Three days later, Danzo returned to Konoha with his covert Root operatives.
In the Hokage Building, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, head bowed as he wrote official documents.
With his retirement approaching, Hiruzen hadn't slowed down. If anything, he was busier than ever.
Just then, a familiar set of footsteps approached. Hearing them, Hiruzen knew his old friend had returned.
Sure enough, as the footsteps drew closer, Danzo appeared in the office doorway.
"Why have you still not signed a ceasefire and peace treaty with Sunagakure?" Hiruzen demanded, his expression stern. "It's been several months. What have you been doing in the Land of Rain all this time?"
"Hiruzen, the situation has changed." Danzo's expression remained composed, without a trace of panic. "It's not that I don't want to sign a peace treaty with Iwagakure. Someone has been interfering, sabotaging our relationship with them and trying to provoke us into continuing the war."
"What do you mean?" Hiruzen frowned, took a puff from his pipe, and asked, "Is Hanzo sabotaging our peace negotiations with Iwagakure?"
Danzo didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked another question. "Hiruzen, have you heard about a new organization that recently appeared in the Land of Rain?"
"A new organization?" Hiruzen looked at Danzo in confusion.
New organizations in a place like the Land of Rain weren't enough to attract Hiruzen's attention. As Hokage, with the war nearing its end, he had far too many matters to attend to.
A new organization in some small country wasn't important enough to make it onto the Hokage's desk.
"An organization that preaches mutual understanding between people, advocates replacing war with dialogue, and believes that true peace can be achieved once people understand one another." Danzo briefly outlined the Akatsuki's ideals.
Hiruzen frowned. Why did that sound so familiar? Wasn't it just Jiraiya's philosophy?
"Those young people may be a little naïve, but their intentions are good." Hiruzen nodded, then asked, puzzled, "Their ideals are admirable. They might even bring some change to the Land of Rain. Is there a problem with this organization?"
"That's only a façade. They appear respectable on the surface, but in reality they're up to no good." Danzo sneered. "Hiruzen, as Hokage, surely you understand how this works."
Hiruzen's expression turned cold. "What have they done?"
"The organization called Akatsuki has been disguising its members as ninjas from the various villages and going on killing and looting sprees throughout the Land of Rain. They've also attacked ninjas from those villages. What do you think their goal is?" Danzo's expression was icy, his gaze frigid as he said emphatically, "They don't want the Five Great Nations to make peace!"
"What about Hanzo? What's he doing? Why isn't he dealing with an organization like this in his own country?" Hiruzen asked gravely.
"Hanzo was defeated," Danzo said casually.
Those offhand words startled Hiruzen. He stared at Danzo in disbelief. "Hanzo was defeated? Is the Akatsuki really that powerful?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes, his expression grave. "That's right. I saw it with my own eyes."
"My Root operatives lost three squads in the process. It was a heavy blow," Danzo said solemnly.
"How is Hanzo now?" Hiruzen pressed.
"I don't know the specifics. I only know that Hanzo wasn't seriously injured." Danzo shook his head, then added after a moment's thought, "Still, I imagine he can hold out for a while. He was once hailed as a Demigod, after all."
Watching Hiruzen sink into thought, Danzo continued, "The situation in the Land of Rain is now treacherous. We can't afford to let our guard down against this organization called Akatsuki. It has great ambitions."
"How much do you know about the Akatsuki?" Hiruzen asked, looking at Danzo.
"Almost nothing." Danzo shook his head.
"Almost nothing..." Hiruzen irritably took another puff from his pipe.
"Hiruzen." Danzo looked at him and spoke gravely. "We can't just leave such a dangerous organization alone. Hanzo may be old, but he's no pushover. Even if we can't destroy this organization, we should at least learn more about it."
"Isn't this exactly the sort of thing your Root excels at?" Hiruzen looked at Danzo. "Now's the time for your Root to prove its worth!"
"Hiruzen, don't you think the Uchiha Clan has been gaining too much momentum lately?" Danzo didn't respond to that. Instead, he brought up the Uchiha Clan.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"
"First there was Uchiha Fugaku, then Uchiha Shisui, and now Uchiha Akira has appeared. I hear Fugaku's son, Uchiha Itachi, is a rare talent too. He even went to the battlefield with his father before starting school. Don't you think the Uchiha Clan is flourishing a little too much?"
Danzo spoke meaningfully. "By contrast, all we have is the Yellow Flash. The Sannin are from the older generation, and it seems no promising young talents have emerged!"
"The Uchiha Clan has produced quite a few geniuses, but that's a good thing for Konoha," Hiruzen replied calmly. "Shisui is Kagami's descendant. Unlike the other Uchiha, he's a Konoha Ninja who possesses the Will of Fire."
"I've observed Uchiha Itachi. He's a child with a deep Hokage mindset, and that's a good thing for us," Hiruzen continued.
"As for Uchiha Akira..." Hiruzen tapped the desk absently as he pondered. "He's different from the other Uchiha. I can't quite read what he's thinking..."
He said nothing about Uchiha Fugaku. They all knew Fugaku's personality; indecisiveness described him perfectly.
"With Minato around, no demons or monsters will dare show their faces!" Hiruzen declared confidently.
"Hmph." Danzo sneered. "Minato Namikaze is very close to the Uchiha Clan. Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto are very close, too. You'd better remind him to keep his distance."
Hiruzen raised his eyelids and replied evenly, "Minato knows to be careful. I don't need to remind him. Instead, let's think about who to send to the Land of Rain to gather information on that organization."
"Who else? Someone from the Uchiha Clan, of course. Uchiha ninjas are highly capable, making them the ideal candidates to gather intelligence in the Land of Rain right now," Danzo said mildly.
"The Uchiha..." Hiruzen slowly nodded. "That's an idea."
"I recommend recalling Uchiha Shisui from the front line immediately and sending him and Uchiha Akira into the Land of Rain to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki," Danzo said with a solemn expression.
"No." Hiruzen shook his head. "Shisui is too young. This mission requires experienced ninjas. His strength is up to the task, but he lacks experience. We can't send him."
He glanced at Danzo, then continued, "I've already decided that when Shisui returns, I'll bring him into my Anbu so he can experience the Will of Fire firsthand."
"Then send Uchiha Akira. I hear he drove off the Six-Tails single-handedly. His strength is no less than Hanzo's current level," Danzo said.
As far as he was concerned, getting rid of an unstable element within the Uchiha Clan would be a good thing, too.
"Very well." Hiruzen nodded. "Uchiha Akira is powerful. He's just the right person to investigate the Land of Rain."
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