The air in the Hokage's office felt thick and stagnant, as if one could squeeze water from it. Slanting light from the window cut through the lingering tobacco haze, rendering Sarutobi Hiruzen's features indistinct.
Danzo Shimura's voice sounded low and resolute, like a cold stone dropped into still water. "Hiruzen, that injury report is black and white. With wounds penetrating organs, massive blood loss, ruptured viscera… survival should have been impossible."
His gaunt fingers tapped the Konoha Hospital report spread on the desk, the knock echoing hollowly.
Hiruzen said nothing, the ember in his pipe flickering uncertainly.
They understood without words. The report charted a sure path to the afterlife—yet the boy who should lie beneath a memorial stele walked alive in the sun. The unspoken answer hung in the smoke-choked air.
Most Senju techniques were sealed in Konoha's forbidden library, gifted by the Second Hokage Tobirama. After the clan's dissolution, only a few newly conceived jutsu could have saved Shuji—so perilous that Momoka chose only at the last moment. The secret was not hard to guess.
Hiruzen drew deeply on his pipe, the sharp smoke circling in his lungs. Through the haze he looked at Danzo. "What do you intend to say?"
"He is unsuited to lead Uchiha Itachi," Danzo stated bluntly, cutting to the chase. "Entrust Itachi to me." His aim was plain—Shuji was merely bait.
Danzo's true target remained the Uchiha prodigy himself, Itachi.
Hiruzen saw it clearly. "Impossible." His voice was ironclad. "Even special ANBU training is out of the question. Fugaku will never accept it."
Every ANBU carries a curse seal tying life and honor to Danzo's whim. Ordinary Uchiha dread Root above all—let alone the clan leader's son, his family's brightest hope.
"No need to inform Fugaku," Danzo replied with icy confidence, as if manipulating hearts were second nature. "I have means to make Itachi… volunteer."
Hiruzen struck the desk edge with his pipe, sending sparks flying. "No."
"They're already restless!" Danzo's tone surged.
Hiruzen inhaled deeply, expelling bitter smoke, momentarily obscuring his weariness. "Amegakure has signaled for peace talks. Our priority is to resolve this matter."
Danzo snorted but followed the Hokage's lead. "After our last mission failed, Amegakure did indeed stand down at the border."
"And Konoha is nearing its limit," Hiruzen stated calmly, stroking his pipe. "Three years of stalemate on the border bestride Konoha's patience and hopes like a millstone."
He outlined the situation: heavy losses of Amegakure shinobi; strained rice fields after severed trade; Konoha's Root agents intercepting every caravan and funneling supplies back to the village—strangling Amegakure's land routes into reliance on costly sea transport, crippling civilian morale, and forcing repeated appeals to the Raikage.
That final Amegakure border raid—shattering Hiruzen's squad—was a last gasp. Their subsequent silence spoke of exhaustion.
Conversely, Konoha's abundant supplies belied internal war fatigue as a silent wildfire of antiwar sentiment spread.
"Amegakure's olive branch shows their weakness. This war of attrition has ground to a halt for both sides," Hiruzen concluded.
"We must stabilize the situation," he said. "Dispatch Root to oversee the border. Restore calm."
"I will make the arrangements," Danzo replied evenly.
He leaned on his cane and turned away. Two masked Root operatives emerged from the shadows behind him like living darkness.
The office's heavy door opened, bright corridor lights flooding in. In that clash of light and shadow, Danzo and Shuji met face to face.
"Advisor." Shuji stopped, bowed slightly, voice even.
Danzo did not pause. His hawklike gaze pierced Shuji as if searching for every hidden secret.
Finally, he emitted a near-inaudible "hm" and, with his silent escorts, merged into the corridor's gloom.
Shuji watched them vanish, then pushed through the Hokage's office door.
The scent of tobacco and aged paper greeted him. He approached Hiruzen's broad desk and placed the dossier of his recent missions and personal records before the Third Hokage.
"Lord Hokage," he announced, breaking the silence.
Hiruzen's heavy expression eased. He set down his pipe, regarding Shuji with gentle elder warmth. "Ah, you're here. On the recommendation letters…" He opened a drawer. "Hayami and Kachi have already sent theirs." He retrieved two sealed scrolls and laid them at the desk's corner. "Your evaluation will focus on ninjutsu proficiency. Your mastery of elemental releases is strong—so it should pose no problem."
"Yes. I will prepare."
"Also," Hiruzen said, producing a slim file and handing it across, "regarding your team's missing member—this child has special circumstances, so no squad placement is set. I've considered it and feel he would fit well under your command."
Shuji took the file and looked at the photo within.
A girl with short purple hair met his gaze—wild yet self-assured curves at her lips.
Mitarashi Anko.
Chapters in advance there: patreon.com/Thaniel_a_goodchild