Inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, wore the robes of the Third Hokage and the Hokage's hat. Beneath its brim was a weathered face, etched with the strain of tireless labor, layers of wrinkles upon wrinkles. He sat behind the Hokage's desk, calmly smoking his pipe as he opened and reviewed each document, carrying the composure and authority of a supreme leader handling official affairs.
Standing in the middle of the Hokage's office was Danzo Shimura. He was thin, dressed in a black-and-gray kimono, with brown hair cut into neat sideburns. Bandages wrapped around his head and right eye. His other eye, a narrow left eye, held a gloomy, profound gaze, and a cross-shaped scar marked his chin.
Danzo Shimura's expression was somewhat dark, his wrinkles deeply carved. He always gave people the impression of being sinister and calculating.
In his youth, Danzo Shimura had served as a member of the Second Hokage's elite guard unit. He was a man who had once competed with Hiruzen Sarutobi for the position of Hokage.
Believing that he had lost his chance to inherit the title of Hokage because he had been one second too late, Danzo Shimura became the founder and leader of Root within the Hokage's direct force, the Anbu. He commanded a ninja force that obeyed only his will and held Konoha's "darkness" in his grasp.
Extremely suspicious, cautious, sinister, and ruthless, he trusted no one—not even his old friend Hiruzen Sarutobi, whom he had once attempted to assassinate. In matters involving Konoha's many clans, he always upheld a hardline policy of suppression, crushing them with force. This left many of Konoha's clans deeply wary of him.
"Hiruzen..." Danzo Shimura took a sip of tea, preparing to bring up what he had planned to say and persuade Hiruzen