Punishment

Bang!

A shudder.

Bang.

A shudder.

Bang.

A shudder.

Inside the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Root's leader Shimura Danzō, the Hokage's assistant Utatane Koharu, and the Hokage's assistant Mitokado Homura—the four top figures of the Hokage's faction—gathered around the crystal ball, watching the same scene replay in slow motion.

In the image, Suifeng's speed had been slowed several times over, and his movements had been slowed just as much. They watched him leisurely "walk" up to a Root shinobi and kick him hard between the legs, sending him flying. Then he "walked" over to another Root shinobi and kicked him in the crotch, too...

Every kick made the three men in the room shudder. By the time Suifeng had dealt with all the Root shinobi, the three men's faces had turned deathly pale.

"His speed seems slower than last time!"

After a long while, Mitokado Homura finally spoke. "Danzō, your men were awfully slow to react, weren't they?!"

"It wasn't that they were slow to react. They were caught in a genjutsu: the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!" Danzō muttered.

The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique deprived the opponent of sight, leaving them in darkness. It was a genjutsu that the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had excelled at, and it was recorded in the Scroll of Seals.

Since it was a genjutsu that only affected those Root shinobi, the image in the crystal ball had not been affected at all.

"What? The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique? Isn't that a forbidden jutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals? Hiruzen, you...!"

"The Root shinobi interfered with the Chunin Ninja Exams and broke the rules. I had to give an explanation, so I gave Suifeng a chance to study the Scroll of Seals. I didn't expect him to choose that genjutsu!" The Third Hokage sighed. "It seems he's practicing how to use the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique in conjunction with the Body Flicker Technique, which is why he was slower this time!"

"Hiruzen, you knew the Uchiha Clan was plotting something, yet you still let him study the Scroll of Seals. What exactly are you trying to do?!"

"What exactly am I trying to do? What are you trying to do?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared at Danzō. "I told you not to interfere with the Chunin Ninja Exams, but you did. I told you not to provoke Uchiha Suifeng, but you did. I told you to keep a low profile, but instead you had Root abduct Uchiha clan members in the streets of Konoha, and got caught in the act! And now you're asking me what I'm trying to do? Danzō, what exactly are you trying to do?!"

"Everything I've done has been for Konoha!" Danzō slammed his cane against the floor.

"Fine, everything you've done has been for Konoha, right? Then go talk to the Uchiha yourself. Go explain it to the other shinobi clans. Tell them you abducted people in the street for Konoha. Tell them your men were so useless they got caught red-handed while abducting people. Go on!"

"Hiruzen, now's not the time to let our tempers get the better of us!"

"Who has the time to argue with you? I finally managed to resolve the mess with the Chunin Ninja Exams, and now you've left me with another disaster to clean up. This is Konoha, not the Warring States Period. Danzō, can't you show a little restraint?!"

"The Uchiha Clan is too great a threat. Once Uchiha Suifeng grows up, he could become another Madara Uchiha. I had to take precautions early!"

"Take precautions? You think abducting a child from the Uchiha Clan will protect us from Uchiha Suifeng?!"

"Uchiha Obito may be young, but he awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan right away, which shows he has talent. He only lacks proper instruction. Leave him in my hands, and I'll train him into the finest tool in history. One day, he'll be a powerful weapon against the Uchiha, and a means of restraining Uchiha Suifeng!"

"Putting everything else aside, Obito is Suifeng's friend. How do you plan to restrain him?!"

"Hiruzen, you don't understand. They used to be friends, but that doesn't mean they still are. The girl named Rin has always been the object of Obito's secret affections, but now she's gotten together with Uchiha Suifeng. That's a huge blow to Obito. You know the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan is closely tied to their emotions, and that's why the Uchiha tend toward extremes. So...!"

"Shut up!!"

At this point, not only Hiruzen Sarutobi, but even Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura couldn't take listening to him anymore.

Damn it, they were discussing a serious matter, and he was going on about some melodramatic love triangle. Even if everything he'd observed was true, so what? The three people involved were only eight or nine years old—eight or nine! Even precocious young shinobi couldn't possibly be that precocious. They were just playing at being grown-ups. And Danzō had acted on the basis of this ridiculous excuse? What was wrong with his head?

"This matter ends here. I'll have your subordinates brought over, and you'll take Root to the battlefield to handle intelligence work, especially information on Hanzo in the Land of Rain and Sunagakure. From now until the war ends, Root is not to appear in Konoha!"

"Hiruzen, you...!"

Being barred from Konoha was undoubtedly a blow to Danzō. There were still many underhanded matters he needed to handle inside the village, along with many plans he needed to put into action.

"What, can't you understand me?!" The Third Hokage glared at Danzō and said coldly, "Don't forget, I'm the Hokage!"

"Hiruzen, you... Fine, I'll go to the battlefield. But don't say I didn't warn you: Uchiha Suifeng is a huge menace. If you don't deal with him early, one day you'll...!"

"I'll regret it!" Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off coldly. "Don't worry. By the time I regret it, you still won't be Hokage!"

Danzō swept out of the room again.

"Hiruzen, isn't this too harsh a punishment for Danzō?"

"Harsh? If I'm not harsher with him, he'll be doing his work right here in my Hokage's office!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said irritably. "Koharu, Homura, you two can explain Danzō's punishment to the village's shinobi clans. The war has already begun, after all, and Root's intelligence capabilities are something we can't do without. But you can assure them that I'll restrict Root's authority, and that nothing like this will ever happen again. As for the Uchiha, I'll explain things to them myself!"

"That's the only thing we can do." The two nodded.

After they left, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally sank into his chair, curling up as he stared fixedly at the crystal ball on his desk. The image had switched to the Uchiha Clan's training ground. Suifeng was practicing his Hand Seals with complete concentration, moving faster and faster until his hands were almost a blur.

"Why would a genius like him be born into the Uchiha Clan?"

That was what troubled him most. A genius like Suifeng had been born into the Uchiha Clan and was gradually growing stronger. He had no idea whether that was good or bad for Konoha. He gave a slight wave of his hand, and the crystal ball's image changed again. It showed another training ground in the Uchiha Clan's compound, where a boy a year or two younger than Suifeng was also practicing Hand Seals. His speed was nearly as fast as Suifeng's.

"Shisui, can I trust you?!"