Do You Think You're the Hokage?

"What's going on?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen had already returned home when he heard the clamor outside. He could not help but frown.

The Hokage's work was undeniably busy, especially for someone as confident as Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He believed he could handle all of Konoha's affairs in perfect order. As a result, nearly every document in Konoha passed through his hands for his judgment.

Without question, thanks to this approach, while he was not the strongest Hokage in Konoha's history, he was definitely one of the Hokage who held the most power.

The only one stronger than him was probably his teacher, the Second Hokage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been exceedingly busy these past few years, especially after he had made Hyuga Hiashi hand over Hizashi Hyuga.

On one hand, he needed to make every effort to restore Konoha's credibility. His decision to hand over Hyuga Hiashi had damaged Konoha's prestige throughout the Shinobi World.

That blow had also caused Konoha's share of missions to plummet. Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to work hard to restore Konoha's image in the Shinobi World.

On the other hand, there was the pressure from the Hyuga Clan.

In truth, it was not just the Hyuga Clan. The shinobi clans throughout the village likely held some resentment toward him in their hearts.

To put it bluntly, they even harbored a certain degree of hostility!

If he dared to move against the Hyūga this time, who knew whose head the blade would fall upon next?

When the rabbit died, the fox grieved; when one of a kind was harmed, the rest felt the pain. It was inevitable.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not without a solution. To keep Konoha peaceful and make these clans behave themselves, the best method was to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys!

What could be more intimidating than the disappearance of a great clan he already disliked, one for which he possessed ample intelligence, and one that was inherently unstable?

But as the Hokage, he could never do such a thing himself. To maintain the village's stability, he had to show a willingness to compromise in every respect.

Thus, at a time like this, Danzo's value was fully brought into play.

Although all of this stemmed from his compromise and his decision to hand over Hizashi Hyuga, he did not regret what he had done.

He knew very clearly how to choose between war and peace. A moment of weakness and compromise could give Konoha a chance to recover, so he would not hesitate!

"For Konoha, even if I must bear infamy, this old man can accept it!"

Knock, knock, knock.

Just then, the great door to Sarutobi Hiruzen's room was knocked upon. After receiving permission, an Anbu shinobi quickly entered.

The Anbu shinobi had silver hair. Wearing a mask, he immediately dropped to one knee after entering and spoke in a steady, low voice.

"Lord Hokage, a fire has broken out at Training Ground Three. It was deliberately set."

"Deliberately set?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, then continued asking.

"You should have more intelligence. Tell me. Let me know exactly what happened."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Anbu nodded before continuing.

"According to intelligence, someone launched an attack on Uchiha Habara of the Uchiha Clan, but all of them were killed by Uchiha Habara.

Many Leaf Ninja have already rushed over. Based on the descriptions from the scene, those who were killed were a group of people disguised as Anbu."

Uchiha Habara had been attacked? Had that kid already returned? And people disguised as Anbu?

By this point, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already realized something was wrong. His frown deepened. "Is there any other intelligence?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The Anbu continued, "According to intelligence, Uchiha Habara saw Naruto and spoke with him while dining at Ichiraku Ramen today."

At that, the Anbu fell silent, while Sarutobi Hiruzen understood everything.

Those so-called people disguised as Anbu were actually Root shinobi. That fellow Danzo had intended to force the Uchiha into a corner.

There were Anbu within the Uchiha, and the Anbu's way of doing things was entirely different from Root's.

Even if the Uchiha decided Root was responsible, Habara had vanished without a trace, dead or alive. Everything could be denied.

And after suffering such an enormous grievance, the Uchiha might make some extreme move.

That would be Konoha's chance to act. It might even make those Uchiha Clan members who supposedly favored the village and loved peace fight the hardliners themselves.

But while the idea was good, reality was cruel.

Every person Danzo had sent had actually been killed. That was a bit troublesome.

"I understand." Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his brow in frustration, then rose to his feet. "In that case, I'll go take a look."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The Anbu nodded, rose to leave, but Sarutobi Hiruzen called him back once again.

"Has Danzo gone over?"

"He had already gone when I left."

"How are things over there?"

"It seems they have already reached a standoff."

"Habara, are you sure it happened as you said?"

After Shisui arrived and saw the shattered corpses strewn across the ground, along with the clothing on those mutilated bodies, he could not help but swallow.

He could no longer tell exactly how many people lay on the ground. The corpses had been torn apart too badly, but he knew there were at least more than ten.

More than ten people had been killed by Habara alone, and so horribly at that. It was easy to imagine just how terrifying Habara's strength was.

But the most frightening thing was what those people were wearing. They were clearly dressed as Anbu!

It was not only Shisui. The large group of Leaf Ninja who had arrived with him were also stunned. Quite a few of them had even vaguely surrounded Habara.

To strike so ruthlessly against Anbu in Konoha was clearly no trivial matter. It could even be called an utterly heinous act.

However, after Habara explained the situation, Shisui and the other shinobi could not help but frown.

"What else could it have been?" Habara spread his hands, his expression equally helpless. "You're Anbu, so I naturally know some of the Anbu's Code of Conduct. Besides, if these people truly had something to discuss with me, there was no need to send so many people. They had clearly come prepared to make a move."

"Indeed." Shisui could not help but nod at Habara's words.

The shinobi watching also breathed a sigh of relief. Even if they had never dealt with Anbu, they understood one thing.

So many people coming together to Act Together clearly meant more than simply questioning or investigating someone. A large-scale operation like this was meant to put someone to death!

"Everyone, disperse."

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out. Immediately afterward, a gloomy old man wrapped in bandages strode in.

Habara and Shisui both frowned when they saw him. Though they frowned for different reasons, neither of them clearly liked the old man.

Because that old man was Shimura Danzō!

Shimura Danzō swept his gaze over everything around him, his expression turning ugly. Then he looked at Habara and Shisui with a cold gaze and shouted in a low voice.

"Uchiha Habara, you struck so viciously against Konoha's Anbu. Can you still call yourself a Konoha shinobi?"

"Who are you to spout nonsense here?"

Habara raised a brow at Danzo's words. Ignoring Shisui's attempt to stop him, he spoke disdainfully.

"Whether I am a Konoha shinobi or not does not seem to be for you to decide, does it?"

"Whether this old man gets to decide, you can try and find out. Everyone, heed my order! Seize him!"

Danzo seemed to have grown angry at Habara as well, directly commanding all the shinobi present to act.

Unfortunately, Shimura Danzō was merely Shimura Danzō. As the head of Konoha's Root, he rarely showed his face in public.

As a result, most of the shinobi present barely knew who he was. Under such circumstances, why would they obey Danzo's orders?

Habara, meanwhile, could not help but reveal a mocking smile. At that moment, the chakra throughout his body began to surge, and his eyes turned scarlet.

"Without getting to the bottom of things, without understanding what exactly happened, you stand here barking like a dog and ordering everyone around.

Who do you think you are? The Lord Hokage?"