Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was suffocating. Sarutobi Hiruzen sat back in his chair, pipe in his mouth, eyes cast downward, lost in silence as he exhaled faint puffs of smoke.
The air was so heavy it felt like being trapped inside a sealed clay jar under immense pressure—one could only think of shattering the walls to breathe again.
"Cough, cough!"
It wasn't until Koharu Utatane couldn't suppress her cough that the oppressive silence was finally broken.
"Hiruzen, about this matter…"
Homura Mitokado exhaled deeply, casting a sidelong glance at Danzo, who stood rigidly without bowing his head, then turned to Sarutobi and said, "This time… Danzo might have gone too far—"
"Conducting Wood Release experiments in secret, hiding the results and even concealing a Wood Release ninja—how is that not too far?"
Before Homura could finish defending Danzo, Sarutobi cut him off coldly. "That's Wood Release we're talking about. Don't tell me you two don't know what that means!?"
His words left Homura slightly flushed with embarrassment as he glanced helplessly at Danzo.
It was Wood Release, after all.
No one expected Danzo to be bold enough to secretly keep a Wood Release ninja.
If not for the investigation into Orochimaru's defection, they still wouldn't know Wood Release had resurfaced.
Danzo's control over "Root" was becoming unsettling even to Homura.
"Root was meant to be the root of Konoha, the root of the ANBU, and my root… But now? It's hiding information this vital from the Hokage. That can only mean—"
Sarutobi paused and squinted at Danzo.
"—it's become a private organization serving someone's personal ambitions?"
Danzo finally responded, voice low and gravelly: "Everything I've done was for Konoha."
Sarutobi inhaled deeply, pipe smoke veiling his face in hazy gray. From Danzo's view, the Hokage's expression was unreadable.
"Hiruzen…"
Koharu finally broke her silence as well.
"Enough."
Sarutobi raised a hand, clearly irritated.
When Lord Tobirama died in an ambush by the Hidden Cloud, he had inherited the Hokage mantle under crisis. But the role of Hokage was nothing like his youthful dreams. He had been thrust into war and constant pressure from the powerful clans.
Initially, neither the Uchiha nor the Hyuga respected him.
Fortunately, the Sarutobi clan, along with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, supported him. With their help and political maneuvering—like driving a wedge between the Uchiha and Hyuga with Danzo's help—he finally secured his position.
Back then, Root had merely been a training branch of the ANBU. But once Danzo took charge, it turned into a covert unit for handling Konoha's dirtiest work—like monitoring clans.
Technically, Root was just a subunit of the ANBU. According to regulations, Danzo should have only commanded four teams, seventeen members total.
But under Sarutobi's tacit indulgence, Root expanded unchecked, growing darker and more autonomous with each passing year.
If it kept going, it would no longer be part of the ANBU—it'd be Danzo's private army.
That could not be allowed.
"We're not discussing the Wood Release ninja 'Kinoe' anymore. I've already placed him in ANBU. There's another matter at hand."
Ignoring Danzo's glare, Sarutobi looked seriously at the three advisors.
"We've received intel that the Hidden Cloud is mobilizing troops at the border. They may be up to something again."
Koharu and Homura both frowned.
"Again? Disgusting."
Homura scowled. "No matter what, we can't act rashly."
"Homura's right," Koharu added. "Whatever they're planning, we must stay on guard. We can't give them any excuse to start a war."
Sarutobi said nothing, shaking ash from his pipe. He turned to Danzo. "And you? What do you think?"
Danzo's dark eyes narrowed. After a pause, he growled, "We should hurt them. Make it count."
Sarutobi didn't respond right away. He took a long drag from his pipe, exhaling a dense cloud of smoke.
The Third Great Ninja War might have ended, but the world was far from peaceful.
Konoha's high-end forces had taken massive hits: Hatake Sakumo's suicide, the deaths of Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and Jinchuriki Kushina Uzumaki in the Nine-Tails attack.
The village hadn't recovered from the war, and more shinobi had died in the Nine-Tails' rampage orchestrated by the masked man.
Even with all of Konoha's legacy and strength, it was too much.
Everyone could see that Konoha's "golden age" was over.
Though the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone had suffered losses, they now saw a rare opportunity—and began testing Fire Country's borders.
Every few months, there was a skirmish. Injuries were mounting.
Konoha's passive response only emboldened its enemies.
Fortunately, the war-weariness in Lightning and Earth countries was still strong. Neither village dared declare war without cause.
But they only needed a reason. One solid excuse to rally their daimyo, nobles, and citizens.
Sarutobi refused to give them that excuse. Again and again, he chose to endure.
He simply couldn't gamble anymore.
"Huff…"
He exhaled slowly, looking down at the report in his hand.
His aging face, hidden behind smoke, remained unreadable even in the sunlight.
"Iwagakure… Kumogakure…" he muttered. "For now, we wait. Assemble a unit to strengthen our border defenses."
Danzo frowned and instinctively objected: "That will only make those bastards bolder!"
Sarutobi glanced at him and said evenly, "In that case, you can dispatch a team from my Root to assist at the border."
"What?" Danzo froze.
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "Is there a problem?"
One more issue, and Danzo's leadership over Root would be finished.
Danzo realized this and turned away, his face dark and conflicted.
"Hmph! Why would I have a problem? It's your Root after all!"
He turned to leave, but paused at the door.
"Hiruzen… remember your choice today. You'll regret it!"
"Watch your tone, Danzo," Sarutobi said coldly, tapping his pipe. "I'm still the Hokage."
Danzo's face twitched.
"Then be the Hokage, damn it!" he growled and slammed the door behind him.