In This Konoha, Who's in Charge, You or Me?

The next day, in the Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage frowned at the documents in his hands when a voice came from outside the door. "Lord Hokage, Hizashi Hyuga has arrived."

The Third Hokage put away the documents and nodded. "Let him in."

The door opened, and a calm-eyed, stern-faced man walked in. He asked respectfully, "Lord Hokage, you sent for me?"

The Third Hokage picked up his pipe and tapped it against the desk. Smiling, he asked, "Hizashi, since becoming a Jonin, you haven't served as the leader of a team of newly graduated ninja, have you?"

Hizashi nodded. "No."

The Third Hokage smiled. "You are recognized as a Taijutsu expert in the village. I want to entrust two youngsters following the Taijutsu path to you. What do you think?"

Hizashi was somewhat surprised. The village rarely appointed Jonin from major ninja clans to lead newly graduated Academy ninja. Why had they chosen him this time? There were quite a few Taijutsu experts in the village, weren't there?

Though puzzled, he did not ask why. He merely accepted the mission respectfully. "Yes, I will certainly complete the task."

The Third Hokage smiled. "One of those children is very interested in Acupoint Striking. You can give him some extra guidance."

"Acupoint Striking?" Hizashi was astonished. Without the Byakugan, how could an outsider possibly strike chakra points with the naked eye?

"Yes." Hizashi agreed solemnly. Lost in thought, he headed for the door and happened to encounter a man with bandages wrapped over his right eye walking in.

"Lord Danzo!"

Danzo nodded and walked up to the Third Hokage's desk. He said sternly, "Hiruzen, I heard Hidden Cloud Village has demanded that you hand over the culprit. That must never happen!"

"Hidden Cloud Village... the culprit..." Hizashi's heart jolted. Worried that he might hear something he should not, he quickened his pace and left.

The Third Hokage frowned slightly. He had originally wanted to remind Hizashi to be careful of Setsuna's strength, and to avoid personally stepping in when testing the team's abilities. But Hizashi had left too quickly for him to stop him. Besides, he did not particularly want Danzo to know too much about Setsuna.

Forget it. That child Setsuna should know his limits. The Third Hokage sighed inwardly and unhurriedly responded to Danzo's question. "The request from Hidden Cloud Village only just reached my hands, yet you already know about it. Old friend, your reach has grown rather long."

Danzo frowned slightly. "That isn't the point. The point is that we absolutely cannot hand him over. Otherwise, how will the outside world view Konoha?"

The Third Hokage shook his head. "Although the Second Shinobi World War ended many years ago, the local conflicts between Konoha and Hidden Cloud Village have never ceased. How could I possibly bow to an enemy?"

Danzo could not help sneering. "So what you mean is, if this were a time of peace, you would hand him over?"

The Third Hokage's tone remained calm. "You do not sit in my position, so naturally you can be tough without regard for the consequences. After all, if it sparks a war, you will not be the one shouldering the responsibility."

Danzo snorted. "In the end, Konoha is simply too weak now. If the First Hokage were still alive, would those bandits from Hidden Cloud Village dare threaten us like this?"

The Third Hokage smiled. "Given the First Hokage's personality, they might actually dare."

Danzo clenched his fist tightly. "That is why we should cultivate another ninja as powerful as the First Hokage, one who can be used by us."

Sensing the implication in Danzo's words, the Third Hokage frowned. "A powerhouse like the First Hokage cannot simply be cultivated."

"Why not?" Danzo said in a coaxing tone. "Don't we have the First Hokage's cells?"

The Third Hokage's expression instantly turned cold. "You want to restart that experiment? I will never agree to it. Too many volunteers died in that experiment. One such painful failure was more than enough!"

"A failure? It was not a complete failure." Danzo lowered his voice.

"What do you mean?" the Third Hokage asked, confused.

Danzo took a deep breath. He did not mention that he and Orochimaru had secretly restarted the experiment. Instead, he spoke vaguely. "There was actually one successful case back then. I kept that child by my side and trained him. He has now successfully mastered Wood Release!"

