[Hokage Office]
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was holding several documents in his hand, his expression flickering between light and dark.
One of them was related to the Uchiha. It was said that the Uchiha clan had recently been frequently sending people to the Land of Rain, seemingly having established some kind of cooperation with Hanzo the Salamander.
'The Uchiha actually learned to establish foreign relations. When did they become so smart?'
The key point was, this matter was indeed beneficial to Konoha. The Uchiha, being an old-established clan of Konoha, were qualified to do such things.
In his heart, the Third felt a sense of dread, 'Fugaku really knows how to invest. After Obito learned Flying Thunder God, he immediately invested in him with a position as one of the Eight Elders. Now, they are starting to form diplomatic ties with a demigod.'
'Under Uchiha Fugaku's leadership, the Uchiha might actually become more and more prosperous.'
'But, is this really a good thing for Konoha?'
For a time, the Third Hokage was undecided, 'Should I show some goodwill, or give them a warning?'
He hesitated for a long time, still unable to come up with a countermeasure, and temporarily set the document aside.
Then, he picked up another document.
This one was about Rin's investigation.
After learning the situation from Minato, he basically understood that Rin was likely similar to that rising figure during the Third War, the Purple-robed Dragon King. When Minato's team went to Rōran, she became the Dragon Vein's Jinchuriki.
It was just that the memories from that time had been sealed, and no one could figure out what had happened.
Rin had only unconsciously used that power, and had just begun learning to control it.
This was a Jinchuriki, after all.
And unlike the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who couldn't control their power, Rin was like the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from the Hidden Cloud, a perfect Jinchuriki.
This wasn't a small matter, so the Third Hokage immediately launched an investigation into Rin, thoroughly examining all her information.
After the investigation, his heart was completely at ease.
Rin's background was pure. Her family were native-born Konoha people and had never been treated unfairly. Their home life was happy and harmonious.
Her squad leader was Namikaze Minato, and she studied under Tsunade. Moreover, her personality was kind and intelligent, wholeheartedly loyal to Konoha, and she had perfectly grasped the true essence of the Will of Fire.
This was a résumé so perfect it couldn't be more perfect, an ironclad supporter of the Will of Fire. The Third even had the thought of grooming Rin to become the future Hokage.
This way, he could firmly bind Obito, this unique Uchiha Elder, completely to his side.
The more he thought about it, the more joy surfaced on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.
After setting down the second document, the Third picked up the third one. The joy between his brows turned into worry.
The Sand had launched a fierce assault. The frontlines had collapsed in just a short amount of time, and he had no choice but to immediately send Orochimaru for reinforcements.
But the defeat was already a foregone conclusion. Konoha could only retreat to the area near Mount Kikyo and construct a second defensive line.
What was even more frustrating was that, as news of Konoha's defeat spread, although Iwagakure and Kumogakure hadn't stopped fighting each other, they had, coincidentally, each sent out troops to attack Konoha.
Danzo was right. Now, among the other four great ninja villages, only Kirigakure hadn't made a move. The others had all joined the siege against Konoha.
In an instant, Konoha was under siege on three fronts and in extreme peril.
'Ah, what a headache. Just a pure headache.'
The Third took out a fast-acting heart pill he had recently ordered the Anbu to buy and popped one into his mouth.
At this moment, the sound of urgent footsteps came. It was Danzo arriving with his men.
Danzo's face looked terrible. With a loud "smack," he slammed a document onto the Hokage's desk.
"What is the Uchiha trying to do? Without my permission, how can they conduct foreign diplomacy? Who gave them this authority?"
Danzo pointed tremblingly out the window, "Hiruzen, this is rebellion! They harbor malicious intent!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly tried to calm him down, "Danzo, you're overreacting."
"Besides, compared to the Uchiha, shouldn't we be more concerned about the state of the war right now?"
Danzo snorted and looked at the few documents laid out in front of Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, among these files, one must be about the Uchiha, right? Be honest, tell me, which one did you look at first?"
Hiruzen couldn't help coughing a few times. Suddenly, he felt that sometimes, when old friends knew each other too well, it wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Danzo saw this and instantly knew what Hiruzen was thinking.
He immediately said, "Sanctioning the Uchiha is the top priority. We should summon Fugaku immediately under the charge of colluding with foreign powers and demand an explanation!"
Hiruzen rolled his eyes at Danzo, "Didn't you also exchange letters with Hanzo?"
Danzo replied, "How is that the same? Everything I do is for Konoha! But the Uchiha? They're obstructing my alliance with Hanzo and sabotaging Konoha's grand plan for prosperity."
Hiruzen said, "Enough, Danzo. We're at war. We need the Uchiha's strength. Otherwise, who's going to hold the frontlines?"
Danzo was momentarily speechless. After a while, he said, "Let's put the Uchiha matter aside for now. You know we're at war, Root is short on personnel, seriously short. Give me one or two talents."
The Third's face darkened immediately, "You've emptied out all the major clans. Not a single person showed up for the Chūnin Exams. Can you honestly say those people aren't in Root?"
Danzo couldn't help feeling guilty, "So what? Together with many Root elites, I've deployed them to secretly support various battlefields. That's why we're short on people."
Hiruzen thought for a while and said, "Go on, who do you want this time?"
Danzo said, "You won't give me Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito is now an Uchiha Elder, not convenient to touch. But Nohara Rin, you've got to give her to me, right?"
Hiruzen's face turned black. He was just thinking about grooming Rin, and Danzo came asking for her?
"Danzo, you know that's impossible."
Danzo was furious inside, "Hiruzen, Minato's team went to Rōran and came back with a Purple-robed Dragon King. I let that slide."
"Nohara Rin, just like the Purple-robed Dragon King, is a perfect Jinchuriki. Can you really afford to use her casually?"
"She can only reach her full potential in Root."
Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer hold back and shouted, "Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Danzo couldn't catch his breath, "Here we go again—always this line. Without me secretly protecting the village, would you be sitting so securely as Hokage?"
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
Danzo turned and headed for the door.
Hiruzen called after him, "Danzo, this is wartime. We're short on funds. Don't—"
However, before he could finish—
BANG!
The Hokage Office door took another brutal hit.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed bitterly, "Don't break the door. You're wasting the budget."
———
Elsewhere, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi received their Chūnin uniforms from the supplies department.
Although becoming Chūnin wasn't difficult for the three of them, they still decided to take the chance to celebrate a little.
However, as they walked down the street, Obito suddenly stopped, a flash of killing intent in his eyes.
Rin, with her equally sharp perception, instantly sensed something too. It seemed like someone was watching them in secret.
She asked calmly, "Obito, who are these people?"
Obito sneered and said slowly, "This sneaky style of operation, who else but Root?"
"Root is getting bolder and bolder. They actually dare to target us? Danzo, does he have a death wish?"
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