Danzo felt that Hiruzen had changed.
At the same time, Hiruzen also felt that Danzo was no longer the trusted partner he once knew.
In the past, the two of them had worked together flawlessly—Hiruzen standing in the light while Danzo operated from the shadows, both protecting the great tree known as Konoha.
But somewhere along the way, everything changed.
Danzo had grown dissatisfied with the status quo, and the methods he employed had become increasingly extreme.
Sometimes, his actions went so far that even Hiruzen no longer knew how to cover for him.
The two old friends stood facing each other inside the Hokage’s office.
Neither spoke.
The atmosphere grew heavier with every passing second.
Hiruzen’s thoughts drifted back to the days when he had first become Hokage, when he and Danzo had trusted each other completely.
Danzo, on the other hand, was thinking about something entirely different.
How to remove Hiruzen…
And finally claim the Hokage’s seat for himself.
If I were Hokage…
Konoha would never be this indecisive.
Disappointment filled Hiruzen’s eyes.
A trace of killing intent flashed through Danzo’s.
Just then, a knock echoed from outside the office.
A shinobi entered to deliver the latest report from the battlefield.
The interruption finally dispersed the suffocating tension.
“Hmph.”
“Hiruzen…”
“One day, you’ll regret this.”
With those cold words, Danzo slammed the office door shut and left.
This time…
Hiruzen didn’t stop him.
Nor did he remind Danzo that he was speaking to the Hokage.
Instead, he quietly reflected upon himself.
Had I been wrong to indulge Danzo all these years?
If I had restrained him from the very beginning…
Would our relationship have ended up like this?
Unfortunately, Danzo wasn’t the only problem weighing on Hiruzen’s mind.
The latest battlefield report indicated that although Konoha and Kumogakure remained locked in a stalemate…
The Hidden Cloud Village appeared to be preparing a major offensive.
Even worse…
The Two-Tails’ Jinchūriki had arrived at the front lines.
“What exactly is the Raikage planning?”
“Is he really determined to fight Konoha to the bitter end?”
Hiruzen instinctively wanted to consult Danzo.
But after their heated argument, he simply couldn’t bring himself to summon him back.
Besides…
The current Danzo no longer shared the same vision as he did.
“If only Minato were still alive…”
“He alone could stop the Raikage and Killer Bee.”
The thought of Minato naturally led him to Kushina.
Should he send her to the battlefield?
With the Nine-Tails serving as a deterrent, Kumogakure would surely think twice before launching another offensive.
Yet…
Minato had only recently sacrificed himself.
Naruto was barely one month old.
If he ordered Kushina to the front now…
How would she feel?
How would the villagers react?
Would they believe Konoha had become so desperate that it had no choice but to send a grieving widow into battle?
If the people lost faith in the village…
Could they still unite against Kumogakure?
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the more troubled he became.
Absentmindedly, he scratched his head as memories of Konoha’s golden age resurfaced.
When the First Hokage had been alive…
The other hidden villages scarcely dared raise their voices.
Even during Tobirama’s reign, Konoha had stood far above every other nation.
“Teacher Tobirama…”
“Have I truly made the wrong choices?”
His thoughts wandered from one familiar face to another.
Orochimaru, who had defected.
Tsunade, who had left the village.
Jiraiya, who spent his days wandering the world in search of the Child of Prophecy.
And Sakumo Hatake…
Driven to suicide by relentless rumors.
Except for Jiraiya, nearly every one of Konoha’s greatest talents had left because of problems connected—directly or indirectly—to Danzo.
But Hiruzen couldn’t deny his own responsibility.
As Hokage…
He had allowed it all to happen.
“Lord Third.”
“Commander Shikaku is still awaiting your reply.”
The messenger’s voice finally pulled Hiruzen back to reality.
After a brief silence, Hiruzen made his decision.
“Send orders to Uchiha Fugaku.”
“Have the Uchiha Clan dispatch reinforcements to support Shikaku.”
“They must stop Kumogakure’s next offensive.”
