Past of Konoha

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a mix of sorrow for Hatake Sakumo's misfortune and anger at his inability to live up to expectations; Hatake Sakumo was excellent in every regard—obedient, capable, and in his prime—yet he always managed to stir up some massive scandal.

In truth, causing a scandal wasn't the end of the world; there is no such thing as a thief who steals for a thousand days without a break, and even the tightest defense has its oversights.

The Root Training Division led by Hatake Sakumo had only made this one major mistake since the Kushina incident, and his performance had been quite commendable otherwise.

The problem lay in the fact that a devious old fox named Danzo had been eyeing Hatake Sakumo's position, constantly impeaching him and seizing upon the slightest slip-up to strike with lethal intent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not like Danzo, and the reasons for this ran deep.

Decades ago, Tobirama led his personal guard to Kumogakure to sign a peace treaty. Unexpectedly, they were caught in the rebellion of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and Tobirama stayed behind to cover their retreat.

Before he left and never returned, he passed the position of Hokage to Sarutobi Hiruzen via a verbal decree. To this day, Sarutobi Hiruzen frequently brings this up to prove the legitimacy of his position as Third Hokage.

But at the time, this did not conform to orthodox procedures.

The five great ninja villages were nominally subordinate agencies of their respective nations, and for a Hokage to take office, the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire had to be consulted first. Under normal circumstances, the Feudal Lord would not reject the candidate proposed by the previous Hokage.

However, procedure is procedure.

Take Minato, who succeeded as Hokage in the most procedurally correct manner in the original story: the Konoha high command first traveled to the Land of Fire to hold a meeting with the Feudal Lord to discuss the successor.

Danzo recommended Orochimaru, while Sarutobi Hiruzen recommended Minato, and in the end, the Feudal Lord chose Minato.

Note that both Danzo and Sarutobi Hiruzen were merely making recommendations, not final appointments. Procedurally speaking, it only counted once the Feudal Lord gave the final nod.

Tsunade was similar to Sarutobi Hiruzen in that the previous Hokage had kicked the bucket before she could take office.

Perhaps because the political landscape of Konoha was unstable at the time, Danzo did not jump out to contest her, leaving Tsunade as the only candidate with the qualifications and strength, allowing her succession to proceed without a hitch.

But the situation Sarutobi Hiruzen faced back then was far worse.

Procedurally, he had only been designated as the successor by Tobirama in front of his fellow disciples, rather than being personally recommended to the Feudal Lord by Tobirama.

In terms of strength, Kagami Uchiha and Danzo were both slightly stronger than him, and even Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were no less capable than him at the time.

Like Jiraiya, the Third Hokage was a late bloomer, a ninja who grew steadily over time; his talent in his youth was not particularly outstanding.

Ultimately, once you excluded Kagami of the Uchiha clan, only Danzo remained as a viable competitor. One could even argue that in terms of style, Danzo was more like the Second Hokage than Sarutobi Hiruzen was.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to succeed as Hokage, he had to neutralize Danzo first.

Because few people knew about Tobirama's verbal decree, if Danzo could persuade Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to flip, and then silence Kagami, he might have actually succeeded in seizing power when it came time to petition the Feudal Lord.

When it came to playing politics and making compromises, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a master; he sensed immediately that his position as heir was not secure.

Therefore, he first promised Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura the positions of Hokage advisors to ensure they wouldn't turn on him at a critical moment.

During the reign of the Senju brothers, Konoha's administrative structure was more akin to an absolute monarchy, where the Hokage's word was law.

By adding two advisors, while the Hokage's word remained supreme, the administrative structure began to take on the flavor of a Roman aristocratic republic.

Having been promoted from mere laborers to members of the management, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura naturally did not refuse Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Having settled those two, the now-confident Sarutobi Hiruzen kept his cool and began to negotiate with Danzo, fishing one day and dining the next.

By the time Danzo realized what was happening, it was too late; unless he could produce a bargaining chip far outweighing Sarutobi Hiruzen's, he couldn't get Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura to switch sides.

After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been designated by Tobirama, and having offered the positions of Hokage advisors, the two were naturally more inclined toward him.

The price to persuade them to defect would have to be at least several times heavier than the position of advisor—a cost Danzo could pay, but one that would cause him decades of heartache.

As Danzo struggled with the dilemma, Sarutobi Hiruzen, fearing further complications, threw in heavy incentives and finally succeeded in bringing Danzo into the fold.

The position of Hokage advisor, combined with the Root—which was nominally under the Root Training Division but in reality answered only to Danzo—was Sarutobi Hiruzen's bargaining chip.

Only then was Sarutobi Hiruzen able to successfully succeed as the Third Hokage, gradually consolidating his authority and legitimacy to become the undisputed leader of the ninja world's largest organization.

The act of settling these three individuals also planted the seeds for future disaster.

Danzo was indeed more capable than Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, and his ambition was far greater, especially after he realized in hindsight just how close and yet how far he had been from the position of Hokage.

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

The full name of the Root is the "Root Training Division," and while nominally under the Root Training Division, its primary duty was to train young talent for the Root Training Division.

Danzo's ultimate goal was naturally the position of Hokage, but before that, he needed to increase his leverage, so he logically set his sights on the Root Training Division.

Hatake Sakumo was a die-hard loyalist to Sarutobi Hiruzen, or rather, a loyalist to the Hokage. Danzo, as Hatake Sakumo's nominal "superior and subordinate," had impeached him many times.

Danzo was ruthless and cold-hearted, but he was never good at hiding his emotions and intentions; at the very least, everyone in the Konoha high command knew that Danzo wanted to get his hands on the Root Training Division and even coveted the position of Hokage.

Times had changed; Sarutobi Hiruzen's authority was now consolidated. He wouldn't necessarily destroy Danzo, given their bond as fellow disciples, but allowing Danzo to expand his influence was out of the question.

Thus, the two had been locked in a shadow war for years over whether Hatake Sakumo was fit for his post.

Now that the Root Training Division had blundered again, handing Danzo a handle on a silver platter, how could Sarutobi Hiruzen not have a headache?

Don't ask why Danzo would lash out over the assassination attempt on Sarutobi Hiruzen's disciple; the answer would be "concern for the younger generation," or "seeing the whole from a part," claiming that a single small incident proved Hatake Sakumo was incompetent.

If Danzo wouldn't even let go of trivial mistakes, how could he possibly let this opportunity pass?

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 Root Training Division to fight their proxy war.

He could only lower his head and admit his fault: "My abilities are insufficient, and I have failed the expectations and cultivation of the Hokage. I am willing to resign voluntarily."

"Let me do one last thing for the Root Training Division. I will certainly uncover the loopholes within the intelligence network, handle everything properly, and return a new Root Training Division to the Hokage."

"If I cannot handle this properly, Hatake Sakumo is willing to pay with his life."

In short, he was ready to accept whatever punishment was deemed fit.

Since Hatake Sakumo had already offered to die in atonement, what else could Sarutobi Hiruzen do?

He could only frown and wave his hand, ordering, "Go and investigate at once."

When a single cockroach appears, it means there are many more hiding in your home; you must be thorough.

Every place reachable by our intelligence stations, both domestic and abroad, and even within the Anbu itself—investigate until the truth is laid bare. This time, the Anbu must be thoroughly purged.

Once you have finished the investigation, come find me, and I will arrange for others to assist you in handling the aftermath."

How did I write this chapter? There shouldn't be any logical issues, right?