Seeing that Uchiha Itachi was willing to sacrifice himself for the village and meet the dangerous Masked Man of his own accord, the Third Hokage was very pleased.
Itachi truly was an Uchiha with a Hokage Mindset, and such noble character.
Uchiha Youhu, by contrast, was a little too sunny. Not only had he spread rumors recklessly at the Uchiha Clan Meeting, but after joining Anbu, he'd also addressed him as "Lord Hokage" at every turn while constantly putting down the Uchiha.
He'd said that the entire Uchiha Clan was worth less than his little finger, and that the old men in the clan were useless.
Sometimes the Third Hokage wondered if he was too concerned about the Uchiha. Could they really become a threat?
Pulling his wandering thoughts back, the Third Hokage rested his chin on his hands and said:
"Youhu, that's a good suggestion."
"Itachi, I can see your determination to brave danger for the village."
"However, hunting down the Masked Man is no small matter. I'll need to discuss it with the other High Officials before making a decision. Go back to work for now, and don't alert him."
"If the village does decide to deal with the Masked Man, I'll send someone to notify you."
Kakashi understood what the Third Hokage meant. The Hokage didn't want to make a move against the Masked Man just yet. Until they had a way to counter his Space-Time Ninjutsu, it was better to ignore him.
Otherwise, they would only cause needless panic in the village.
Youhu loathed being told to wait for a notification. It reminded him of the miserable time he'd spent submitting résumés in his previous life. He scorned the Third Hokage in his heart, thinking that it was his excessive weakness that had brought Konoha to its current state.
A Ninja Clan that refused to obey the Hokage's orders, like the Uchiha, deserved to be whipped into shape.
It was a real shame he hadn't managed to set Uchiha Itachi up.
Wait... When had he developed this damnable Senju Mindset? Was it because he'd joined Anbu and become an honorable member of the organization?
Once he got back, he'd have to write something to balance it out in "Izuna's Inheritance."
Itachi breathed a sigh of relief. He did want to meet the Masked Man, but not while being watched by the Hokage and Anbu.
There were so many things he wanted to ask the Masked Man.
Konoha Conference Room.
Not long after Youhu and the others left, the Third Hokage decided that the matter of the Masked Man was too important for him to handle alone. He sent someone to invite the three Hokage Assistants so they could discuss it together.
A while later, the three Hokage Assistants arrived at the conference room.
Konoha's three Hokage Assistants were:
Mitokado Homura, whose combat prowess in his youth had rivaled that of the Third Hokage, and Utatane Koharu, Tobirama's only female student.
And Danzo, who had never managed to become Hokage.
After entering the conference room, Danzo sat opposite the Third Hokage and was the first to attack. "Hiruzen, I heard you let Uchiha Youhu, the one who spread those rumors, join Anbu?"
His words immediately caught the attention of Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
Though they were busy with their own affairs, they had heard of Youhu and knew that the recent rumors in the village about the Third Hokage and the Uchiha Clan Head had come from that young man.
When they first heard the rumors, they'd assumed Danzo was behind them.
After all, many baseless rumors in the village could be traced back to their old friend, who lurked in the darkness.
It wasn't until they heard the rumors about the Third Hokage and Danzo that they realized Danzo had nothing to do with them.
The relationship between the Third Hokage and Danzo was complicated. You could even call it ambiguous, with all their bickering, but enjoying that sort of thing in private was one thing. Bringing it into the open was just asking for trouble.
But that Uchiha named Youhu somehow knew the inner workings of Konoha's High Officials. That was genuinely frightening.
The Third Hokage didn't dodge the question. He answered frankly, "Youhu's a good kid. He can be a bit careless, and the Uchiha have been ostracizing him over this incident, so I let him join Anbu..."
Danzo snorted and took a jab at him. "Hiruzen, are you getting old? He dared to slander the two of us. Who can guarantee he isn't a spy Fugaku planted?"
The Third Hokage frowned and shot back, "Didn't you recruit Uchiha Itachi, too?"
"Uchiha Itachi is different. He has a darkness within him deeper than the ocean, and he's well suited to Root Ninja. I can even use Itachi to influence the Uchiha Clan."
"So you think my judgment is worse than yours? I can't use Youhu to influence the Uchiha?"
"Don't you already have Shisui? Isn't he enough?"
"..."
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had long since grown used to seeing the Third Hokage and Danzo argue.
Ever since they had become students of Teacher Tobirama, those two had been bickering like this. They'd been at it for decades, with no sign of stopping.
They used to think it was the bond of the Will of Fire. Now... well, that was harder to say.
Danzo had never married, and the Third Hokage had shown no intention of remarrying after his wife died. The two of them bickered day in and day out, so it was no wonder those rumors had started.
Those two had ruined the Hokage Faction's reputation.
After waiting for a while, Utatane Koharu said impatiently, "Hiruzen, you asked En and me to come here. Surely it wasn't just because an Uchiha joined Anbu? That's a trivial matter."
"Koharu's right. I nearly forgot why we're here."
The Third Hokage grew serious again. He took out the Crystal Ball and replayed the footage for the other three.
When they saw the Masked Man pass through the Konoha Barrier and appear near Naka Shrine using Space-Time Ninjutsu, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's expressions turned grave.
They remembered the Nine-Tails' Rampage a few years earlier. The person who had fought Namikaze Minato seemed to be the same man.
So the mysterious Masked Man who had attacked the village back then had appeared near Konoha again. No wonder Hiruzen had asked them to hurry to the Hokage Building.
Danzo focused on Naka Shrine and the Sharingan. He'd found strong evidence to use against Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen, I told you before that the Uchiha had something to do with the Nine-Tails' Rampage."
"Now the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage is going to work with the Uchiha. If it happens again, are you planning to use the Reaper Death Seal this time?"
"Hand Youhu over to me. I'll make him a blade to use against the Uchiha."
The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo and replayed the footage in the Crystal Ball before speaking calmly:
"Youhu was the one who discovered the Masked Man. As soon as he spotted him, he came straight to me, and he insisted that we eliminate the Masked Man."
"I'm sorry, Danzo."
"The truth is, Youhu is different from the other Uchiha. He has the Will of Fire and puts the village's interests first. He's an Uchiha like Kagami was."
"Hiruzen, you..."
Danzo was momentarily at a loss for words. He felt that the Third Hokage trusted Youhu a little too much, but he couldn't find anything wrong with his argument.
Youhu had risked making his clan suspicious of him by reporting the Masked Man to the Hokage. That was indeed something few Uchiha would do.
Put kindly, he was devoted to the village and the Will of Fire. Put less kindly, he was too naive.
And from what Danzo knew of Hiruzen, the kind of Uchiha he liked best was one who was naive.
In the end, Danzo could only force out one sentence:
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this sooner or later."
"Danzo, I'm the Hokage!"
There hadn't been a dramatic storming out, but hearing the classic exchange between their two old friends made Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura feel as if they didn't belong there.
Could the two of you stop acting so much like the rumors made you sound?
Before you continue