After a long while—
Shimura Danzo, his right eye wrapped in bandages and dressed in ninja attire, entered the Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen, you called me here so urgently—what's the matter?"
The moment he stepped inside, Danzo spoke directly.
"Danzo, you're here. Have a seat."
Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured for him to sit across the desk.
Only after Danzo settled down did Hiruzen ask:
"What do you think of the Land of Rain?"
"The Land of Rain?"
Danzo paused, then waved his hand dismissively.
"Just a defeated country beneath us."
Seeing Hiruzen's expression grow serious, Danzo frowned slightly.
"What, has something happened over there again? Do you need me to send people to 'remind' them?"
"After the Second Great Ninja War, didn't we sign a non-aggression pact with them?"
Hiruzen's tone turned cold.
"Have you been listening to anything I've said?"
"Yes, there's a treaty—but what does that have to do with me?"
"I haven't done anything to the Land of Rain!"
Danzo was completely baffled.
What was wrong with Hiruzen today?
Why was he suddenly being summoned and scolded when he hadn't done anything?
"Still denying it?"
"Your actions have already been discovered by the Land of Rain—and you still refuse to admit it!"
"You could at least do it properly—how did you even get exposed?!"
Hiruzen took a heavy drag from his pipe and threw the report onto the desk in front of Danzo.
Danzo frowned, picked it up, and glanced through it.
The contents were short—he finished reading in a single look.
"This—!"
"That Zhe is not my man!"
"My agents aren't even capable of reaching the level of Hanzo's personal guard!"
He looked up immediately, trying to explain.
"Not your man?"
"Then what's this report supposed to mean?"
"Right now, both the Land of Rain and Konoha believe Zhe was your agent—and that he returned with a large sum of money!"
Hiruzen slammed his hand on the desk.
"Now everyone knows your spies can reach the level of a Kage's personal guard! How do you think the other villages will view Konoha?!"
"That Zhe is NOT my man! I've never even heard his name before!"
Danzo raised his voice in frustration.
Looking at his aggrieved expression, Hiruzen hesitated for a moment.
Could it be… Danzo was actually being framed?
Someone throwing dirt on him?
But the moment that thought appeared—
Hiruzen recalled Danzo's past actions:
Using ANBU training as a cover to build his own faction—Root.
Recruiting talented orphans as spies and sending them across nations.
Even orchestrating their deaths to erase secrets.
Thinking of all that—
Hiruzen shook his head and dismissed the idea entirely.
Impossible.
If anything, Danzo was the one who framed others.
Who could possibly frame him?
So why was he denying it?
Could it be… the money Zhe brought back was too much—
And Danzo wanted to keep it all for himself?
At that thought, Hiruzen's gaze toward Danzo grew suspicious.
"Don't believe me?"
Danzo clenched his fists.
"After all these years, you still don't trust me?!"
"Tell me—how much did your agent bring back?"
Hiruzen asked bluntly.
Then, as if realizing how direct that sounded, he added:
"You know the daimyo has been cutting our funding recently. That money could help fill the gap."
"I already told you—that's NOT my man!"
"Monkey!"
Danzo finally exploded, shouting:
"After all these years, you still doubt me?!"
"This isn't about whether I trust you!"
"It's about how other villages see us!"
Hiruzen replied sharply, taking another drag from his pipe.
"How they see us?"
"We should be increasing infiltration into other villages!"
"Sabotage their operations, weaken them from within!"
"That's the only way Konoha can remain the strongest!"
Danzo slammed his hand on the desk.
"Danzo—you're trying to start a war?!"
"The Second Great Ninja War just ended a few years ago! Do you really want another one?"
Hiruzen was shocked.
"Start a war?"
"Can't you see the Stone and Cloud villages are already preparing for one?!"
Danzo stared him down.
"If I don't act, they'll come knocking on our door soon enough!"
"But if you do this and get exposed, war will break out immediately!"
Unlike Danzo's hawkish stance, Hiruzen was entirely cautious.
What he feared most—
Was the diplomatic fallout of exposed espionage.
Konoha simply wasn't ready for another war.
"Danzo, as Hokage, I order you—"
"Immediately cease all infiltration into other villages!"
Hiruzen stood, his voice firm.
"...Hiruzen! You'll regret this!"
Danzo snapped back, fury barely contained.
"That's enough, Danzo. I am the Hokage."
Hiruzen's voice turned cold.
"Hmph!"
Under the pressure of Hiruzen's authority, Danzo snorted and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
—
Back at the Root headquarters—
Danzo's remaining eye locked onto the report he had taken.
"Whoever did this…"
"To pin this on me—do they have a death wish?"
His fist tightened.
"Kin. Bring me all intelligence on the Land of Rain."
"Yes!"
A Root member quickly delivered the requested files.
Danzo's gaze darkened as he reached for them.
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