Warning

Hatake Sakumo continued, "Let me explain this matter to you first."

"So that no one can turn the tables and claim that Root's surveillance of Ninja Academy students was an attack on fellow villagers by me."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened.

Danzo, again.

He had already made it perfectly clear that Fang Xu would not enter Root.

The Ninja Academy was not a place for Root to extend its reach either. He had not expected Danzo to yield on the surface, only to secretly send people to monitor him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pipe, then heavily set it back down.

"I will handle this matter personally."

Hatake Sakumo looked at him.

"Lord Hokage, Fang Xu is only six years old. He has talent, and he is willing to work hard."

"But what he needs most right now is to grow up peacefully, not to be watched by Root."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

"I understand."

"Fang Xu is a disciple you value, and a genius I value as well."

"He is Konoha's future."

"No one may interfere with his growth."

Hatake Sakumo's expression eased somewhat upon hearing those words.

"With those words from you, Lord Hokage, I can rest easy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said solemnly, "I will warn Danzo. Root will not monitor Fang Xu again."

Hatake Sakumo nodded.

"Then I will take my leave."

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched him leave the office.

The window closed once more, leaving only the smell of tobacco from the pipe in the room.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, his expression even darker than before.

A moment later, he spoke.

"Someone."

An Anbu figure appeared soundlessly and dropped to one knee.

"Third Lord."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was icy.

"Go to the Root Underground Base and summon Shimura Danzō to see me immediately."

The Anbu lowered his head.

"Yes."

Having received his orders, the Anbu's figure flickered as he hurried toward Root's underground base.

The Root Underground Base was dimly lit, its walls cold.

Three Root ninja knelt on one knee beneath the steps, all of them injured.

Takuma, the leader, had half his face badly swollen, with dried blood still at the corner of his mouth. He clutched his broken mask in his hand and did not dare raise his head.

Danzo sat in the seat of honor, his cane laid across his knees, his expression terrifyingly grim.

"Trash."

At those two words, the three Root ninja lowered their heads even further.

Danzo looked at them coldly.

"I told you to monitor a Ninja Academy student, not to lure Hatake Sakumo out."

"You gathered little information on Fang Xu, yet let the White Fang seize evidence against you and make a scene directly in the Hokage Office."

"You have utterly disgraced Root."

Takuma said quietly, "This subordinate has failed. Please punish me, Lord Danzo."

Danzo's cane struck the ground heavily.

Thud!

The sound echoed through the underground base.

"Punishment is inevitable."

"Follow Root's rules and collect your punishment yourselves."

"Remember, there will not be a next time."

Takuma immediately lowered his head.

"Yes."

Danzo's gaze swept across the three of them, and his voice grew colder.

"Hatake Sakumo is no ordinary Jonin. He survived until today not because of the title of Konoha hero."

"If you let him catch your tail again, you need not come back."

The three answered in unison, "Yes!"

Just then, a Root ninja hurried inside.

"Lord Danzo, Anbu directly under the Hokage have arrived."

Danzo's expression turned even uglier.

"Let him in."

A moment later, an Anbu wearing a beast-faced mask entered the base and dropped to one knee.

"Lord Danzo."

"The Hokage has ordered you to proceed to the Hokage Office immediately."

Danzo stared at him.

"Hiruzen is in such a hurry?"

The Anbu lowered his head, his tone unchanged.

"The Hokage said to proceed immediately."

Danzo's fingers tightened around his cane. Immediately, indeed.

Hatake Sakumo had just slapped him in the face, and Hiruzen's Anbu had already pursued him to the Root base.

This was a summons, and perhaps also a warning.

Danzo rose to his feet and swept his gaze over the three Root ninja kneeling on the ground.

"Get lost and collect your punishment."

"Yes!"

The three Root ninja did not dare linger and quickly withdrew.

Leaning on his cane, Danzo walked outside, every step suppressing his fury.

Hokage Building.

Outside the office, two Anbu stood guard at the door.

The moment Danzo stepped into the office, the door shut behind him.

Soon, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice, suppressing his anger, came from within.

"Danzo, I warned you not to touch Fang Xu."

Danzo's face was cold.

"I merely sent people to monitor him."

"Monitor?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand against the desk.

"Your people hid near the Hatake Residence and Fang Xu's home, and Sakumo caught them red-handed."

"You call that monitoring?"

"Do you really think I cannot see through it?"

Danzo's cane struck the floor once.

"Fang Xu's identity is special."

"A Senju branch family member, gifted in Lightning Release, with aptitude for Kendo."

"Hatake Sakumo has taken such a child as his disciple. Are you truly not worried in the slightest?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze turned cold.

"Danzo, do not dress your selfish ambitions up as the village's needs."

"I am not unaware of how many things Root has done over the years."

"I tolerate you because Konoha has matters in the shadows that someone must handle."

"But that does not mean you may overstep me and extend your hand toward the Ninja Academy and the village's children."

Danzo's expression darkened.

"Hiruzen, you are too naive."

"War is coming. The village needs blades that can truly be used."

"Feelings, teachers, classmates—those things will only slow Fang Xu's growth."

"Give him to Root, and he can mature faster."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him and said word by word, "Fang Xu is not your blade."

"He is the orphan of a Konoha ninja and Sakumo's disciple."

"He is also a young man I value."

Danzo sneered.

"The young man you value—who he will stand beside in the end is not certain."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly rose.

"Enough!"

Outside the office, the two Anbu lowered their heads and did not dare make the slightest sound.

Inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood behind his desk, his entire presence bearing down completely.

"Danzo, I saw through your little thoughts long ago."

"You have always believed that the Second Hokage should not have chosen me, that the position of Hokage should have belonged to you."

"So whenever you see anyone beyond your control, you become uneasy."

"Sakumo is like that, and Fang Xu is as well."

Danzo's expression became utterly unsightly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not stop.

"But remember this."

"Konoha's Hokage is me."

"Root exists because I permit it to."

"If you overstep your authority again and secretly lay a hand on Fang Xu, Kakashi, or any child in the Ninja Academy, I will revoke your authority over Root."

Danzo's pupils contracted slightly. Those words carried more weight than any reprimand.

Root was the most important power in his hands.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually laid out that bottom line before him.

Danzo gritted his teeth.

"Hiruzen, I am considering this for your sake."

"Fang Xu's talent is too great, and Hatake Sakumo has taken him away."

"If Sakumo brainwashes him and he stands against you in the future, then you will regret it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly, "Sakumo is Konoha's hero, not an enemy."

"Fang Xu is Konoha's child, not a tool."

"This matter ends here."

Danzo felt as though his chest were tightly blocked.

He still wanted to say more, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude left no room for negotiation.