I Won't Regret This, Danzo

Time passed little by little. Eiji and Kakashi stood facing each other like that, neither saying a word.

During this time, people from all sides who had heard the explosions hurried over.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

The first to arrive were Inaho and Tekka, fellow members of the Security Division.

After seeing the Root Organization members lying on the ground, they silently thought, Good riddance.

It would be even better if your boss, Danzo, were dead too.

Still, it's rather troublesome that these people died.

"Eiji, what happened?"

"These guys actually tried to harm a Konoha villager. I suspect they were spies sent by another village."

Inaho and Tekka's eyes widened when they heard this.

As expected of you, Eiji. One sentence and you've already gotten yourself out of it.

"Where's the villager you mentioned? He wasn't injured, was he?"

Little Naruto poked half his face out from behind Eiji. "I'm fine."

Tekka:!

Inaho:?

Look, protecting a villager isn't a problem.

But who told you to get so close to a Jinchuriki?

If Danzo found out, wouldn't he go mad and bite people like a rabid dog?

"This... Naruto is indeed a villager. Right, Tekka?"

"Of course. Naruto isn't just a villager; he's, um, a yellow-haired villager."

"Why don't you take Naruto for a checkup first, Eiji? Leave this side to us?"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Several figures appeared behind Kakashi as well.

"Eiji, come back with us to the Anbu for questioning."

Then came Ryoma, who had not been killed by the Explosive Tags.

"No. Uchiha Eiji must be handed over to Lord Danzo."

Just as the three sides reached a stalemate, Kakashi's ninja hound arrived with a message.

"The Hokage wants to see Eiji."

Kakashi immediately looked relieved.

The Hokage personally gave the order. Surely you can't refuse to listen now, Eiji.

"Eiji, let's go. Don't make this matter any bigger."

Eiji rolled his eyes. "All right. Then Naruto's fishing rod..."

He looked toward Inaho and Tekka and found their expressions as complicated as a pie chart.

It's already come to this, and he's still thinking about a fishing rod.

Was he simply thick-skinned, or did he really not know what mattered?

"Tenzo will handle Naruto's matter."

"Then thank you."

Soon, Kakashi and Eiji arrived at the Hokage's office.

They pushed open the door and saw Danzo angrily berating the Uchiha for their various misdeeds.

"Hiruzen, the Uchiha are becoming more and more outrageous. Today they dare kill Root members; tomorrow they'll dare to rebel."

"Danzo, stop going on about rebellion all the time. Use a different word..."

"Hiruzen! Have you still not realized how serious this is?"

"Ahem." Kakashi coughed, interrupting their conversation.

"Hokage-sama, I've brought Eiji."

Hearing this, Danzo turned around and directed his anger at Eiji.

"Uchiha brat, who ordered you to approach the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Fugaku? Or did your entire clan participate in this conspiracy?"

Eiji curled his lip. Give me a break. Fugaku is still playing both sides right now.

If Fugaku had that kind of nerve, there'd already be three meters of grass growing on your grave.

Hiruzen clearly felt uncomfortable with Danzo immediately throwing accusations around.

During such a sensitive period, one had to be careful about everything one said and did.

Besides, Eiji might have inherited Kagami's will.

Hiruzen believed that, deep down, Eiji still loved the village.

"Danzo, calm down."

"Hiruzen, how do you expect me to calm down?"

Danzo took out a scroll densely covered with records of Eiji's actions over this period.

"Last week, Uchiha Eiji privately met with Uzumaki Naruto, and the two spoke for half an hour."

"Today, he sought out Uzumaki Naruto again."

"Not only that, he killed six of our Root Organization members, and Ryoma was seriously injured."

"With all these crimes added together, even executing you would not be excessive."

Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a hard puff.

His contact with Naruto could still be explained away with some effort.

But killing six Root ninjas was no small crime.

Could it be that Eiji has already been influenced by the Uchiha's radical faction and become a ninja who intends to oppose the village through force?

Danzo noticed that Hiruzen said nothing and assumed he agreed with him.

Hiruzen, you've finally made the right decision.

Just as Danzo was about to order his men to detain and interrogate Eiji, Eiji stepped forward and stared straight at him.

"Lord Danzo! You've slandered a member of the Security Division. What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Security Division?" Only then did Danzo notice the insignia on Eiji's clothes.

"So what if it's the Security Division? You rabble nearly destroyed Konoha back then!"

"How dare you!" Eiji let out a hysterical roar. "The Security Division was established by the will of the Second Hokage, Lord Tobirama. Are you questioning Lord Tobirama's decision?"

"Outrageous! Who gave you permission to speak to me like that?"

"Who gave you permission to question Lord Tobirama's decision? You accuse me of rebellion, but I think you, Danzo, are the one planning to rebel!"

Danzo and Eiji traded barbs, while Hiruzen looked troubled beyond words.

