Danzo, I Will Not Regret This

Time trickled by as Eiji and Kakashi stood facing each other, neither speaking.

During that stretch, personnel drawn by the explosion sounds rushed over from all directions.

Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

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

They glanced at the Root members lying on the ground and silently thought, Good riddance.

If only your boss Danzo had died too, that'd be even better.

Still, these guys dying here is a bit of a hassle.

"Eiji, what happened?"

"These bastards tried to harm Konoha's villagers. I suspect they're spies sent from other villages."

Hearing this, Inaho and Tekka's eyes went wide.

Gotta hand it to you, Eiji—one sentence and you've washed your hands clean of it.

"And the villager you mentioned? Is he hurt?"

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

Tekka: !

Inaho: ?

Not gonna lie, protecting a villager is fine and all.

But who told you to get this close to the Jinchuriki?

If Danzo finds out, he'll bite like a mad dog.

"Well... Naruto is a villager, right, Tekka?"

"Of course. Naruto's not just a villager—he's, uh, a yellow-haired villager."

"How about Eiji takes Naruto to get checked out first? We'll handle things here?"

Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh.

Several figures appeared behind Kakashi as well.

"Eiji, come back to Anbu with us for investigation."

Then came Ryoma, who hadn't been blown up by the Explosive Tags.

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

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

"The Hokage wants to see Eiji."

Hearing this, Kakashi looked as relieved as if a weight had been lifted.

The Hokage himself gave the order—you can't disobey that, Eiji.

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

Eiji's eyes darted around. "Fine. But Naruto's fishing rod..."

He looked at Inaho and Tekka, whose expressions were as complicated as a pie chart.

Seriously? Still thinking about a fishing rod at a time like this?

Is he just thick-skinned or does he not know what's important?

"Tenzo will handle Naruto's matters."

"Then many thanks."

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

They pushed the door open and walked in to find Danzo furiously denouncing the Uchiha's every move.

"Hiruzen, the Uchiha are getting more and more out of line. Today they kill Root members; tomorrow they'll rebel."

"Danzo, stop harping on about rebellion. Pick another word..."

"Hiruzen! Do you still not see how serious this is?!"

"Cough." Kakashi coughed, cutting off their exchange.

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

At that, Danzo turned around and aimed his fire at Eiji.

"Uchiha brat, who ordered you to get close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Fugaku? Or is your entire clan in on this conspiracy?"

Eiji curled his lip. Oh, give it a rest. Fugaku's still sitting on the fence right now.

If Fugaku had that kind of nerve, the weeds on your grave would be three meters tall by now.

Clearly, Hiruzen was also uncomfortable with Danzo slapping on accusations out of nowhere.

In such a sensitive period, one had to be careful with every word and action.

Besides, Eiji might have inherited Kagami's will.

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

"Danzo, calm down."

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

Danzo pulled out a scroll, densely recording Eiji's recent activities.

"Last week, Uchiha Eiji privately contacted Uzumaki Naruto, and the two had a half-hour conversation."

"Today, he sought out Naruto again."

"Not only that, but he also killed six of our Root members, and Ryoma was severely injured."

"With all these crimes stacked up, even executing you wouldn't be excessive."

Hiruzen picked up his pipe and took a heavy drag.

The contact with Naruto, he could still barely gloss over.

But killing six Root ninjas—that was no small charge.

Could it be that Eiji had already been assimilated by the radical faction within the Uchiha, turning into a ninja who thought to oppose the village through force?

Danzo noticed Hiruzen wasn't speaking 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 half a pace forward, staring straight at Danzo.

"Lord Danzo! You're framing a member of the Security Division—what exactly are you plotting?"

"Security Division?" Danzo only then noticed the Security Division insignia on Eiji.

"What of 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?"

"Insolent! Who allowed you to speak to me like that!"

"Who allowed you to question Lord Tobirama's decision! You call me a rebel—I think you, Danzo, are the real rebel!"

Danzo and Eiji went back and forth, one word after another, while Hiruzen was racked with worry.

As for Kakashi, he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into and pretend he'd never been there.

These topics were far too explosive for a mere Anbu captain to be hearing.

Sensing something was off, Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Danzo, Eiji, both of you watch your words."

He turned his gaze back to Eiji.

"Eiji, what exactly do you intend to do with Naruto?"

Eiji sighed slightly, looking helpless.

