In the Hokage Office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, held a crystal ball.
Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu sat beside him.
They, too, were waiting for the results.
Who wouldn't want to cultivate children with such talent into trusted subordinates?
The prerequisite was that they couldn't be spies.
The Purple-Haired ANBU appeared in the Hokage Office using the Body Flicker Technique.
She dropped to one knee and spoke calmly.
"The investigation is complete."
"Haku belonged to a clan in Kirigakure that possessed a kekkei genkai. His clan was wiped out during Kirigakure's civil war, and he was the sole survivor!"
"Zhou Cheng saved him when he was on the verge of death three years ago. He has followed Zhou Cheng ever since, right up until they entered Konoha."
"Inoichi Yamanaka found nothing in his memories indicating that he was a spy for Kirigakure."
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others wore different expressions after hearing the report.
Since Haku wasn't a spy...
If he could awaken his kekkei genkai and receive proper training...
Konoha would gain another powerful Shinobi.
Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others began considering how to bring Haku under their control.
Danzo, in particular, harbored an incredibly deep desire for the Hokage position.
For the Hokage position, he would even sacrifice some of Konoha's interests.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi, he naturally wanted to keep Konoha firmly in his own family's grasp.
He wanted both the Fifth Hokage and the Sixth Hokage to come from his own inner circle.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu naturally wanted to cultivate their own factions as advisors, too.
All four remained silent, each understanding what the others were thinking.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gently tapped the table with his pipe stem, signaling for the Purple-Haired ANBU to continue.
Her gaze flickered, but quickly returned to normal.
"Zhou Cheng is the child of civilian Shinobi from Kirigakure. His father was a chunin, and his mother was a genin. Both died during Kirigakure's civil war."
"Zhou Cheng was the sole survivor!"
"We found no evidence in his memories that he was a spy."
After hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo couldn't suppress the delight in their eyes.
Zhou Cheng was the one they cared about most.
From their observations over the past two days, Zhou Cheng far surpassed Haku in both talent and temperament.
Although Haku had inherited a kekkei genkai bloodline, that didn't mean he would necessarily awaken its power.
The Uchiha Clan had so many members, yet only a handful could awaken the Sharingan. The rest weren't much different from ordinary Shinobi.
Naturally, they chose Zhou Cheng, who had already demonstrated monstrous talent. Haku was merely an extra.
When there was no guarantee that a kekkei genkai would awaken, talent was the true measure of a Shinobi's potential.
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, for instance, had also been a Shinobi without a kekkei genkai.
Who in the shinobi world would dare say he wasn't strong?
"How are they doing now?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and asked about Zhou Cheng and Haku's condition.
The Purple-Haired ANBU answered calmly.
"After we erased their memories of tonight..."
"They remain unconscious. Medical Shinobi have already treated them!"
"However, Medical Ninjutsu has very limited effect on the damage to their minds."
"They will need time to recover gradually!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, a trace of guilt in his eyes. At that moment, he already regarded Zhou Cheng as one of his own.
He glanced at the other three and took another puff from his pipe.
"Everyone, let's leave it at that."
"Knowing they aren't spies is enough. Let them live peacefully in Konoha."
The corner of Danzo's eye twitched at those words, and he was already cursing inwardly.
That's it?
Didn't you say we'd discuss in depth whose care the two children would be placed under today?
Hiruzen, you scheming old bastard.
You think you can just gloss over it like this?
"Hiruzen, give Zhou Cheng to me!"
"I will raise him to become Konoha's guardian in the shadows."
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu also wanted to voice their desire for Zhou Cheng, but Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted before they could speak.
"Enough. That will be all for today!"
"Danzo, I will not compromise this time!"
His Kage-level power erupted, placing everyone present under immense pressure.
Only Danzo remained completely unperturbed, as though the Kage-level aura didn't exist.
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
With those parting words, Danzo rose and slammed the door behind him.
As soon as Danzo left, Hiruzen Sarutobi withdrew his aura.
Only then did Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura get a chance to speak.
"Hiruzen, could you let us train that boy Haku?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi paused in the middle of smoking and turned to look at them coldly.
"I said, leave it at that!"
"Hiruzen, you..."
Utatane Koharu seethed with anger and was about to lash out, but Mitokado Homura tugged at her.
"Hmph!"
Utatane Koharu gave a cold snort and left as well.
Mitokado Homura had no desire to stay any longer, either. He walked out of the Hokage Office without even saying goodbye.
The Purple-Haired ANBU had long since disappeared.
Outside the Hokage building, Mitokado Homura caught up with Utatane Koharu, and the two walked on together.
"Damn it! That Hiruzen... we're Hokage Advisors!"
Utatane Koharu was still brooding over what had just happened.
"You were too impulsive!"
"He doesn't want us to train those two children because he wants to turn them into his own trusted subordinates."
"He's old. He won't be Hokage for much longer!"
"But he certainly won't relinquish the Hokage's power just like that!"
Mitokado Homura tried to soothe Utatane Koharu as they walked.
"We can't just give up!"
Utatane Koharu rolled her eyes at Mitokado Homura.
"He's the Hokage. If he refuses, what can we do?"
Mitokado Homura wasn't offended and continued.
"Doesn't Danzo want those two children as well?"
"We can work with Danzo first. Once we succeed, we can decide which child goes to us!"
Utatane Koharu pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, in Konoha Hospital...
Zhou Cheng opened his eyes only after confirming that no one was nearby.
Haku lay unconscious in the other hospital bed.
After confirming that he was all right, Zhou Cheng lay back down and closed his eyes again.
He was afraid Hiruzen Sarutobi might be watching Konoha through his crystal ball. If he happened to look at the hospital and discovered him, that would be trouble.
"That damned scheming old bastard!"
"If they'd found anything suspicious last night, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have killed me without hesitation!"
"Just you wait. Once I reach Kage level, I'll smash you to pieces!"
"I can't get by without someone backing me. I'm constrained at every turn."
"This can't go on. I have to think of something."
"What Haku and I need right now is a teacher like Jiraiya to guide us personally!"
"Not only could he teach us, but he could also back us up and protect us until we've fully grown!"
"But that old pervert isn't in Konoha right now. Otherwise, I could try asking him to take us as students!"
"Of the other jonin in Konoha, Kakashi is the only one strong enough and suited to teaching us!"
"He's known as Kakashi the Copy Ninja, after all. He knows countless ninjutsu."
"And after what happened with Obito, he values his comrades more than his own life."
"But he's so laid-back. Getting him to take us as students won't be easy."
"Do I have to give him a few volumes of Icha Icha Paradise?"