Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the council room with his advisors, elders, and the department and clan heads, a tense atmosphere permeating the room.
"How?" He asked in a deep, grave tone, the brim of his hat lowering to cover his very unamused gaze. Despite that, the massive angry frown peeking from underneath the hat still told everybody everything they needed to know about his current mood.
"How could Orochimaru infiltrate the village so easily? Pass through the detection barrier as if it wasn't there? Pass through all the ANBU patrols? Fool our sensory ninjas?"
The ANBU Commander, sitting a few seats to the right, tensed, recognizing the reprimand for what it was, even if Hiruzen did not outright state it. He inclined his head a bit to show his acceptance.
Orochimaru might be an S-rank ninja who knew a lot about Konoha's past security, but after his defection, most of what he knew was switched. In no way should he be able to simply waltz in with no one the wiser, like he had just done.
"How-" Hiruzen continued, his calm tone getting fiercer with every sentence. "could Orochimaru infiltrate the forest?"
Hiruzen's head turned toward Anko, who was kneeling in the middle of the room with some other proctors for the second part of the Chunin Exams. The second Hiruzen's disappointed gaze fell on the woman, she flinched, knowing that this monumental fuck up was squarely on her shoulders.
Orochimaru stood a few feet from her when she tried to teach the Yamanaka girl a lesson in humility. The tongue should have been a dead giveaway, in hindsight.
Anko's shoulders dropped. She was far too preoccupied being angry at an uppity genin girl to even think about it at that time. She felt like a failure.
Silence spread through the room, and Hiruzen's eyes landed on Danzo, who was inconspicuously sitting in a seat near the corner, right where he was least likely to be noticed.
Their eyes met.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, and his expression became stone-cold.
Danzo impassively stared back.
The underlying tension in the room spiked, but only very few perceptive people noticed.
Two seconds passed, and Hiruzen turned his head away, murder in his eyes. He had a good idea of how Orochimaru had done it. A very good idea, indeed.
Anko, the proctors, and the ANBU Commander would get some reprimands. But it was not going to be anything severe because Hiruzen knew very well it was not their fault.
For Orochimaru to get through every precaution, he would need help from within. Help from somebody who had access to all documents about the safety nets around the village.
Most of these people were in this room. And it really did not take a genius to know who in this room was 'it'.
But could he do something about it? No! He could not!
Hiruzen gritted his teeth, regretting giving Danzo the opportunity to become such a massive influence in the village that dislodging him without any proof was nigh impossible.
But no matter. He was going to task the ANBU with watching out for ROOT activities around the village. That should give Danzo the warning not to try his patience.
At least until the Chunin Exam ended. He needed him to behave at least until then. Having a major political upheaval within the village during the Chunin Exams was very much not advisable. It would show weakness. And vultures loved to pounce on the weak.
This whole event was to showcase Konoha's strength and greatness, both to clients and to other villages.
After the Chunin Exams, though? Hiruzen had decided. This was the last straw. Helping Orochimaru infiltrate Konoha could not be forgiven. He was going to work hard at removing Danzo's influence once the Exams were over.
But for now...
"Shikaku."
The Nara patriarch straightened up with a strained grimace. "We tripled the patrols, organized search parties, changed the passwords and codes on many security measures, and we also have our interrogation rooms full, trying to determine where the leaks happened. So far... nothing." He let out a sigh.
One, Hiruzen could sympathize with. This whole situation was truly troublesome.
"I guess that's the best we can do right now." Hiruzen discontently muttered, knowing that Orochimaru had most likely already retreated outside Konoha.
It's what Hiruzen would have done after a successful infiltration and sabotage mission. It's what he taught his students to do. And Orochimaru was not stupid.
Hiruzen doubted they were going to find anything. The man was definitely long gone.
"Let's move on." Hiruzen said as he took a deep breath and glanced at the Hyuga patriarch. Orochimaru was the priority, but this next topic was just as big of a mess as his wayward student's reappearance. "Kumo."
