Chapter 55: Tensions in the Dark
The flames in the Hokage's office flickered low as dusk settled over the village. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, the weight of command pressing heavily on his shoulders. He was halfway through a scroll when a quiet rustle at the window caught his ear. In an instant, an ANBU operative knelt before him, silent and alert.
"Report from Jonin Kenshiro, Lord Hokage," the ANBU said, handing him a sealed scroll.
Hiruzen took it with a nod. He opened the scroll and read.
With every line, the weariness in his eyes hardened into something colder, heavier. The report detailed the infiltration attempt, the rogue merchants, the ROOT interference, and the extraordinary performance of a young shinobi named Kiyoshi. But it was the deeper implications—the underground maneuvering by Danzo—that disturbed him the most.
He set the scroll down slowly, exhaling a long breath.
"Danzo…" he murmured.
Moments later, he summoned him.
---
Danzo Shimura entered the office as he always did—calm, composed, cloaked in shadow. His unbandaged eye regarded Hiruzen carefully, noting the unreadable storm behind the Hokage's features.
"You've read the report," Danzo said simply.
"I did," Hiruzen replied, voice low. "And I need you to explain to me, clearly and without deception, why ROOT operatives were at the eastern outpost."
"And?" Danzo asks.
"You've gone too far," Hiruzen snapped, slamming the scroll onto the table. "ROOT operations behind my back? Smuggling? Hidden operatives in a secure outpost? What do you think you're doing, Danzo?"
Danzo remained calm. "Securing the future of Konoha."
"And how is that securing the future of the village? Care to explain, Danzo?"
Danzo didn't blink. "The operation was in the village's best interest. Sensitive cargo needed to be moved without alerting the public or enemy ears. Discretion was essential."
"Discretion?" Hiruzen said sharply. "You interfered with an active military assignment. You deployed ROOT agents without informing me. And you endangered Konoha shinobi in the process."
Danzo stepped forward, hands folded behind his back. "The situation was under control until Kenshiro's squad intervened. If they hadn't disrupted the timing—"
"Their presence was scheduled. You knew this. You acted against the chain of command," Hiruzen interrupted. "That alone would be enough to warrant disciplinary action."
Danzo's tone remained composed, though a hint of steel crept into it. "If you had allowed ROOT the autonomy it needs, this wouldn't have happened. You hold on too tightly, Hiruzen. There are enemies all around us. The old ways are not enough."
Hiruzen stood, walking slowly to the window, the Hokage Monument bathed in twilight beyond the glass.
"It's not the old ways I fear," he said quietly. "It's the erosion of what we stand for."
Danzo's silence was calculating. Then, deliberately, he changed the subject.
Danzo's voice lowered, more deliberate now. "Then perhaps it's time we stop tiptoeing around what's necessary. I'm requesting custody of the new Nine-Tails jinchūriki—Kushina Uzumaki."
The air thickened.
Hiruzen blinked, as if not sure he heard correctly. Then, slowly, he said, "Absolutely not."
Hiruzen turned slowly.
"She's young, unstable. Her seal is new. Her heritage is dangerous," Danzo continued. "We both know she will attract attention—enemy attention. Let ROOT take over her training and surveillance. We are the only ones who can ensure her safety… and the village's."
Hiruzen's gaze hardened. "You want to turn a child into another tool."
"A weapon," Danzo corrected, "is only as dangerous as the hand that wields it. Right now, she's vulnerable. ROOT can shape her—make her useful."
Hiruzen turns around, jaw tight. "And what of her will? Her life?"
Danzo's eye narrowed. "Mito Uzumaki is no longer an obstruction. There is nothing preventing us now from ensuring Konoha's safety through the proper measures."
The words hit like a slap.
Hiruzen slammed his palm on the desk. "Remember your place, Danzo! I am the Hokage—not you. I will not allow you to twist a child's fate for your own paranoid delusions."
Danzo's mouth tightened. But he stayed firm on his proposition.
A long silence followed. Danzo held his ground but said nothing.
"And Tsunade?" Hiruzen added. "She would never allow this."
Danzo's reply was cold. "What use is a medical-nin who can't even perform her own art anymore?"
That did it.
"Leave," Hiruzen said, voice low with fury.
Danzo inclined his head. "As you wish, Lord Hokage."
He turned and vanished into the night, cloak trailing like a shadow.
Hiruzen remained still for a long moment, hands clenched behind his back. The room was silent save for the crackling of the hearth.
He had made his decision.
He would not hand over Kushina.
And now, he feared… he was beginning to lose control of the one man he had allowed too much freedom.