Uchiha Itachi

After waking up, Danzo chose to be discharged from the hospital that very day.

With the peace talks set to begin in three days, Danzo needed to review the vast amount of files and intelligence approved by Hiruzen Sarutobi during his tenure as Hokage as quickly as possible, so as to make more precise judgments.

Danzo was not a warmonger; he was a hawk of Konoha. The fundamental reason he disagreed with the peace talks between Konoha and Hidden Stone was not because he wanted war, but because he felt that after Konoha had fought for so long and suffered such great sacrifices, they had not received the returns they deserved from Hidden Stone.

Konoha was currently fighting on multiple fronts: deadlocked with Hidden Stone, maintaining a low-intensity war with Hidden Cloud, and still having to divert a small amount of troops to keep an eye on the repelled Hidden Sand and Hidden Mist to prevent those two from reneging on their retreat.

In order to end the war as quickly as possible and allow for recuperation, the Third Hokage had chosen to negotiate with Hidden Stone just as Minato turned the tide of the war and regained the upper hand, even going so far as to agree to stop the war and sign a peace treaty with almost no conditions attached.

This was the fundamental reason why Danzo was most dissatisfied and opposed to the peace talks.

In Danzo's view, although Konoha was fighting on multiple fronts and suffering huge losses, the other villages were not having an easy time either. Now, it was a contest of who could hold out longer; whoever did would be the one to achieve true victory.

When that time came, Konoha would be able to obtain the returns it deserved at the negotiating table.

Later that afternoon, in the Hokage's office, Danzo sat in the Hokage's seat, carefully reading through the large stack of files placed on the desk.

"How does it feel to be Hokage?" Shiraishi's voice rang out by Danzo's ear.

Danzo looked up abruptly, put down the scroll in his hand, and frowned as he looked at the suddenly appearing Shiraishi.

"Rest assured, no one else can hear our conversation." Shiraishi walked up to Danzo, sat on the desk, and casually picked up a scroll.

"Tsk tsk tsk, the losses your Konoha has suffered are not small! Are you really prepared to keep fighting?" The scroll in Shiraishi's hand was a casualty list sent back from the battlefield.

Danzo stared at Shiraishi. "What do you mean by that?"

Shiraishi put down the scroll. "Nothing much. I was just wondering, after you become Hokage, will you turn into that incompetent and cowardly Hiruzen Sarutobi you always talk about?"

"Hmph!" Danzo let out a dissatisfied cold snort, then said, "You don't need to test me. For the sake of Konoha, I will not agree to these peace talks."

Shiraishi clapped his hands with a smile, then stood up and walked to Danzo's side. "Then I am relieved."

Danzo turned to look at Shiraishi and asked, "Is this the only reason you came here?"

Shiraishi shook his head and held up two fingers. "The previous part was just idle chatter. I came to find you because there are two things I need to tell you."

Danzo looked at Shiraishi without speaking, waiting for what was to follow.

"First, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave me a mission to monitor you long-term." Having said that, Shiraishi retracted his middle finger.

Danzo revealed a sneer tinged with mockery. "That fellow, he still hasn't given up!"

"Second, I want all the data regarding the Impure World Reincarnation. Also, after Orochimaru returns, I want to see him." Shiraishi continued.

Upon hearing Impure World Reincarnation, Danzo asked cautiously, "That forbidden jutsu is not yet complete. What do you want with it?"

Shiraishi smiled and said, "I am just a little curious about this forbidden jutsu."

Danzo did not believe him. "Just curious?"

Shiraishi knew he wouldn't believe him, but still said, "Just curious."

Danzo hesitated for a moment before choosing to agree.

"The Impure World Reincarnation is fine, but if your research makes any progress, you must share it with me."

"Of course!" Shiraishi agreed.

Danzo said with satisfaction, "Tonight, I will have a copy of the Impure World Reincarnation data made for you."

"As for Orochimaru, you may see him, but your identity must not be exposed." Danzo added.

To this, Shiraishi said indifferently, "Then I will leave the arrangements to you. After all, one of our deals is that you must mobilize all resources to help me build a new body."

Danzo was silent for a few seconds. He regretted agreeing to this deal; he must have lost his mind back then to agree to it just to spare Hiruzen Sarutobi's life.

"Our original deal was for you to preserve Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul for me, not to have him reincarnated into my body," Danzo said, expressing his dissatisfaction.

Shiraishi smiled and reached out to rest his hand on Danzo's shoulder. "Our deal was to ensure Hiruzen Sarutobi did not die. Did I not fulfill that?"

"You!" Danzo glared at Shiraishi, but quickly suppressed his anger and said in a low voice, "I will arrange a suitable identity for you to contact Orochimaru."

"That would be excellent." Shiraishi patted Danzo's shoulder, then turned and walked toward the window.

"I am warning you, I am the Hokage now. You are not allowed to do anything that harms the village." Danzo watched Shiraishi's back and threatened him uneasily.

"We are the best of partners; how could I possibly harm Konoha?" Shiraishi looked back, his eyes narrowing with a smile.

As the words fell, Shiraishi vanished from the spot with a Body Flicker.

Danzo sat in the Hokage's seat, staring for a long time at the spot where Shiraishi had disappeared, his right hand lifting into a fist and slamming heavily onto the desk.

That bastard! He had to find a way to counter him; he absolutely could not let him continue to run rampant.

In the park in the center of the village, Uchiha Itachi, who had just returned from the battlefield and was not yet four years old this year, walked alone along the path by the river.

The cruel scenes experienced on the battlefield, especially the Hidden Stone ninja who lay severely wounded on the ground—whom he had stepped forward to help only to be attacked in return, forcing him to kill the man with his own hands—kept surfacing in young Itachi's mind.

Why was there war? What was the meaning of life?

Perhaps because he was lost in thought, walking forward with his head down and looking listless, Itachi accidentally bumped into a passerby in front of him.

"Sorry!" Itachi stepped back reflexively, instinctively bowing his head to apologize.

"An apology alone is not enough, you know!" A playful voice rang out, causing Itachi to look up.

Standing before him was a young-looking big brother with a fresh appearance and a touch of heroic spirit.

Shiraishi looked at Itachi before him with a smile; he hadn't come looking for Itachi on purpose, and running into him was purely a coincidence.

However, since the opportunity had arrived, he might as well plant a chess piece while he was at it.

"Little brat, what is your name?" Shiraishi asked with a smile.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi. I am truly sorry for bumping into you just now!" Itachi apologized again very politely.

"Uchiha Itachi? Then I'll just call you Itachi! Looking at you, you seem to have something on your mind, don't you? Do you want to chat with me, you precocious little brat?" Shiraishi said with practiced familiarity.

Itachi stared with his bright, large eyes, looking at Shiraishi with hesitation.

Seeing this, Shiraishi added more weight to his words, "You must have just returned from the battlefield, right!"

After saying this, Shiraishi deliberately sighed, then shook his head and said, "The people of the Uchiha are truly mad, taking a child like you to the battlefield."

Itachi widened his eyes, looking at Shiraishi in surprise, "Who are you..."

"Are you surprised at how I knew?" Shiraishi's attitude became even more amiable as he leaned over slightly, closing the distance between himself and Itachi.

Itachi nodded honestly.

"Because many ninjas who return from the battlefield, especially the newcomers, are all like you." Shiraishi replied.

"Why?" Itachi asked curiously.

"If you want to know, come with me. It's too tiring to talk while standing."

Having said that, Shiraishi didn't wait for Itachi to agree and walked toward a long Wooden Chair not far away.