On the other side, after leaving the training grounds, Yuhi Kurenai went straight to the Hokage Office Building. "Lord Hokage."
"Oh, Kurenai, you're back. How did it go? Is that child Chiya any good?" Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe and asked gently.
"I lost." Yuhi Kurenai openly admitted that Chiya had beaten her.
"Oh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow lifted almost imperceptibly, and a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
According to the intelligence he had, Chiya was talented, but nowhere near strong enough to defeat Kurenai.
Could he be hiding something?
At the thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.
"Tell me exactly what happened." He liked geniuses, but he had no use for geniuses he couldn't control.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." As she spoke, Yuhi Kurenai recounted her battle with Chiya.
She left out the parts where Chiya had flirted with her.
"I see. It sounds like you let your guard down, Kurenai."
After learning that Chiya had applied what he'd learned from the Ninja Academy textbooks to break Kurenai's genjutsu, then won because she had underestimated him, Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow immediately relaxed.
That made sense!
A genius without a Kekkei Genkai would, at most, become another Kakashi.
He would only be an asset to the Hokage. He was far less of a threat than the Uchiha, so there was no need to worry about him.
"I'm sorry, Lord Hokage. I've disappointed you," Yuhi Kurenai said apologetically.
"Just be more careful next time. Remember, never underestimate anyone. That child seems to have a talent for genjutsu, so teach him more about it from now on."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood and tapped his pipe. "That child has had a very difficult life. In fact, he's just like you."
"He's also..." Yuhi Kurenai froze. She suddenly remembered how, six years ago, her father, Yuhi Shinku, had charged toward the Nine-Tails without hesitation to protect the village, willingly giving his life. An inexplicable sadness welled up inside her.
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "Both his parents died protecting the village during the Nine-Tails Incident. So help him grow up as quickly as you can."
"I understand, Lord Hokage." Yuhi Kurenai replied respectfully, then left the Hokage's office.
She pressed a hand to her chest, overcome by a complicated mix of emotions.
They were both people who had lost their parents. No one understood better than her how painful it was to watch your parents go to their deaths.
She had already been in her teens then, while Chiya had been only five or six.
At the same time, as she thought back over their fight, a realization dawned on her.
Perhaps she had read too much into things.
Though Chiya had decent Taijutsu, the only jutsu he knew were the Three Body Technique.
He had beaten her only because she hadn't taken the fight seriously from the start.
Still, the boy really was insufferable. He had confessed to her in front of everyone, kissed her hand, and teased her again and again.
At the thought, Yuhi Kurenai's pretty face flushed. Embarrassed and annoyed, she silently swore, You brat. Just you wait. Next time, I'll make you pay.
Yuhi Kurenai had barely left when an Anbu Ninja walked in.
"Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo is here." The Anbu Ninja dropped to one knee and spoke respectfully.
"Send him in." At the news, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help frowning.
He had sent word to Danzo several days ago, asking him to come.
Yet Danzo had delayed until now. It was clear he didn't take him, the Hokage, seriously.
"Lord Hokage... Lord Danzo doesn't seem willing to meet with you. He said he'll wait in the conference room." The Anbu Ninja sounded a little nervous.
"I understand."
Though Sarutobi Hiruzen was displeased with Danzo, he considered the warm, approachable image he maintained among his subordinates and forced himself to hold back. He stood and headed for the fully enclosed conference room.
"Hiruzen, you're here." Danzo had already fitted a prosthetic arm to his left shoulder. There was no sign from the outside that anything had changed.
"Hmph." Sarutobi Hiruzen gave an irritated flick of his sleeve and sat down. "Danzo, look at the mess you've made!"
"You know already?" Danzo frowned. Had word gotten out that his scheme had backfired?
"Danzo, you went too far this time." Sarutobi Hiruzen accused him before hearing him out.
"Too far?" Danzo gave a cold laugh. "How did I go too far? I did it all for the village."
"Ninja must be prepared to sacrifice themselves."
"What does the sacrifice of one mere Uchiha Shisui matter if it's for the village?"
Seated across from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo stared him in the eye and refused to back down.
"I know what you're going to say. That Shisui is a fine ninja who inherited Kagami's will and carries the Will of Fire, and all that."
"But have you considered what would happen if he harbored evil intentions, took control of you and me, then instigated the Uchiha Clan to stage a coup? Konoha would be plunged into ruin."
"The foundation laid by the First would be destroyed."
"As the Root of Konoha, I have a duty to prevent that from happening. I had no choice."
Danzo's words rang with conviction.
By the end, he had even stood up, visibly worked up.
He wasn't just trying to excuse himself. He sincerely believed the Uchiha Clan's power had to be restrained—
that this unstable threat to Konoha might even need to be eliminated.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have lost his left arm. And he wouldn't be in this state now, as if cursed: whenever a new limb was attached, it immediately began to rot.
He had no choice but to use a prosthetic.
"Is that why you took his eyes?"
Danzo's words had not surprised Sarutobi Hiruzen.
If anything, this was exactly the response he'd wanted.
Still, he needed to rein Danzo in.
Otherwise, one day Danzo would grow too powerful and, unchecked, climb right over him—the "strongest Hokage in history."
At those words, Danzo's expression faltered. "You don't know?"
"Know what?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked with a frown.
"I didn't get Shisui's eyes." As he spoke, Danzo rolled up his sleeve and showed his prosthetic arm. He explained how he had tried to take the Sharingan, only for someone else to snatch it from him at the last moment.
He even told him that he couldn't have a new arm attached.
"Is that true?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned grave.
"Do you think I'd sacrifice an arm just to lie to you?" Danzo replied irritably.
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't argue.
Danzo was always going on about how "ninja must be prepared to sacrifice themselves," but when it came down to him, he couldn't live up to his own words.
Put simply, Danzo was even more afraid of death than he was.
At the very least, if Konoha truly faced a fight for its survival and it was Danzo's turn to sacrifice himself, he would do it.
He wouldn't cling to life out of fear.
That was the fundamental difference between him and Danzo.
Otherwise, he never could have taken the Hokage Position from the Second Hokage.
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