In the Hokage Office in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, unable to shake his unease.
He had a feeling something big was about to happen.
It was only a feeling, but Hiruzen trusted it. He had felt something similar before traveling to Kumogakure to sign the Peace Treaty, though he had kept it to himself. Then civil strife had erupted there, and his entire party had nearly been wiped out.
He had felt the same way when Kagami Uchiha and Shimura Danzō went to reinforce Uzushio Village. Kagami had died there. The mission should have been all but certain to succeed, yet one of Konoha's two or three strongest fighters had lost his life.
Hiruzen had been stunned. Even he would have struggled to defeat Kagami, and the Kage of the other villages should have been no different. Yet according to Shimura Danzō, a powerful enemy had defeated Kagami with little effort.
Even now, Hiruzen did not know who had done it. There should not have been anyone that strong in the Shinobi World, so he suspected Shimura Danzō might have been involved. After all, it was Danzo. Enough said.
Even a powerful fighter could fall to a betrayal from one of his own. A stab in the back at a critical moment, poison—those were the deadliest threats.
But such things were hard to investigate. And with Shimura Danzō involved, Hiruzen was reluctant to look into it. He saw no need to investigate him, either.
Hiruzen had felt something similar not long ago. But Uchiha Yi had happened to release the Three-Tails and devastate Kirigakure, so Hiruzen had assumed that was the cause and thought no more of it. He had not expected trouble on the Kirigakure front.
Now that unease had returned, and Hiruzen could no longer