"..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked silently, the rising smoke shrouding his wrinkled face.
After a long moment, he raised his eyes to Danzō Shimura, his voice calm: "So, Danzō, what do you want to say?"
"Or rather, what do you intend to do?"
Facing Hiruzen's question, Danzō did not answer directly. Instead, he slowly paced to the window, looking out at the seemingly peaceful and harmonious Hidden Leaf Village.
"Hiruzen, it's not about what I want to do now."
He spoke with his back to Hiruzen: "It's about what we must do."
"You must already know about Hidden Grass Village being destroyed by 'vengeful spirits' not long ago, right?"
Hiruzen's fingers, holding the pipe, trembled slightly, and ash fluttered down.
He narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Has the credibility of the news been confirmed?"
They had received intelligence some time ago about Hidden Grass Village being annihilated by an unknown entity, but the details in that intelligence were vague and somewhat inexplicable.
Vengeful spirits killing people, the dead seeking revenge—it's utterly preposterous.
Hiruzen hadn't paid too much attention to it at the time, but from Danzō's tone, could it actually be true?
"Yes, I've sent people to verify the truthfulness of the intelligence."
Danzō's tone was unruffled: "The majority of Hidden Grass Village's core forces were completely wiped out overnight by some inexplicable power."
"Survivors were few, with only a few dozen Hidden Grass ninja who were out on missions escaping the disaster."
"Who did it?" Hiruzen's voice held a subtle rasp. "Almost wiping out Hidden Grass Village overnight..."
Before Hiruzen could finish, Danzō interrupted him.
"It was 'vengeful spirits'," he said.
Hearing this, both Hiruzen and Koharu Utatane's faces showed astonishment. The latter blurted out, "Was it a ninja with the codename 'Vengeful Spirit'?"
"No." Danzō exhaled, saying grimly, "It was 'vengeful spirits,' literally, 'vengeful spirits.'"
"According to the survivors of Hidden Grass Village, these things have no physical form, no visible appearance, and cannot be stopped. Wherever they pass, they drain souls, causing immediate death."
"I was as incredulous as you are, so I had Root bring back a few bodies. But after numerous inspections and dissections, I can confirm there were absolutely no injuries."
"No external wounds, no internal injuries, no poison..."
"They just... suddenly died."
Danzō turned to look at the two, whose expressions were filled with shock and doubt, and continued: "I sent the bodies to the Yamanaka clan. They said the cause of death for these bodies was that their spiritual energy was completely drained."
"Spiritual energy... is the soul."
A strong chill also ran through the hearts of Hiruzen and Koharu.
The ninja world did have some ninjutsu involving souls, such as the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques, or the S-rank forbidden jutsu, the "Spiritual Transformation Jutsu"...
However, these techniques were all about possessing and controlling others, then destroying their physical bodies to cause harm. Even the "Spiritual Transformation Jutsu" worked that way.
This ability to simply drain all spiritual energy—the soul—out of thin air was completely unheard of.
"No wonder the outside world calls them 'vengeful spirits'," Koharu murmured. "This is indeed something only legendary 'vengeful spirits' could do."
"Hiruzen."
Hiruzen's brow furrowed, but Danzō suddenly spoke: "Do you know who that 'vengeful spirit' was?"
At this, Hiruzen paused, but quickly realized that if it was a 'vengeful spirit,' it must have been someone who died with resentment...
"It was a member of the Uzumaki clan," Danzō said coldly. "Because of their 'Physical Healing' ability, Hidden Grass Village had kept her hidden, using her as a source for healing injuries."
"I suspect that, due to her resentment, she might have used some forbidden jutsu, sacrificing her own life to wipe out Hidden Grass after her death."
Given the Uzumaki clan's terrifying thousand-year legacy, they could even summon the "Reaper" with the "Dead Demon Consuming Seal." It wasn't impossible for one to become a "vengeful spirit" after death.
"The Uzumaki clan?" Hiruzen felt his lips dry, and he whispered, "How could this be..."
"That's the truth!"
Danzō sharply interrupted him, his tone becoming aggressive: "Hiruzen, the fate of Hidden Grass Village is brutally laid bare before us."
"A ninja village with military power, destroyed from within, in just one night, by just one 'vengeful spirit' holding resentment and possessing a forbidden jutsu!"
As he spoke, he suddenly took a step forward, leaning slightly, his single eye gleaming with dangerous light. His voice was very low, yet each word struck Hiruzen's heart like a heavy hammer:
"Hiruzen, tell me, within our Hidden Leaf, right under our noses, is there such a group?"
"They have accumulated decades of resentment and dissatisfaction!"
"They possess evil power capable of overthrowing the village!"
"They are becoming more and more unstable, like a powder keg!"
"They are the Uchiha clan!"
Danzō's voice was like a viper's hiss, every word carrying an icy chill.
"Once their resentment fully explodes, once someone discovers the true power of those eyes, once they are used against the village..."
