Hiruzen's Weakness

Late at night, in the Hokage Building.

Smoke hung thick in the air, and the atmosphere was tense.

Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō stared fixedly at the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who held a pipe between his lips, his brows tightly knitted. Danzō's voice was low and menacing.

"Hiruzen! You must take this seriously! The Uchiha and the Hyuga have been getting far too close lately!"

"Genya Uchiha, that son of Sosuke Uchiha, walks with Hinata, the daughter of the Hyuga Main Family, almost every day, along with another Uchiha girl! Do you think this is just children playing house?!"

He slammed his cane against the floor with a dull thud.

"At such a sensitive time, an Uchiha brat is deliberately approaching the daughter of the Hyuga Main Family, which has just suffered a devastating blow. Have you thought about what that means? They could very well be testing the waters and forging ties!"

"They're seeking allies to oppose the village! The Uchiha Clan has never known its place! And that brat is a monster carefully raised by Sosuke Uchiha and Izumi!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his face weary and worn.

He rubbed his temples and spoke helplessly.

"Danzo, you're being too sensitive. This is nothing more than ordinary interaction between young children."

"Genya Uchiha is exceptionally gifted and reportedly levelheaded. What's wrong with him spending time with his classmates?"

"Hinata Hyuga is a shy, gentle child. Having friends around is good for her. To conclude from this alone that the Uchiha and Hyuga are plotting together is far too rash."

"Rash?!"

Danzo's voice abruptly rose, a cold gleam flashing in his single eye.

"That Genya Uchiha is barely over five! His Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Fire Release Ninjutsu have already reached an outrageous level!"

"Our Root surveillance reports show that he's developing far faster than Shisui Uchiha did at his age! Every move a monster like that makes warrants suspicion! His approaching the daughter of the Hyuga Main Family is no coincidence!"

At the mention of Shisui, Danzo's tone grew even colder. Clearly, that name and the memories tied to it remained fresh in his mind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrowed even more deeply.

"Danzo, surveillance is acceptable, but don't read too much into things. The turmoil surrounding the Hyuga Clan has only just subsided. Hizashi sacrificed himself for the village's greater good, to prevent a war."

"Any unnecessary provocation now could reignite the Hyuga Clan's already fragile emotions and render that sacrifice meaningless!"

"The Uchiha issue... requires a gentler approach, with a longer view."

"Gentler? A longer view?"

Danzo scoffed, making no attempt to hide his contempt.

"Hiruzen, your weakness and indecision will be the ruin of Konoha one day!"

"The Uchiha are a cancer on Konoha, and they must be cut out! And this genius brat who suddenly appeared may well become the most dangerous core of that cancer in the future! Before he's fully grown, we should act early and..."

"Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cut him off sharply, his gaze piercing as the authority of his long-held position came fully to the fore.

"Mind your words and know your limits! I'll say it again: the Uchiha issue must be handled carefully. We cannot inflame the conflict!"

"The Hyuga incident must never happen again! You are not to touch that child, Genya Uchiha! At least not now. Without my orders, absolutely not!"

He took a deep draw from his pipe, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"There is indeed a rift between the Uchiha Clan and the village, but they were among Konoha's founders, and they are a powerful shinobi clan!"

"If this is mishandled, the resulting upheaval and consequences will be far harder to contain than anything involving the Hyuga Clan! The Uchiha... are far more unhinged than the Hyuga! Do you understand?"

Hiruzen delivered that last sentence through gritted teeth, hinting at the extreme measures the Uchiha might take if driven into a corner, such as Madara Uchiha's defection all those years ago.

"Unhinged? That's precisely why we must nip the threat in the bud!"

Danzo refused to back down, and the air between them crackled with hostility.

"Enough, Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly rose and slammed his palm onto the desk.

"I am the Hokage!"

"I decide how the Uchiha issue is handled! Your Root is to focus on intelligence gathering. You are not to act on your own! That's an order!"

"You...!"

Danzo's chest heaved.

Looking into Hiruzen's unyielding eyes, he knew he could not openly defy a direct order from the Hokage.

"Hmph! Hiruzen, you'll regret your weakness and shortsightedness today!"

Danzo forced the words through his teeth, then spun around, his robes stirring the air, and strode toward the door without looking back.

Bang!

He slammed the wooden door behind him, the sound echoing through the Hokage Building.

It seemed to herald even fiercer undercurrents about to surge.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sank back into his chair, closed his eyes wearily, and let out a long sigh.

Danzo's extremism and the looming threat posed by the Uchiha weighed on him like two mountains, leaving him struggling to breathe.

That child named Genya Uchiha... was this really just friendship between children?

A flicker of doubt rose in Hiruzen's heart, but stronger still was his deep fear that the situation might spiral out of control.