"Am I to be branded a traitor just for feeding a hungry orphan a full meal?"

Hearing this, Hiruzen fell silent for a moment.

Eiji had suddenly elevated the topic to a higher level, and he really didn't know how to respond.

Right then, the troublemaker Danzo popped up again.

"Glib tongue! And today's unprovoked killing of Root members—was that also to protect a comrade?"

Eiji nodded emphatically, looking as if it were only natural.

"Of course it was. I saw a bunch of strange ninjas charging in with blades drawn without a word. If I didn't kill them, was I supposed to let them kill the villagers?"

"Bastard!" Danzo ground his teeth in fury. "What strange ninjas—those were my subordinates."

"Tsk..."

Eiji sucked in a sharp breath.

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

"You!" Danzo felt his head buzzing. This damned Uchiha had a real gift for twisting the truth.

His blood pressure was about to spike.

"Lord Danzo, this isn't my fault. Your subordinates didn't announce themselves—what does that have to do with me?"

After saying that, he pointed at Kakashi beside him.

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

Kakashi hadn't expected to be dragged into this.

Danzo barked at Kakashi, "My men didn't identify themselves?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before replying, "I indeed didn't hear the Root members announce their identities..."

He wasn't lying—those people hadn't even had time to speak before Eiji slaughtered them.

He just chose not to mention that part, for certain reasons.

Hearing this, Danzo was furious in his heart.

"Kakashi, you actually colluded with the Uchiha—do you know how serious a crime this is?!"

"Enough!" Hiruzen slammed the table hard. "Danzo, say no more."

Hiruzen felt Danzo might have lost his mind, trying to bite everyone in sight.

Kakashi was the Fourth Hokage's student, a hero forged in the Third War.

If even he was suspect, was there a single good person left in all of Konoha?

As for Eiji...

In principle, Eiji did have issues.

But setting the facts aside, wasn't Danzo at fault too?

More crucially, Hiruzen felt Danzo was overstepping more and more lately.

He'd been doing plenty behind Hiruzen's back recently.

Anyone would think he was the Hokage Lord Tobirama had appointed.

He needed a good reining in.

As for Eiji, he wasn't at that level yet.

After long deliberation, Hiruzen made his final decision.

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

"As for Danzo, attacking Security Division personnel without my approval violates Konoha's regulations."

Then Hiruzen rambled on about this and that.

In short, the message was clear.

Don't let this blow up too big—avoid unnecessary trouble.

In the end, both sides would get a verbal reprimand and that would be that.

As for the six dead shinobi, they were the price of Konoha's peace.

Eiji could accept this outcome.

He didn't have the strength to turn the tables yet; if things spiraled out of control, that old schemer Danzo might have him assassinated overnight.

But Danzo couldn't accept it.

He'd gone through all that trouble, lost several subordinates.

He'd finally found a handle on the Uchiha clan, and Hiruzen was just going to let it slide?

I won't accept this!

"Hiruzen, my men died for nothing?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Give them death benefits. You file the report, I'll sign the slip."

"You—"

"Enough. That's final."

Hiruzen clearly didn't want to say more.

Danzo snorted coldly and slammed the door as he left.

"Hiruzen, coddling the Uchiha like this—you'll regret it!"

With Danzo gone, the Hokage's office fell silent again.

Hiruzen didn't speak for a long time, just stared silently at Eiji.

Eventually, Eiji started to feel creeped out by Hiruzen's gaze, unsure what the Hokage was plotting.

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

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Another stretch of silence.

"I see. Go on, get to work."

Eiji acknowledged and turned to leave.

He wasn't foolish enough to apply for the right to approach or look after Naruto.

If Hiruzen didn't say no, that meant yes.

If it wasn't okay next time, he'd deal with it then.

Leaving the office, it was already time to clock out.

Eiji didn't rush home to rest; instead, he wandered over to a fishing tackle shop.

The shopkeeper was a shifty-eyed fellow.

Eiji had checked him out beforehand—this bastard was a notorious swindler.

Serving different dishes to different customers and passing off inferior goods as quality products was just business as usual for him.

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

But he simply refused to admit it, and the Security Division colleagues didn't dare to resort to rough tactics.

Over time, the little shopkeeper grew more and more arrogant.

The villagers who filed complaints, seeing no results, grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Security Division.

Some even went straight to the Hokage's office to accuse the Security Division of negligence.

