After the routine High-Level Meeting, the Senju Faction held another meeting.
Present were Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, the two Elder Advisors, and Tsunade and Orochimaru of the Sannin. Only Danzo, the Root Leader, was absent.
And in this secluded conference room, Danzo happened to be the very subject they intended to discuss.
As the senior figures who truly held power in the village, they usually paid more attention to the movements of the Akatsuki and the Jinchūriki, maintaining contact with the Shinobi Villages of other great nations and preserving order among the Five Great Nations.
After all, although Konoha had been attacked from all sides in successive Ninja Wars, it remained the publicly acknowledged foremost Shinobi Village.
Aside from funding from the Daimyō, a Shinobi Village's most important source of income was accepting missions. Although quite a few Ninja found alternative ways to make money, they also indirectly undermined the economy and its order.
The movements of the Akatsuki outside the village remained unclear, but everyone had noticed Danzo's recent behavior.
It was not that Danzo had abused his authority or violated the village's taboos. Everyone present had long been well aware of the Root Leader's sinister methods.
If Danzo did not do certain things, they would have to do them themselves.
Yet Danzo's recent behavior fully embodied the Will of Fire. His conduct as a Model Ninja instead aroused their suspicion and vigilance. Danzo was a competent Ninja, but he could hardly be called human.
The thought of Danzo helping villagers with a smile as warm and gentle as those of Minato and Madara was strange in a way they could not quite describe.
The change in their friend's temperament left Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura deep in thought, and they looked toward the Third.
Following his setbacks, the