The Third

"What was that?"

"Why is it so bright?"

"Could it be... a fire?"

No matter how remote this forest was, it was still within the village's borders. Residents who were still awake saw the sea of flames burning in the forest in the village's Northeast Corner. If even the villagers had noticed the commotion, some people naturally couldn't keep pretending not to see it.

At the center of the village, beneath Kage Rock.

The Hokage Building,

"Sarutobi, what's going on with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki entering the Uchiha Clan?"

Elder Mitokado and Utatane Koharu stormed into the Hokage's Office.

"It was just a small coincidence."

"A coincidence?"

"Mm. Just a small, insignificant coincidence. A friendship between children, nothing more." Behind the broad redwood desk, an old man in his sixties, dressed in a white casual robe with gray hair and beard, sat in his chair, puffing away on his pipe.

That old man—

was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"A coincidence?"

Elder Mitokado pushed up his glasses. If they hadn't been friends for so many years, and if he didn't know what kind of person his friend and classmate was, he might really have believed it was just a coincidence.

He didn't dwell on the matter and instead asked, "Sarutobi, what are you planning to do this time? Take this opportunity to keep suppressing the Uchiha?"

"I said it was a coincidence. There's no denying the Uchiha Clan is dangerous, but they haven't done anything wrong this time. And using a child to strike at the Uchiha shouldn't be allowed. No matter what, as long as the Uchiha don't do anything to betray the village, they're Konoha's Uchiha."

The Third Hokage firmly rejected Elder Mitokado's suggestion.

"So, then... the forest in the Northeast Corner. Was it Danzo?" Utatane Koharu gleaned more from the Third Hokage's attitude. This incident was probably much like the previous ones: Hiruzen devised the operation, while Danzo handled its execution.

"It was a spy from another village."

The Third Hokage corrected Utatane Koharu's slip of the tongue.

"A spy from another village..." Utatane Koharu glanced at the Third Hokage and smoothly changed tack. "Then could you explain why spies from another village would attack the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Did they think they might be able to steal him?"

"It would be quicker to ask the person involved."

The Third Hokage set down his pipe and picked up a soft silk cloth to cover the crystal ball in its box.

Then he stood up.

He yanked off the loose white robe, revealing the black, tight-fitting combat suit underneath.

"Sarutobi, are you going in person? Wouldn't it be better to stay here and oversee things? Besides, we still don't have enough information about what's happening in the forest in the Northeast Corner..." Utatane Koharu objected.

"This involves Naruto and the Uchiha. I have to go!"

The Third Hokage sighed.

Elder Mitokado looked at his old friend's combat suit, which he'd clearly put on in advance, and thought, He was prepared for this. And that crystal ball... Maybe he really did know what was happening in the forest.

"We'll go too," he said suddenly.

"Very well."

The Third Hokage considered it for a few seconds, then nodded. "Danzo might go as well. Don't let him lose control."

"Leave it to us!"

Elder Mitokado agreed, and Utatane Koharu gave a slight nod to show her assent.

Only then did the Third Hokage open the window and leap out. His agile form didn't look at all like that of a man in his sixties.

The two elders, who were still able to get around without canes, hurried after him. They had changed into clothes suited for combat when they came, anticipating that they might have to go to the scene.

A large number of Anbu followed close behind them.

The Third Hokage moved at a blistering pace. As he ran, he said, "But if I had to guess, it might be revenge. [Camael] Uchiha Sōken killed hundreds of Mist Ninja on the Eastern Front. These spies from Kirigakure attacked Uchiha Sōken to get back at him. Naruto was most likely caught up in it."

"...In that case, the Uchiha Clan was thoughtless. They knew they were already in trouble, yet they still went and got involved with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki..."

Elder Mitokado mulled it over and couldn't help applauding inwardly.

Hiruzen's move was clever. Rather than accuse the Uchiha of harboring ulterior motives by approaching the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, it was better to fault them for failing to protect him properly. The apparent offense was much lighter, but it would also make the Uchiha Clan less likely to push back. As the saying went, dripping water could wear through stone, and a rope could saw through wood. Slowly boiling a frog was the best way to deal with the Uchiha Clan.

Little by little, steadily, they would weaken the Uchiha with a soft knife.

That had been their agreed-upon grand strategy all along.

As expected,

Danzo was no match for Hiruzen. He only knew how to use force, even coercing clan shinobi into joining Root. How could he compare with Hiruzen?

"Enough. We can talk about that later."

The Third Hokage cut off Elder Mitokado's criticism. "Our priority is rescuing Naruto. His safety comes first. Everything else can wait." He looked every bit like an elder worried for a child's safety.

The Hokage himself was heading to the sea of flames in the village's Northeast Corner.

The news flew into the hands of many people as if it had sprouted wings. Beneath the placid surface, hidden currents surged and swirled once more. The quiet, peaceful night was shattered completely as one figure after another leaped across rooftops, terraces, utility poles, and treetops.

The Police Force poured out as well.

Even the drunken men staggering around the streets realized something serious had happened. They didn't dare linger any longer and scrambled home on hands and knees.

A tide of people

converged on the forest in the village's Northeast Corner.

"Last one."

The flaming blade flashed. The attacker, immobilized by Genjutsu, was instantly decapitated. His headless body crumpled limply onto the grass. Sōken flicked his long blade, and the flames went out. The clear, waterlike steel reflected the dancing firelight.

Naruto, tucked beneath his left arm, was still unconscious.

It was normal for someone struck by the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Secret Technique to remain unconscious for a while.

"Twelve attackers, four Elite Combat Squads. They really spared no expense!" Sōken used his knife to pry open the dead man's mouth. In the firelight, he could see the black Cursed Seal on the man's tongue. It was the Fuinjutsu known as the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal.

"As expected, that bastard Danzo! But that old man, the Third Hokage, definitely knew about it too..."

The Cursed Seal on the tongue was fading with the passage of time. The moment the body died, the seal's power had already destroyed the brain. In any case, Root's secrecy measures really were impressive. Not only the brain, but the corpse itself was self-destructing.

He knew there was little chance of keeping the body as evidence against Danzo, and capturing anyone alive was out of the question.

Still,

the Fuinjutsu Danzo had mastered was astonishingly domineering. He wondered whether it had been inherited from the Second Hokage, the Forbidden Technique Grandmaster, had come from the Uzumaki Clan's legacy, or had been developed by Danzo himself... Any of those possibilities made Sōken covet it.

Fuinjutsu was a wonderful thing.

It could be used not only to control subordinates, but also to great effect in battle if applied well.

"So the foreplay's over. Time for the main course, right?"

Sōken raised his head and looked at the sky. When the battle had begun, he'd sensed a faint gaze watching from above. It hadn't taken much thought to guess who was observing the battle. Just minutes ago, that gaze had disappeared.

Presumably,

that important figure was already on the way.