Danzō stared into Hiruzen's eyes, pointing towards the seemingly calm and peaceful Hidden Leaf outside the window, and sneered, "Do you think Hidden Leaf will fare better than Hidden Grass Village?"
"..."
The office fell into a deathly silence.
Only the faint crackling of tobacco burning in Hiruzen's pipe, and the occasional bird chirping outside the window, now seemed exceptionally harsh.
Koharu's face was also very grim. She looked at Hiruzen, her lips moving, but no words came out.
Danzō's words, though extreme, were certainly a good example given the tragedy of Hidden Grass Village, making people instinctively think of the worst-case scenario.
In this regard, Danzō Shimura was indeed very skilled.
Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes, the pipe in his hand feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.
The Uchiha problem was like a bone-deep ulcer.
Under the shadow of war, it had not dissipated; instead, it now stung even more.
At this moment, Danzō was like a surgeon, cutting open this festering wound and laying the bloody reality before him.
Finally, after a long silence, Hiruzen spoke.
"The Uchiha clan is Hidden Leaf's Uchiha clan. Hidden Leaf needs the Uchiha's power."
He raised his eyes to Danzō and slowly said, "Preparedness, surveillance, are acceptable, but do not do anything excessive..."
"Danzō, with foreign enemies surrounding us, the village's internal affairs cannot be troubled. This is my bottom line, understand?"
Hearing this, Danzō's single eye involuntarily narrowed, a cold sneer in his heart.
The village's internal affairs cannot be troubled. This sentence wasn't just a warning to him not to cause trouble; it was also aimed at the Uchiha clan, telling them not to cause any trouble either.
Regardless, the stability of the village's internal affairs was paramount. Whoever dared to create problems would be dealt with.
"Hmph." Danzō scoffed, mocking, "You're becoming increasingly indecisive."
Though he disliked Hiruzen's self-righteous demeanor, he had more or less received the answer he wanted.
With that thought, he turned to leave, but at that moment, he seemed to suddenly remember something.
"By the way, Hiruzen."
"Hm? What else do you want to..."
Hiruzen instinctively looked up at him, but unexpectedly saw a very ugly smiling face. His impatient words immediately caught in his throat, and he couldn't help but shiver.
"What kind of expression is that?" Hiruzen flinched slightly, frowning. "Speak properly. You look like that, and it makes me nervous."
"..." Danzō's smile instantly stiffened, then he reverted to his usual cold demeanor and stated, "Send Hyuga Kawa to Root. I will train him to be the most..."
"Wait!"
Before he could finish speaking, Hiruzen raised his hand to interrupt, a smile appearing on his face.
It wasn't a happy smile; it was one born of exasperation.
"Are you dreaming, Danzō?" Hiruzen's smile gradually faded, becoming icy. "He is a good child. I warn you, don't touch him."
"I know what you've done to him before; I don't care. But if I find out you lay a hand on him again, don't blame me for disregarding our friendship!"
As he spoke, Hiruzen's tone was utterly frigid. Neither Koharu nor Danzō doubted his seriousness.
Even Danzō, who was usually audacious, faced with a cold Hiruzen, couldn't help but show a fluctuating, unsettled expression, not daring to retort.
After a long silence, Danzō finally spoke: "Then I want Itachi Uchiha. I know Fugaku Uchiha wants to send him to the Anbu."
"Agreed."
Hiruzen nodded without hesitation, as if anything was fine as long as it wasn't Hyuga Kawa.
This attitude made Danzō's face twitch. The joy that should have arisen from acquiring a useful tool seemed insignificant compared to the loss of Hyuga Kawa.
Itachi Uchiha could at most become a blade he would one day use against the Uchiha clan, but Hyuga Kawa could push him to that coveted position.
The difference in importance between the two was already clear.
"Hmph!"
Danzō snorted, leaving without a word of farewell.
Amidst the swirling smoke, Hiruzen's gaze drifted out the window.
The offensives from Hidden Sand and Hidden Cloud, the annihilation of Hidden Grass Village overnight, the movements of the Uchiha clan, and the news that Hozuki Castle was also breached, with its lord taken by an organization named 'Akatsuki'...
The endless influx of chaos felt like a tightening noose, making Hiruzen feel breathless.
He had a feeling, as if a cold, venomous snake was slithering at the edges of the chaotic battlefield, making him increasingly uneasy.
At the same time, the "good child" Hyuga Kawa, whom the two were squabbling over, had quietly arrived at the secret room beneath his residence.
Looking at the Box of Ultimate Bliss, now shrunk to the size of a Rubik's Cube and shrouded in shadow, Hyuga Kawa's eyes gleamed.
"The conceptual core of the Hollow World is in hand. Orochimaru, let me see your progress," he thought to himself.
Don't disappoint me, Lord Orochimaru.
With that thought, Hyuga Kawa attempted to link with the "Ōtsutsuki Scroll" in Orochimaru's hand.
The next moment, a hoarse, wild laugh, laced with exhaustion, echoed in his ears.
"Hahahahaha! It's done! It's done! With this jutsu, my Immortality Jutsu lacks nothing!"