Undercurrents (II)

Just as Qingguang invited Tsunade to the Police Department to assist with the investigation into the batch of medicine, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already arrived at the office on the top floor of the Medical Department, behind Konoha Hospital, accompanied by Hatake Sakumo.

"Hiruzen, what brings you here?"

Utatane Koharu, who had summoned Mitokado Homura to the office not long ago, saw Hiruzen arrive in person and felt her heart sink.

Homura turned around. Seeing that Hiruzen had brought the white-haired Anbu Ninja with him, he swallowed the flattering words he'd been about to say and silently shut his mouth.

Hatake Sakumo was a Commoner Ninja of the same generation as Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. His peerless, masterful swordsmanship had made him famous in Konoha back when he was still at the Ninja Academy.

But soon afterward, he had vanished from sight, disappearing from the village.

From then on, among the village's publicly recognized genius ninja, only Hiruzen Sarutobi's three disciples and Senju Itsuki remained.

How could a Hokage Assistant not know where Hatake Sakumo had gone, even if ordinary people didn't?

Two years ago, at just twenty-one, this prodigy had become Hiruzen Sarutobi's personal bodyguard and, in addition, Anbu Captain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked forward at an unhurried pace, his expression unchanged. "What, do I need to announce my arrival to you?"

"Of course not. Come whenever you like. As it happens, I have some things to discuss with Homura and report to you." As she spoke, Koharu gathered several documents and walked toward Hiruzen.

As soon as she approached, Hatake Sakumo stepped in front of Hiruzen, his right hand already gripping the short blade at his back, known as the White Fang and stained with countless lives.

"If there are documents, hand them to me. I'll pass them on to Lord Hokage."

His icy words stopped Koharu in her tracks, and the room fell silent.

"Um..."

"Do as the White Fang says. Protecting the Hokage was an order I gave him myself."

"These days, the village is in turmoil. Even medicine and food can land people in the hospital. Who knows, some ill-intentioned person might have tampered with these papers too. Let him inspect them."

Those two remarks left Homura, who had been watching from the side, trembling with fear, as if he'd fallen into an icy abyss.

It was over. Hiruzen was truly furious this time.

He shouldn't have let himself be swayed by Koharu and gone along with her crooked scheme to make money through underhanded means.

The Medical Department was indeed in charge of the village's medicine, but food and other supplies were the responsibility of his Civil Affairs Department!

"That makes sense." No matter how unwilling Koharu was, she had no choice but to hand the documents to Hatake Sakumo.

After a thorough inspection, the documents were passed to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Lord Hokage, there's nothing wrong with them."

Only then did a faint smile appear on Hiruzen's face. He nodded at Hatake Sakumo. "Good work. Thank you."

Sakumo nodded and remained standing at his side.

Looking over the documents, Hiruzen felt the passage of time and the changes it had wrought. His companions, who had once stood by him and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the village, had now begun dabbling in such things.

The documents had even named a scapegoat.

"Homura, what brings you here?"

"Was it as Koharu said? Did you also have something to report to me?"

"Hand it over here as well. I'll take a look."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

By now, Homura had decided to accept the consequences. He took out the documents he'd brought and even handed them directly to Hatake Sakumo without being asked.

Since the matter had already come to light, he had no intention of resisting.

In Konoha, as long as Hiruzen Sarutobi remained in the Hokage's seat, his first and foremost role was not Hiruzen's old comrade, but the Hokage of the village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly read through both sets of documents, crumpling the papers in his hands.

After a long silence, Hiruzen finally spoke. "White Fang, wait outside."

Hatake Sakumo vanished from the room in an instant, leaving the three of them alone.

Only then did Hiruzen turn his gaze to the two of them. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

Homura shook his head. Seeing this, Koharu did the same.

She had summoned Homura beforehand to discuss how they should handle things. But before they could talk it over, Hiruzen had arrived at the Medical Department with his men. Now Koharu naturally thought she should do as Homura had and say nothing more.

"Very well. Since you've identified the main culprit behind this so quickly, the Anbu and Police Department can avoid wasting time on a thorough investigation."

"Still, the Yamanaka Clan will have to assist with the examination."

"Koharu, remember to send those people to Root."

Root?

At the word from Hiruzen, the composure Koharu had struggled to maintain gave way to panic. She hurried to Hiruzen's side, her words carrying a note of pleading.

"Hiruzen, those people are my clansmen, after all. Could you let the Anbu handle this instead, for my sake? Please?"

Watching Koharu's back, Homura's eyes widened in confusion.

Wait, what exactly did you write in those documents? Your clansmen? Wasn't this your idea?

At a time like this, you're still refusing to come clean and trying to protect yourself?

Koharu, do you really have the nerve to do this?

"The Anbu are busy with missions and don't have time to deal with these trivial matters. You know the state of the Shinobi World right now. You can rest assured about Root. They're even better than the Anbu at interrogation and won't miss a single detail."

With that, Hiruzen turned and walked to the office door.

"Konoha doesn't belong to us. It belongs to everyone. Don't let this happen again."

"White Fang, let's go."

Whoosh—

Hatake Sakumo opened the door from the other side, and the two of them walked away.

After they left, Koharu slumped into a chair, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Koharu, sigh... You've lost your mind!" Homura shook his head in frustration.

"How could you... How could you still be so dishonest in front of Hiruzen?"

"But... wasn't all of this understood between us? How was I supposed to know Hiruzen wouldn't spare a thought for our past friendship this time?"

"No, I have to go see Danzo."

Koharu had just risen from her chair to leave when Homura grabbed her.

"Don't go. It's no use. If even Hiruzen won't consider your past friendship, do you think Danzo will?"

"Then what am I supposed to do? Do I really have to kneel in front of Hiruzen like those subordinates?" Koharu cried out in despair.

Homura could only shake his head helplessly. "Koharu, have you got something wrong?"

"From the moment Teacher Tobirama left his final instructions and Hiruzen succeeded him as Hokage, we became his subordinates..."