Is Danzo the Fifth Hokage?

The layout of the Hokage's conference room was quite deliberate.

The entire south-facing floor-to-ceiling window invited the morning sun of Konoha inside, spreading it diagonally across the long mahogany table and bathing the unfurled scrolls and documents in a warm, golden glow.

The air was filled with the faint scent of ink and the lingering tobacco smoke from Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe; it should have been a vibrant, energetic morning.

The conference room had remained quiet for a long time.

The tip of Minato's pen danced across the paper, producing a faint, scratching sound, while Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, the embers in his pipe flickering as he occasionally tapped it against the edge of the table with a soft, crisp click.

Kakashi stood to Minato's right, looking like a statue with dead-fish eyes.

That was until Jiraiya's voice exploded—

The sound was like a stone crashing into the surface of a calm lake.

"What are you shouting for!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat opposite them, twirling his pipe, his eyes glaring over with visible, simmering anger.

Kakashi, standing to the side, showed no reaction; his dead-fish eyes were half-lowered, and he held a document meant for Minato as if he hadn't heard a thing, though his shoulders twitched in a way that was almost imperceptible.

"Hahaha... it's nothing, nothing, old man. I was just discussing some private matters with Minato."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, flashing an incredibly awkward smile at Hiruzen Sarutobi before waving a hand at Kakashi.

"You brat, just pretend you didn't hear anything."

As soon as the gazes of the other two shifted away, Jiraiya immediately hunched his neck and leaned almost entirely onto Minato's shoulder, his voice dropping into a hurried, low whisper, his breath hot against Minato's ear.

"What is this about a Hokage?! Don't tell me... it's from another world?!"

Minato didn't answer immediately; he lifted his teacup for a sip, using the rim to shield his face as he gave a very slight nod.

Jiraiya's pupils constricted, his mouth hanging open for a long time, though he quickly shifted his mood.

"You brat, not bad."

Jiraiya winked at Minato, bumping his shoulder against him repeatedly.

"How did you convince them? That kid doesn't seem like the type who's easy to talk to."

Minato smiled gently, his pen circling a spot on the document, his mouth never stopping.

"I just mentioned that Konoha has been facing some crises lately and asked if that predecessor, Orochimaru, could come to help. When Naruto heard that, he said he could arrange for a Hokage to come over."

"Arrange for a Hokage, huh..."

Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and he leaned even closer to Minato, nearly sitting on his lap.

"Who? A man or a woman? Are they strong?"

"Naruto only said it was the Fifth."

Minato picked up his pen, head bowed as he continued to write and sketch, his tone as flat as if he were discussing trivial chores.

"He didn't say anything else."

"The Fifth?" Jiraiya rubbed his chin, feigning deep thought. "That means it happens after you retire, then. Who could it be... Kakashi? Asuma? Or someone else?"

Minato gave a bitter smile, his pen tip pausing on the paper.

"It seems it should be... an enemy of ours in this world."

Jiraiya froze for a second, then reacted, his pupils shrinking.

"Don't tell me the Fifth is Danzo?!"

He completely forgot to lower his voice for this outburst, and it rang out with startling clarity in the quiet conference room.

Beside them, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe "clacked" against the table edge. He slowly raised his eyes, his gaze like two dull blades, scraping over them with agonizing slowness.

"What Fifth Hokage Danzo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up, hands behind his back, and paced step by step toward the two, asking in a measured tone.

"Jiraiya, what are you talking about?"

Kakashi, standing against the wall, maintained his statue-like posture with his dead-fish eyes half-lowered, holding the document high.

But his ears were clearly pricked up; he had even stopped the motion of turning pages, fully intent on eavesdropping.

Bang!

The door was suddenly kicked open.

It wasn't a gentle push; someone outside had slammed the handle of a cane against it, causing the door panel to strike the wall with a dull, heavy thud.

The morning sunlight was abruptly cut off by three silhouettes, and the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop by several degrees.

The first to enter was Danzo.

His single eye squeezed through the opening of the door the moment it cracked, like a venomous snake crawling out of a gutter, cold and clammy as it licked across the faces of everyone in the room.

His right arm was wrapped in thick bandages and slung across his chest—clearly a wound from the previous night's raid—but his left hand gripped a piece of parchment document tightly.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu followed behind him, their faces as grim as iron, their footsteps heavy as if they were being forced to come by some unseen weight.

The entire conference room suddenly became unnaturally silent.

Minato's pen hovered over the paper, a drop of ink bleeding into an eyesore of a black blot.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe froze in mid-air, the smoke drifting from its bowl scattered by the breeze of the door being suddenly pushed open.

Kakashi stood leaning against the wall, the file in his hands closing silently; his dead-fish eyes were half-lowered, yet his gaze was quietly pinned to the doorway.

"Oh?"

Danzo stood at the entrance, his single eye narrowing slowly as his gaze swept over Minato, over Hiruzen Sarutobi, and finally landed on the face of Jiraiya, who hadn't yet managed to wipe away his smile.

The corners of his mouth curled into a caustic arc, his voice raspy.

"This old man was merely a little late in arriving... and you juniors already dare to use my name for amusement?"

"Tch."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes, a scoff spraying directly from his nose.

He had been leaning in to whisper to Minato, but now he plopped back into his chair, propped his legs back up on the edge of the table in a brazen manner, and covered his face with his novel, pretending not to see Danzo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe against the table and stood up.

He took two steps forward, positioning himself perfectly in front of Minato and Jiraiya, the hem of his dark brown robe motionless in the morning light.

He kept a stern face, staring at Danzo, his voice deep.

"Danzo, you called us to the meeting room first thing in the morning—what is the matter?"

"Recently, Iwagakure and Kumogakure have both been harboring ulterior motives toward Konoha," Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, his tone carrying the lingering authority of the Shinobi Hero. "If you have any legitimate intelligence, bring it out. If not..."

"Harboring ulterior motives toward Konoha from the outside?"

Danzo interrupted him. He dragged his injured leg, pacing into the meeting room step by step, his cane striking the floor with a dull thud, thud.

He walked to the end of the long table, his single eye sweeping over everyone present, and suddenly revealed an extremely caustic smile.

"Hmph... as for that, I have always known."

The meeting room was so quiet that one could hear the rustling of wind blowing through the leaves outside the window.

Danzo slowly raised his uninjured left hand and slammed a file onto the tabletop with a snap, the force causing the lid of a teacup to jump and a few drops of tea to splash out.

His single eye, like a nail, was driven straight into Jiraiya's face, his voice turning abruptly cold.

"However, here in our Konoha... how is it that there seems to be a traitor as well?"

The novel covering Jiraiya's face slid down halfway, revealing one eye as he lazily glared back.

"...Huh?"