Assassination

The more intelligence the Ninja Hawk delivered, the darker Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression grew. Sparks flickered in his pipe from time to time. His beloved crystal ball sat right beside him, yet this time he had no interest in it.

Smoke rose and once again filled the entire office.

"Is the Uchiha Clan planning to put Sakumo on the Hokage's seat?" Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured.

He leaned back, resting his hands on the chair's armrests, and let his tired eyes take in every detail of the Hokage's office.

The simple room had few decorations, but the stacks of documents represented power. Once a person held power, even their weak, feeble hands could wield enormous strength.

They would cling to power with all their might.

Power had a distinctive scent, a wondrous aroma unlike that of smoke, even more alluring than the smell of tobacco. It lingered at the tip of one's nose.

Making it hard to leave this position.

"Two sharp blades are standing on the same side, and their edges are pointed inward."

"I underestimated you, Uchiha Yuji."

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought he knew what kind of person Hatake Sakumo was. That meant the only variable behind this turn of events was the other man.

He drew the pipe away from his lips and turned its upward-facing opening. Then he tapped the charred tobacco and ashes into the ashtray beside him.

"But Konoha is still my village to rule."

"What can you do to oppose me?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen rose to his feet. Though in his prime, his body showed no hint of weakness; instead, it brimmed with explosive power. He gazed out at the village he loved, the village he controlled.

Far away, the defenders on the front lines in the Land of Grass were discussing the future as well.

"Ah, I've always known I can't outplay Sarutobi Hiruzen when it comes to schemes."

Uchiha Yuji's frank admission drew a questioning look from Hatake Sakumo.

Looking at Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Yuji's lips curled slightly. "Did my performance on the battlefield make such an impression that you think I can do anything?"

Though he'd said it teasingly, he'd hit the nail on the head.

Slightly embarrassed, Hatake Sakumo scratched his head. "The Third Tsuchikage and Third Raikage's surrender letters, along with all those fabricated reports—I thought you already had your next move planned."

"The Uchiha Clan has always been terribly inept at this sort of thing. I'm no exception."

"My strength is more than enough to crush Konoha, but I won't take the initiative and attack it. That wouldn't do us any good. It would only make things even harder for the Uchiha Clan in Konoha."

"Though my clansmen don't care much about what others think, if we alienate every other clan in Konoha, rebellion will be our only path."

"Either we kill the Hokage or move the entire clan elsewhere."

Sweat beaded on Hatake Sakumo's forehead. He hurriedly wiped it away. "It shouldn't come to that."

Under Uchiha Yuji's leadership, the Uchiha Clan had become absurdly aggressive. Before, its internal factions had been so divided that no one could truly speak for the clan.

Its constantly shifting policies had made it impossible to know what to expect.

But that all changed after Uchiha Yuji seized power.

A powerful, forceful, and charismatic leader would fill his subordinates with pride, and they would gradually take on their leader's character.

"If you make me uncomfortable, you can forget about being comfortable yourself. It's just a fight to the death—who's afraid of whom?"

"Maybe a little pressure will even help my Sharingan evolve!"

"Come on! Let's fight to the death!"

That was more or less what the Uchiha were thinking now.

As for the reports he'd sent back, Uchiha Yuji hadn't given them much thought. He'd simply wanted to get under Sarutobi Hiruzen's skin.

He'd even planned to spread the word around Konoha and ruin the kindly image Sarutobi Hiruzen had cultivated.

What plan? What plan?

Let's settle it with our fists!

"Maybe once we get back, the Third Hokage will announce his retirement?" Hatake Sakumo said, his words full of naive optimism. Uchiha Yuji looked at him as if he were an idiot.

Uchiha Yuji sighed and tapped the table gently. The steady rhythm sounded as though he were tapping not the tabletop, but Hatake Sakumo's head.

"Sakumo, we can't fool ourselves."

"If he really intended to do that, why would he have ordered you to stay here?"

Hatake Sakumo fell silent and lowered his head. His eyes fixed on the map below, though his gaze was unfocused.

Hatake Sakumo was the commander against the Iwa ninja, with the highest authority on the battlefield. Even so, he still answered to the Hokage. That was how the chain of command worked.

"To prevent the Iwa ninja from using false intelligence to trick us into lowering our guard and opening the defenses, Hatake Sakumo is hereby ordered to continue monitoring their movements for fifteen days."

That one simple order had kept Hatake Sakumo trapped here for a long time.

Time had always been on Sarutobi Hiruzen's side.

And that order had thoroughly wounded Hatake Sakumo.

He had long known that Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Hokage, had changed the Will of Fire and abandoned the goals Konoha had been founded on. But those events from the past felt distant, and he hadn't witnessed them himself.

Back then, he'd agreed to Uchiha Yuji's proposal mainly because it would benefit the next generation.

Now Hatake Sakumo could drag the Third Hokage from his position without feeling the slightest remorse.

Even if every one of those outrageous reports was false, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn't have ordered him to stay behind. Even though the reports claimed he'd defeated two hidden villages, that achievement still wouldn't be enough to make him Hokage.

At most, it would boost his reputation.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's order was clear proof that he had something to hide!

"Knock, knock."

A knock at the door broke the silence in the small room.

"Come in," Hatake Sakumo said casually.

A shinobi wearing a Konoha flak jacket entered with tea and set the steaming cups in front of the two men.

"Please have some tea, my lords."

Hatake Sakumo had been thinking so hard that he grabbed a cup without a second thought. The moment its base left the table, Uchiha Yuji stopped his arm from rising any farther.

?

Hatake Sakumo looked at Uchiha Yuji in confusion, then followed his gaze and focused on the shinobi in the flak jacket.

"You've hidden it well, but I can clearly see the malice in your eyes. The tea is poisoned, isn't it?"

"A Root shinobi."