A Fatal Piece of News!

Danzō clutched the scroll and strode out of the Root secret chamber.

The long stone stairs stretched upward, and he climbed them step by step, his cane striking the bluestone with a dull thud. He left the subterranean chill behind him; the higher he climbed, the heavier the scent of smoke and ash hung in the air.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door of the office.

Utatane Koharu sat in a leather chair, her spine held perfectly straight. She twirled a brush in her hand, her gaze fixed on a half-withered plant on the windowsill.

Mitokado Homura stood by the window, his back to the door, hands clasped behind him. He stared toward the Hokage Rock, where one side had collapsed and remained unrepaired to this day.

"What kind of scheme is that old man Danzō cooking up now?"

Utatane Koharu finally slapped her brush onto the desk.

"We're busy enough as it is, yet he insists on dragging us here."

Mitokado Homura did not turn around, his voice heavy. "The Nine-Tails incident was only days ago, and the village is still smoldering. If he's in such a rush to see us, it won't be for anything good."

"Hmph, when has he ever summoned us for anything good?"

Utatane Koharu closed her eyes, resting the back of her head against the chair. The office was quiet enough to hear the chants of the crowds rebuilding Konoha below. In that silence, long-buried memories began to seep through the cracks of her mind.

That was many years ago.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had led them, a group of green youths, on an escort mission.

The night rain poured, the mountain paths were a mire of mud, and enemy kunai flew from the shadows.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had shoved Lord Tobirama aside, taking a blade to his own shoulder, while Danzō had stood in the shadows with a grim face, waiting for the enemy to reveal themselves before he finally lunged out.

From that moment on, the two had been entirely different men, yet they had still huddled together in the same tent to share dry rations.

Utatane Koharu remembered Danzō and Hiruzen sitting back-to-back, the firelight casting their young faces in shifting light and shadow. No one had imagined that, years later, those two faces would come to represent the light and darkness of Konoha.

"Hiruzen has changed."

Mitokado Homura spoke suddenly, breaking Utatane Koharu's train of thought. He turned around, the wrinkles on his face deep as knife cuts.

"He is no longer as resolute as he once was. Otherwise, he should have reined in Danzō long ago."

Utatane Koharu opened her eyes and let out a cold laugh.

"We old folks should just be glad we aren't adding to the burden of the younger generation. I actually think Hiruzen is doing fine; besides, leaving things to Minato shouldn't be a problem."

"Danzō has changed, too."

Mitokado Homura walked back to the table.

"He has become somewhat unhinged. The Nine-Tails incident... no one saw him, and who knows what he was doing while hiding underground."

Utatane Koharu took up the thread.

"He is like a starving wild dog now. We must be careful this time..."

The words had barely left her lips when the door was shoved open violently.

Shimura Danzō stood in the doorway, leaning on his cane. He swept his gaze over the two in the room, his lips curling into a cold, mirthless arc.

"Apologies for keeping you both waiting."

He walked in, closed the door behind him, and slammed his cane onto the floor with a dull thud.

"But the matter I am about to discuss..."

Danzō pulled the scroll from his robes and slapped it onto the table. The black Root seal on the scroll looked like an open eye.

"...is likely to ensure you never sleep soundly again."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance, their eyes falling on the scroll on the table.

"What kind of news is this? You're making it sound terrifying."

Utatane Koharu reached out to grab it.

Danzō pressed a hand down on the scroll, his eyes sweeping over them both.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade are with Orochimaru."

Mitokado Homura froze. "Which Orochimaru?"

"Which one could it be?" Danzō sneered. "The S-rank missing-nin, the one you both personally signed the warrant for."

Utatane Koharu's hand stiffened in mid-air.

"Impossible!"

She slammed her hand onto the table and stood up, the legs of her chair scraping harshly against the floor.

"Orochimaru defected long ago! How could he possibly be mixed up with Jiraiya and the others?"

Mitokado Homura also furrowed his brows. "Why would Jiraiya and Tsunade be entangled with him? Danzō, explain yourself clearly!"

Danzō released his grip, and the scroll slowly unfurled on the table, revealing the coded records of the Root.

"My men saw it with their own eyes. In the desolate mountains on the border of the Land of Fire, the Sannin have reunited, and Orochimaru has even captured a Cloud Village ninja alive."

Utatane Koharu stared at the handwriting on the scroll, her pupils shrinking.

Mitokado Homura leaned in, his fingers gripping the edge of the scroll.

"Is this true?"

"Root never lies; I have my own methods."

Danzo leaned on his cane, his voice cold and indifferent.

"The three of them are currently heading toward Konoha with captives from the Cloud Village. Did you think I was joking?"

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance.

Both saw the same thing in the other's eyes: this matter was wrong, far too wrong.

If Danzo wasn't lying, what did a collective operation by the Sannin signify? If he was lying, then what was he trying to achieve?

"Go find Hiruzen." Utatane Koharu grabbed her coat and turned toward the door.

"Right, let's go now." Mitokado Homura followed, his footsteps thudding against the floorboards.

The two ignored Danzo further, pushing the door open and leaving; the sound of their footsteps in the hallway was as rapid as a drumbeat.

Danzo stood where he was, staring at the still-swaying door panel. He slammed his cane against the floor, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura crossed the battered streets of Konoha, their footsteps thudding against the stone path. They stopped in front of an old wooden door, and Utatane Koharu clenched her fist and knocked three times.

The door creaked open.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was draped in an old coat, a pipe clamped between his teeth, smoke drifting lazily from the corner of his mouth.

He glanced at their tense faces and stepped aside to let them in.

"Come in."

Only one electric light was on in the room, casting a dim, yellowish glow.

Mitokado Homura walked through the door and got straight to the point.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade have returned to the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes brightened. He took the pipe from his lips and rubbed his fingers against the bowl.

"Good, those two finally know how to come home."

Utatane Koharu stepped forward.

"They didn't come back alone."

"Oh?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching together. "Besides Tsunade's niece, Shizune, who else?"

"Orochimaru."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers froze. The embers in his pipe flickered, and he opened his mouth, his voice sounding dry.

"Which Orochimaru are you talking about?"

"Which other one could it be?"

Mitokado Homura's voice was tight.

"Danzo's men saw it with their own eyes. He was walking arm-in-arm with Jiraiya, and Tsunade was right there too. The three of them are heading toward Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi set his pipe down on the table with a heavy thud, the impact producing a sharp sound. He stood up and began pacing back and forth, the wooden floorboards creaking under his weight.

Utatane Koharu's expression was somewhat anxious.

"Hiruzen, say something."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped pacing and looked out the window toward the Hokage Rock, which still had a section collapsed.

"On the night of the Nine-Tails incident, Minato said something to me."

"What did he say?"

"He said that a traveler from very far away had saved the village, saved Kushina, and saved him as well."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, the wrinkles on his face appearing as deep as ravines in the shadows of the lamp.

"The look on Minato's face that day was as if he had known something for a long time, but he wouldn't say it then, and I didn't press him."

Mitokado Homura asked, "So, you think... that traveler is related to Orochimaru?"