Two Equal Auras

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Yunyan again. At this moment, he seemed like a pitiful old man who had spent his entire life toiling for Konoha.

"Yunyan, Root has a reason to exist. Danzō... also has a reason to exist.

"There are many classified matters I cannot conveniently disclose to you, but those matters require Danzō. Only Danzō can handle them properly.

"If Danzō is completely removed from office and stripped of all authority, problems will arise within Konoha.

"This matter... I will not permit it."

By the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone had grown somewhat forceful.

Forceful? As if he was the only one who could be.

Hearing this, Yunyan's expression immediately turned stern, his aura beginning to stir beneath the surface.

Staring at Hiruzen Sarutobi, Yunyan spoke coldly, "So, Lord Hokage does not intend to punish Danzō? I am simply supposed to endure these two assassination attempts?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "That is not the case. It is simply that Danzō cannot be dealt with in the manner you proposed."

Yunyan sneered. "My proposed punishment was already quite fair. Lord Hokage, you are being far too biased toward Danzō."

"How is that bias? It is merely that Danzō's position and role are exceptionally special."

"So, in order to keep Danzō, Lord Hokage can sacrifice a minor figure like me? You can disregard the thoughts of minor figures like us?"

"I never said that, Yunyan. Do not put words in my mouth."

"But isn't that exactly what you are doing, Lord Hokage? Keeping the peace at all costs, turning major matters into minor ones and minor ones into nothing."

"That is not—"

"Lord Hokage! How many times has this sort of thing happened before? How many people have you forced into compromise with this approach? But I will not compromise!"

Yunyan and Hiruzen Sarutobi traded words back and forth, their speech quickening by the moment. In the end, their voices began to rise, and their auras turned increasingly hostile. It had reached the point of a full-blown argument!

Seeing that they were about to tear all pretenses apart, Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened. He stared coldly at Yunyan.

"Yunyan, you are being presumptuous.

"Whatever the case, I am still the Hokage. Please show me some respect."

Yunyan burst into laughter, his expression full of disdain. "Sorry, but this is not the first day I have been presumptuous. You did not just discover that, did you?

"Besides, respect is mutual. Only if you respect me will I respect you, no?

"And there is something else you need to understand. What I respect is the position of Hokage, not you as a person."

In a sense, those words truly enraged Hiruzen Sarutobi!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened sharply. He shot to his feet, and a terrifying Kage-level aura surged toward Yunyan without restraint!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had run out of options. He intended to use his status and strength to suppress Yunyan and force him to yield.

Unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had miscalculated.

Faced with the crushing aura, Yunyan did not retreat even half a step. His body did not even tremble. He remained standing as steady as ever!

His eyes narrowed slightly as he released a Kage-level aura of his own. It swept toward Hiruzen Sarutobi like a vast tide, confronting his aura head-on!

To be honest, Yunyan displaying a Kage-level aura was certainly shocking, but not entirely unexpected.

The signs from before had all indicated that Yunyan's strength was unfathomable. It was highly likely that he had reached the Kage level.

This time, he had merely revealed it completely.

Although they had been mentally prepared, Kakashi and the hidden ANBU around them were still utterly stunned when they truly saw Yunyan release a Kage-level aura!

Uchiha Yunyan was a Kage-level powerhouse! Kage-level!

This was the Kage level! Countless ninja yearned for such power, yet there were not many people of this caliber in the entire ninja world. They stood at the absolute peak of the ninja world!

And now, Uchiha Yunyan was one of those at its peak.

Compared to Kakashi and the ANBU, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no less shocked.

That was undoubtedly a Kage-level aura!

And undoubtedly Kage-level strength!

This kid... had really reached this level.

Clearly sensing Yunyan's aura standing on equal footing with his own, Hiruzen Sarutobi's emotions became extremely complicated.

Along with that complexity came a trace of panic.

At this moment, their auras were clashing. With even the slightest misstep, they might truly begin fighting!

