Hiruzen Sarutobi

After Hoshiryu Uchiha finished speaking, he stood where he was and waited for the ANBU's answer.

The three ANBU exchanged glances for a moment before the one who had questioned Hoshiryu Uchiha stepped forward.

"I'll notify Lady Mito for you. My colleagues will take you to Lord Hokage."

Hoshiryu Uchiha nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

Seeing that Hoshiryu Uchiha agreed, the speaking ANBU gave a signal and departed with the Body Flicker Technique.

The remaining two led Hoshiryu Uchiha away, walking ahead to guide him.

Only after they left did Yan Uchiha finally recover.

Having embarrassed himself so badly in front of the ANBU made Yan Uchiha grind his teeth in rage.

"That Brat!!"

But Yan Uchiha's reason told him that this was no longer something he could handle.

Someone who could suppress his Three-Tomoe Sharingan was actually a child who looked so young.

What had just happened also made Hoshiryu Uchiha seem more trusting of the Hokage than of his clan.

There have only been a handful of geniuses like this in the Uchiha Clan over the past thousand years. We can't let the Hokage brainwash him.

With that thought, Yan Uchiha scrambled to his feet.

Ignoring his disheveled state, he hurried away.

It was the busy morning hour, and people constantly came and went inside the Hokage Tower.

Within the Hokage's Office on the top floor, the Third Hokage held a smoking pipe in one hand, puffing out clouds of smoke as he watched his old friend perform.

"Hiruzen, the Great Shinobi War has only just entered its final stages. This is precisely when spies from every nation are at their most active. The village cannot be without Root."

"My Root has suffered devastating losses during this period. Not only do we need more personnel, but we are also short on funds."

"As Hokage, you must take responsibility for Root. Transfer some of the ANBU's personnel and funding to me. Everything I do is for the village!"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's friend, Danzo was not as cowardly as he would become in the future. At present, he was undoubtedly on Hiruzen Sarutobi's side.

But that did not stop him from seeking greater power. The fact that he had always wanted to become Hokage in the future showed that Danzo was someone with an intense thirst for power.

Root was the result of Danzo's efforts to gain power. As the Second Hokage's student, Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately lacked the Second Hokage's decisiveness.

Unable to bear all the sins himself, he needed someone to stand in the darkness and shoulder all the infamy.

That was when Danzo appeared before him.

As close friends, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally knew Danzo's character.

At the time, he happened to need someone to take the blame, so one was willing to strike and the other was willing to take the hit. Thus, Root came into being.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled. After giving Danzo a long look, he finally spoke.

"No. You will receive neither ANBU personnel nor funding."

"Allowing you to recruit freely is already a considerable delegation of authority. Since you have problems with both personnel and funding, then Root may as well be disbanded and incorporated into the ANBU."

"You need to understand that Root is the ANBU's training ground, not your personal domain, Danzo."

Hiruzen Sarutobi needed someone to do his dirty work, but he also had to be wary of Danzo developing thoughts he should not have.

The young Shinobi Hero was ruthless, so naturally he would not delegate too much authority to Danzo.

As for how Danzo later grew beyond control and even sent people to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi, that was a story about Hiruzen Sarutobi being called the strongest Hokage.

To put it simply: grand words in the First War, nonsense in the Second War, and silence in the Third War.

After becoming Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi never set foot on a battlefield again.

Despite being Hokage, he did not participate in the Second Great Shinobi War. Instead, he sent his three disciples into that hell.

If Hanzo had not shown them some favor, the Sannin would have died back then.

White Fang, who had performed brilliantly in the Second Great Shinobi War, was also driven to suicide by public criticism with Hiruzen Sarutobi's tacit approval.

Even in the Third Great Shinobi War, Konoha, the actual victor, received none of the reparations it deserved.

The direct result was that the Third Hokage had no choice but to step down, while indirectly allowing Root to grow stronger.

After all, a cowardly Hokage would certainly leave many people dissatisfied, and Danzo was the representative of the Hawk Faction.

Whether or not his proposal to unify the Five Great Nations could be realized, it would still attract people to join him.

But the present was the present. Hiruzen Sarutobi would have to be stupid to give Danzo more power.

The young Shinobi Hero was still highly intimidating to Danzo.

So although Danzo was burning with anger and knew Hiruzen Sarutobi was warning him, he did not dare refute him.

Just as he was about to say a few flattering words and ask Hiruzen Sarutobi to give him something, a knock at the door drew both men's attention.

"Lord Hokage, ANBU Tanuki and Lizard have brought an Uchiha child requesting an audience. They say they have something to report."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, sensing that the matter was not simple.

Under normal circumstances, anything that did not concern Konoha's safety would be reported directly to the head of the ANBU.

Otherwise, if every trivial matter was brought to the Hokage, even with Shadow Clones, he would never be able to handle it all.

Since it involves the Uchiha Clan, there's no harm in seeing him.

With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi said,

"Let them in."

After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo, who was standing to the side, but did not send him away.

In his view, there was no need to hide minor matters from his old friend.

Little did he know that Hiruzen Sarutobi would soon regret that decision.

Not long after Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, the two ANBU entered with Hoshiryu Uchiha.

Hoshiryu Uchiha raised his eyes and saw that the Shinobi Hero and the Ninja World's King of Blame were both still young.

They were vigorous and possessed strength worthy of their reputations. Moreover, as the Hokage and the person in charge of Root, both already carried the bearing of those in power.

Ordinary people would have become restrained in their presence, but that was of no use against Hoshiryu Uchiha, who understood the truth of the Ninja World.

The truth of the Ninja World: the bigger fist had the final say.

Whenever Hashirama Senju wanted to do something, the entire world had to listen to him.

Now that Hoshiryu Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, even if he could not be certain of defeating the two men before him, he could still retreat calmly.

With such strength, confidence naturally followed.

What was more, his backup would soon arrive, so there was naturally no need for him to bow and scrape before these two.

The two ANBU walked before Hiruzen Sarutobi, dropped to one knee, and said in deep voices,

"ANBU Tanuki and Lizard greet Lord Hokage!"

"About twenty minutes ago, a battle occurred at the edge of the Uchiha Clan compound."

"At the scene, there were only the Ruins of a house and this Hoshiryu Uchiha. No traces of any other shinobi were found."

Upon hearing the ANBU's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hoshiryu Uchiha, who had just been studying him.

"Little one, what is your name?"