As for Kakashi, he now wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it, pretending he had never come.

These topics were far too explosive for a mere Anbu captain like him to hear.

Realizing that things were going wrong, Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Danzo, Eiji, watch your words."

He shifted his gaze back to Eiji.

"Eiji, what exactly do you want to do to Naruto?"

Eiji sighed faintly, his face full of helplessness.

"I only invited a hungry orphan to eat a proper meal. Does that warrant charging me with rebellion?"

Hiruzen fell silent for a moment.

Eiji had suddenly elevated the matter to an entirely different level, leaving Hiruzen unsure how to respond.

At that moment, the troublemaker Danzo jumped in again.

"Silver-tongued! Was killing Root members for no reason today also to protect your comrades?"

Eiji nodded hard, looking as though it were only natural.

"Of course. I saw a group of strange ninjas charging over with blades without saying a word. If I didn't kill them, was I supposed to wait for them to kill a villager?"

"Bastard!" Danzo ground his teeth in hatred. "What do you mean, strange ninjas? They were my subordinates."

"Hiss..."

Eiji sucked in a breath.

"Lord Danzo's subordinates tried to kill Naruto?"

"You!" Danzo's head began to throb. This Uchiha bastard was truly unmatched at twisting the truth.

His blood pressure was about to shoot through the roof.

"Lord Danzo, you can't blame me for this. Your subordinates never identified themselves. What did that have to do with me?"

After saying that, he pointed at Kakashi.

"If you don't believe me, ask Senior Kakashi."

Kakashi had not expected to get dragged into this.

Danzo sternly questioned him. "My men didn't identify themselves?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Indeed, I never heard the Root members identify themselves..."

He truly had not lied. Those people had been killed by Eiji before they had a chance to speak.

For certain reasons, however, Kakashi simply had not mentioned that.

Danzo was furious when he heard this.

"Kakashi, you've colluded with the Uchiha? Do you know how serious a crime that is?"

"Enough!" Hiruzen slammed his hand onto the desk. "Danzo, stop."

Hiruzen felt that Danzo might have gone insane. Why did he want to bite everyone?

Kakashi was the Fourth Hokage's student, a hero who had fought his way through the Third Shinobi World War.

If even he had a problem, was there still a single good person left in Konoha?

As for Eiji...

In principle, Eiji really did have a problem.

But setting the facts aside, was Danzo blameless?

More importantly, Hiruzen felt that Danzo had been going too far lately.

He had concealed and done plenty of things without Hiruzen's knowledge during this period.

Anyone who did not know better might think that Danzo, rather than Hiruzen, was the Hokage appointed by Lord Tobirama.

He needed to rein Danzo in properly.

As for Eiji, he had not yet reached the point where he needed to be disciplined.

After pondering for a long while, Hiruzen made his final decision.

"Protecting the safety of villagers is indeed the Security Division's duty, but your methods were too extreme."

"As for Danzo, attacking Security Division personnel without my approval does not comply with Konoha's regulations."

Hiruzen then went on to say a great many other things.

In short, he meant one thing.

They should not make the matter too big and cause unnecessary trouble.

In the end, both sides received a verbal reprimand, and that was that.

As for the six dead ninjas, they could be considered the price of Konoha's peace.

Eiji could accept this result.

He still lacked the strength to turn things around. If the matter truly became impossible to resolve, Danzo might well have him assassinated that very night.

Danzo, however, could not accept it.

He had spent so much effort, lost several subordinates, and finally found evidence against the Uchiha clan. Yet Hiruzen had brushed it aside so lightly?

I refuse to accept this!

"Hiruzen, are my subordinates supposed to have died for nothing?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Give them their death benefits. You file the report, and I'll approve it."

"You..."

"All right, that's enough."

Hiruzen clearly did not want to say anything more.

Danzo snorted and angrily slammed the door as he left.

"Hiruzen, if you continue indulging the Uchiha, you'll regret it!"

With Danzo gone, the Hokage's office returned to silence.

Hiruzen did not speak for a long time. He merely stared silently at Eiji.

Eventually, Eiji began to feel a chill crawl over his skin beneath Hiruzen's gaze. He had no idea what the Hokage was planning.

"You joined the Security Division founded by Lord Tobirama?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Another silence followed.

"I understand. You may go."

Eiji acknowledged him and turned to leave.

He was not foolish enough to apply for the right to approach Naruto—or claim that he wanted to look after Naruto.

Hiruzen had not said no, which meant it was allowed.

If it was forbidden next time, he would deal with that next time.

After leaving the office, it was already time to get off work.

Eiji did not hurry home to rest. Instead, he wandered into a fishing-tackle shop.

The owner of the shop was a shifty-eyed fellow.

Before coming, Eiji had investigated him. The bastard was a notorious profiteer.