To be honest, Hiruzen Sarutobi had unleashed his aura only to frighten Yunyan. He had wanted to make Yunyan submit through strength and position.

Instead, he had miscalculated. Yunyan was not afraid of him at all and could confront him evenly.

What now? Were they really going to tear all pretenses apart and truly fight!?

What kind of joke was that? How could they really fight here, over something like this? If they did, how would they clean up afterward? How would they explain it to the other ninja? Would Konoha fall into unrest because of it? Would the Uchiha Clan rebel outright? Would the other clans develop ulterior motives?

That was what it meant for one small move to affect the entire situation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had sat in this position for too many years. His ambition and willingness to risk everything had long since faded. Looking before and after had become his instinct, and he clearly did not have the courage to stake everything on a fight.

The old man did not have it, but Yunyan did.

More than courage, Yunyan even felt somewhat eager to try.

Though he had restrained his aura, merely keeping it equal to Hiruzen Sarutobi's rather than directly overwhelming it.

Though he was still concealing a considerable portion of his strength, and though he felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi was likely no match for him.

In the end, though, they would only know after fighting.

The opponents Yunyan had dealt with before were all insignificant fodder. He had never faced a true Kage-level opponent.

Now that the two sides were on the verge of tearing all pretenses apart, taking this chance to enjoy a Kage-level battle and gain some combat experience did not seem so bad...

Thinking this, Yunyan smiled. He even looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi before him with some impatience.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi?

The moment he saw Yunyan's smile, his heart skipped a beat!

Damn it! I forgot this kid is a complete loose cannon!

Maybe this kid really does want to fight me.

It would not be normal for anyone else, but for this kid... it was entirely possible!

No, no. Absolutely not. They absolutely could not fight. Once they started, there would be no way to contain it.

It would be fine if he won, but if he lost... what happened afterward would be unimaginable!

For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank again and again. He understood that the situation had slipped beyond his control, and this matter had to be resolved.

Thus, however helpless and stifled he felt, Hiruzen Sarutobi still took the initiative to withdraw his aura.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi back down, Yunyan felt somewhat regretful.

However, since the other party had already done this, it was not a good time to tear all pretenses apart and fight. Yunyan could not press too hard, so he withdrew his aura as well.

The Kage-level auras of both sides gradually receded, and the tense, drawn-bow atmosphere in the office slowly eased.

It was as though the scene that had nearly erupted into a battle moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.

Seeing this, Kakashi, standing nearby, finally let out a breath of relief. He discreetly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Only heaven knew how nervous Kakashi had been just now. If they had truly started fighting, he had no idea what he would have done.

However...

After wiping away his cold sweat, Kakashi could not help looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi as he sat down again.

The Hokage had actually been the one to rein in his aura first. In this regard, the Hokage had taken the initiative to yield.

It gave Kakashi a profound realization. He finally understood... the Third Hokage... had grown old.

Setting Kakashi's thoughts aside for now, let us return to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Yunyan.

No matter what, Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat afraid now. This kid was ready to throw down at the slightest disagreement, and he truly could not handle that.

Since they could not fight, they could only negotiate—and negotiate on Yunyan's terms.

Yet he could not punish Danzō, while Yunyan's demand was precisely to punish Danzō. This contradiction seemed impossible to resolve.

What was he supposed to do?

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not spent all those years as Hokage for nothing, nor had he played politics for all those years in vain.

Though the contradiction could not be resolved, it could be eased.

After taking several more puffs from his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Yunyan and finally offered the best solution he could think of.

"Yunyan, I know you have suffered an injustice, and I know that Danzō and Root have committed grave wrongs. But Danzō truly cannot be moved lightly.

"To show my sincerity, and to satisfy you, I intend to give you sufficient compensation.

"After the compensation, let this matter pass. How about it?"

Yunyan listened expressionlessly to Hiruzen Sarutobi's proposed solution.

Though his face revealed neither joy nor anger, Yunyan was already cheering inwardly.

Good! This is exactly what I wanted! Compensation!