Three days passed. Under the control of Danzo, its new leader, Konoha's ever-running war machine was firing on all cylinders, constantly squeezing every last bit of the village's potential for war.
The first support unit, five hundred strong, had already departed yesterday afternoon under the leadership of Hokage Advisor Mitokado Homura, heading for the front lines in the direction of the Hidden Cloud.
The second unit, the main force of a thousand, had also finished assembling. They were only waiting for the logistical preparations to be completed before escorting a large supply convoy to the front.
It was past five in the afternoon. Danzo, who had been busy all day, was still seated at his desk, head down as he processed reports submitted by the various departments.
The office door was shoved open rather roughly. Hearing the commotion, Danzo looked up toward the doorway.
A black-haired ninja who looked a little older than his years rushed into the office and came to a stop at the desk. He braced both hands on it and glared at Danzo, furious.
Danzo looked at the newcomer without getting angry. Instead, he regarded the black-haired ninja as an elder might look at a younger man.
Outside the open office door, an Anbu Ninja appeared soundlessly in the corridor and looked in at Danzo.
Danzo said nothing. He only raised a hand and waved toward the door, signaling for the Anbu to leave.
The Anbu Ninja was quick to read the situation and closed the office door, leaving Lord Hokage alone with his rebellious youngest son.
"Old man, why didn't you approve my application?" Asuma Sarutobi glared indignantly at his "father," who sat in the chair.
"You're still young, and you're not strong enough to go to the front." Danzo leaned back in his chair and looked at Asuma calmly.
According to his agreement with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen would cooperate with him in the war against the Hidden Cloud, while Danzo had to ensure the safety of Hiruzen's family.
Danzo still kept his word to his old friend Hiruzen. Besides, he had watched Asuma grow up. He didn't want to hurt him unless it was necessary.
"I'm already a Chunin, and I took part in the wars against Iwagakure and the Hidden Mist. How am I not strong enough to go to the front?" Asuma demanded angrily.
Faced with Asuma's anger and defiance, Danzo wasn't upset. In fact, a kindly smile even appeared on his face.
As the saying went, bystanders saw clearly what those involved could not.
In Danzo's eyes, as an outsider, Asuma—the village's famous disobedient youngest son of the Hokage—was simply acting immaturely, trying to shed the label of "the Hokage's son" in other people's eyes and prove his own ability through his defiance and rebellion against his father.
Looking at Asuma, who was visibly agitated, Danzo slowly asked, "You want to go to the front?"
Asuma answered without hesitation. "I want to go to the front. I'm a Konoha ninja too, and I can contribute to the village."
After listening, Danzo fell silent in thought. As Asuma grew impatient and opened his mouth to urge him, Danzo spoke. "Fine. I'll let you go."
Danzo's quick agreement was so far beyond Asuma's expectations that his mouth remained open. In his surprise, it only opened wider.
"You... you agree?" Asuma suddenly felt a bit deflated. He stared at Danzo in amazement.
What was wrong with the old man today?
"What? Have you changed your mind?" Danzo's lips curled upward as he watched Asuma's reaction.
"No! I haven't changed my mind! I want to go to the front." Asuma quickly denied it, firmly stating his resolve to head to the front.
"Good. Go get ready. You'll leave the day after tomorrow at the latest," Danzo said with a smile.
"The day after tomorrow? I'll remember that!" Asuma seemed not to have recovered from his surprise. He stared at Danzo in disbelief.
"What? Is there something else?" Danzo asked.
Asuma shook his head repeatedly. "No."
"Then go. I still have work to do." Danzo sat up straight again, put both hands on the desk, and picked up his pen.
Asuma scratched his head and turned to leave, a puzzled look in his eyes.
When he reached the office door, Asuma remembered his mother's instructions. He stopped, turned sideways, and said, "Oh, right, old man. Mom says you should come home for dinner tonight. She said if you don't come back soon, she'll come to the office and drag you home herself."
Danzo's pen paused as he wrote an annotation. He looked up at Asuma again. "I know. I'll be home later."
"Don't be too late. You've been staying away from home a lot lately, and Mom's getting angry." Since his "father" had approved his application, Asuma gave him a rare, well-meaning reminder.
"Go," Danzo said calmly.
"Tch!" Danzo's reaction made Asuma feel his good intentions had gone to waste. He snorted and left the office.
As soon as Asuma closed the door, before Danzo could put pen to paper again, another voice reached his ears.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Danzo turned toward the window on his right and saw Shiraishi leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed.
"What is it?" Danzo's expression immediately turned serious.
Shiraishi lowered his arms and walked over to the desk. Ten Soul Banners appeared in his hands out of thin air.
He placed the Soul Banners on the desk and looked at Danzo. "That was Hiruzen Sarutobi's youngest son, wasn't it? You agreed to let him go to the battlefield. Aren't you worried that'll jeopardize your agreement?"
"If I refused, with his temperament, he'd sneak off to the front anyway. Better to let me arrange a suitable Jonin to protect him than have him act on his own." Danzo picked up a Soul Banner and explained.
"Oh? Who are you going to assign?" Shiraishi asked curiously.
"Minato Namikaze." Danzo had already chosen someone when he agreed.
Shiraishi smiled and didn't pursue the topic. Instead, he got down to business. "I can give you five more Soul Banners the day after tomorrow. With those and the ones from before, twenty Soul Banners will be enough to cover this war."
"Get them to me before noon the day after tomorrow," Danzo said after putting away the Soul Banners.
"Understood."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shiraishi had already left the Hokage Office.
It was past six in the afternoon. As Danzo left the Hokage Building and returned to the Sarutobi Clan's residence, Shiraishi arrived at the Root Underground Base to give his first report on the mission to monitor the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been just as busy lately. As the current leader of Root, he had to gather all kinds of intelligence on the Hidden Cloud from the shadows, ensuring Konoha could win the war at the lowest possible cost.
So when Shiraishi saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was just like Danzo, head down as he dealt with his work.
"Lord Danzo!" Shiraishi called out first.
Hearing him, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pen. When he saw that Shiraishi had come to report, his expression immediately filled with concern.
"Have you found out anything about the Third Hokage?"
"Nothing significant so far. But this afternoon, the Third Hokage's youngest son, Asuma Sarutobi, rushed into the office and argued with the Third Hokage," Shiraishi reported truthfully.
Hearing that it concerned his youngest son, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly pressed him. "Did you hear what they argued about?"
Shiraishi nodded and reported, word for word, the conversation he had overheard that afternoon between Asuma Sarutobi and Danzo.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow furrowed at once. "You're saying the Third Hokage agreed to Asuma's application to go to the front?"
"Yes," Shiraishi replied.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer sit still. He stood up, suspecting that Danzo was using Asuma's safety to threaten him.
That bastard Danzo! Was he trying to break with him completely?
"Where is the Third Hokage now?" Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to Shiraishi.
"He just left the Hokage Building and went home," Shiraishi answered, head lowered. Beneath his mask, his face was full of smiles.
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