A Different Sarutobi Hiruzen

Hokage Conference Room.

Sarutobi Hiruzen set his Hokage Hat aside and sat alone at the head of the table. The dim yellow light etched his wrinkles into an even more solemn expression.

His pipe rested between his fingers, white smoke curling upward and obscuring half his face. Only his eyes remained, their sharpness unmistakable through the haze.

"Creak—"

The door opened.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu entered side by side.

The moment their eyes fell on Sarutobi Hiruzen, both of them halted.

The "familiar" Sarutobi Hiruzen before them...

This was not the gentle, compromising Hokage they saw every day. This was the Third Hokage, the man who had dominated the Third Shinobi World War and earned the fearful respect of every nation as the "Shinobi Hero."

Both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu felt their hearts sink. They exchanged a quick glance—trouble.

This time, Danzo had likely touched a true sore spot.

Even if they wanted to mediate, judging by Hiruzen's demeanor, tonight would not be easy to get through.

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and spoke first, testing the waters.

"Hiruzen, calling us together so late... has something urgent happened at the border?"

He steered the subject toward external matters, trying to downplay the internal conflict.

Utatane Koharu immediately followed his lead. A suitably worried expression appeared on her face.

"Yes. If not for some major upheaval, why mobilize everyone like this? Could some shinobi village be making a move?"

Blue smoke drifted from Sarutobi Hiruzen's pipe, masking half his face and making his expression impossible to read. He did not answer directly, merely pointing at the seats beside him.

"Sit." Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone was hard. "We'll talk... when Danzo gets here."

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sat as instructed, exchanging another grave look.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's posture had stripped all weight from the arguments they had prepared beforehand.

A moment later, the office door opened once more.

Shimura Danzō entered slowly, leaning on his cane.

The instant he stepped into the room, his lone eye caught the figure seated at the head of the table—back straight, gaze blazing, staring directly at him through the smoke.

That long-lost bearing of the "Shinobi Hero" made Shimura Danzō's heart plummet.

Unpleasant memories rose in his mind. Shimura Danzō clearly knew just how terrifying Sarutobi Hiruzen could be when he showed this side of himself...

However, when his peripheral vision caught Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sitting primly nearby, the suddenly taut string in his heart loosened slightly.

With those two present, at least... things would not slide entirely toward the worst possible outcome. Their earlier secret discussion had become Shimura Danzō's only support at this moment.

With that in mind, he walked to his seat with his cane. Its tip struck the floor with a crisp tap.

Shimura Danzō raised his head, his lone eye meeting Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze as he knowingly asked,

"Hiruzen, an emergency meeting? What is this about?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen finally lifted his eyelids. His gaze swept over Danzo's bandage-wrapped body before settling on his lone eye. Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point, his voice cold.

"Good. You're here."

He paused, allowing oppressive silence to fill the room for several seconds before continuing.

"Since everyone is here... let's begin."

Those words instantly made the breathing of all three people present hitch.

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses. Utatane Koharu unconsciously straightened her back, while Shimura Danzō narrowed his lone eye slightly... He had thought tonight would be no more than the usual questioning and reprimand.

Yet every one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions had cast a heavy sense of an approaching storm over them all.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave them no more time to prepare and directly dropped the bombshell.

"Last night, Konoha Genin Tejima Shinichi was ambushed within the Land of Fire while carrying out a C-rank mission. His attackers were five well-trained, unidentified shinobi who coordinated seamlessly. They used the Yamanaka clan's secret Body and Mind Transformation Technique, intending to capture—or even kill—a shinobi of our village!"

With every sentence, his tone grew heavier and his gaze sharper.

"Danzo, do you have anything to explain?"

Shimura Danzō's eyes flickered, but his expression remained blank. "What does an attack by unidentified assailants have to do with me? Perhaps they were spies from another village."

"Oh? Is that so?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly slammed a report onto the table. "Then how do you explain the fragments of standard Root uniforms left at the scene, as well as Yamato's description of a combat style identical to Root's and the Yamanaka secret technique?!"

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura tried to smooth things over. "Hiruzen, there may be more to this matter. Danzo has always handled the village's covert affairs and has made many enemies. It is not impossible that someone impersonated Root."

Utatane Koharu echoed him. "Yes. Fragments and descriptions alone are not enough to reach a conclusion. Besides, hasn't Tejima Shinichi returned safely? Perhaps it was all just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rose with fury. "Five elite shinobi—one Jonin and four Chunin—ambushing a freshly graduated Genin! You call that a misunderstanding?! If Shinichi's strength had not far exceeded expectations, if he had not fought back with everything he had, he would already be a cold corpse—or... he would have become some shameful 'tool'!"

Faced with Sarutobi Hiruzen's harsh interrogation, Danzo's face darkened, yet he still clung to his earlier explanation.

"Evidence? How can a few fragments and subjective descriptions prove Root was responsible? Hiruzen, as Hokage, are you going to convict an elder based on such speculation? Perhaps someone deliberately framed us in order to stir up internal conflict within the village."

He tried to muddy the waters and redirect the matter toward an outside conspiracy.

"Speculation?" Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed another report onto the table with a thunderous bang. "The material and weaving method of the standard Root uniform fragments found at the scene match the Root logistics procurement records on file with the Anbu exactly!"

"Yamato experienced it firsthand. He gave a detailed description of tactical coordination identical to Root's, along with the Yamanaka clan's secret technique that could never possibly have been passed outside the clan—the Mind Body Switch Technique! Are all these things coincidences? Can they all be so easily imitated by others?!"

Having made up his mind, Sarutobi Hiruzen refused to let go!

Seeing this, Mitokado Homura tried once more to calm things down.

"Hiruzen, even if that is true, it may only have been the unauthorized actions of certain individuals within Root. It may not have been Danzo's direct order. Danzo handles the village's darker affairs; it is inevitable that some subordinates may misunderstand his intentions..."

Utatane Koharu hurriedly agreed.

"Yes, Hiruzen. The truth has not yet been established, so it would be unwise to draw conclusions too soon. Besides, the child returned safely in the end, and no irreparable loss was caused. It will not be too late to deal with the matter after an internal investigation has clarified everything."