Hokage's Office.
On Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk lay a report detailing Kakashi's recent missions and conflicts. It marked the third instance where Kakashi had clashed with his teammates, making cooperation and completion of assignments difficult.
Leaning on his cane, Danzo stood in front of Hiruzen's desk and said gravely, "It seems you're struggling to find a suitable placement for that child, Sarutobi. If that's the case, why not entrust him to me?"
Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe and gave Danzo a sidelong glance. "And let you mold Sakumo's son into one of your emotionless tools?"
Danzo replied flatly, "If he's under my guidance, he won't repeat Sakumo's so-called mistakes. He will become a ninja greater than his father ever was."
Hiruzen snorted, rising from his seat. "Don't tell me this is the only reason you came here today, Danzo."
Danzo held his gaze. "No. I came to ask about your stance on Kirigakure. Are we preparing for war or simply posturing?"
Sarutobi turned toward the window, his voice low and thoughtful. "Their probing has gone too far. We must show strength. I leave this to you."
Danzo nodded, heading out of the office. As he exited, he said, "Don't waste that boy's potential."
Sarutobi remained silent until Danzo had fully departed. Then he turned and exhaled a sigh, Sakumo's image lingering in his thoughts. The man's death had deeply impacted the village. Without the formidable power of the White Fang, other nations had grown bolder in testing Konoha's defenses.
Kakashi had also been affected. His inability to work with teammates had persisted for more than two years since his graduation. Though Danzo's offer had practical merit, Hiruzen couldn't accept it. Sakumo had stood for something different than Danzo's ideology, and handing over Kakashi to the Root would betray that legacy.
"Your children are both remarkable, Sakumo... but Kakashi still has much to learn about people."
Hatake Kaede Yoru and Kakashi: two children of Sakumo. Kaede Yoru was excellent. But Kakashi—Kakashi was a prodigy. He had inherited Sakumo's talent and could well become the second White Fang of Konoha.
The difficulty was finding the right placement for him. None of the existing Jonin seemed able to keep him in line. That left only one viable option: Namikaze Minato.
"Go and summon Minato," Hiruzen instructed, his voice directed toward the ceiling.
"Yes," came the response as a shadow from the ANBU unit slipped away.
Hiruzen returned to his desk, taking another puff of his pipe. "In the end, I still must trouble Minato," he muttered.
He had thought about Minato earlier, but the tense state of the world had made him hesitant. Now, however, he realized Minato was the most suitable Jonin for Kakashi. After all, Minato was not just a Jonin—he was a strong contender for Fourth Hokage. Entrusting Kakashi to him would also strengthen Minato's standing.
Hiruzen pulled out a new set of documents, listing students from the current ninja school class. He examined the profiles in relation to Kakashi. At the top of the list was Hatake Kaede Yoru. Hiruzen briefly looked at Kaede Yoru's file, then set it aside.
Placing brothers on the same team was inadvisable, especially when Minato was being groomed for Hokage. Kaede Yoru lacked Kakashi's brilliance. Favoring one brother over the other would spark dissent within the village.
"Metkai... Uchiha Obito... Nohara Rin..."
Hiruzen weighed the options. Assigning Obito to Minato would satisfy the Uchiha clan, softening resistance to Minato's potential promotion. Nohara Rin, a capable civilian girl, would provide balance to the team.
With his decision made, Hiruzen took another puff and chuckled. The Hokage himself intervening in team assignments was rare, but Kakashi's promise warranted it. And with Minato in charge, Hiruzen had full confidence in the outcome.
He placed Kaede Yoru's file back into the stack and pushed it aside. Kakashi's placement was all that mattered now.
"Let's hope Danzo's methods keep Kirigakure at bay."
He blew out a long stream of smoke, his thoughts shifting to the greater crisis at hand. The world was fracturing. The major villages circled Konoha, hungry for its resources and shaken by its victory in the Second Ninja War.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen would not back down.
"In the ninja world," he whispered, "yield once, and you invite ruin."
If peace could not be preserved through diplomacy, then Konoha would answer with steel and flame.
His eyes sharpened.
Though Konoha had lost the White Fang, it still had Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and a rising Minato Namikaze. The next generation—including Hatake Kakashi—was ready to rise.
If war must come, then let it. Konoha would not bow.