For some reason, Hiruzen now felt his temples throb whenever he saw Danzo.
Whenever Danzo's unique gloomy aura drifted into the Hokage's office, and he heard the word Uchiha from Danzo's mouth, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
With so many things to deal with inside and outside the village every day, why are you always fixated on the Uchiha?
Based on years of experience together, Hiruzen could tell that Danzo was up to something again.
It turned out that Hiruzen knew his old friend all too well.
Danzo completely ignored Kakashi, who was reporting on his mission, and slapped a scroll onto Hiruzen's desk.
"Hiruzen and I have an important matter to discuss. You wait outside for now."
Kakashi, behind his mask, pursed his lips. Forced by Danzo's position, he could only stand by and wait.
His meaning was clear: he could do some things for Danzo's sake, but not too much.
Danzo didn't bother to argue with Kakashi. He casually pulled a chair, and sat in front of Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, you should know why I came to see you."
"If you speak any louder, the entire village will hear you." Hiruzen couldn't help but grumble.
"Danzo, don't get so agitated every time the Uchiha are involved. This state of yours can easily exacerbate the conflict between both sides."
Danzo, at this point, couldn't care less. He waved his hand, interrupting Hiruzen's lecture.
"You should know about Satoshi's unauthorized contact with the Jinchuriki, right?"
Hiruzen nodded slightly. "Yes, Satoshi treated Naruto to a bowl of ramen."
Danzo stared intently at Hiruzen, waiting for the next sentence, but it didn't come.
"And then?"
"What 'then'? Then they both went home."
Danzo slammed his hand on the table, exclaiming, "This is outrageous!"
What do you mean, 'went home'? Can that Uchiha go home?
He should be in Anbu's dungeon undergoing interrogation!
At this moment, Danzo was even more displeased with Hiruzen.
If he were Hokage, there wouldn't be a single Uchiha left breathing by now.
But there was nothing he could do. Tobirama-sensei didn't choose him back then.
Danzo gritted his teeth and said, "Hiruzen, you should know how important the Jinchuriki is to the village, right?"
Hiruzen brewed tea and poured a cup for Danzo as well.
"I understand. Tobirama-sensei once said that the Jinchuriki is an important fighting force for the village."
As he spoke, he presented the teacup to Danzo. "Have some tea."
Danzo was in no mood for tea right now. He was practically dying of anxiety.
"Monkey, aren't you worried about the tragedy of a few years ago repeating itself?!"
An inexplicable surge of anger welled up in Hiruzen's heart.
"What 'monkey'?! When we're working, use titles! Hokage's Assistant Danzo!"
Danzo was always like this. He seemed very tough normally, but if the other party was even tougher than him, he usually softened.
He dropped his cold demeanor, appearing quite docile. "Have you forgotten Tobirama-sensei's words? The Uchiha are an inherently evil clan, and they must..."
Hiruzen couldn't be bothered with Danzo. No matter how much Tobirama-sensei targeted the Uchiha, he never thought of killing them all, did he?
Moreover, he even promoted Kagami to be his guard, which says a lot.
As for you, Danzo, you probably just can't stand the sight of a breathing Uchiha.
He took out Satoshi's file and placed it in front of Danzo.
"Satoshi is a good child, just like Kagami. He's not one of those dangerous Uchiha."
At the mention of Kagami's name, Danzo suddenly paused.
"Kagami is dead. There won't be another Uchiha like him, do you understand?"
"What about Shisui?"
"This..."
Hiruzen's single sentence choked Danzo. How could he forget Kagami's descendant?
Seeing Danzo silent, Hiruzen tried to persuade him again, "Danzo, Satoshi's matter must be handled cautiously. The conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha cannot be further escalated right now."
After a brief silence, Danzo stood up. "No, hand Satoshi over to me for interrogation. If there are no problems, I will naturally return him to the Uchiha."
"I disagree." Hiruzen refused without even thinking.
He knew Root's interrogation methods. Satoshi was just an eleven-year-old child. If he were taken in, he wouldn't die, but he'd be severely traumatized.
And if the Uchiha saw Konoha treating their genius this way, there's no telling what dangerous actions they might take.
This one incident could very likely become the fuse that ignites an all-out war between the two sides.
At that point, who knows how many more people in the village would have to sacrifice themselves?
"Hiruzen, you will regret indulging the Uchiha like this!"
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Danzo snorted coldly and slammed the door shut as he left.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, angrily smashed his teacup, pulled out his pipe, and took a deep drag.
In a short while, the office was filled with smoke.
Hiruzen seemed to have forgotten Kakashi's presence, smoking incessantly as if he wanted to choke him to death.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
It wasn't until he heard Kakashi's coughing that Hiruzen remembered someone else was there.
He opened the window and waved his hand to clear the smoke from the room.
Hiruzen looked at the distant Hokage Rock, and after a while, he said to Kakashi, "Keep an eye on Satoshi. Report any developments to me immediately."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Kakashi was about to leave when Hiruzen called out again.
"Wait, Naruto..."
Hiruzen hesitated for a moment but still didn't say it out loud.
"Never mind, go get busy."
Similarly, after Danzo returned to Root, he angrily smashed a set of expensive tea utensils.
"Torune, keep a close watch on Satoshi for me. If he dares to approach the Jinchuriki again, arrest him immediately."
Torune asked, "What if he resists?"
Danzo sneered, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. "Then kill him directly. I'll take responsibility."
In the Uchiha clan compound, in a small room, Satoshi suddenly sneezed several times.
"Which bastard is talking bad about me behind my back?"
For some reason, he felt a chill down his spine, as if an old man might crawl out of some dark corner and stab him at any moment.
He put away the scroll and checked the time. "Time to go get some dinner."
After Satoshi left, he hadn't gone far when he hurriedly ran back.
He put his sword on his back and took some kunai and shuriken. Most importantly, there was also a small scroll filled with explosive tags.
No matter who comes, just watch me blow you up, that's all.