With the morale of Konoha's shinobi rising rapidly, Danzō turned toward Jiraiya. The Sannin immediately understood the meaning behind that look and stepped forward.
"This is not a defeat, and it is not a draw. This is a victory! During the Third Shinobi War, the other four great villages attacked us again and again, yet Konoha survived and continued moving forward. Even now, after the tragedy of the Nine-Tails attack, we are still standing."
Jiraiya swept his gaze across the shinobi gathered inside the headquarters as he spoke. He could see exhaustion, sadness, anger, and fear on their faces, but beneath all of it, something else was slowly beginning to appear.
Hope.
For a brief moment, Jiraiya seemed to regain the spark that had once inspired an entire generation. The man who had fought through the Third Shinobi War and earned his place as one of Konoha's greatest shinobi was standing before them once again.
His voice suddenly thundered throughout the headquarters.
"Show them that no matter how many hardships we face, Konoha is not something they can simply trample on! Show them that our Will of Fire still burns!"
The shinobi slowly raised their heads.
"Just as old leaves fall so that new ones can grow, we will fight so the younger generation can one day take our place! Even when we are gone, the will carried by every one of us will continue living through those who come after us!"
Jiraiya raised his fist high.
"That is our Will of Fire!"
"OOOOOH!"
Hundreds of voices erupted at once, filling the entire headquarters. Many of the shinobi had truly been moved by his words. They had suffered loss after loss, and hearing the ideals that once represented Konoha's pride was enough to reignite something inside them.
But not everyone was shouting for the same reason.
The clan leaders and many shinobi from Konoha's stronger families understood better than most just how much the so-called Will of Fire had changed over the years. Its original meaning had been simple. The older generation was supposed to protect the younger leaves, even sacrificing themselves so those new leaves could grow and eventually replace them.
Under the Third Hokage, however, many felt that principle had slowly been twisted.
Now it often seemed as if the younger leaves were the ones being burned so the older ones could continue living.
If the First Hokage or even the Second Hokage could see what had become of the philosophy they once used to unite Konoha, they would probably feel nothing but disappointment toward Hiruzen. And that was without even considering the many decisions made during his rule, especially those that had directly harmed certain clans.
Because of that, some clan leaders shouted only to maintain appearances. Others still believed deeply in the original Will of Fire, even if they no longer trusted the people currently ruling Konoha.
And some were thinking about something else entirely.
Among the cheering shinobi, several had begun seriously considering whether joining Root might actually be the better choice.
Danzō had shown them something unexpected during the battle.
He had fought personally.
He had risked his own life against the Eight-Tails and nearly succeeded in capturing Killer B.
For shinobi who felt ignored or undervalued under Konoha's current system, that image of Root's leader was surprisingly convincing. At the very least, Lord Danzō appeared willing to stand on the battlefield beside the men he commanded.
With both Danzō and Jiraiya raising their spirits, the army's morale began recovering quickly.
They had lost men, failed to capture the Eight-Tails, and paid a heavy price during their retreat.
But now they had something they had not possessed before.
One of the Legendary Sannin was fighting beside them again.
Meanwhile, inside Konoha, Hiruzen continued doing everything he could to maintain control of the village.
Or rather, everything he believed was necessary.
In his eyes, weakening the strongest clans while strengthening the Sarutobi Clan and giving more opportunities to civilian shinobi was simply the best way to preserve stability. Powerful clans were dangerous when allowed to grow unchecked. They became too focused on their own interests and eventually forgot that Konoha should always come first.
"When will those clans finally understand that everything I do is for their own good...?"
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
Hiruzen allowed the visitor to enter and immediately recognized one of the members of his clan.
"Oh? What is it, Saruma?"
Saruma Sarutobi was one of Hiruzen's most trusted personal shinobi. Hiruzen had carefully nurtured him for years. He was not particularly impressive in direct combat, but when it came to gathering information, few members of the Sarutobi Clan could compare to him.
"Clan Leader, several rumors have begun spreading through the village."
Saruma pulled a scroll from inside his clothing and handed it over.
"I wrote down every rumor I was able to confirm, along with my suspicions about who may have started them."
Hiruzen's expression immediately became serious. He took the scroll and began reading through the information at once.
With every line, his anger grew.
By the time he reached the end, his grip tightened so violently that the scroll tore apart in his hands.
"That damned Danzō!"
His voice echoed across the room.
"And those damned clans... Instead of suppressing these rumors, they pretend not to notice them. Some are even helping them spread. Does none of them understand the Will of Fire?"
Saruma remained silent.
He had served Hiruzen for far too long to be surprised by such an outburst. As one of the Hokage's most trusted men, he knew far more about Hiruzen's real personality than most people in the village ever would.
So he simply acted as though he had heard nothing.
"I am the Hokage. Everything I do is for this village."
Hiruzen slowly began walking around the room.
"If I am not here watching over Konoha, someone could take advantage of my absence. A clan could rebel. An enemy could attack. Anything could happen."
He genuinely believed every word.
To Hiruzen, remaining inside Konoha as much as possible was the safest way to protect it. Leaving the village for too long meant exposing it to risks he could not control.
But that fear had not always existed.
It had begun on one particular day.
Only Hiruzen knew just how deeply the death of his teacher had affected him. Tobirama's death had left a wound far greater than he would ever admit to anyone else, and over time that wound had slowly transformed into fear.
Fear of leaving Konoha.
Fear of losing control.
Fear that something might happen the moment he was no longer there to prevent it.
And it was that same fear, mixed with the insecurity that had taken root inside him since Tobirama's death, that eventually led Hiruzen to ask Danzō to eliminate Kagami.