Deep in the night, the Hokage Building was still brightly lit. The sound of Shimura Danzo's cane tapping against the floor broke the silence.
He pushed open the office door without invitation. "Hiruzen, how can you let the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki spend time with the Hyuga Clan?"
"That child isn't worth a late-night visit."
Sarutobi Hiruzen held his pipe between his teeth and didn't even look up. He knew his old friend too well. The Hyuga were just an excuse.
But this time, he'd misjudged him. Shimura Danzo really had come because of this. "That brat's ideas are too dangerous. Besides... the Hyuga Clan could become the next Uchiha. Konoha no longer needs shinobi who go around talking about clan glory all day."
"You're taking things too far, Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen finally looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Although the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan were both dōjutsu clans, they were entirely different at their core.
"When facing the Sharingan, run if you're alone; if you outnumber them two to one, you can take a chance." Countless Uchiha had earned their fearsome reputation on the battlefield with that saying. History had even seen a shinobi as powerful and despair-inducing as Uchiha Madara.
But what about the Hyuga Clan? In hundreds of years, they'd produced only one "Hyuga Tenin." The Byakugan's uses, combined with the Hyuga Clan's Main Family system, meant that this clan was unlikely to produce a true master. They could never threaten Konoha's stability.
Still... that child, Hyuga Kiyonari, was rather interesting. Given time, he would surely become Naruto's friend.
"Hmph."
Shimura Danzo didn't back down. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of the desk, staring at Hiruzen's hazy outline through the smoke.
Shinobi were tools; a tool was what made a shinobi worthy. That was how it was with Root, which he had carefully honed. He hated anything that made a Jinchūriki develop "humanity." It would only make this ultimate weapon rust and grow dull.
In the silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly said, "If that's all you came to tell me, then go back."
Shimura Danzo spoke slowly. "What do you think about the Hidden Cloud? Don't forget, last time they came under the pretense of peace talks, too... and they got our teacher killed."
His one visible eye, peeking out from the edge of his bandages, was full of gloom. Sometimes, he wondered if the real Shimura Danzo had been left behind in the Land of Lightning all those years ago, and if the one living in Konoha now was nothing more than an obsession.
Everyone knew the truth. But when it came down to it, he still wanted to prove at all costs that he was better than Sarutobi.
"This time is different." Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke. "They sent a delegation to Konoha of their own accord. There's no need to worry."
"I don't believe those savages from the Land of Lightning will behave themselves. Plundering, deception, and breaking their word—that's in their very nature."
"Your prejudice is clouding your judgment."
Shimura Danzo watched him puff away in silence for a long while, then suddenly said, "Hiruzen, you're old."
"You call it prejudice, but how are you any different? You just want the war to end quickly, so you're willing to believe they come with good intentions."
"Everyone hopes the war will end soon. After all... we're all old."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed and tapped the ash from his pipe against the edge of the desk. "Withdraw every Root operative you've placed around Naruto. Don't make me say it twice."
Shimura Danzo was displeased. "If you keep letting the Jinchūriki spend time with that narrow-minded Hyuga brat, you'll waste his talent. You should hand him over to me now. I'm the only one who can train him into a proper shinobi."
"That's not your concern. Just do your own job."
"Hiruzen!" Shimura Danzo raised his cane and struck the floor hard. "You'll regret this!"
"Danzo! I'm the Hokage!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice suddenly rose. He slowly picked up the Hokage's hat from the desk and put it on. At the door, he paused briefly, then reached up and turned off the light.
"It's late, Danzo. You should get some rest, too."
With that, he walked out without looking back. Only after the entire Hokage Building had fallen into darkness did the sound of an angry slam come at last.
Somewhere in the Land of Fire.
Tsunade walked in reeking of alcohol, with Shizune right behind her. Shizune closed the door, shutting out the chill of the winter night.
The room was dimly lit. Tsunade swayed to a stop beside the bed, hooked a finger into the tie of her outer robe, and tugged it open without a care. The fabric slipped from her shoulders and pooled limply at her feet. She kicked it aside twice in annoyance, sending it completely out of the way.
The moment she collapsed into bed, the cold suddenly struck her skin. She instinctively hissed and curled up.
But soon, the down comforter Shizune had spent a fortune on began to prove its worth. The chill gradually faded, replaced by a soothing warmth. It was like being wrapped in a warm cloud.
Tsunade sighed in comfort, burying her face in the soft pillow and rubbing against it. Her hair spilled messily across the pillowcase.
Just as she was about to drift off, her peripheral vision caught sight of the glass bottle on the bedside table. Two rolled-up letters lay inside.
"Shizune!"
She couldn't be bothered to get up, so she simply raised her voice and called toward the door.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Shizune rushed in almost at once. She looked up to see her mistress nestled comfortably in the down comforter and immediately pressed a hand to her forehead, launching into an exasperated, anxious lecture.
"You should at least take a bath first!"
Given their finances, they were lucky to afford one comforter this warm and cozy, so she shared a bed with Lady Tsunade. If she didn't bathe first, it was like sleeping beside a warm bottle of liquor.
Shizune went to the bedside and habitually gathered the clothes Tsunade had kicked onto the floor. "Lady Tsunade, if you keep this up, I'm going to..."
But Tsunade only burrowed farther under the covers. Her golden hair spilled across the pillow.
"Shizune, is that glass bottle on the bedside table yours?"
"What glass bottle?" Shizune asked, startled, and looked up.
It wasn't Tsunade's, and it wasn't hers. That meant someone had broken in.
She instinctively held her breath. Though she'd been wandering for more than ten years, she was still a capable shinobi at heart. Just as she was about to check for traps, a long, drawn-out snore suddenly broke the silence.
"Rrr..."
Tsunade rolled over, letting the blanket slip and expose one shoulder. She was already asleep.
"Honestly."
Shizune sighed, and her tense body slowly relaxed.
If there had really been any danger, Lady Tsunade wouldn't have reacted like that, even drunk.
She picked up the clear glass bottle and examined it, then searched the room. She found no sign that anyone had been there. But that only meant the intruder had been extremely skilled and had cleaned up every trace.
As for the bottle... it must have been meant for Lady Tsunade.
What was done was done. She might as well go to sleep.
Before you continue