No matter what, the Anbu were an important part of Konoha's military strength. By convention, they were also a force directly under the Hokage's command. But things were different now. Although every clan in Konoha had seen its authority greatly reduced, the Hokage's authority was actually weaker than before.
From the Second Hokage to the current Third Hokage, after the efforts of two generations of Hokage, the major clans had in fact been stripped of more than half their power. Yet once that power fell into the hands of Konoha's upper ranks, people discovered that the Second and Third Hokage had made a mistake. That was right—previously, the clans had taken a great deal from Konoha's spoils of war, and in many matters, they enjoyed enormous privileges.
The result of this was class inequality. But at the very least, one thing was certain: every clan would fight for the Hokage who had given them such lives, and the Hokage's word was generally absolute.
But now, after power had been centralized in Konoha's upper ranks, the Hokage's strength had instead been constrained. Konoha's Council of Elders was one such product. The Anbu had also gradually split into several divisions, each answering to one of Konoha's various departments. Fewer and fewer of them answered directly to the Hokage, and some only served the Hokage because they had no choice but to obey.
Root was one of them. They answered directly to Danzo, which was undeniably an extremely awkward situation. Previously, if the Uchiha clan truly clashed with the Anbu, it was essentially equivalent to opposing the Hokage. And if the Uchiha yielded to the Anbu, it meant yielding to the Hokage.
But things were different now. If the Uchiha clan yielded to the Anbu, it meant they were yielding to Danzo. And