Konoha's Past

Sarutobi Hiruzen pitied Hatake Sakumo's misfortune and resented his failure to live up to expectations. Hatake Sakumo was good in every way—obedient, capable in battle, and in the prime of his life—but he always managed to stir up some huge scandal.

Actually, stirring up a big scandal was no big deal. There was no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days; even the tightest defenses had their lapses.

The Anbu led by Hatake Sakumo had made only this one major mistake since the Kushina incident. Their performance had already been quite commendable.

The problem was that Danzo, that old schemer, had always had his eye on Hatake Sakumo's position. He impeached Hatake Sakumo at every turn and would beat him to death with any little handle he could grab.

Sarutobi Hiruzen disliked Danzo, and the reasons for that dated back a long time.

Decades ago, Senju Tobirama personally led his bodyguard unit to Kumogakure to sign a ceasefire agreement. Unexpectedly, they ran into the Kinkaku and Ginkaku rebellion, and Senju Tobirama stayed behind to cover their retreat.

Before departing never to return, he passed the position of Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen through a verbal decree. Even now, Sarutobi Hiruzen often brought up this matter to prove the legitimacy of his position as Hokage.

But at the time, this was far from following proper procedure.

The Five Great Ninja Villages were nominally subordinate institutions of the five nations. Before a Hokage could take office, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire first had to be consulted. Under normal circumstances, the feudal lord would not reject the candidate proposed by the previous Hokage.

But procedure was procedure.

Take Minato, whose succession to Hokage in the original plot most closely followed procedure. Konoha's higher-ups first traveled to the Land of Fire and held a meeting with the feudal lord to discuss candidates for succession.

Danzo recommended Orochimaru, Sarutobi Hiruzen recommended Minato, and in the end, the feudal lord chose Minato.

Take note: Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen merely made recommendations; neither had the authority to appoint someone outright. Procedurally speaking, it only counted once the feudal lord gave the final word.

Tsunade's situation resembled Sarutobi Hiruzen's: the previous Hokage died before she could officially succeed him.

Perhaps because Konoha's situation was unstable at the time, Danzo did not step forward to contend with Tsunade. That left Tsunade as the only candidate with both the qualifications and strength, so her succession proceeded without any mishaps.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's circumstances at the time, however, were far worse.

Procedurally, he had merely been named successor by Senju Tobirama in front of the other disciples, rather than personally recommended to the feudal lord by Senju Tobirama.

In terms of strength, Kagami Uchiha and Danzo were both somewhat stronger than him. Even Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were no weaker than him back then.

Like Jiraiya, the Third Hokage was a late bloomer, the sort of ninja who built up strength over time before finally bursting forth. His talent had not been particularly exceptional when he was young.

All things considered, after excluding Kagami because he came from the Uchiha Clan, Danzo was still able to compete with him. In some aspects of their conduct, Danzo was even more like the Second Hokage than Sarutobi Hiruzen was.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to become Hokage, he first had to deal with Danzo.

Not many people knew that Senju Tobirama had appointed him. If Danzo could persuade Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to go back on their word, then make Kagami keep quiet—

by the time they sought the feudal lord's approval, Danzo might very well have had a chance to seize power.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was highly skilled at politics and compromise. He immediately realized that his position as successor was not secure.

So he first promised Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura the positions of Hokage advisors, ensuring that neither of them would betray him at a critical moment.

During the Senju brothers' rule, Konoha's administrative structure had resembled a centralized monarchy, with the Hokage's word carrying absolute authority.

With two additional advisors, the Hokage's words still carried the most weight, but the administrative structure had begun to take on the flavor of Rome's aristocratic republic.

Having risen from lowly workers to members of the management, Koharu and Mitokado Homura naturally would not refuse Sarutobi Hiruzen.

After settling the two of them, Sarutobi Hiruzen, with victory in hand, finally calmed down and slowly negotiated with Danzo—fishing together one day, sharing a meal the next.

By the time Danzo caught on, it was already too late. Unless he could offer terms far better than Sarutobi Hiruzen's, he could not make Koharu and Mitokado Homura turn against him.

After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been personally appointed by Tobirama and had also offered them positions as Hokage advisors. By both reason and sentiment, the two were more inclined toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The price needed to convince them to defect had to be several times more valuable than the position of Hokage advisor. Even if Danzo could afford it, it would pain him for decades.

While Danzo was still agonizing over it, Sarutobi Hiruzen, wanting to avoid further complications, threw down even greater benefits and ultimately succeeded in bringing Danzo into the fold.

The position of Hokage advisor, along with Root, which was nominally attached to the Anbu but in reality answered only to Danzo, were Sarutobi Hiruzen's bargaining chips.

Only then was Sarutobi Hiruzen able to successfully succeed to the position of Third Hokage, gradually consolidate his authority and legitimacy, and become the undisputed leader of the Ninja World's largest organization.

Settling those three also planted the seeds of future disaster.

Danzo was indeed more capable than Koharu and Mitokado Homura, and his ambitions were greater than theirs. This was especially true after he realized that the position of Hokage had once been so close to him, yet so far away.

One Root unit was no longer enough to satisfy Danzo's appetite.

Root's full name was the "Root Training Division." Nominally affiliated with the Anbu, its primary responsibility was training young talent for the Anbu.

Danzo's ultimate goal was naturally the position of Hokage. But before that, he needed to increase the chips in his hand, so he naturally set his sights on the Anbu.

Hatake Sakumo was fiercely loyal to Sarutobi Hiruzen—or rather, fiercely loyal to the Hokage. Danzo, Hatake Sakumo's nominal "superior and subordinate," impeached him more than a few times.

Danzo was ruthless and black-hearted, but he had never been good at concealing his emotions or intentions in his dealings with others. At the very least, every member of Konoha's upper echelon knew that Danzo wanted a hand in the Anbu and even coveted the position of Hokage.

Times had changed. Sarutobi Hiruzen's authority was firmly established. He would not depose Danzo, given their bond as fellow disciples, but neither could he allow Danzo to expand his influence unchecked.

Thus, for many years, the two fought from afar over whether Hatake Sakumo was qualified for his post.

Now the Anbu had caused another blunder, handing Danzo a handle for free. How could Sarutobi Hiruzen not have a headache?

Do not ask why Danzo erupted over Sarutobi Hiruzen's disciple being attacked. The answer was concern for the younger generation. The answer was that he could see the whole leopard through a single spot and tell from this minor incident that Hatake Sakumo was unqualified.

Danzo did not even let trivial mistakes slide. How could he possibly let this opportunity go?

Hatake Sakumo's political instincts were rather dull, but after all these years, even a fool could smell that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo were using the Anbu to fight each other.

He could only lower his head and admit his fault. "This subordinate is incompetent and has failed Lord Hokage's expectations and cultivation. I am willing to resign voluntarily.

Let this subordinate do one last thing for the Anbu. I will certainly uncover the loopholes within the Anbu intelligence system, settle everything properly, and return a new Anbu to Lord Hokage.

If I fail to handle it properly, Hatake Sakumo is willing to atone with his death."

In short, he was willing to accept punishment.

Hatake Sakumo had already offered to atone with his death. What else could Sarutobi Hiruzen do?

He could only frown and wave his hand. "Then hurry up and investigate.

When one cockroach appears, it means there are more cockroaches in your house. Investigate thoroughly.

Investigate every place covered by all intelligence stations within and beyond our borders, including inside the Anbu itself. Get to the bottom of it. This time, we must conduct a proper purge of the Anbu.

Come find me after the investigation is complete. I will arrange for people to handle the aftermath with you."

How was this chapter? There shouldn't be any major problems with the logic, right?