Hiruzen and Danzo's Calculations

Sakumo, who had bowed his head and confessed his guilt before Hiruzen, never imagined that the teammate he saved by failing his mission would not only not be grateful but would also resent him.

Knowing that his punishment would not be handed down immediately, Sakumo lowered his head again before being led out of the room by an Anbu member along with his teammates.

"Hoo..." Seeing Sakumo and the others leave, Hiruzen slowly took out his pipe from his pocket, lit it, and let out a long sigh, starting to puff away.

"Hiruzen, you called me over..."

Danzo, who had rushed over after receiving the notification, pushed open the door and was immediately enveloped in smoke.

Frowning, Danzo waved his sleeve to disperse the smoke before him, finally getting a clear look at Hiruzen's less-than-pleasant expression.

"What happened?"

Seeing Hiruzen's expression, Danzo also frowned, immediately realizing something must have occurred.

"Sakumo's mission failed," Hiruzen said, glancing at Danzo and exhaling a puff of smoke.

Danzo was stunned for a moment before tentatively asking, "The mission personally assigned by the Daimyo?"

"Yes, that mission," Hiruzen confirmed with a nod.

"Konoha's White Fang actually failed?" Danzo knew about the mission; although difficult, it shouldn't have been beyond Sakumo's capabilities...

"Imin Rujin fell into a trap, and Sakumo abandoned the mission to save him," Hiruzen said glumly, taking a deep drag from his pipe.

"Hmph, abandoning the mission for something like that..." Danzo's tone carried a hint of disappointment, as if wishing Sakumo had done better.

"But it's in character for Sakumo; after all, he's the type to protect his comrades," Hiruzen said, subconsciously making excuses for Sakumo.

"Regardless, mission failure must be punished," Danzo declared, slamming his palm on the table.

"Mm," Hiruzen nodded. He had no intention of showing favoritism to Sakumo, especially since the Daimyo needed an explanation.

"In your opinion, how should we explain this to the Daimyo?" Hiruzen had called Danzo over precisely for this matter.

"What explanation does the Daimyo need? The mission failed, so we simply won't accept the subsidy. It's impossible for ninjas to complete missions without setbacks."

Seeing Hiruzen agonizing over such a trivial matter, Danzo forcefully waved his sleeve and walked up to Hiruzen.

Hiruzen was quite satisfied with Danzo's response.

His own position didn't allow him to treat the Daimyo with such an attitude, but Danzo could.

Danzo had never shown the proper respect to the Daimyo.

If Danzo first intimidated the Daimyo, and then Hiruzen stepped in to smooth things over, it should be possible to cover this up.

It was just a shame about that substantial subsidy...

"So, what about Sakumo? How do you think he should be disciplined?" Hiruzen extinguished his pipe and asked for Danzo's opinion.

"Konoha's White Fang is, after all, a high-tier combat force for the village. We still need his reputation to deter Sunagakure. In my opinion, let's keep this matter confidential for now and temporarily suspend their team."

Danzo pondered for a moment before giving his answer.

This answer also carried some personal motive, as he intended to support Sakumo as the next Hokage to pave the way for his own son. If this stain were made public, it would undoubtedly damage Sakumo's reputation.

"This operation was indeed Sakumo's dereliction of duty. After the dust settles, we can simply send him to the border as a form of punishment," Hiruzen nodded, expressing his own thoughts.

"I think there's no need to inform Koharu and the others about this."

If those two found out about this, who knew what kind of trouble they would stir up.

The two quickly finalized a general plan and reached an agreement on certain details.

"Then, I'll leave this matter to you," Hiruzen said, leaning back in his chair, finally relaxing.

Danzo didn't say anything in response. He nodded at Hiruzen and turned to leave.

"Abandoning a mission for a comrade..." Watching Danzo close the door, Hiruzen's gaze fell on a photo of Tobirama hanging on the wall, and he muttered to himself.

"Lord Danzo has ordered that Sakumo's team is temporarily suspended from all activities, subject to investigation by the Anbu, and is forbidden from mentioning this mission to anyone."

At the hospital, an Anbu ninja suddenly appeared before Sakumo and his team, who were gathered to receive treatment.

After reading out Danzo's orders, the Anbu ninja did not leave but stood by the doorway, openly monitoring them.

Facing the Anbu's surveillance, Sakumo showed no outward emotion, but Imin Rujin beside him became visibly nervous.

The Hokage actually handed this matter over to Danzo, and even suspended our team's duties. This was all Sakumo's doing, so why is it turning out like this?!

Glancing at Sakumo, who remained silent beside him, the resentment in Imin Rujin's eyes was almost palpable. Why don't these damn higher-ups just arrest Sakumo and instead drag innocent people like us into this? Of course, he's "Konoha's White Fang," so the higher-ups must be biased towards him.

No, I can't just wait around. I need to take action. The higher-ups want to favor Sakumo? Fine, I won't let them have their way. Believing he would become Sakumo's scapegoat, Imin Rujin began to scheme in his heart.

Completely unaware of what had transpired, Kazashiro returned home as usual, only to find that neither Ryoma nor Danzo were at home.

Yakushi Nonō was the only one sitting on the sofa, studying Medical Ninjutsu.

"Sister Nonō, where are Teacher Ryoma and the others?" Kazashiro asked curiously.

"Oh, Kazashiro, you're back. Ryoma and the others went on a mission with Lord Danzō. They shouldn't be back tonight. You can practice Ninjutsu on your own, or you can learn Medical Ninjutsu from me."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Nonō looked at Kazashiro with a beautiful smile.

This is great!

Hearing that he wouldn't have to get beaten today, Kazashiro visibly perked up. He gave Nonō a sweet smile, a hint of childish pleading in his voice as he said, "Then I want to learn Medical Ninjutsu from you, Sister Nonō."

"Alright, then I'll go make dinner first." Nonō stood up from the sofa, stretching languidly and revealing her beautiful curves, which made Kazashiro blush.

Tsk, tsk, today is truly a good day. I don't have to get beaten, and I don't have to eat the old man's cooking...

By the way, what kind of mission did the old man and the others go on? Is it dangerous? It must be dangerous...

Meanwhile, Imin Rujin, who was being interrogated by Yamanaka Zen, was desperately proclaiming his innocence.

"Brother, please tell Lord Danzō that this was all Sakumo's own stubbornness. I was already prepared to sacrifice myself for the village. It was him, it was all him..."

"Mm." No matter how much Imin Rujin said, Yamanaka Zen only nodded in response, his face behind the mask showing no expression.