long been divided. It was enough for the Uchiha to guard the Police Force; if they wanted to go further, countless people with vested interests would jump out to stop them.
The Hokage could only emerge from the Hokage's lineage.
Danzo continued to nag, listing various pros and cons. Hiruzen puffed on his pipe one drag after another, constantly maintaining the smoke screen. The one-eyed disabled old man even felt a bit of difficulty breathing.
"Hiruzen!" Danzo struck the ground forcefully, his tone serious. "We must immediately begin restricting the Uchiha. At least restrict either Shisui or Makiya, win over the other, and drive a wedge between them. Otherwise, we won't be able to control the Uchiha."
He leaned closer to Hiruzen, his tone softening. "My suggestion is to restrict Makiya and brainwash... I mean, train Shisui. Shisui is a child with the Will of Fire; he is good at thinking from the village's perspective."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Danzo and said nothing.
Danzo was overjoyed. He was all too familiar with Hiruzen's attitude. His old friend was always indecisive and hesitant, but if Danzo actually did something, Hiruzen would basically not step in to stop him.
This was tacit consent!
Danzo struck while the iron was hot. "Uchiha Makiya abandoned his mission without permission. We can use this point to suppress the Uchiha clan's prestige."
Hiruzen suddenly looked up. "I don't want to see a second White Fang incident."
Sakumo Hatake's suicide was a permanent regret in Hiruzen's heart. He blamed himself countless times, thinking that perhaps if he had done something, if he had stepped in to stop the rumors from spreading, the tragedy wouldn't have happened.
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in reality. He had hesitated from the beginning of the incident until the White Fang's suicide, and Konoha lost a great general forever.
"Hiruzen, this is a very good starting point. As long as..."
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
The conversation ended on a sour note. Danzo returned to the Root in a huff and immediately began formulating a plan, throwing Hiruzen's warning to the back of his mind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stupid and short-sighted. Only he, Danzo Shimura, was qualified to lead Konoha.
On the other side, Makiya returned from the market with a full load.
Carrying various vegetables and meats, Makiya returned to the Uchiha clan grounds. Instead of going home, he headed straight for a large courtyard on the outskirts of the clan area.
As he approached, he heard cheerful laughter coming from the yard.
Makiya kicked the door open with his foot and raised his hands high. "Grandma Mako, I'm back!"
Five or six children shouted and rushed toward Makiya. He pulled out candies from his pocket and distributed them, reaping a chorus of laughter.
A few older children, around eight or nine years old, took the groceries from Makiya's hands. Others were washing vegetables and cutting meat. By the stove, an old woman with white hair looked at Makiya with a smile.
"Ah, it's good to have you back, it's good to have you back."
Uchiha Mako, an elderly woman living alone; her children and grandchildren had all died in the war.
Grandma Mako loved taking care of the orphans in the clan. Makiya was orphaned after he transmigrated, and his two-year-old body couldn't take care of itself. He had relied entirely on Grandma Mako's feeding.
The orphans in the clan liked her very much. Grandma Mako wasn't short on money; the pensions of her children and grandchildren all went into the children's stomachs, including the dim-witted Obito.
However, that guy Obito didn't get along well with others in the clan and came less frequently. He also had a strong sense of self-esteem; even though he was dying for a taste, he was too embarrassed to ask for snacks.
Grandma Mako knew this situation as well. She would often stand by the roadside to 'accidentally encounter' Obito, waiting for the young man to help her cross the street so she could reward him with a piece of candy.
Makiya rolled up his sleeves to help wash the vegetables. To his surprise, he actually saw Obito mingling with a group of his peers, looking proud as if he were boasting about his battle experiences.
"You don't know, Kakashi was almost scared senseless at the time. That's the white-haired guy in my team. It was still the great Obito who used a Great Fireball Technique..."
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