The Uchiha clan's territory lay far from Konoha's bustling center, tucked in a remote corner near the village prison.
But Shen Mo wasn't in a rush to get there.
As he walked, he pondered what type of cans to recommend to Sasuke.
Meanwhile…
Shimura Danzo, white bandages wrapped around his head and arm, stood with a grim expression at the Hokage's office door.
He'd been there for several minutes.
Yet he hadn't pushed the door open.
Because he hadn't received word.
Until a ninja, pale-faced, gasping, and stumbling, appeared.
"Ippei," Danzo called his name.
A soft voice, yet it made the Anbu ninja named Ippei shudder as if stung by a scorpion, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He dropped to his knees.
"Lord Danzo, I…"
Creak—
The Hokage's office door swung open.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in the Hokage's robes, stood with his back to them, facing the window.
"Come in."
An aged but firm voice.
Danzo said nothing, striding inside, but Ippei's face grew even paler.
Nominally, he served the Hokage's Anbu.
But he still followed Danzo—his former commander, the founder of Root.
"Hiruzen, calling me here late at night—what's urgent?" Danzo asked, feigning ignorance.
"Danzo, you should address me as Lord Hokage," Hiruzen said, turning. His eyes, cloudy by day, now gleamed with knife-like sharpness. "Why did you give Ippei that order?"
Ippei's body trembled again.
He bowed his head deeply.
Tonight…
The Hokage's order was to invite the man who dined with Lady Tsunade.
But before setting out…
Danzo issued new instructions: test the man's strength, and if weak… bring him straight to Danzo.
The test's outcome was clear.
"Why?" Danzo's lips tightened, a hint of mockery flashing before vanishing. "Let's be frank, Hiruzen. Sending Ippei on this mission—weren't you tacitly, even hoping, I'd give such an order?"
Root, though disbanded by Hiruzen after the Uchiha massacre…
Many of its members still served in Anbu, loyal to Danzo.
Hiruzen knew this well.
In that context…
Sending Ippei, a former Root member, to invite the mysterious man by Tsunade's side—what was the purpose? Obvious.
To prompt Danzo's interference.
Ippei's cold sweat wouldn't stop.
He hadn't expected the Hokage's mission to be a veiled nudge for Danzo to act.
Now, with the mission failed…
The blame fell on Danzo?
"Forget it, it's done," Hiruzen said, dropping the topic of the order. He took a deep drag from his pipe, his tone softening. "You didn't see, but… Ippei must've felt it, that merchant's strength."
"Yes!"
Ippei's body quivered.
Not just for being caught in the Hokage and Danzo's game, but because—
He recalled that fear.
"This subordinate… I felt…" Ippei swallowed, his voice shaky, "it wasn't human. Even twelve years ago, facing the Nine-Tails, I wasn't that terrified. He did nothing, just stood there, and I lost all consciousness, my mind blank…"
He couldn't find words to describe it.
In short…
It felt overwhelmingly powerful, crushing any hope of resistance.
"Genjutsu? Dojutsu?" Danzo's exposed eye narrowed.
He could tell Ippei had no physical wounds, only a nightmare-like mental shock.
Genjutsu or a potent dojutsu could achieve that.
"Unless I've grown too old to be useful," Hiruzen said, glancing at his desk, "it was… simply the oppressive aura of raw power. The First Hokage had it, but this man… surpasses him."
Danzo followed Hiruzen's gaze.
He saw the shattered crystal.
And… deep wariness in Hiruzen's eyes.
Danzo had never seen such a look from Hiruzen.
Getting old, Hiruzen?
"If you're worried, leave it to me," Danzo said slowly.
Not arrogance—just a spark of drive, to outdo Hiruzen.
What you can't do…
I can! And better!
Since the Uchiha massacre, when Hiruzen stripped Danzo of his "Hokage Advisor" role and disbanded Root, their tensions and Danzo's resentment had grown, his desire to become Hokage and surpass Hiruzen burning brighter.
"No," Hiruzen said, shaking his head, glancing at Danzo. "I want you to take responsibility for tonight's conflict."
"…"
Even Danzo's face flushed an eerie red.
Fury.
I thought you called me to strategize, but you're making me the scapegoat!
"That merchant is more mysterious than I expected. Until we know more, Konoha shouldn't clash with him again," Hiruzen said, as if blind to Danzo's anger, his voice lowering as if musing. "Most importantly… Tsunade's back."
That last line was the crux.
Tsunade's back.
Hiruzen knew well: for the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade was the only candidate.
Prestige, temperament, ability…
Her hemophobia, if unresolved, was one thing. But now, cured, even without his support, she could claim the Fifth Hokage's seat if she wished.
That's why he feared Tsunade might be deceived, even using Danzo to test the waters.
And the test's result…
Far from reassuring, it made him more cautious.
Calling Danzo tonight was to warn him: until they had more intel, no more unauthorized moves, no escalating conflicts. Tonight's fiasco needed an explanation.
Danzo's lone eye fixed on Hiruzen, but he finally looked away.
"I'm not even a Hokage Advisor anymore. What can I do?"
He turned, walking alone toward the door, his back radiating solitude.
Hiruzen watched his old friend leave, a pang of pity in his heart.
But he didn't know: the moment Danzo turned, his eyes burned with suppressed rage.
Hiruzen thought himself cautious.
Danzo saw it as fear!
Since when did Konoha's Hokage fear outsiders?
He schemed furiously in his mind, then thought of one person.
Uchiha Itachi!
If Hiruzen deemed Konoha shouldn't clash with this so-called merchant… what about the Akatsuki?
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