Bang!
Whoosh!
The torchlight flickered on the stone walls, casting four twisted shadows onto the cold surface.
Inside the secret chamber, there was a square table and four chairs.
A teapot and four teacups sat on the table, the steam from the tea rising in the dim light.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the table, the embers of his pipe glowing and fading in the smoke.
His Hokage hat rested on the corner of the table, the bright red “Fire” character looking particularly striking in the gloom.
Opposite him, Danzō Shimura sat upright, leaning on his cane.
Bang!
The cane slammed into the ground with a resounding thud.
“Hiruzen, we must go and assist; there cannot be any mishaps!”
“Danzo, how many times have I told you.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe, his voice raspy with exhaustion, yet he still maintained that signature gentleness and helplessness.
“The matter of the Uchiha Clan must be resolved through peaceful means…”
“Peaceful means?”
Danzō sneered, slamming his cane heavily onto the ground again with a dull thud.
“Hiruzen, how much longer are you going to deceive yourself?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s eyes were filled with sorrow.
“I did not authorize this operation! Danzō, you are doing this behind my back…”
“So what if I am behind your back?”
Danzō stood up without showing any weakness, his single eye flashing with a sharp light:
“Hiruzen, you are too indecisive! The Uchiha Clan has already completed all preparations for a coup!”
“Fugaku can no longer control the situation! What are you still waiting for? Are you waiting for them to unleash the Nine-Tails and level the entire Village to the ground?!”
He stepped forward:
“I will bear all the consequences!”
“Bear them?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up.
“My plan is for the continuation of the Village!”
Danzō slammed his cane on the ground again:
“The Uchiha are an uncontrollable hazard! Their Sharingan can control the Nine-Tails! The Nine-Tailed attack was their doing! Do you want the sacrifices of the Yondaime and Kushina to be in vain?!”
“There is no evidence for that…”
“Evidence?!”
Danzō’s voice was low:
“By the time evidence appears, the Village will no longer exist!”
“Hiruzen, you are too naive!”
The two confronted each other, less than three steps apart.
“No! We cannot lay a hand on our comrades in the Village!”
The light in Danzō’s single eye did not retreat in the slightest as he continued his “flirtatious banter” with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This was the “daily routine” between them.
One stood in the light, shouting about the Will of Fire, maintaining the superficial harmony of the Village with a gentle and kind face.
The other stood in the shadows, cleansing everything that might threaten the Village with iron-fisted tactics and conspiracy.
They argued, opposed each other, and even hated one another.
But no matter how they argued, the final result was always the same.
The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow.
Utatane Koharu picked up her teacup, gently blew on the steam, and took a sip.
These tea leaves were brought back by the Sarutobi family caravan from the Land of Tea, with a market price of eight million ryō per jin.
The aftertaste was sweet; it was truly good tea.
Her expression was calm as water, as if the “intense argument” taking place beside her was nothing more than two old friends discussing the weather.
Homura Mitokado set down his teacup and adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
These two men.
They had lived from the time of the First Hokage until now.
They had experienced the glory of Senju Hashirama, witnessed the iron-fisted rule of Senju Tobirama, and had accompanied this pair of “light and shadow,” Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura, for most of their lives.
It was not that they lacked a stance.
Their stance was balance.
Maintaining balance between light and shadow, maintaining balance between Hiruzen and Danzō.
And the fulcrum of that balance was always the minimization of losses and the vital interests of the The Four Great Clans.
As for what that “loss” specifically referred to, who it was, or how many people it involved… that was not important.
Therefore, when Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura were arguing, they would not explicitly state their position.
But when the argument ended, they would certainly state it.
They would state their support for the plan that, while the four of them appeared different on the surface, they all inwardly agreed upon…
And tonight, that plan was to destroy the massive threat that was the Uchiha Clan!
The argument was only because an argument was needed.
The opposition was only because opposition was needed.
The final result never depended on the content of their verbal sparring, but on the outcome that had long been tacitly agreed upon by everyone.
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally fell silent.
He slowly sat back in his chair, picked up his pipe, and took a deep puff.
“Danzō… you can only surround them to protect the Village; do not do anything unnecessary.”
Danzō folded his hands over the head of his cane, his single eye widening abruptly:
“Hiruzen, do you know what you are saying? How powerful are the Uchiha? If you let them react…”
“Root must act! The Anbu as well; I know you have already assembled them.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi:
“No!”
“Hiruzen!”
“Hmph! You will regret this!”
“Bang!”
Danzō slammed the door as he left.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado exchanged a glance.
“Hiruzen, although Danzō is radical, what he said is not without reason…”
Smoke swirled, blurring the old man’s features, and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice was filled with grief.
“It is all Fugaku’s and my fault; we failed to find a better way to handle the Uchiha Clan’s situation…”
After a pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed:
“Issue the order: there is enemy espionage activity on the edge of the Village; fully blockade the southeast area…”
History is always like this.
Years later, no one will remember those Uchiha clansmen who died.
No one will remember that they were also founders of Konoha.
After the wheels of history have rolled over, all that remains is the anthem written by the victors.
This is the Ninja World.
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes; he did not speak again.
The only thing he could do was continue to play the role of a Hokage who tried to oppose but was ultimately powerless.
To play the role of a kind old man who was “deceived by Danzō.”
To play the role of a Sandaime who would leave behind a glorious image in history.
This was his role.
The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow.
And he was that light.
As for the blood in the shadows… that was Danzō’s business.
Utatane Koharu took another sip of tea.
Tonight’s tea leaves seemed to be more fragrant than usual.
…
At the same time, at the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
Blood.
Blood covered the ground.
At the front of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, dark red liquid flowed along the cracks in the stone slabs, shimmering with a cold, eerie luster under the moonlight.
A corpse lay in the middle of the road.
It was a young mother.
Her back had been pierced by a kunai, and her body lay in a pool of blood in a protective, curled-up posture.
Her arms were clutching her chest tightly.
There, there should have been a baby.
But now, there was nothing.
Beside the corpse, a small, blood-stained swaddling blanket lay discarded.