Only then did Hiruzen realize something.
For all this time…
He had subconsciously overlooked one of Konoha’s strongest military forces.
The Uchiha Clan.
Whatever their political issues might be, one fact remained undeniable.
The Sharingan was extraordinarily powerful.
An Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan could often defeat three to five shinobi of the same rank.
Unfortunately…
History had left deep scars.
Madara Uchiha’s defection.
Uchiha Setsuna’s attempted coup shortly after Hiruzen became Hokage.
Those events had caused Hiruzen to gradually lose trust in the clan.
Whether consciously or unconsciously, he had suppressed the Uchiha for years.
During the Nine-Tails Incident one month earlier, Danzo had even stationed forces around the Uchiha district under the pretext of surveillance.
Ironically, that very action proved the clan couldn’t possibly have controlled the Nine-Tails.
Otherwise…
The ANBU would likely have arrested the entire clan for interrogation by now.
Compared to the Uchiha…
The Hyūga Clan presented an entirely different problem.
They were widely recognized as Konoha’s strongest noble clan.
Unlike the Uchiha, they weren’t politically unstable.
Yet they also placed little importance on the Hokage’s authority.
Within the Hyūga Clan…
Clan law came before village law.
Originally, the distinction between the Main House and the Branch House existed solely to protect the Byakugan.
Over time, however…
Its purpose had changed.
Members of the Main House inherited the clan’s complete secret techniques and possessed unrestricted Byakugan.
But because they rarely fought on the battlefield, they lacked genuine combat experience.
Hiruzen had once persuaded the clan to send a Main House member to war.
Not only had that mission failed to earn any distinction…
The shinobi’s Byakugan had been stolen.
Compared to them…
The Uchiha had always fought fearlessly.
The previous Uchiha Clan Head had personally led his clan into battle and died heroically during the war.
Even Fugaku had once brought his eldest son onto the battlefield when the boy was only four years old.
After both messengers departed, Hiruzen quietly lit his pipe.
As smoke slowly drifted through the office, he pondered how to repair the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan.
That thought reminded him of Minato once again.
When Minato first became the Fourth Hokage, he had confidently promised to restore the Uchiha’s complete loyalty to the village.
Sadly…
He never had the chance.
His life ended before he could even begin.
For a brief moment, another thought crossed Hiruzen’s mind.
Would things have been different if Orochimaru had become the Fourth Hokage instead?
He quickly shook his head.
No.
Perhaps Orochimaru wouldn’t have defected.
But he would certainly have conducted human experiments even more openly.
And when the Nine-Tails Incident occurred…
Minato would probably still have sacrificed himself.
Even now, Hiruzen still didn’t know exactly what had happened that night.
Why had Minato resorted to the Reaper Death Seal?
His only conclusion was that Minato had exchanged his own life…
To save Kushina’s.
At that very moment, the woman occupying Hiruzen’s thoughts was inside her own mind.
Within the Tailed Beast’s seal…
Kushina was chatting with the Nine-Tails.
Ever since their first successful conversation, Kushina had realized something surprising.
The Nine-Tails wasn’t the mindless monster people believed it to be.
Ignoring its terrifying appearance and overwhelming power…
It was actually rather tsundere.
It clearly enjoyed talking with her.
Yet every time she spoke, it acted annoyed, indifferent, and completely uninterested.
If Sima Ming hadn’t stopped her…
Kushina might already have removed every restraint binding the Nine-Tails.
Sima Ming understood her intentions.
He also wanted Kushina to become a Perfect Jinchūriki as soon as possible.
However…
The current Nine-Tails wasn’t the innocent creature it had once been.
Over countless years, it had absorbed humanity’s hatred, resentment, and despair.
Those negative emotions had gradually tainted its chakra.
Even if Kushina and the Nine-Tails truly reconciled…
She still wouldn’t be able to endure the full influence of its chakra immediately.
After all…
Those dark emotions weren’t something even the Nine-Tails itself could completely control.