Danzo and the Third Hokage's Daily Squabbles

On the other side, after leaving the training ground, Yuhi Kurenai went straight to the Konoha Hokage building. "Lord Hokage."

"Ah, Kurenai is back. How did it go? Is that child, Chiya, doing alright?" Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe and asked with a gentle expression.

"I lost." Yuhi Kurenai frankly admitted the fact that she had been defeated by Chiya.

"Oh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows twitched imperceptibly, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.

According to the intelligence he possessed, while Chiya had decent talent, he was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Kurenai.

Could it be that he had been hiding something?

Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his expression remaining calm.

"Tell me the specific details." He liked geniuses, but he absolutely did not like geniuses who exceeded his control.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." As she spoke, Yuhi Kurenai recounted the process of her battle with Chiya.

In the process, she omitted the parts where Chiya had teased her.

"I see. It seems you were indeed careless, Kurenai."

Upon learning that Chiya had utilized knowledge from the Ninja Academy textbooks to break her genjutsu and had won due to her own negligence, Sarutobi Hiruzen's brow instantly smoothed out.

That made sense!

A genius without a Kekkei Genkai would, at best, become a second Kakashi in the future.

He would only become an asset to the Hokage; in terms of threat, he was far inferior to the Uchiha, so there was no need to worry.

"I apologize, Lord Hokage, for letting you down." Yuhi Kurenai said apologetically.

"Just be more careful next time. Remember, never underestimate anyone in the future. I see that the child seems to have an aptitude for genjutsu; you should teach him more about it from now on."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up and tapped his pipe, saying meaningfully, "That child's background is very pitiful; in fact, he is just like you."

"He is also..." Yuhi Kurenai was startled, suddenly recalling the scene six years ago when her father, Yuhi Shinku, had resolutely charged toward the Nine-Tails to protect the village and met his death with a smile. An inexplicable sorrow welled up in her heart.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "His parents both died in the Nine-Tails Incident while protecting the village. So, help this child grow up as quickly as possible."

"I understand, Lord Hokage." Yuhi Kurenai responded respectfully and exited the Hokage's office.

She pressed her hand against her chest, feeling a bitter ache in her heart.

As fellow sufferers, no one understood better than she did how painful it was to watch one's parents go to their deaths.

At that time, she had already been a teenager, while Chiya was only five or six years old.

At the same time, recalling the process of their battle, she realized in a daze that she might have overthought things.

Although this brat named Chiya had decent taijutsu, the techniques he possessed were, at most, the Three Body Technique.

The only reason he was able to defeat her was simply because she hadn't taken the battle seriously from the start.

However, that brat was truly detestable; he had actually confessed to her in public, kissed her hand, and teased her with his words multiple times.

Thinking of this, Yuhi Kurenai's pretty face couldn't help but flush red. Both shy and angry, she secretly vowed to herself: Damn brat, I'll definitely make you pay next time.

No sooner had Yuhi Kurenai left than an Anbu operative walked in.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Danzo has arrived." The Anbu ninja knelt on one knee and said respectfully.

"Let him in." Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but frown.

He had sent someone to notify Danzo several days ago.

The fact that it had dragged on until now clearly showed that he didn't hold him, the Hokage, in high regard.

"Lord Hokage... Lord Danzo, he seems unable to see you right now; he says he is waiting in the conference room." The Anbu ninja said, looking somewhat nervous.

"I see."

Despite his dissatisfaction with Danzo, considering his gentle and approachable image in the eyes of his subordinates, he suppressed his temper and stood up to head toward the fully enclosed conference room.

"Hiruzen, you're here." At this moment, Danzo's left hand had already been fitted with a prosthetic, and from the outside, one couldn't tell that anything had changed.

"Hmph." Sarutobi Hiruzen flicked his sleeve in annoyance and sat down. "Danzo, look at the mess you've made!"

"You already know?" Danzo's brow furrowed. Could it be that his failed attempt to gain an advantage had already been exposed?

"Danzo, you went too far this time." Sarutobi Hiruzen, regardless of the specifics, decided to press charges first.

"Too far?" Danzo gave a cold laugh. "How did I go too far? Everything I did was for the sake of the village."

"Ninjas are meant to sacrifice themselves."

"For the sake of the village, what does the sacrifice of a mere Uchiha Shisui matter?"

Danzo sat in his chair, locking eyes with Sarutobi Hiruzen, refusing to yield in the slightest.

"I know what you want to say—nothing more than that Shisui was an excellent ninja who inherited Kagami's will and carried the Will of Fire."

"But have you considered that once he harbors evil intentions, controls you or me, and then incites the Uchiha clan to launch a coup, Konoha will fall into an irredeemable situation?"

"The foundation laid by the First Hokage will be destroyed in an instant."

"As the Root of Konoha, it is my bounden duty to prevent disasters before they occur for the sake of the village."

Danzo spoke with resonant conviction.

By the end of his statement, he had stood up in a fit of agitation.

He was not intentionally trying to absolve himself; he genuinely believed that the power of the Uchiha clan needed to be restricted.

Or even that this unstable element, which posed a potential threat to Konoha, should be eradicated.

If not for this, he would not have lost his left arm, nor would he be in his current state—as if cursed, where any new limb he attempted to attach would immediately wither and die.

He was forced to rely on a prosthetic.

"Is this your justification for seizing his eyes?"

Danzo's words did not catch Sarutobi Hiruzen off guard.

Or rather, this was precisely the outcome he had expected.

But a reprimand was still necessary.

Otherwise, there would come a day when Danzo became too powerful to control, escalating his actions until he was riding roughshod over him, the 'strongest Hokage in history.'

However, as soon as those words were spoken, Danzo's expression froze. "You still don't know?"

"Know what?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, frowning.

"I did not obtain Shisui's eyes." As he spoke, Danzo pulled back his sleeve to reveal his prosthetic, recounting the entire affair of attempting to seize the Sharingan only to have the prize snatched away by someone else mid-process.

He even explained the inability to transplant new arms.

"Are you telling the truth?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned grave.

"Do you think I would sacrifice my own arm just to spin you a lie?" Danzo retorted irritably.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not refute him.

Indeed, although Danzo often had "a ninja must be willing to sacrifice themselves" on his lips, when it truly came down to it, he himself could not do it.

To put it bluntly, Danzo was a man even more afraid of death than he was.

At the very least, when Konoha truly reached the brink of life and death, if it were his turn, he would make the sacrifice.

He would never be a coward clinging to life.

This was the fundamental difference between him and Danzo.

Otherwise, he could never have inherited the position of Hokage from the Second Hokage.