"What?"
"….."
Silence filled the entire room after hearing that a Hokage had just been called a dummy—by a child.
"What kind of nonsense have you raised, Kaede?"
"How dare that boy call the Hokage a dummy?!"
Danzo's eyes glimmered with satisfaction. The situation was finally turning in his favor. This was his chance to strike back at Kaede.
"Are you trying to start a rebellion, Kaede?" Danzo roared, slamming his cane against the floor with a sharp crack, releasing a wave of killing intent aimed directly at Megumi.
Kaede immediately stepped forward, placing herself between Danzo and her son. Her presence alone shielded Megumi from the crushing pressure.
"Is protecting my own child a crime now?" Kaede shot back, her tone sharp. "Oh, I forgot you don't have a child. So how could you possibly understand what a mother's love feels like?"
Danzo's face twitched in fury. He could tell she was deliberately taunting him throwing salt on the wound she knew he carried.
"Kaede," he hissed, "remember who you're speaking to. I am the Hokage's advisor."
He turned toward the Hokage. "Sarutobi, say something!"
At that moment, a white-haired ANBU stepped out from the shadows, drawing his blade. His eyes were fixed on the Fourth Hokage, awaiting the signal to act. To him, protecting the Hokage was his sworn duty, no matter who stood in his way.
Megumi's expression hardened. He could tolerate everyone else's insults, but seeing Kakashi his supposed idol draw his blade toward his mother? That was too much.
It doesn't matter how much I admired you… or how much I respected you, Megumi thought darkly. You'll regret this, Kakashi Hatake.
He stepped forward, standing in front of his mother, facing Kakashi with unflinching eyes.
"Please," he said calmly, "don't let the devil use you."
Everyone in the room froze, puzzled by the boy's words and shocked that a five-year-old could stand firm against a jōnin's killing intent without flinching.
Was he simply afraid for his mother's life? Or was there something more? Even the Third Hokage couldn't tell. But one thing was certain—Kaede was no ordinary woman. In her ANBU days, she had been a monster in human form.
"Hmph."
"That's enough," Hiruzen finally said, signaling Kakashi to step back. He could tell this boy needed to be separated from his mother—before she completely shaped his mind.
"You remind me of your father, child," the old man said.
Megumi's eyes flickered, his curiosity piqued. "Tell me more about this man."
Shikaku silently clenched his fists. He didn't want the Hokage dragging his brother's name into this and manipulating Megumi's emotions. But he couldn't intervene not here.
Hiruzen, however, was pleased. He had found a crack a way to mold this boy through his father's memory.
"Your father was a great shinobi," Hiruzen began, exhaling a puff of smoke. "He loved protecting everyone he cared for. A true inheritor of the Will of Fire. Because, as we say… where the leaves die, the tree lives on."
He gave a faint smile. "You're similar to him rebellious, strong-willed. But unlike you, he never defied the village or fought the Hokage's guards. He was a good man, one who believed in peace and dreamed of becoming Hokage one day. His death was a great loss to the village… and to the Nara clan as well."
Megumi frowned, uncertain how to respond to the old man's carefully chosen words. One thing was clear he wasn't buying into this Will of Fire nonsense.
"I'm sorry, Lord Third," Megumi said flatly. "But I don't even know who you're talking about. If you mean my father…"
He turned to glance at Shikaku, whose head hung low, avoiding his gaze.
"…I never had a bond with him. I only know he died in battle. Maybe you can tell me who killed him, since the Nara clan head wouldn't. He just said my father died protecting his subordinates."
Hiruzen hid his smile behind another drag of his pipe. He thought he had the boy in his grasp but both Kaede and Shikaku could see it. Megumi was only pretending to play along, waiting to hear what he wanted.
"Your father was killed by Cloud shinobi," Hiruzen said solemnly.
He watched Megumi's expression closely, his mind already weaving the next thread of manipulation.
After all, what better way to control a child than to plant the seed of hatred?