Chapter 13: Good Heavens! Why is Danzo Lighting the Hokage's Pipe?
"You'll regret this..."
Hearing those words, Koharu and Homura felt their eye muscles twitch.
Hiruzen had changed—he was sharper, younger, and felt like a stranger at times. But Danzo? Danzo was as consistent as the sunrise. The moment Hiruzen said something that didn't perfectly align with Danzo's narrow worldview, he'd spit out that exact phrase.
It was like a pre-programmed jutsu. A reflex.
"Will I?"
To everyone's surprise, Hiruzen didn't snap back. Instead, he gave a slow, thoughtful nod. "Alright, Danzo. Tell me why I'll regret it. If your logic holds up, I'll follow your lead."
"Huh?" Danzo froze. His "Combo-Chain" had been interrupted.
Wait, that's not how the 'Hokage Game' is played, Danzo thought, bewildered. You're supposed to shout 'I am the Hokage!' and refuse to listen. Then we stare at each other angrily until I slam the door and go back to the Root base to curse your name in private.
Then, eventually, I wait for a catastrophe so I can take your hat and show you my own Hokage robes!
Oh... wait. He remembered. Root was being dismantled. There was no base to go back to.
Is the Monkey actually being serious about this 'Fair Competition' thing?
After the incident at the training field, Danzo had been publicly humiliated and forced into a blood oath. He had spent all night in his study, seething. He'd convinced himself that if he were Hiruzen, he would have used that momentum to bury his rival once and for all.
The earlier promises? The talk about me being a 'Candidate'? Who would remember that once they have the power to crush their enemies? Danzo thought.
But Hiruzen hadn't crushed him. He was standing there, inviting him to a policy debate.
"Hiruzen... are you actually keeping your word?" Danzo felt a strange, unfamiliar flicker of guilt. He quickly suppressed it and focused on the argument.
"Think about it! If you appoint twenty 'High Commissioners,' you are diluting the Hokage's power! You're creating twenty little kings who will carve up the village for themselves! How can the Hokage's Office maintain its absolute authority when everyone has a piece of the pie?"
"Hiruzen, you think this is progress, but it's administrative suicide! Every Jonin must report directly—and only—to the Hokage!"
Hiruzen stared at Danzo for a moment. Then, he let out a long, weary sigh and shook his head like a disappointed professor. "I expected a high-level critique, Danzo. Not... this."
"Your logic is simple: More people with titles equals less power for the boss, which equals chaos. Right?"
Danzo puffed out his chest. "Exactly! Is it not?"
"That is the logic of a squad leader, not a Kage. Power isn't diluted by delegation; it's diluted by obscurity."
Hiruzen picked up his pipe and began meticulously packing it with fresh tobacco.
"Take your 'Root' for example. That was a failure of structure. Your duties overlapped with the Anbu, but you used my name to bypass the chain of command. Over time, people forgot who the ultimate authority was because the lines were blurred. That is how power is lost."
Danzo remained silent, his face a mask of iron.
Hiruzen waved a hand dismissively. "The High Commissioners I'm appointing aren't a 'Decision Layer.' They are the Execution Layer. They have the power to recommend, not the power to decree."
"I will listen to good advice. I will veto the bad. But the core authority—the Human Resources power, the Resource Allocation power, and the Emergency Mandate—remains solely in this office."
"By giving them specific jurisdictions and clear boundaries, I'm creating accountability. If a sector fails, I know exactly which Commissioner to execute. It makes the village run like a well-oiled machine instead of a chaotic mob of a hundred unmanaged Jonin."
"Do you worry that your Root captains will betray you?" Hiruzen asked suddenly.
Danzo narrowed his eyes. "That's different. My control over them is absolute. Hiruzen... I won't mince words. Are you planning to put Cursed Seals on these Commissioners?"
Hiruzen actually laughed. "Danzo, you've been in the dark for so long you've forgotten the sun exists. If people heard you, they'd think Konoha was a slave plantation."
Danzo held his head high. He believed in his seals. To him, physical control was the only control.
"I could talk to you about the Will of Fire, but I don't think you're ready for that lecture yet."
"Your 'Root' method turns geniuses into meat-shields. You take talented shinobi and strip them of their value until they're just mindless dolls. In Konoha, we need shinobi who can think, adapt, and provide value. People who live in fear and control become hollow shells."
"Talent becomes mediocrity. Mediocirty becomes a liability. And the true geniuses? They'll just learn to hate you until that hatred consumes the village. Tell me... if you put a seal on Orochimaru, do you think he'd truly obey you? Or would he just spend every second finding a way to slit your throat in your sleep?"
Danzo's brow furrowed. He wanted to argue. He really wanted to tell Hiruzen he was wrong.
But deep down, a voice told him Hiruzen was right.
The Monkey was looking at the world from a height Danzo couldn't even see. It was the difference between a street thug and a King.
"The world is a brutal place, Danzo," Hiruzen said softly. "People are in pain. They are lost."
"If you show them even a flicker of genuine light—a sense of purpose, a 'Hope'—they will follow you to the ends of the earth. In an era of chaos, a man's hunger for 'Meaning' is stronger than his fear of death or his love for his family."
"The Will of Fire isn't just a slogan, Danzo. It is a psychological weapon more powerful than any Cursed Seal. I hope you eventually realize that."
Koharu and Homura shared a look. The words were inspiring, but the way Hiruzen said them... it felt cold. Like a scientist explaining how to manipulate a test subject.
"You've spent too much time in that little hole of yours," Hiruzen continued. "Managing twenty people doesn't make you a leader. To be Hokage, you have to manage a civilization. Your current mindset... it's just not enough."
It sounded like an insult, but Danzo was mesmerized.
He didn't feel belittled; he felt like a student receiving the "Secret Arts" of leadership. He felt like he was finally hearing the truth about why Hiruzen had always been the favorite student.
The Old Monkey... he's actually training me? He's teaching me how to be a Kage?
Danzo was so caught up in the realization that when Hiruzen started patting his pockets, looking for a lighter, Danzo reacted on pure instinct.
He took a large stride forward, produced a match, struck it, and held the flame to Hiruzen's pipe.
"Hmph! You're getting senile, Hiruzen. Forgetting your own lighter? You need to reflect on your lack of preparation!" Danzo barked, trying to mask his own subservience with a lecture.
Hiruzen let out a hearty laugh, puffing on the pipe. "Apologies, apologies! My mistake!"
Beside them, Koharu and Homura stared with their jaws hanging open.
Holy mother of... did Danzo just light Hiruzen's smoke for him?