The frustration of school followed the Hokage all the way to his office.
Not even the constant puffs on his pipe could dispel it.
Danzo was the complete opposite.
He sipped his tea calmly.
If you looked closely, you could even catch a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
— Danzo…!
Finally, the Third Hokage couldn't take it anymore.
However, his friend was prepared to not let him take the initiative.
— You saw it with your own eyes, Hiruzen. What excuse will you give now?
Despite Danzo's deliberate pause, the Hokage could do nothing but clench his jaw.
— The Jinchūriki have gotten out of hand. The younger one is one thing—at least he's just a loud idiot who likes to cause trouble—but the older one…
Instead of telling him outright, Danzo merely let out a low chuckle.
The hatred and resentment in that girl's gaze were clear to everyone.
And Hiruzen was, perhaps, the most aware of all, even more so than Danzo himself.
— I'm in a good mood today, so I won't bother saying it out loud, but you know what I want.
The sip of tea that followed his words mingled with the crackling of the pipe.
Hiruzen's annoyance only grew as he saw the other man's calm expression.
It was easy to simply ask for control of one of the village's strategic weapons; however, he had much more to consider.
They were Minato's children, Jiraiya's godchildren, but above all, they were the future pillars of Konoha.
However, now one of those pillars was slipping through his fingers.
The cycle of abuse and bonds that had begun with the twins' mother wasn't working with his eldest daughter.
Unlike Kushina and Naruto, Natsuki Uzumaki never showed even the slightest hint of that intrinsic desire for approval. Her unfriendly and distant personality also posed a problem for any attempt to bind her with ties.
Not even her own brother could be seen as someone close to her, much less be considered the recipient of her affection; as if the systematic abuse she had been subjected to throughout her life had affected her so deeply that she was no longer even capable of opening up or trusting her own flesh and blood.
A troubled personality, total isolation, and above all, today he had witnessed several signs of excessively sadistic and violent tendencies.
A Jinchūriki with all those problems was clearly a ticking time bomb.
Even so, handing her over to Danzo…
— If you take custody of her, will there be any difference between her and the other Root members?
— What kind of question is that?
The subsequent snort could barely express the contempt and ridicule that suddenly welled up inside Danzo.
— She's the village's most powerful weapon. Of course she'll be different.
Although Hiruzen couldn't see the Sharingan spinning menacingly in Danzo's supposedly empty eye socket, he could still sense his evil intentions.
Giving him a Jinchūriki would mean losing all control over Danzo.
If Danzo had dared to try to assassinate him even with an organization he himself funded, Hiruzen didn't even want to imagine what he might do if he got his hands on a weapon of such magnitude.
Danzo also knew that his friend would never willingly hand over what he wanted.
He was certain that the scheming old man would rather let the Kyubi break free and use one of the Uzumaki half-breeds they kept in reserve in ANBU or ROOT as a new vessel than leave such power in his hands.
Even so, teasing him about this had always been one of his pleasures.
"Forget it. She's still a child. It's too early to judge her a failure."
Danzo's laughter grew even more contemptuous.
"Cling to that lie until it blows up in your face. I don't care. Just don't let your lack of resolve affect the village, or I'll be forced to take action to eliminate the risks."
Although his hoarse voice made his words sound like a threat, Hiruzen understood that it was merely a promise.
That made him turn his thoughts to the Uchihas, to the proud and unruly display of the clan leader's youngest son, to the even more despotic members of the clan.
…
One problem after another.
It was better not to think about it and just let things play out until an answer presented itself or everything reached an impasse.
Whichever the case, as long as he wasn't the one left to deal with the consequences, that was enough.
As he watched his friend take a final sip of his cup of tea, the Hokage spoke again.
— So, what's going on with that Haruno kid?
— What do you want to know?
— Everything. Or at least the part you've been hiding from me.
— It seems you've misunderstood something. I haven't hidden anything from you regarding him.
"Don't treat me like an idiot. Everything that kid, Shouen, said—it was obvious you already knew it; besides, you'd even already planned the confrontation between them. Otherwise, how do you explain having so many weapons ready to throw and wear down his opponent?"
"I treat you according to who you are. And as I said, I haven't hidden anything from you." What that brat said today, I only found out a few days ago; I simply decided not to report it until I verified its truth.
— Cut the crap and explain yourself.
— All right, all right. There's no need to raise your voice.
Glad to increase the Third Hokage's frustration, Danzo took his time pouring himself a nice cup of tea and taking a couple of sips from it before continuing.
— Just as you suspect, that Haruno boy was responsible for the death of that brat's twin, and he's also the one who put him into a coma. In some way I still don't understand, he manipulated both brothers' minds and made them fight to the death, then forced the winner to dismember and eat the other.
