Lord Danzo, the Third Hokage is Sending His Youngest Son to the Front Lines!

Three days had passed, and Konoha, a war machine that had been running non-stop, was now operating at full capacity under the control of its new leader, Danzo, who was relentlessly squeezing every ounce of the village's potential for war.

The first support unit of five hundred men had already departed yesterday afternoon, led by Hokage advisor Mitokado Homura, heading toward the front lines against Hidden Cloud.

The second main force of one thousand men had also finished assembling; they were merely waiting for the logistics to be finalized before they would escort a massive amount of supplies to the front.

Past five in the afternoon, Danzo, who had been busy all day, was still sitting at his desk, buried in the paperwork submitted by various departments.

The office door was pushed open rather roughly, and hearing the commotion, Danzo looked up toward the entrance.

A black-haired ninja with a somewhat precocious appearance stormed into the office, reached the desk, slammed his hands down, and glared at Danzo with indignation.

Danzo looked at the intruder, showing no anger, but instead regarding the black-haired ninja with the gaze of an elder looking at a junior.

Outside the open door, an Anbu ninja appeared silently in the hallway, looking in at Danzo.

Danzo did not speak, merely raising a hand to wave him away, signaling for the Anbu to retreat.

The Anbu ninja, possessing keen intuition, closed the office door, leaving the Hokage and his rebellious young son alone.

"Old man, why didn't you approve my application?" Asuma Sarutobi stared indignantly at the "father" sitting in the chair.

"You are still young, and your strength is insufficient for the front lines." Danzo leaned back, looking at Asuma with a calm expression.

According to his deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiruzen would cooperate with him in the war against Hidden Cloud, and in return, he had to ensure the safety of Hiruzen's family.

Danzo kept his word to his old friend, and since Asuma was a junior he had watched grow up, he did not want to harm him unless absolutely necessary.

"I am already a Chunin, and I have participated in the wars against Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist; how is my strength insufficient for the front lines?" Asuma demanded angrily.

Facing Asuma's anger and defiance, Danzo was not angry; in fact, a trace of a kind smile even appeared on his face.

As the saying goes, the bystander sees clearly, while the person involved is confused.

To an outsider like Danzo, Asuma's various acts of defiance and rebellion against his father—the village's famous Hokage—were nothing more than the immature actions of a youth trying to shed the label of "Hokage's son" and prove his own worth.

Danzo looked at the agitated Asuma before him and spoke slowly: "You want to go to the front lines?"

Asuma answered without hesitation: "I want to go to the front lines. I am a ninja of Konoha, too, and I have the ability to contribute to the village."

After listening, Danzo fell into a silent contemplation. Just as Asuma was growing impatient and about to urge him for an answer, he spoke: "Fine, I agree."

Danzo's prompt agreement was so unexpected that Asuma's mouth remained agape, widening even further in surprise.

"You... you agreed?" Asuma suddenly felt a sense of anticlimax, looking at Danzo with astonishment.

What kind of illness did the old man catch today?

"What? Do you regret it?" Seeing Asuma's expression, the corners of Danzo's mouth curled upward.

"No! I don't regret it! I want to go to the front lines." Asuma quickly denied it, firmly stating his resolve to head to the front.

"Very well, go back and prepare. You will depart no later than the day after tomorrow," Danzo said with a smile.

"The day after tomorrow? I'll remember that!" Asuma seemed unable to shake his surprise, looking at Danzo with a bewildered expression.

"What? Is there something else?" Danzo asked.

Asuma shook his head repeatedly. "No."

"Then get out. I still have official business to handle." Danzo sat back up, placed his hands on the desk, and picked up his pen.

Asuma scratched his head, turned around with a look of confusion, and walked out of the room.

Reaching the office door, Asuma remembered his mother's instructions, stopped, and turned his head to the side. "By the way, old man. Mom says you should come home for dinner tonight. She said if you don't come back, she's coming to the office to drag you home herself."

The tip of Danzo's pen, which had been writing annotations, paused. He looked up at Asuma again. "I understand. I will be home later."

"Don't be too late. You haven't been coming home often lately, and Mom is already angry." Because his "father" had approved his application, Asuma offered a rare, well-intentioned reminder.

"Get out," Danzo said calmly.

"Tch!" Danzo's reaction made Asuma feel that his good intentions had been wasted. He snorted coldly and left the office.

Just as Asuma closed the door and before Danzo could lift his pen, a new sound echoed in his ears.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Hearing the sound, Danzo looked toward the side window and saw Shiraishi leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed.

"What is it?" Danzo's expression turned serious instantly.

Shiraishi lowered his arms and walked to the desk, where ten Soul Banners appeared out of thin air in his hands.

Placing the banners on the desk, Shiraishi looked at Danzo and said, "That was Hiruzen Sarutobi's youngest son, wasn't it? You agreed to let him go to the battlefield—aren't you afraid of ruining your deal?"

"If I didn't agree, given his personality, he would have snuck off to the front lines anyway. Rather than letting him act on his own, it is better for me to arrange for a suitable Jonin to protect him." Danzo picked up the Soul Banners and explained.

"Oh! Who are you going to arrange?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

"Minato Namikaze." Danzo had already decided on the candidate the moment he agreed.

Shiraishi laughed and didn't continue the topic, instead moving to business: "I can give you another five Soul Banners the day after tomorrow. Added to the previous ones, twenty banners will be enough to cover this war."

"Give them to me before noon the day after tomorrow," Danzo said after putting the banners away.

"Understood."

As the words fell, Shiraishi had already departed the Hokage Building.

Past six in the evening, when Danzo left the Hokage Building to return to the Sarutobi Clan compound, Shiraishi arrived at the underground base of Root to deliver his first report on the mission to monitor the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was equally busy during this period; as the current leader of Root, he had to gather various intelligence on the Hidden Cloud from the shadows to ensure that Konoha could achieve victory in this war at the smallest possible cost.

Therefore, when Shiraishi met Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was, much like Danzo, buried in paperwork.

"Lord Danzo!" Shiraishi called out proactively.

Hearing the voice, Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pen. Seeing that it was Shiraishi who had come to report, he immediately wore a look of concern.

"Did you discover anything regarding the Third Hokage?"

"No major discoveries for the time being, only that this afternoon, the Third Hokage's youngest son, Asuma, stormed into the office and had an argument with the Third Hokage," Shiraishi reported truthfully.

Hearing that it concerned his youngest son, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly pressed for details: "Did you hear the content of their argument?"

Shiraishi nodded and reported the conversation he had overheard that afternoon between Asuma and Danzo, word for word.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrowed instantly. "You say the Third Hokage agreed to Asuma's request to head to the front lines?"

"Yes!" Shiraishi replied.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer sit still and stood up abruptly; he suspected that Danzo was using Asuma's safety to threaten him.

That bastard Danzo! Is he trying to tear off the mask and break with me completely?

"Where is the Third Hokage now?" Hiruzen Sarutobi walked up to Shiraishi.

"He just left the Hokage Building and is returning home," Shiraishi replied with his head bowed, his face hidden beneath his mask, full of smiles.