I'm the Hokage!

"Lord Hokage! Honored Elders! This is the full account of the battle between Uchiha Yan and Liuxia!"

Inside the Hokage's office, an Anbu member wearing an animal mask knelt respectfully on one knee, reporting the details of the incident to Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other members of the Council of Elders.

The future revered old Hokage was still in his prime: Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Shinobi Hero, sat there with a pipe clenched in his mouth, leisurely puffing away.

Only after the Anbu member finished his report did Hiruzen slowly exhale a cloud of smoke. He nodded to show his approval, then waved for the man to leave.

Once the Anbu member had gone, Hiruzen relaxed against his chair and swept his gaze across the other three people present—Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. Then he asked, "What do you all think about the clash between Uchiha Yan and Liuxia? Go ahead and tell me."

"Sarutobi! The Uchiha Clan has always been an extremely dangerous group. Just as Teacher Tobirama said, they're still that evil Uchiha Clan! So I believe we must tighten our surveillance of them once more. We can leave all of this to Root, but Root is under immense pressure right now, infiltrating other villages. We need more people. We still don't have enough manpower!"

At Third Hokage Hiruzen's words, Danzō immediately put forward the position he had always held: keep the Uchiha Clan under close watch, and increase Root's numbers once again.

After all, Root was the only power he truly held in his hands, and the solid backing that would one day ensure he could ascend to the Hokage's seat!

He had always believed that Shimura Danzō was destined to become one of Konoha's Hokage! Choosing the monkey as Hokage had been Teacher's mistake!

Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Danzō's familiar old argument and immediately felt a headache coming on.

As soon as Danzō finished speaking, Hiruzen quickly lifted his pipe and took a long drag. Then he said slowly, "Danzō! The Uchiha are part of our village! They're our comrades, fighting alongside us, not our enemies. The Uchiha Clan, too, has members who burn with the Will of Fire!"

At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet reached the stage where age had worn down his body and weakened his strength. Nor was this the difficult time that would come later, when the village had lost many of its fighters and the Fourth Hokage had tragically died.

He was now in the prime of his life, full of energy and at the peak of his strength.

Confident in his abilities, Hiruzen Sarutobi firmly believed that no matter what crises or challenges the village faced, he could protect it with his own formidable strength. What's more, the village was full of talent, with countless rising stars beginning to shine.

The three disciples he had carefully trained—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—had all begun to make their mark. Their strength could no longer be underestimated.

There were also elites from the great ninja clans, like Hatake Sakumo, who were beginning to distinguish themselves. And several members of the Council of Elders now possessed strength on Kage Level!

All of this reassured Hiruzen Sarutobi. With such solid strength behind him, he had the confidence to tolerate, and even forgive, the minor schemes of clans like the Uchiha.

Even if the Uchiha Clan rebelled, they could easily be subdued without harming the village's foundations!

"Hiruzen! We absolutely cannot relax our surveillance and control of the Uchiha Clan! As for that kid named Liuxia, he performed exceptionally well this time. In battle, I sensed the will of Root in him. I want you to entrust that child to me for training. I'll make him into an outstanding too—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cut Shimura Danzō off without hesitation. He shot up from his seat, his expression stern, and reprimanded Danzō in a harsh voice.

"Danzō! Enough! Have you forgotten the Will of Fire? Is Liuxia a descendant of the Senju Clan? He's not only one of our teacher's clan, but also a genius of Konoha, a young shoot beneath the light of the Fire! He's no tool for you to manipulate! If I handed him over to you, what would I say to Lady Mito? And let me say this again: the Uchiha Clan are our comrades! They're the Uchiha of our village, not our enemies!"

"But..."

Before Shimura Danzō could continue arguing, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly turned away and stood silently by the window. He took another deep drag from his pipe, his deep-set eyes fixed on Konoha beneath the night sky as smoke curled slowly from his lips.

"Danzō, has Mirror been gone so long that even you've forgotten the Will of Fire within the Uchiha Clan?"

His words rang through the room like a thunderclap. Not only Shimura Danzō, but also Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who had remained silent until then, were swept up in memories that felt both distant and as vivid as yesterday.

The man named Kagami Uchiha had once served as a personal guard to their teacher, the Second Tobirama Senju. He had fought alongside them, shared life and death with them, and helped resolve the village's missions and crises time and again.

Though he was an Uchiha, his heart had always been with the village. In the end, even Second Tobirama Senju had praised Kagami Uchiha's talent and Will of Fire, taking him into his guard unit and keeping him close to teach him personally!

Sadly, a brilliant talent had been taken from them too soon, and Kagami Uchiha had died young.

Had he lived, he surely could have helped the Uchiha Clan truly integrate into Konoha. At the very least, he could have greatly eased the conflict between the village and the clan, rather than leaving the Uchiha trapped in their current awkward position as a village within the village!

After a long silence, Danzō finally broke it. His voice heavy, he said, "Mirror was Mirror. No matter what, he was only one of a tiny handful. You should know perfectly well that the village can't afford the risks that would come with an Uchiha rebellion! One day, you'll regret this, Hiruzen!"

"I'm the Hokage! Don't forget your place, Danzō!"

At these words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze turned even colder. He stared at the old friend he had known for many years. The tension between them seemed ready to explode, and the room was thick with hostility.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura noticed their argument. After exchanging a glance, they decided to speak up and ease the tension.

Utatane Koharu said softly, "Hiruzen, Danzō isn't entirely wrong. The Uchiha Clan is full of too many uncertainties. They're dangerous, and that's something our teacher emphasized, too."

Mitokado Homura added, "That said, the young man named Liuxia really is an exceptionally rare talent."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement and said, "What's more remarkable is his unique perspective. 'A ruler must not raise an army out of anger, nor a general wage war out of spite.' It's rare for such a profound insight to come from a child. This child clearly has the extraordinary gift of seeing things through the eyes of a Kage!"