Instantly, anger flashed in the eyes of Hiashi Hyuga, and his posture became guarded while he waited for the next words with extreme caution.
Hiruzen inwardly grimaced. He couldn't help but feel bad. The Hyuga patriarch clearly had no faith in him. Again, in hindsight, he should not have given in to Kumo's demands after the Hyuga incident. The fact that they have tried kidnapping Hinata again was enough proof.
But at that time, Konoha had survived the Third War and the Kyuubi attack, only for the hostilities between them and Kumo to ramp up right afterward, when the village was at its weakest.
Finally, after five years of conflict, Kumo agreed to a peace treaty. Hiruzen remembered being elated. Konoha needed rest. It needed peace. It needed to recuperate and gather its strength again.
And then, Kumo's ploy almost ruined it all.
He found himself at a crossroads. Either give in to their demands for killing their envoy, slash kidnapper, or restart the hostilities when the village was already straining from prolonged conflict.
On top of that, Hiruzen knew that Iwa was watching. The only reason why the hostilities between them and Kumo did not spark the Fourth Ninja War was that Minato slaughtered so many of Iwa's ninjas, they literally could not meddle. They were weakened and also needed the time to recuperate their numbers.
Kiri began with their stupid blood purges, and had enough problems on their own soil to care what was happening outside of it.
And Suna started having economic problems and issues with their Daimyo that required their full attention. So, they also could not jump into another war.
'Thank the Sage for small blessings.' Hiruzen thought.
It was the decision between one clan's discontent versus the village's well-being back then.
Hiruzen did not like it, but what choice did he have? As callous as it sounded, the Hyuga clan simply had to take one for the team. Danzo would say it was for the Greater Good, but Hiruzen knew it was simply the better of the two very bad options.
Sadly, Hiashi's wariness was understandable. Six Kumo teams died, alongside their Jonin, who infiltrated the Exams with the intent to kidnap Hinata Hyuga again.
Konoha should make a scene out of it and ask for compensation. But Kumo was shameless. Hiruzen already knew how this would go. They were going to complain about the death of their promising genin while trying to paint the Jonin as traitors.
They were going to try to flip it and make Konoha into the villains here.
And the fact that he previously gave in to their demands probably gave them confidence. It was most likely why Hiashi was so anxious. He expected the same thing to happen.
But no, the situation was different, and this could not be allowed to stand.
"I shall send the Raikage a letter, asking for an explanation and telling him that Konoha will not take any responsibility for the death of his genin." Hiruzen said, trying to alleviate Hiashi's worries.
Unsurprisingly, there were no protests from the people in the room. Nobody wanted Konoha to bow to Kumo again. And the fact that Hiruzen took a firm stance against it relieved a lot of leftover tension in the room.
And if Kumo tried to get out of the responsibility by claiming their Jonin to be traitors? Hiruzen inwardly smiled. They might manage it. But not without looking like absolute clowns.
If Kumo refuses to pay the reparations, then Hiruzen could at least ruin their reputation.
With that, the question of Kumo's kidnapping attempt was over. There was not much to speak about when it came to it. At least, not until the communication with Kumo started. Then, this topic would become hot, and Hiruzen could already feel the start of a profound headache, just imagining all the arguments it would spark within these chambers.
He was not looking forward to that.
"That leads us to the last thing on our agenda today." Hiruzen said, his lips twitching as his calm facade cracked. "Why the hell do I not have a report about who shot an S-rank lightning Jutsu in the Forest of Death yet?" He asked, and the atmosphere in the room became awkward as people started to look subtly at each other.
The truth was, they had no idea.
But nobody wanted to be the person saying that out loud. Especially not after this meeting, which was all about Konoha's general incompetence.
Seeing how his subordinates acted, Hiruzen couldn't help but want to put his face in his hands while lamenting, 'Why is it always the competent ones that die first?'