A moment later, Danzo turned around.
When he reached the door, he stopped, his voice grim.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
The door slid open, and Danzo left with his cane.
Outside the Hokage Building, the night breeze brushed his face, but he could not suppress the fire inside him.
Again. It was like this every time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in the light, reprimanding him in the name of the Hokage.
While he could only stand in the shadows.
Danzo descended the steps, and the scene from all those years ago surfaced in his mind again.
The Second Hokage had been pursued by the Hidden Cloud's Kinkaku and Ginkaku unit, leaving them all trapped in a deadly situation.
They had needed a decoy.
At that moment, he had been just a step too slow. Just one step.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had stepped forward first.
Then their teacher had chosen Hiruzen, and the Hokage Position had fallen into Hiruzen's hands as well.
Danzo's fingers tightened around his cane.
He had never accepted it. In resolve, he was no worse than Hiruzen. In methods, he was more decisive than Hiruzen. When it came to shouldering the darkness, he was better suited to that seat than anyone.
Yet all anyone saw was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage standing in the sunlight.
Why?
Danzo stopped in the shadows, his expression growing colder by the moment.
He had failed to get Fang Xu this time. Instead, he had given Hatake Sakumo an opportunity, forcing Hiruzen to warn him to his face.
He would remember this debt, especially Hatake Sakumo's part in it. White Fang's reputation was already high enough.
Now he had Fang Xu as a disciple, too.
If this was not dealt with soon, it would only become more troublesome in the future.
Danzo raised his head and looked toward the distant Hatake Residence, his killing intent growing stronger.
"Hatake Sakumo, you're in the way."
He turned and disappeared into the darkness. He had to speed up his plans.
Everyone standing between him and the Hokage Position had to be eliminated.
The backyard of the Hatake Residence.
Fang Xu and Kakashi were still in the training ground.
Hatake Sakumo's Shadow Clone stood beneath the veranda, never having left.
Before long, faint footsteps sounded outside the yard. The real Hatake Sakumo had returned.
The Shadow Clone glanced at him and dispelled with a pop.
As its memories flowed back, Hatake Sakumo's expression barely changed. He simply looked at Fang Xu.
"I've confirmed it. They were indeed from Root."
Fang Xu was not surprised.
"Danzo?"
Hatake Sakumo nodded.
"Yes."
"I've injured those three Root ninja, and I went to Lord Hokage to explain the situation. Root won't dare harass you again for a while."
Fang Xu's suspicions were fully confirmed. It really was Danzo.
That scheming old bastard has already set his sights on me. I'm still too weak to take him on directly.
But I'll remember this debt. Once I'm strong enough, I'll pay him back sooner or later.
Fang Xu bowed solemnly to Hatake Sakumo.
"Thank you for tonight, Teacher."
"If you hadn't stepped in, with Root watching me, who knows when something might have happened."
Hatake Sakumo reached out to steady him.
"You're my disciple. It's only right for a teacher to protect his disciple."
Kakashi stood nearby, his expression more serious than usual.
"Would Root really go after Ninja Academy students?"
Hatake Sakumo looked at him.
"That's why I told you to be careful. Don't let your guard down just because they're Konoha ninja too."
He looked back at Fang Xu, his tone softening a little.
"But you don't need to be too nervous."
"With me here, and Lord Hokage here, and Lady Tsunade recognizing you as well, Danzo won't dare move against you openly, whatever ideas he may have."
Fang Xu nodded.
"I understand."
Looking at him, Hatake Sakumo suddenly studied him a little more closely.
Under the light, Fang Xu's short silver hair was a little tousled, and his pale white eyes were far too calm for an ordinary child.
The contours of his face were a little colder than those of others his age.
Hatake Sakumo had never thought along those lines before.
But now that he knew Fang Xu was a Senju descendant, the more he looked at his features, the more familiar they seemed.
"Fang Xu."
"Hm?"
"Your face looks a little like Lord Second Hokage's."
Kakashi looked over as well.
"The Second Hokage?"
Hatake Sakumo nodded.
"Silver hair, white eyes, and even your brows and eyes look somewhat alike."
"Of course, you're not exactly the same, but there's a very similar feel."
Fang Xu touched his hair.
"I'd never thought about it before."
Hatake Sakumo smiled.
"Whether you look alike is a small matter."
"What's more important is the aptitude you've shown lately."
"You created Lightning Mode yourself in a short time, then combined Lightning Release and swordsmanship into the beginnings of a ninja sword art."
"That's not like an ordinary genius. It's more like you've inherited Lord Second Hokage's talent for pioneering new techniques."
Kakashi listened in silence.
He had once thought he was enough of a genius already, but Fang Xu's recent progress really had been absurdly fast.
Hatake Sakumo looked at the two children and remarked softly.
"Your generation holds a lot of promise."
"Kakashi, Fang Xu, Guy, Kurenai, Rin, and Asuma and the others."
"As long as you can all grow up well, Konoha won't lack powerful ninja in the future."
Hearing this, however, Fang Xu did not entirely relax.
He looked up at Hatake Sakumo.
"Teacher, you can't treat what happened tonight as an ordinary conflict."
Hatake Sakumo looked at him.
Fang Xu said seriously, "You attacked Root ninja for my sake this time, then went to the Hokage Office to explain the situation."
"Someone like Danzo is narrow-minded and unscrupulous."
"He won't think he was wrong. He'll only think you ruined his plans."
Kakashi frowned.
"Would he actually dare go after Father?"
Fang Xu did not take the question lightly.
"Not head-on, of course. But what about missions?"
"What if he uses a mission to secretly set a trap, deliberately provides incomplete intelligence, or puts you in danger, Teacher?"
"Teacher, your reputation is too great. You're standing in a lot of people's way."
"Danzo suffered a setback this time. His desire to kill you will only grow stronger."
"You must be extra careful when accepting missions from now on."
Hatake Sakumo did not brush it off.
He looked at Fang Xu and nodded seriously.
"You're right."
"Danzo is ruthless and underhanded. I won't underestimate him."
"I'll be especially careful with any future missions involving Root, or intelligence from unclear sources."
After speaking, he looked at Kakashi.
"The same goes for you. Don't go to secluded places alone."
"If someone asks you to go with them in the name of a mission, the Hokage, or the higher-ups, come tell me first."
Kakashi nodded.
"I'll remember."
Finally, Hatake Sakumo looked at Fang Xu.
"Fang Xu, you've been drawing too much attention lately."
"Keep up your regular training, but put safety first."
"Just because Root won't dare approach openly for a while doesn't mean they won't watch you in secret."
Fang Xu nodded solemnly.
"I'll be careful."
The three reached a silent understanding, each remaining on guard.
A week quickly passed.
Ever since Hatake Sakumo had beaten back Root's probing attempt on the spot, things around Fang Xu had become much quieter.
At least on the surface, no one approached his home or the vicinity of the Hatake Residence again.
Fang Xu did not relax. He trained in the morning, attended classes during the day, went to the Hatake Residence to practice swordsmanship after school, and headed to the secret base at night to experiment with Lightning Body Tempering.
He packed every day full.