Eiji tapped lightly on the counter. "Wake up, you've got customers."

The sleeping shopkeeper caught the key word and jolted awake instantly.

Heh heh, let me see which big sucker has walked in today.

A fawning smile squeezed onto his face. "What can I get for you? Our fishing gear is top quality at low prices—everyone who's used it says so..."

The moment the shopkeeper saw that his visitor was from the Security Division, his face changed drastically.

"What do you want? Spit it out."

Eiji's eyes flickered with the Sharingan as he scanned the products in the store.

"I'm not buying anything. Just looking."

"If you're not buying, then what the hell are you looking at? Scram, go play somewhere else, don't waste my business."

Eiji blinked. How could this shopkeeper be so arrogant?

Treating a Security Division colleague with such rudeness—clearly he wasn't any proper villager. Against this kind of troublemaker, he had to strike hard.

"We've received complaints that you're making and selling fakes. Is that true?"

The shopkeeper laughed again. This same trivial matter—they'd come eight times already.

Every time they swaggered in, and every time he kicked them out.

"Kid, what do you know? There's nothing wrong with my stuff. If you talk nonsense, I'll file a complaint against you."

A faint smile curled at the corner of Eiji's mouth. "Is that so?"

"Don't play word games with me. I'm busy, I don't have time to waste on you."

With that, the shopkeeper picked up a broom and started sweeping, using the motion to shove Eiji out the door.

"What kind of trash is the Security Division hiring these days? Taking on some kid—what does he even understand?"

The shopkeeper grumbled on and on, when suddenly he felt himself lifted off the ground.

Eiji tossed the shopkeeper out in one motion and casually slapped a seal on the little shop.

"This shop is suspected of embezzling the pensions of fallen heroes' orphans. Effective today, it's closed for investigation."

The shopkeeper was stunned. What was this? Shut down just like that?

And when had he ever embezzled any pensions?

He knew that in Konoha, this was a major crime. If it stuck, he'd lose his head.

"Kid, don't talk nonsense! When have I ever done anything illegal or against the rules!"

Eiji let out a cold laugh.

"A little yellow-haired kid came to buy a fishing rod. You saw he was young and naive, so you sold it to him at triple the price."

"His parents were heroes of Konoha. The allowance he received was personally allocated by the Hokage."

"Now, do you understand?"

Cold sweat poured down the shopkeeper's back, and regret flooded him.

He knew that yellow-haired kid was Naruto.

That day, he'd seen Naruto's wallet and gotten greedy, selling him a cheap rod at triple the price.

He figured Naruto wouldn't know the difference. If it broke, he'd just blame it on improper use.

After all, Naruto was an orphan with no one backing him up.

Who else was he supposed to cheat?

But who could have guessed that this White Hair would pop up right now?

And slap such a huge charge on him out of nowhere.

"Uh, this ninja-sama, let me explain—"

Eiji wasn't about to listen to his nonsense. He grabbed some tape, sealed the shopkeeper's mouth shut, then pulled out a rope and tied him up tight.

Before leaving, he helped himself to seven or eight of the most expensive fishing rods in the shop.

These were all evidence of the shopkeeper's crimes—he'd have to take them home for a thorough inspection.

He hoisted the man over his shoulder and swaggered off toward the Security Division.

Along the way, the street vendors scrambled out of his path, feeling both admiration and fear toward Eiji.

Of course, aside from loving that handsome face of his, there was also the fact that he had vented the anger of those villagers who had been cheated.

What they feared was that with him being this crazy, would he one day do the same to them?

For a moment, the vendors were caught in a tangle of complicated emotions.

Eiji made a full circuit through the bustling streets before tossing the crooked merchant into the Security Division's prison.

"This unscrupulous boss swindled a lot of money. Interrogate him thoroughly."

[Mission Progress Update: You have successfully punished a corrupt merchant, protecting the orphan of the Hokage and other villagers' assets.]

[Having a Hokage who wholeheartedly serves Konoha like this is truly a great fortune for the village.]

[Mission Reward: Water Release: Heavenly Cry]

When Inaho saw Eiji return, he quickly asked, "How was it? That old bastard Danzo didn't set you up, did he?"

Eiji waved his hand. "Relax, I can handle it."

"Good," Inaho said, the weight lifting from his heart.

"You came back just in time. Tonight is the monthly gathering of the Inner Circle. You need to attend too."