Hizashi: Poor Elder Danzo, Played Like a Fiddle by the Hokage

Early the next morning, within the Hyuga Clan compound, one of Konoha's great clans.

Clan head Hiashi stepped out of his room, ready to breathe in some fresh air in the courtyard, only to find his younger brother standing there in a daze, oblivious even as dew soaked through his clothes.

"Hiashi, were you looking for me?"

Hizashi looked up. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Brother, did you hear anything unusual last night?"

Hiashi paused, then asked, "You mean the explosion from East Tenth Street?"

Hizashi nodded. "Yes."

"Of course I heard it. I was worried enemies had infiltrated the village, so I hurried over to investigate. But I was told the area had been temporarily sealed off and that no information could be released. That was when I knew it wasn't an outside force. Some internal disturbance had likely occurred within Konoha."

As he spoke, Hiashi shook his head. "A great clan like ours absolutely cannot get involved in that sort of political whirlpool, so I came back immediately."

Seeing Hizashi's strange expression, Hiashi could not help asking, "Yesterday's incident had nothing to do with you, right?"

Hizashi hesitated, then shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that when I was leading my students yesterday, I learned from their personal information forms that one of them lived there."

Hiashi laughed. "It's only been one day. Since when did you become so sentimental?"

After Hiashi left, Hizashi finally let out a bitter sigh.

He really had let concern cloud his judgment. Last night, he had been unable to resist using his Byakugan to investigate the situation.

The Byakugan had a viewing range of one kilometer, and he had happened to see something he should not have seen.

For instance, Setsuna brutally torturing Elder Danzo right in front of the Hokage. It had scared him into shutting his eyes on the spot. He had wanted nothing more than to slap himself. Why had he carelessly activated his Byakugan?

He had tossed and turned all night, worried that ANBU agents would raid his home and interrogate him about whether he had been involved in last night's unrest.

Yet after staying awake all night, no ANBU came to arrest him. That only deepened his confusion. Could it be that the Hokage had seen through everything and knew he was uninvolved?

"Ah, the less people know, the happier they are," Hizashi sighed.

Just then, a masked shinobi suddenly appeared and said in an emotionless voice, "Hizashi Hyuga, Elder Danzo requests your presence."

"What did you say? Elder Danzo?" Hizashi asked in alarm.

The masked shinobi frowned slightly. Was this level of mental fortitude worthy of a Jonin? As expected of a well-connected member of a great clan.

His voice turned icy. "Do you intend to defy orders?"

"No, of course not." Hizashi shook his head. Although countless tangled thoughts filled his mind, he decided to follow first. Perhaps the Hokage had issued the summons under Danzo's name to avoid causing panic.

Soon, Hizashi met Danzo in a dark room.

"It really is Elder Danzo. What is going on?" A storm of shock rose in Hizashi's heart. Had everything he seen yesterday been an illusion?

Danzo wore a solemn expression. "Jonin Hizashi, I have a mission for you."

Suppressing his doubts, Hizashi said respectfully, "Please give your orders, sir."

Danzo tapped his fingers against the table and spoke slowly. "An accident occurred in the East Tenth Street district yesterday. The streets were damaged and need repairs. This mission is not particularly difficult, but it will take considerable time. The village has decided to assign your rookie teams to carry it out."

Hizashi was utterly baffled. He had been summoned so early in the morning for this?

Seeing the confusion in Hizashi's eyes, Danzo continued, "Although this is merely a joint D-rank mission, considering the funds needed for repairs, the village has allocated eight hundred thousand ryo as the mission reward. Do not slack off."

The corners of Danzo's mouth rose slightly, and he looked rather pleased with himself.

In a sense, this was his silent protest.

Setsuna had made him pay for the street repairs, so he had specifically assigned the rookie teams to take the mission, making Setsuna repair the streets himself. Danzo was also quite confident, since he was paying for the mission out of his own pocket. The reward was extremely generous while the mission itself was simple. It was essentially an A-rank reward for D-rank difficulty—an attractive mission to any team.

Although eight hundred thousand ryo still pained him greatly, it was worth it as long as he could vent a little of his dissatisfaction.

Even if that brat comes looking for trouble, I can say I was compensating him this way. Danzo thought smugly, never expecting Hizashi before him to be utterly stunned.

Could the Danzo before me be a puppet created by the Hokage through some method? Is he using this excuse to funnel money to Setsuna, or perhaps pave the way for Asuma? Were the scenes I saw last night actually part of the Hokage's scheme? Sweat poured down Hizashi's face as he felt he might have glimpsed Konoha's dark side.

Under normal circumstances, D-rank missions paid anywhere from five thousand to fifty thousand ryo, while A-rank missions paid from one hundred and fifty thousand to one million ryo. Even among A-rank missions, a reward of eight hundred thousand ryo was considered very high.

Elder Danzo had not kept such a good mission for his own people. Instead, he had assigned it to the academy faction, which was closer to the Hokage. Moreover, Elder Danzo, who was always deeply calculating and rarely smiled, was even showing an inexplicable smile. No matter how he looked at it, something was clearly wrong.

Don't think too much. I don't know anything. Cold sweat seeped down Hizashi's back as he forced himself to calm down. He had never had much contact with Elder Danzo. There was no need to put himself and his clan in danger just to expose the darkness.

When Hizashi did not respond, Danzo frowned slightly. "Jonin Hizashi, do you have any objections?"

Hizashi jolted awake and quickly said, "No objections. I will definitely complete the mission."

Danzo nodded. "Good. Go carry out your orders now."

As Hizashi walked out of the underground room, he sighed inwardly. He had once heard that Elder Danzo was called the Darkness of the Ninja World, a formidable figure feared even by the Kage of other villages. Yet he had ended up being played like a fiddle by the Hokage.

He could not help marveling inwardly, As expected of the Third Hokage, who turned the tide in the village's darkest hour and led it to victory in two Shinobi World Wars. Elder Danzo is nowhere near the Hokage's level.

Meanwhile, in Konoha's mission hall, Setsuna had gathered with his two teammates.

Might Guy rubbed his chin in confusion. "Didn't Teacher Hizashi say we would meet in the mission hall at eight? Could he have meant eight tonight?"

"There won't be any missions at eight tonight." Setsuna shook his head slightly. "He was probably delayed by something."

He did not connect it to Danzo. Danzo was fierce in appearance but timid at heart, full of schemes yet lacking resolve. He probably would not dare provoke him again anytime soon.

Shizune took a scroll from her pouch and handed it to Setsuna. "Senior, Lady Tsunade asked me to bring this to you, but it must not be shared with anyone else. Once you memorize it, I need to take it back."

"Of course." Setsuna nodded. The Yin Seal was an S-rank secret technique, and the consequences of it spreading would be no small matter.

In any case, with his memory, memorizing the contents of the scroll would not be difficult.