An Argument in the Hokage Building

The Graduation Exam, with its little disturbance, passed uneventfully. What followed was the assignment of Team Leaders to the young ninjas.

In the Hokage Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen casually flipped through the Ninja Academy's grades. His gaze lingered on Uchiha Feiyu, who had remained in first place, as though he were pondering something.

With a bang, the office door swung open. A middle-aged man with a gloomy face and a cold expression strode in.

"Hiruzen, I want someone from you!"

"You want someone from me? Haven't you caused enough trouble already, Danzo?!"

The Third Hokage looked up at his old classmate, and his anger immediately flared. He slammed his palm onto the desk.

"Shouldn't you give me an explanation for what happened to Hatake Sakumo?!!"

Shimura Danzō had barely said anything before being hit with a barrage from the Third Hokage. Although he was indeed in the wrong over Hatake Sakumo, there was no way he would admit it.

"What are you talking about, Hiruzen? What does Hatake Sakumo's matter have to do with me?"

The Third Hokage fixed Shimura Danzō with a cold gaze and spoke flatly.

"To silence a Special Jonin within the Anbu—how many people in Konoha do you think can pull that off? Or do you really think I'm old, blind, and deaf enough to believe that bullshit about Kondo Kunihiko being a spy from another ninja village?!!"

"I said this has nothing to do with me. I don't even know any Kondo Kunihiko."

Shimura Danzō stubbornly refused to admit anything. The Third Shinobi World War was about to begin, so no matter how dissatisfied the Third Hokage might be, he could not move against Root at a time like this.

As long as he denied it, the matter would fade with time, and the Third Hokage would have no way to settle old scores. Ever since Root's founding, it had done plenty of excessive things. In the end, hadn't the Third Hokage always raised the stick high, only to bring it down lightly?

Without him playing the villain, where would the Third Hokage find someone to play the hero? As long as he remained useful, there was no need to worry about the Third Hokage dealing with him or Root.

Things turned out much as Shimura Danzō expected. Though the Third Hokage was furious, he ultimately did not press the issue. He merely said coldly,

"Everyone knows what happened. We're at war now. Once the war is over, we'll settle this account!"

"And what about the intelligence on the other ninja villages? Don't tell me Root hasn't even handled its proper duties?!"

"Hmph. You needn't tell me that. I gathered intelligence on the other ninja villages long ago!"

As Shimura Danzō spoke, he took out a stack of Intelligence Scrolls. Root might have been a troublemaker when dealing with Konoha's internal affairs, but against outsiders, it truly was a poisoned blade hidden in the darkness.

The title Darkness of the Shinobi World was not some boastful reputation like "Strongest Hokage." After all, no one would want to promote a title like that.

The fact that he was called the Darkness of the Shinobi World rather than the Darkness of Konoha showed that the other ninja villages had certainly suffered losses at Danzo's hands as well.

The Third Hokage picked up the Intelligence Scrolls and read through them. The anger on his face eased considerably. No matter what, though his old classmate went too far in his methods, he was still capable.

Danzo watched the change in the Third Hokage's expression and knew that he had gotten through this again. Then he said,

"To obtain this intelligence, Root has suffered heavy losses. I need more personnel to replenish it."

The Third Hokage frowned slightly before finally speaking.

"Fine. I can give you funding for twenty slots. Go recruit people from the list yourself."

Though Root did not recruit openly, it possessed personality assessments for every ninja in Konoha. Generally, ninjas with extreme or gloomy personalities, or those whose ninjutsu was exceptionally dangerous, were placed on Root's candidate list.

Danzo snorted. "I don't want those ordinary ninjas. I want true elites!"

The Third Hokage raised an eyebrow. After working together for so many years, he understood Danzo thoroughly. Danzo only had to twitch his ass for him to know what kind of fart the man was about to let out.

"You bastard, be clear! Which ninja have you set your sights on this time?!"

"Hatake Kakashi! I think he has the potential to become a Root ninja..."

"Don't you fucking dream about it!!! Isn't Konoha chaotic enough already?!"

The Third Hokage roared so furiously that he crushed the smoking pipe in his hand.

"The White Fang incident hasn't even passed yet, and Kondo Kunihiko has already been exposed. Now you want to bring Kakashi into Root too? What, are you telling Konoha's ninjas that once they die, their children will conveniently be taken into Root, brainwashed into expendable death warriors?"

"Do you believe that once this news gets out, the number of Konoha Ninja defecting will increase severalfold?!!!"

Root had done its share of preying on orphaned families, but at least it had always done so in dark corners. Now, the matter of the White Fang of Konoha had become the focus of all Konoha, and every other ninja was feeling the same dread as a rabbit watching its companion die.

If Kakashi were taken into Root now, and the other ninjas saw Konoha's ugly appetite laid bare, how could they still have any desire to serve Konoha?

Besides, while the Third Hokage was quite indulgent toward his old classmate, he could not possibly support Shimura Danzō without limits. He only wanted Danzo to serve as his black glove; he did not want Root to dig up Konoha itself.

Although Danzo's Root appeared to cover the sky with one hand in the manga, a close look showed that Root had no truly powerful experts at all. Danzo was the only one who could barely count as a Kage-level powerhouse in his prime, while the rest were, at most, a few Elite Jonin.

If Kakashi's previous potential had merely suggested that he might reach Kage-level, then after he killed Kondo Kunihiko, that possibility had become a certainty that he would reach Kage-level within ten years. How could the Third Hokage possibly hand such a super genius over to Danzo?

"Hiruzen, don't forget that he is the White Fang's son. How can you be sure he doesn't secretly bear a grudge over what happened to the White Fang?"

"Hand Kakashi over to me. I will train him into Konoha's sharpest blade..."

"Enough!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was so angry he nearly laughed. Why would Kakashi bear a grudge? Wasn't it because Danzo had gone too far? And this bastard still had the nerve to say that to him!

"Kakashi is not available! If you want a genius, then the top graduate of the Ninja Academy this time can be sent to Root for training!"