Taking advantage of people based on their status and passing off inferior goods as quality merchandise was all in a day's work for him.

The Security Division often received complaints from villagers about this shop.

But he simply refused to admit anything, and his colleagues in the Security Division didn't dare use force recklessly.

As time went by, the shop's young owner became increasingly brazen.

After seeing that their complaints produced no results, the villagers grew more and more dissatisfied with the Security Division.

Some even went directly to the Hokage's office to accuse the Security Division of doing nothing.

Eiji lightly tapped the tabletop. "Stop sleeping. We've got a customer."

The sleeping owner heard the key words and instantly jolted awake.

Heh heh, let's see which sucker came in today.

He squeezed out a sycophantic smile. "Looking to buy something? Our fishing gear is high-quality and affordable. Everyone who's used it says it's great..."

The moment the owner saw that the visitor was from the Security Division, his expression changed dramatically.

"What do you want? Spit it out."

The tomoe in Eiji's eyes shifted as he surveyed the products in the shop.

"I'm not buying anything. I'm just looking around."

"If you're not buying, then what the hell are you looking at? Shoo, go play somewhere else. Don't get in the way of my business."

Eiji blinked. How could this owner be so brazen?

He was being so rude to a colleague from the Security Division. He clearly wasn't an upstanding villager. A troublesome citizen like this had to be dealt with firmly.

"We received a complaint that you're selling counterfeit and fraudulent goods. Is that true?"

The owner laughed again. This was already the eighth time they'd come over such a trivial matter.

Hadn't they acted all high and mighty every time? In the end, he had still driven them out.

"Brat, what the hell do you know? There's nothing wrong with my goods. If you dare slander me, I'll file a complaint against you."

The corner of Eiji's mouth curled up. "Really?"

"Quit quibbling over words. I'm busy. I don't have time to bicker with you."

As he spoke, the owner picked up a broom and began sweeping the floor, driving Eiji outside as he went.

"What kind of idiots does the Security Division have these days? They actually hired a brat. Can he even understand what he's looking at?"

The owner grumbled for quite a while before suddenly feeling his entire body float into the air.

Eiji threw the owner outside in one motion, then sealed the shop with a strip of tape.

"This shop is suspected of embezzling the compensation funds of the orphan of a fallen hero. Effective today, it is closed pending investigation."

The owner was dumbfounded. What was going on? They were closing his shop right away?

And when had he ever embezzled compensation funds?

Everyone knew that in Konoha, this was a serious crime. If it were proven, he could lose his head.

"You little punk, don't make things up! When have I ever done anything illegal?"

Eiji let out a cold laugh.

"A little blond boy came to buy a fishing rod. Seeing that he was young and ignorant, you sold it to him for three times the price."

"His parents were heroes of Konoha, and the allowance he received had been personally allocated by the Hokage."

"Do you understand now?"

Cold sweat poured down the owner's face, and he was filled with regret.

He knew that the little blond boy was Naruto.

That day, he had seen Naruto's wallet and been overcome by greed, selling him a shoddy fishing rod at three times its price.

He had figured that Naruto wouldn't know any better. If it really broke, he could simply claim that it had been used improperly.

Besides, Naruto was an orphan with no one to back him up.

If I don't cheat him, who else am I supposed to cheat?

But who could have expected White Hair to show up at a time like this?

And to slap such a serious accusation on him right from the start.

"Um, Lord Shinobi, please hear me out."

There was no way Eiji would listen to his nonsense. He simply took some tape, sealed the owner's mouth shut, and then pulled out a rope and tied him up securely.

Before leaving, he also took seven or eight of the shop's most expensive fishing rods.

They were all evidence of the owner's crimes and had to be taken home for a thorough inspection.

He slung the owner over his shoulder and swaggered toward the Security Division.

The merchants along the road hurriedly dodged out of his way. They both loved and feared Eiji.

Of course, apart from loving his handsome face, they also loved how he had vented their anger for the villagers who had been cheated.

They feared that he was so crazy that one day he might treat them the same way.

For a moment, the merchants were consumed by all kinds of complicated emotions.

Eiji made a circuit through the busy district before throwing the unscrupulous shop owner into the Security Division's prison.

"This unscrupulous owner cheated quite a few people out of their money. Interrogate him thoroughly."

[Mission Progress Update: You successfully punished an unscrupulous merchant and protected the property of the Hokage's orphan and other villagers]

[Having a Hokage who is wholeheartedly devoted to Konoha is truly a blessing for Konoha]

[Mission Reward: Water Release: Heavenly Cry]

When Inaho saw Eiji return, he hurriedly asked, "How did it go? That old bastard Danzo didn't harm you, did he?"

Eiji waved his hand. "Don't worry. I can handle it."

"Good." The stone in Inaho's heart finally settled.

"You came back at just the right time. Tonight is the innermost monthly gathering, and you have to attend too."