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

The next morning, within the Hyuga Clan estate, one of Konoha's great noble families.

Clan head Hiashi walked out of his room, preparing to get some fresh air in the courtyard, when he found his younger brother standing there in a daze, completely unaware that the dew had soaked through his clothes.

"Hiashi, did you come looking for me?"

Hizashi raised his head and, after hesitating for a moment, 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 that foreign enemies had invaded, so I rushed over to investigate. But I was told the area had been temporarily sealed off, and even news of it was forbidden from spreading. That was when I realized it wasn't an outside force. Something had probably happened within Konoha itself."

Hiashi shook his head as he spoke. "A great clan like ours must never get involved in this kind of political vortex, so I came back immediately."

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

Hizashi hesitated before shaking his head. "No. It's just that when I was leading my students yesterday, I learned from their information forms that one of them lived there."

Hiashi was briefly stunned, then laughed. "It's only been one day. Since when did I not know you were 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 never should have seen.

For example, Setsuna brutally killing Elder Danzo right in front of the Hokage. It had frightened him so badly that he shut his eyes on the spot, wishing he could slap himself. Why had he opened his Byakugan for no reason?

He had tossed and turned all night, worried that ANBU agents would suddenly come to investigate him and interrogate him over whether he was connected to last night's unrest.

Yet after an entire sleepless night, no ANBU had come to arrest him. That left him deeply puzzled. Could it be that the Hokage had seen through everything and knew he was uninvolved?

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

Just then, a masked ninja suddenly appeared and said in an emotionless voice, "Hizashi Hyuga, Elder Danzo summons you."

"What? Elder Danzo?" Hizashi asked in terror.

The masked ninja frowned slightly. This level of mental fortitude, and he was worthy of being a Jonin? As expected of a well-connected scion from a great clan.

His voice turned cold. "Are you planning to defy orders?"

"No, I'm not." Hizashi shook his head. Though countless thoughts tangled in his mind, he decided to follow the man first. Perhaps the Hokage had issued the order under Danzo's name to avoid causing panic.

Before long, Hizashi met Danzo in a dark room.

"It really is Elder Danzo. What is going on?" A storm raged in Hizashi's heart. Could everything he had seen yesterday have been an illusion?

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

Hizashi suppressed his doubts and respectfully said, "Please give your instructions, sir."

Danzo tapped his fingers on the table and spoke slowly. "An accident occurred on East Tenth Street yesterday. The street was destroyed and needs repairs. This mission is not particularly difficult, but it will take considerable time. The village has decided to assign it to your rookie teams."

Hizashi was utterly confused. He had been summoned early in the morning just for this?

Seeing the confusion in Hizashi's eyes, Danzo added, "Although this is only 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 lifted slightly, looking rather pleased with himself.

In a sense, this was his silent protest.

Setsuna had made him pay to repair the street, so he specifically arranged for rookie teams to take the mission, making Setsuna repair it himself. Danzo was confident, too, because he was paying for the mission out of his own pocket. The reward was extremely generous, while the work itself was simple. It was practically A-rank pay for D-rank difficulty. Any team would consider it a highly sought-after mission.

Although eight hundred thousand ryo pained him as well, it was worth it as long as he could vent even a little of his resentment.

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 shocked.

Could Lord Danzo in front of 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 Sarutobi? 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.

Normally, D-rank missions paid anywhere from five thousand to fifty thousand ryo, while A-rank missions paid from one hundred fifty thousand to one million ryo. A reward of eight hundred thousand ryo was high even among A-rank missions.

Not only had Elder Danzo failed to reserve such a good mission for his own people, he had instead assigned it to the academy faction, which was closer to the Hokage. Moreover, Elder Danzo—normally so deeply calculating and unsmiling—was even showing an inexplicable smile. No matter how one 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 no dealings with Elder Danzo, so there was no need to put himself and his clan in danger just to expose darkness.

When Hizashi did not answer, 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 the order now."

As Hizashi left the underground chamber, he sighed inwardly. He had heard that Elder Danzo was known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, a powerful figure feared even by the Kage of other villages. Yet in the end, he was being played like a fiddle by the Hokage.

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

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

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

"What missions would there be at eight in the evening?" Setsuna shook his head slightly. "He was probably delayed by something."

He had not connected it to Danzo. Danzo was outwardly fierce but inwardly timid, full of schemes but lacking decisiveness. He probably did not have the nerve to 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 cannot be passed on to others. Once you memorize it, I need to take it back."

"Of course." Setsuna nodded. The Yin Seal was an S-rank secret ninjutsu, and the consequences of it spreading would not be minor.

With his memory, memorizing the contents of the scroll would not be difficult.