The silence after Uchiha Fugaku left was thick enough to choke on. He had stormed out reluctantly, his pride wounded, but Danzo—at least—was shrewd enough to push him out before the Hokage's patience snapped. If Sarutobi Hiruzen had truly lost his temper, it would not just be the Uchiha clan's dignity at stake—Danzo himself might have been stripped of his title as the Hokage's assistant.
The Third Hokage leaned back, pipe smoke curling in the air. He was in the prime of his strength, a man feared across the shinobi nations. With his encyclopedic mastery of ninjutsu, the world had named him the Professor of Shinobi Arts, and to many, the strongest Hokage Konoha had ever produced. Yet for all his calm, his temper was nothing like the patient balm his successors would one day learn to cultivate.
"We can discuss the matter of the Kirigakure Eighteen and their assault on our young shinobi later." Hiruzen's tone was clipped, final. His eyes, sharp as blades, turned toward Danzo. "Do you have anything further to say?"
Danzo swallowed, sensing the subtle tremor beneath the Hokage's words. Still, pride drove him forward. He jabbed a gnarled finger at the boy standing quietly before the council.
"Even if Uchiha Shigure claims he didn't kill any of his clan members, the suspicion of murder still hangs over him. My Root shinobi have not yet returned. What explanation do you give if they were slain by your hand?"
Shigure tilted his head, crimson eyes glinting dangerously. "If that is the case, what punishment would await me?"
"You would be taken to Root to face judgment." Danzo's lips curled, imagining the boy's defiance carefully snuffed out in his underground cells. Yet, his fantasy was shattered a heartbeat later.
"Hah!" Shigure barked out a laugh, sharp and bitter. "Ridiculous! Absurd! Baseless! You claim without evidence that they were killed by me? Preposterous."
Danzo bristled, his face hardening. "I am the Hokage's assistant. Why would I kill those who serve me?"
"And I," Shigure snapped back, his youthful voice carrying unshakable conviction, "am the Hokage's personal disciple. Tell me then—why would I kill comrades of my own village? Explain this to me."
The boy's words hung like iron in the chamber. The logic was clean, irrefutable. What reason would a child prodigy from the Uchiha, blessed by the Hokage's favor, have to destroy his own village comrades?
Shigure stepped forward, pressing the momentum. His voice rang like a blade drawn free of its sheath. "And another thing—I would much like to know, Danzo. Why did you send Root operatives into the Chūnin Exam in the first place? Was it truly protection you had in mind? Or did you intend to manipulate the contest, to kill in shadows while no one watched?!"
His barrage of accusations struck like kunai one after another. Danzo opened his mouth, but no ready excuse came. His silence was deafening.
Utatane Koharu, faithful ally and fellow elder, rushed to his side. "Danzo may only have wished to ensure the students' safety," she offered, though there was no strength in her voice.
Shigure's laugh was merciless. "Safety? Do you dare call that protection?! Nearly every Genin of Konoha thrown into chaos—slain or wounded! The Uchiha clan's candidates wiped from the field! And as for Root itself? Incompetent. Routed. Slaughtered to the last. That is your idea of safeguarding the future of Konohagakure?"
Danzo's jaw twitched. His mask of composure faltered under the ruthless logic. Shigure's every sarcastic word drove nails into his coffin.
A cough broke the tension—Mitokado Homura shifting in his seat, his eyes flicking nervously toward Hiruzen. All eyes returned to the Hokage. The man who held final judgment rose to his feet, weighed by authority alone.
"Enough," Hiruzen declared. "The facts stand plain as fire." His voice filled the chamber, heavy with absolute command. "The Kirigakure sneak attack resulted in the slaughter of our Genin, as well as the tragedy that befell the Uchiha participants. Danzo sent his Root operatives into the venue, and they met their deaths accordingly. Through all of this, Uchiha Shigure was but a sole survivor. Nothing more."
His gaze swept the chamber once more. "Thus, Shigure is innocent. Danzo is innocent. This is my proclamation. Does anyone oppose?"
"…Second," Homura muttered reluctantly.
"…Second," Koharu echoed, her mouth pinched. They knew the battle was lost.
Danzo sat frozen, fury and shame twisting behind his mask. He forced a smile, thinner than paper. "Hiruzen… what an extraordinary disciple you have raised." His words were poison wrapped in honey. He fell silent, swallowing the humiliation like bitter ash.
"Then it is settled." Hiruzen's eyes warmed as he turned to his young student. "Shigure, prepare yourself for the trials ahead. You will have three months. If ever you require guidance, you may find me."
"Yes, Sensei." Shigure bowed with unfeigned respect, then leaned closer to whisper to the Hokage's ear. His voice was low, careful—it was about Hoshiko.
To an adult it might have felt odd, but Shigure was only a boy of five, his small form rising on tiptoe. The Hokage chuckled quietly, listening, then whispered back his reassurance.
Shigure smiled with relief. He straightened, bowing again. "Advisors… Master Danzo. Please, take care of yourselves." The respectful tone was a blade in velvet, burning Danzo with every word.
With that, Shigure turned, the Sharingan flickering once as he scanned his surroundings. Only when he confirmed there were no hidden ambushes lurking, did he exhale, shoulders loosening. The Uchiha clan… Danzo's Root. I cannot relax. If I must endure in this village, I will need allies. Perhaps the Hyūga… yes. With them, doors to the truth about my mother may open.
The whispers he left with the Hokage had been simple, but heavy: Hoshiko. Her safety. Her strange, sealed chakra. Her future in Konoha's Academy. The Hokage had smiled, promising only nine words.
"Don't worry. Find Minato. Leave it to me."
Shigure puzzled it quickly—Kushina's bond with Mito Uzumaki. Kushina and Minato Namikaze, Naruto's future parents, were deeply tied to the village's greatest secrets. If anyone could unlock Hoshiko's chakra, it would be them.
A plan takes shape then. Swordsmanship from the Hatake. Gentle Fist from the Hyūga. Guidance from Minato and Kushina for Hoshiko. Ninjutsu with my master, the Sandaime. And, perhaps… training with Might Dai, to master the Eight Gates. These next months will determine everything.
Content with his roadmap, Shigure returned home. Rest first. His awakening body demanded it. And by dawn's light, he was already preparing to step into Hyūga territory.
A mirror caught him as he readied himself. Shigure froze.
There—etched faintly beneath his neck—six magatama glimmered. At his forehead, the horns had grown, sharp and pale, pushing through like branches seeking sky. He pulled his gray hair down hurriedly, concealing what he could.
The power of the Ōtsutsuki… evolving further. The system spoke true. Without the blood of their branch inheritors, my path halts here. He clenched his fists. But so far, I have only absorbed power from the dead. What if I fed upon the living? What new strength would awaken?
Unanswered, the sleeping system lay silent in his veins. Shigure shook his head. Another dilemma for another time. For now, the Hyūga awaited.
But before he could cross the final street, a voice slid like a serpent across the morning air.
"Shigure…"
He turned sharply. Someone had spotted him.
"I've found you. Word spreads swiftly—Sarutobi-sensei has taken a new disciple. That would be you, would it not? From the Uchiha clan. So tell me—are you interested in a match?"
The voice was chilling, feminine, yet steeped in venom. Shigure felt recognition tighten his chest. He turned—and there, standing with long black hair, gold slit-pupiled eyes, pale skin painted with violet shadows, dressed in black—with a straw hat concealing part of his face—was a legend returned from mission.
Shigure's breath caught. "You are… Orochimaru?"
The man's thin lips curled in a smile.
"Indeed. Now… show me what makes Sarutobi's new disciple so exceptional."
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