The Land of Fire, seven days before Sean arrived in the Land of Whirlpools, five days had already passed since the incident of his escape from the camp.
The heart of the Land of Fire, the place where the village of Konoha, the military power of the Land of Fire, is stationed.
Because of the system of one village and one state adopted by Hashirama Senju, the military power was in the hands of the Hokage and not in the hands of the daimyo.
In exchange for the protection, security, and stability of the Land of Fire, the daimyo supplies Konoha every year with certain military funding.
The relationship between them was a cooperative relationship. Without the ninja, the Land of Fire could not be protected from external threats, and without the necessary funding, ninja could not be created on a large scale.
" Hokage-sama, a report from the front lines of the Land of Rain "
Inside the Hokage's office, the young Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the red intelligence scroll presented to him by the masked Anbu member.
He put the lit pipe aside on the desk full of documents and then opened the scroll. As soon as he began reading it, the expression on his face changed into a frown, and the frown on his face deepened as he continued reading.
Boom!!
He struck the desk forcefully, frightening the Anbu members hidden to protect him.
" Does Danzo have the slightest idea about the danger of this proposal? It is impossible to agree to this..."
He grabbed his silver pipe, placed it in his mouth and drew the smoke into his lungs before exhaling it again, making the entire office filled with smoke.
" At least not while Mito-sama is still alive..."
He tapped his finger on the surface of the desk while thinking deeply about the message Danzo had sent from the front lines. It contained three pieces of news. The first was the matter of the betrayal of a member of the Uchiha clan of Konoha and the coordination with Hanzo to kill the support team, in addition to attacking the supplies.
The second piece of news spoke about some activities of Hanzo the Salamander which he had not yet addressed because of the shock of the third piece of news.
The ninja villages were preparing to attack the Uzumaki village and destroy it under the pretext that its existence was a threat to the world because of the power of the sealing techniques they possessed.
Hiruzen did not doubt the credibility of the intelligence information. He knew very well the skill of his old friend in the field of gathering intelligence.
What made him lose his composure and become tense was Danzo's shocking and extreme proposal.
He did not only want to refrain from helping the Uzumaki village allied with them in their crisis, but he also wanted to participate actively and take a share of the gains!
Simply put, Danzo's proposal was impossible. It was not as if Hiruzen had any particular inclination toward the Uzumaki clan. The issue was simply that Uzumaki Mito, the current jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, was still alive. Even though she did not hold any specific position in Konoha's leadership, her words could undermine his authority.
He was fortunate that she was not greedy for power. Otherwise he would not have ascended to the Hokage throne even with the recommendation of the Second Hokage before his death.
He sighed and rubbed his temple. Sometimes he regretted taking the position of Hokage.
He set aside the matter of the Land of Whirlpools and focused on the information about the defecting Uchiha member.
" Bring me the information related to Sean Uchiha! "
Hiruzen ordered. It seemed as if he was speaking to the void, but the moment his order was issued one of the hidden Anbu members moved.
Within only five minutes a file concerning ninja number 22886 was placed before him.
Hiruzen opened the file and stared with a frown at Sean's picture which had been taken when he was fourteen years old when he became a jonin.
" Sean Uchiha, a rare genius from the Uchiha clan. Graduated at the age of seven, awakened the Sharingan at the age of nine and developed it to its maximum limit at the age of fifteen. Became a jonin at the age of fourteen. He has natural affinity with the chakra nature of fire, earth, and lightning..."
" His appearance and personality differ from the typical Uchiha. He has an attitude toward others..."
" Number of missions: 557 C-rank missions
32 B-rank missions
12 A-rank missions
4 S-rank missions "
" Personal relations: engaged to Noji Uchiha..."
Hiruzen furrowed his brows in confusion and displeasure. Sean Uchiha's file, which even surpassed the records of his own students, showed the illogical nature of Danzo's report which stated that Sean had conspired with Hanzo the Salamander and betrayed his comrades and Konoha by providing intelligence that led to the death of the support team that had been sent a few days ago..
" Something is not right! Sean Uchiha had no motive to betray Konoha and also..."
" His fiancée Noji Uchiha was part of the support team. It is illogical that he would stab his future wife in the back!! "
An idea crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
" It is impossible that Danzo would do this. Even if he hates the Uchiha clan, he always places Konoha first. The loss of the support team and two jonin, one killed and the other defected..."
" No, it is impossible that Danzo is behind this. That leaves us with Sean Uchiha... it seems his file did not completely record the true personality of this man..."
Hiruzen sighed tiredly, took the pipe and drew a puff of smoke, exhaled the smoke from his lungs and murmured
" Whatever it is, Konoha currently does not have the luxury of chasing a rogue ninja. It is better to leave this matter to the Uchiha clan..."
He kept the pipe in his mouth and then copied the part related to Sean's crimes onto a scroll before sealing it and handing it to the masked Anbu member.
" Give this to the head of the Uchiha clan..."
Hiruzen watched the Anbu member disappear. He drifted for a moment lost in his thoughts before shaking his head.
" It is better to deal with the matter of the Land of Rain and Hanzo..."