"He truly mastered Wood Release?" The Third Hokage was genuinely shocked this time. Could the immense power the First Hokage had once used to suppress the Tailed Beasts reappear in the Ninja World?

But he quickly noticed something was wrong. "Wait. The volunteers from that batch were all adult ninja, but you just said he was a child?"

Danzo bluffed, "He was born after his mother's death. One of the ninja volunteers back then was pregnant, though she did not know it. In any case, that is not the important part."

The Third Hokage asked suspiciously, "You concealed this for so long. Why tell me now? This is unlike you."

Danzo looked rather embarrassed. "Perhaps some deviation occurred during the experiment back then. That child's Wood Release does not possess the First Hokage's overwhelming might. Of course, it may also be because he is still young and cannot yet draw out Wood Release's true potential."

The Third Hokage was somewhat bewildered. In the Ninja World, Wood Release was synonymous with power. He could hardly imagine what weak Wood Release would be like. It could not possibly be some kind of real-estate Wood Release, could it? "So what are you saying?"

Danzo said gravely, "After thinking it over carefully, I believe it is most likely because his physique is not strong enough. According to the legends, the First Hokage could fight Madara Uchiha's Susanoo with his bare body."

The Third Hokage had somewhat guessed Danzo's purpose, and his voice turned cold. "You may as well speak plainly."

Danzo's voice was calm. "I heard the village has produced a Taijutsu genius with no talent for ninjutsu. Having no talent for ninjutsu means he will not be rejected by Wood Release, while a powerful physique means he may be able to bear the power of Wood Release. He is rare material for a Wood Release experiment. Perhaps through him, we can recreate the First Hokage's power and restore Konoha's glory."

"Enough!" The Third Hokage slapped the desk. "I will not pursue the matter of you privately concealing a Wood Release ninja, but do not even think about that child."

Danzo said coldly, "You should be able to sense it too. The clouds of war are already approaching. The Land of Fire occupies the most fertile territory in the Ninja World. Once war breaks out, we will inevitably become the target of all sides again. We may have to fight three enemies alone like in the last Shinobi World War, perhaps even four. If we cannot strengthen ourselves quickly, we may lose the war and lose our future. Your misplaced compassion will only bring greater losses to the village!"

The Third Hokage rebuked him harshly. "That child's parents already died for the village. If even their bloodline cannot continue, then what is the purpose of this village's existence?"

Danzo refused to yield an inch. "The purpose of the village is naturally the future of more people. Ninja are weapons of war. That is a ninja's fate. Besides, he may not even be in danger. Perhaps he will gain the strongest power in the Ninja World because of it."

Recalling the power he had seen yesterday, the Third Hokage shook his head slightly. "How do you know he cannot become the strongest in the Ninja World through his own efforts in the future?"

Danzo frowned. "Are you serious? A Taijutsu ninja?"

Seeing that the Third Hokage would not relent, Danzo added, "Hiruzen, are you truly going to stop me from inheriting our teacher's will?"

The Third Hokage sneered. "I do not recall our teacher ever passing such a will on to you."

Danzo said gravely, "Stop pretending to be confused. After serving as Hokage for so many years, you should have known long ago that our teacher conducted no fewer human experiments than I did."

The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment. "No matter what, our teacher never used the bodies of Konoha ninja for experiments."

"Really?" Danzo sneered. "Our teacher conducted quite a few experiments on Madara Uchiha's corpse. Madara Uchiha did betray the village, but the First Hokage never truly classified him as a rogue ninja."

The Third Hokage did not want to continue discussing the matter. "There is no need to say any more about the past. That is enough."

"You..." Danzo wanted to say more, but the Third Hokage cut him off directly. "I said this is my decision. Do not forget, you are merely the Hokage's adviser. I am the Hokage!"

Those words seemed to pierce through Danzo's defenses. His expression became extremely ugly. "Hmph. You will regret this!"