The Hokage of Light and the Root of Darkness

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words trailed off, but the other three knew what he meant.

The losses from the Night of the Nine-Tails weren't limited to lives; the property damage was unimaginable, too.

The losses couldn't be undone. The buildings that had collapsed needed to be rebuilt, compensation had to be paid to the families of fallen shinobi, and retirement benefits had to go to the injured. All told, the expenses would exceed ten billion ryo.

Konoha had more than a billion ryo in reserves. Hiruzen Sarutobi had written to the daimyo for aid, but even the daimyo's money wasn't limitless. He could provide at most three billion ryo.

That meant a short-term funding gap of more than five billion ryo. And that was the real reason Hiruzen and the others were forcing the Uchiha to move.

Konoha was wealthy, but the money wasn't in the Hokage's hands. It belonged to the many shinobi clans.

Take the Sarutobi Clan, for example. Supporting a population that had grown dozens of times over required an enormous amount of resources. Coming up with a mere five billion ryo would be no problem.

The shinobi clans had money to spare, but Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't have the First's prestige. He couldn't force the clans to cough it up.

He couldn't even force his own clan to hand over its money.

It was Shimura Danzō who suggested forcing the Uchiha out of the village center and selling their clan grounds to the shinobi clans and the nobles of the Capital of Fire.

Selling the land could bring in as much as twenty billion ryo. It would not only fill the funding gap but also cover the cost of a war.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had immediately agreed. Hiruzen Sarutobi had hesitated for a full minute before nodding and accepting Shimura Danzō's proposal.

He had said, "It's all my fault. I failed to protect Kushina, and that's what caused this disaster."

"There's really no other way now. For Konoha's sake, we'll have to make the Uchiha suffer a little more. They've already been blamed for plenty; a little more won't matter."

"I'll make it up to them someday."

Now that the Uchiha had caught them in the wrong, how could they force them to move? How could they sell their land?

Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively wanted to say, "Danzō, you handle this."

Fortunately, he came to his senses in time and swallowed the words.

This time, the wrongdoing was serious, and his own Sarutobi Clan was the main culprit. He had no grounds to pin the blame on Shimura Danzō.

Shimura Danzō hadn't given it much thought. He spoke calmly and at length. "I looked into it. Our clansmen were careful in their work. All the paperwork and supporting documents were handled properly. They didn't leave behind any obvious problems."

"Uchiha Fugaku can't produce any solid evidence. As long as we stand firm, there won't be a problem."

"We can even accuse Fugaku of slandering the Hokage and give the Uchiha Clan seven days to move. Otherwise, we can declare them rogue shinobi!"

Mitokado Homura frowned. "Calling the Uchiha traitors to the village is a bit of a stretch..."

Danzō snorted. "The Uchiha are born evil and destined to betray Konoha. The only question is when!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, "Danzō, the Uchiha are members of Konoha. Don't make such irresponsible remarks without evidence!"

"Hmph! Fine, I understand!"

Shimura Danzō continued, "My Shimura Clan had little involvement in this. I've already given them instructions."

"Your clans were deeply involved. You need to have your people clean up the loose ends."

"If we do our jobs well, even if Uchiha Fugaku has evidence, I can still shut him down."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Danzō is right. Let's do that."

"One more thing. Our clansmen have gotten too carried away over the years. We need to give them a thorough shake-up."

"Koharu, Homura, we're both nearly sixty. We'll be retiring after a few more years of service to Konoha."

"It would be a shame if our clansmen dragged us down and ruined our reputations before then."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance and nodded together. "We'll go back and take care of it right away. We won't leave any problems behind."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to Shimura Danzō. "Danzō, the Shimura Clan has always been upright and honest. I trust you in that regard."

"This time, we got timely intelligence from within the Uchiha. I'm also very satisfied with Root's work."

"But..."

"You and Root can't stop here. Find a way to obtain more detailed intelligence. I want to know exactly what Uchiha Fugaku said at the meeting and what concrete plans he made against us—not guesses based on scattered scraps of information."

"Understood?"

Shimura Danzō's expression darkened. "Hiruzen, you need to give me an official order before I can persuade a stronger Uchiha shinobi."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "Danzō, making that request shows you don't understand the Hokage at all."

"The Hokage is Konoha's leader and represents the village. Many things can be done quietly, but they can't be spoken aloud by the Hokage."

"As long as you understand what needs to be done. When can you complete this mission?"

Danzō felt the words "You're not the Hokage" twisting like a knife in his chest. His expression grim, he said, "I don't know."

"The Uchiha are born evil. Even those who care about Konoha are deeply wary of me. Without official authorization, I can only rely on luck."

Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe and took a few puffs before speaking slowly. "What was the name of Kagami Uchiha's grandson again?"

"Shisui, right. Uchiha Shisui. He should be a good point of entry."

"And there's Uchiha Fugaku's son, Uchiha Itachi. He should be starting at the Ninja Academy next year. I'll try to instill the Will of Fire in him."

Shimura Danzō said unhappily, "Uchiha Shisui is nine, and Uchiha Itachi is only five. Going after them will take far too long!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed out a cloud of smoke. "You're too impatient, Danzō."

"The Uchiha Clan has more than three hundred shinobi, including thirty-one elite jōnin."

"To deal with Konoha's strongest shinobi clan, we need to be patient. As long as we make steady progress, that's a success."

"If impatience sparks a civil war in Konoha, we'll all become its villains!"

Shimura Danzō's expression grew even darker. "Hiruzen, do you even want to eliminate the evil Uchiha?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Whatever else you say, Konoha was founded jointly by the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan. If there's a choice, of course I wouldn't choose to destroy the Uchiha."

"If you can't understand that, you don't deserve to be Konoha's Hokage!"

Shimura Danzō laughed in fury. "Fine, fine! You make it sound so righteous, but aren't you still having me recruit the Uchiha?"

"Fine! You're the Hokage. You should do good deeds openly and honorably."

"I'm Root. I'll take care of the dirty work!"

"Everything is for Konoha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him a sincere smile. "Thanks for your efforts, Danzō."