— What the hell…?!
— By the Sage of the Six Paths. You're the Hokage. You should at least have the mental fortitude to hear things like this without getting upset.
— How do you expect me to…?
— Fine. At least let me finish speaking before you continue with your tantrum.
— …
— Because of whatever he did to mess with the twins' minds, the survivor fell into a coma, and after waking up—perhaps due to the shock or the side effects of the boy's experiment—he lost his memories of what had happened. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that he finally remembered, after seeing Haruno beating up some brats who had been bothering his sister.
Curiously, Hiruzen said nothing after Danzo finished his explanation.
He just opened and closed his mouth, trying to process what he'd just heard.
It wasn't until he took a couple of puffs on his pipe that he seemed to regain his composure.
— That boy… is a criminal who should be in prison.
— Yes. Just like Jiraiya, Tsunade, or Orochimaru himself, whom you let escape.
— …
— There's no need to be a hypocrite, Hiruzen. The boy may have done something horrendous, but even that's nowhere near the worst thing you've allowed or turned a blind eye to.
— …The fact that you're defending someone is so strange it makes me wonder if you're under the influence of some genjutsu.
— You should consider taking off your hat once in a while. It seems to have caused your mind to get stuck in the past. Besides, as exceptional as the boy is, you've seen his problems yourself. Or do you really think a cripple could put me under his control?
— … Then what reason do you have to protect him, even though he's nothing more than a cripple now? And don't give me that nonsense about him being perfect for Root.
Danzo's half-open mouth closed again.
It wasn't until he'd gathered his thoughts and shot a sullen glance at the Third Hokage that he spoke again.
— It's not nonsense at all. Even though he's crippled, I still think the kid has potential. Based on what he showed earlier, I'd even go so far as to say he's more outstanding than Minato. But what matters most is what you saw today. He has no mercy, no scruples, his ties to others are tenuous at best, and above all, he's completely and utterly selfish. If someone like him isn't perfect for Root, where else could he belong?
— Then why didn't you approach him to recruit him?
— … It's questions like this that make me say you have a narrow-minded view, Hiruzen. Treat him like any other Root member, and then what? Let him become a mediocre ninja like all the rest? I'm no fool, Hiruzen. I know that turning ninjas into mere emotionless tools limits them. That's why Root has never seen, nor will it ever see, a ninja who comes close to our level. They're good disposable tools, but that's their limit. If I treat the boy like the others, I'd be burying one of the young seedlings you talk so much about in your Will of Fire.
Despite the final blow, the Third Hokage didn't react.
He simply remained in his chair, analyzing every word Danzo spoke.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, the boy was nothing more than a criminal and a potential problem in his eyes.
It wasn't even fair to compare him to Orochimaru. After all, at that age, the Sannin—though he might have had some twisted ideas in his head—didn't put them into practice; on the other hand, Yashin Haruno…
The two men's gazes locked for a brief moment.
The Hokage understood immediately.
Danzo wouldn't back down on this.
He could understand that.
After so many years of watching him, along with his students and other members of his faction, shine brighter than anyone else in the village, now that he had found a supposed talent on par with Minato, it was only natural that he wouldn't want to lose him.
Although, in Hiruzen's eyes, that supposed talent was already lost.
"All right. I'll let the matter of the twins slide; however, this will be the last time. The boy is now your responsibility. If he commits another crime…"
He didn't finish his threat, as if he wanted to make it carry more weight through the silence.
Even so, Danzo knew those were just empty words, and even if they weren't, he had countless ways to make the honorable Hokage back down.
— Also, give me a report on everything regarding the boy.
— Sure.
"If by any chance something is missing and I have to find out on my own, I'll send the ANBU to keep an eye on him, understood?"
Finally, a trace of annoyance appeared on Danzo's face.
"That's ridiculous. Not even I know all the boy's tricks. At most, I only know what he did before he fell ill. Everything else is beyond my knowledge."
— And yet you're so determined to protect him. I really don't understand you. You haven't even explained how you'll control the boy if he ever gets as far as you think he will.
"Control… what an inappropriate word for a Hokage. I prefer the term 'collaborate.' As I said, he's someone who's too simple and selfish. Getting him to work for the village isn't difficult if you know how to keep him satisfied. And if that doesn't work, well… there are always other methods."
Not even the bandages could soften the sinister look on his face.
Even so, the Third Hokage didn't even flinch; instead, he felt relieved to see that his friend, no matter how much he supported the boy, hadn't changed his true nature.
— Whatever. I'm not going to meddle in your business. You'd better just tell me what little you know about him.