Night fell, and moonlight began to spill over the world.
Konoha, the Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had their heads bent over official paperwork, working overtime again.
The papers on their desks had not diminished as Konoha's peaceful years stretched on. Quite the opposite: their workload had only grown heavier.
People did not say that taking a city was easier than holding it for nothing.
During wartime, everyone longed for peace, and even a small taste of it was enough to satisfy them. But once peace lasted long enough, the troubles unique to peaceful times began to surface.
People developed new desires and new grievances, while the distribution of power and differences between classes had always been difficult matters to untangle.
Unrest was inevitable, and knowing how to settle it without disruption was an art in itself.
Unfortunately, Konoha's previous leaders had all been absurdly overpowered. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had inherited no practical experience, nor did they have predecessors whose examples they could follow as they felt their way forward. They could only work things out themselves, trying, failing, learning from their mistakes, and improving little by little.
So, for the foreseeable future, the two of them would be working overtime for a very long time.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in."
Dan Katō, his blue hair reaching his waist, pushed open the door to the Hokage's Office and offered a gentle smile to the two men still working overtime with aggrieved looks on their faces.
"Longjian did very well in his first class. He quickly settled in with his classmates and showed no inappropriate behavior. The Ninja Academy students accepted him just as quickly. The only unexpected development was..."
Dan Katō drew out that final turn in his report, his tone deliberately keeping them in suspense.