Hokage Office, Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, puffing silently on his pipe as smoke curled around his aging face. His eyes were half-lidded, his expression unreadable.
The air was suffocating—like a sealed clay jar under immense pressure, begging to be shattered just to let someone breathe again.
"Ahem."
A dry cough from Koharu Utatane finally broke the unbearable silence.
"Hiruzen," Homura Mitokado exhaled heavily, casting a sidelong glance at Danzo, who sat nearby, arms folded, face like stone. He then turned back to Hiruzen with a tired expression. "This time… Danzo did go a bit too far."
(Note: Please remember our domain for daily reading: 𝖙𝖙𝖐.𝖙𝖜 — yes, yes, we saw it too. Let's move on.)
"Too far?" Hiruzen cut him off with a cold voice, smoke swirling from his lips. "Secretly conducting Wood Release experiments? Hoarding results and hiding Wood Release users from me? Don't tell me you two don't know exactly what that means."
That shut Homura up. His wrinkled face flushed slightly as he gave Danzo a sidelong glance, full of silent frustration.
After all—this wasn't just some experimental chakra formula they were talking about.
It was Wood Release.
And Danzo had actually dared to hide a Wood Release user from the Hokage.
If it hadn't been for the investigation into Orochimaru's defection, they still wouldn't even know that Wood Release had made a comeback.
Danzo's grip over his secret organization, Root, was clearly stronger than any of them realized. Even Homura felt a chill thinking about it.
"Root… is the foundation of Konoha," Hiruzen said quietly. "The foundation of the ANBU. It was supposed to be my foundation. But now? Now it dares to keep vital intelligence from me, the Hokage."
He glanced at Danzo, eyes narrowing.
"Tell me, Danzo. Has Root become your private army? A tool for personal gain?"
Danzo didn't flinch. His voice, though low and raspy, struck with force: "Everything I've done is for the good of Konoha."
Hiruzen didn't reply at once. Instead, he exhaled a long, heavy plume of smoke, letting the haze shroud his face like a mask. From Danzo's angle, he looked like a ghost of himself—difficult to read, impossible to trust.
"Hiruzen…" Koharu spoke again, softer this time, trying to mediate.
"Enough." Hiruzen raised a hand, irritated. "No more defending him."
He thought back to his youth, to the moment he'd inherited the Hokage mantle after Tobirama fell to a sneak attack from the Cloud Village.
Back then, the title of Hokage had seemed noble—heroic even.
But reality had been less kind.
From the moment he took office, he'd faced nothing but war and clan politics. The great ninja clans—the Hyuuga, the Uchiha—they followed orders when convenient, but in truth, answered to no one.
Thankfully, he had the Sarutobi clan, and the old alliance of Ino-Shika-Cho. With their support, he managed to consolidate his position, using a mixture of diplomacy, manipulation, and, when needed, dirty hands—often Danzo's hands.
Root, originally a mere training branch of the ANBU under Tobirama, had evolved—or devolved—under Danzo into something far more dangerous.
And Hiruzen had let it happen.
Why? Because it was convenient. Because some things needed doing outside the law.
But now?
Now Root had grown into a shadow army. Unaccountable. Uncontrollable. Danzo's army, not Konoha's.
If he didn't rein it in now, it would become a cancer too deep to cut.
"Regarding the Wood Release ninja—'Subject Alpha'—he's been transferred to the regular ANBU. That's not up for debate."
Danzo's jaw visibly clenched, but Hiruzen ignored him and shifted the conversation.
"There's a more urgent matter. We've received intel from the border—Kumogakure appears to be mobilizing again."
His voice lowered, calm but sharp. "What do you all think?"
Koharu and Homura both stiffened.
"Again?" Homura scowled. "Disgusting bastards."
"No matter what, we must not provoke them," he added sternly.
"Agreed," Koharu nodded. "We need to stay vigilant, but under no circumstances should we give them an excuse to start another war."
Hiruzen glanced at Danzo. "Your thoughts?"
Danzo's eyes darkened, his tone sharp. "Hit them first. Hit them hard."
"…"
Hiruzen didn't reply immediately. He just took another long drag of his pipe, letting the smoke fill his lungs before slowly exhaling.
Yes, the Third Great Ninja War was over—but peace was a fragile illusion.
Konoha's elite forces were critically depleted.
The famed White Fang had committed suicide. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki, both perished during the Nine-Tails' attack.
The village was still reeling from the loss of top-tier combatants. Recovery had been slow.
To make things worse, the border skirmishes kept piling up. Every few months, either the Cloud or the Stone would test their defenses.
And Konoha's repeated forbearance? It only made them bolder.
To the enemy, restraint looked like weakness.
Fortunately, both the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth still had strong anti-war sentiment. Their people weren't ready for another full-scale conflict.
But all that was missing was a single "justifiable" incident—a reason the daimyo, nobles, and civilians could rally behind.
That was the gamble Hiruzen couldn't afford.
And Konoha? Konoha had nothing left to bet.
He glanced at the report in his hand again, letting the words blur behind the mist of his pipe smoke.
"Iwagakure… Kumogakure…" he murmured.
Then, after a long pause, he sighed. "We'll hold the line. Deploy a unit to reinforce the border defenses."
Danzo's frown deepened. "Doing that will only embolden them!"
Hiruzen looked at him, eyes calm but firm. "Then take a unit from my Root and deploy them."
Danzo blinked. "What?"
"You heard me." Hiruzen's tone didn't shift. "Problem?"
A heavy silence followed.
Danzo realized in that moment—if he protested again, he might lose Root altogether.
His mouth twisted in frustration. After a long moment, he snorted and turned his back. "Hmph. Why would I have a problem? After all, they're your Root, aren't they?"
He stomped toward the door—but stopped just before opening it.
Turning his head slightly, he said with venom, "You'll regret this choice, Hiruzen."
"Watch your tone, Danzo," Hiruzen replied coolly, tapping out his pipe. "Never forget—I am the Hokage."
Danzo flinched ever so slightly.
"Then act like one," he snapped, wrenching the door open—
BAM!!
—And slamming it behind him.