"Danzo, what do you think?"
In the end, the Third turned his gaze to Shimura Danzō. He took the pipe from his mouth and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Hmph!"
Choose those two brats as Hokage?
Like hell!
I'm the most suitable candidate!
Everyone looked at Shimura Danzō, but all they heard from him was a cold snort, without another word.
Not hearing the answer he had expected, Hiruzen Sarutobi's broad smile gradually faded, and his expression grew serious.
"You can all get back to work. Danzo, stay!"
"Yes!"
"All right."
Shikaku Nara left first. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu hesitated, but seeing the expressions on Hiruzen Sarutobi's and Shimura Danzō's faces, they left helplessly without saying anything.
Once comrades, they were now drifting further and further apart.
After the three left, an unbearable silence settled over the office.
"Sigh..."
"Danzo, I know you're very unhappy that I removed you from your position. But you really were in the wrong back then. The Uchiha Clan didn't have to suffer such enormous losses. Shisui had already..."
"The Uchiha Clan can never be trusted!" Danzo finally broke his silence, without the slightest hesitation on his face. "That's what Teacher Tobirama taught us!"
"Ever since Madara Uchiha, that clan has never been worthy of trust! I personally devised the plan and wiped them out. It was a necessary sacrifice for the village!"
"We both knew the Uchiha Clan was planning a coup! You never rejected my plan!"
"You never see how much I've given for the village!"
No longer concealing the anger bottled up inside him, Shimura Danzō poured out all his grievances.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shimura Danzō with a serious expression and spoke firmly:
"I didn't reject your plan! But I also told you to wait! There was still a chance to salvage everything! Yet you went ahead and carried out the plan on your own!"
"Heh..."
Shimura Danzō laughed, but his laughter was exceptionally unpleasant.
"Wait? Wait for what? How long did you expect me to wait?"
"If you'd listened to me earlier instead of being so indecisive, things with the Uchiha Clan would never have gone that far. I was the one who tied up all the loose ends for you."
As though he had heard an unspoken implication in Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Shimura Danzō grew even more resentful.
"You're too stubborn. You won't listen to anything anymore."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. He understood that their relationship could no longer return to what it had once been. Shimura Danzō wanted more.
"Whatever you want to do, Danzo."
"Konoha's new branches and leaves have already caught hold of the sun. They have the brightest future ahead of them. We must believe in them."
"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns on. Its light will..."
"Go tell that to the children at the Ninja Academy, Hiruzen!"
Shimura Danzō cut Hiruzen Sarutobi off outright. The man really was treating him like a child who knew nothing of the world, trying to fool him with that spiel.
"I'm warning you for the last time, Danzo!"
"There will be a new Hokage. If I catch you pulling anything again, don't blame me for disregarding our old friendship!"
"I will never allow you to run wild in the Konoha that the previous Hokage gave everything to build!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered his final ultimatum to Shimura Danzō, the resolve in his voice unmistakable.
"Hmph! Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
With a sweep of his robes, Shimura Danzō turned and walked away with his cane.
"Danzo, you need to understand that I am the Hokage of Konoha!"
Staring at Shimura Danzō's departing figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with utter firmness.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, and Shimura Danzō disappeared behind it.
"Sigh..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh. He knew he was still a little softhearted. People grew softer with age.
No one witnessed the scene in the Hokage's office, so no one discovered what dispute had taken place between the two senior officials of Konohagakure.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Shimura Danzō soon sought out Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
"Danzo, you shouldn't treat Hiruzen that way. He's the Hokage of Konohagakure, after all!"
The moment they met, Shimura Danzō was greeted by Mitokado Homura's veiled reproach, and his face darkened completely. Right now, he particularly could not bear anyone mentioning the Hokage in front of him.
Utatane Koharu stopped Mitokado Homura. Seeing the anger brewing in Danzo, she changed the subject directly:
"Well? Has Hiruzen really decided to nominate candidates for Hokage?"
"Hmph! He decided long ago! Asking for our opinions? He was merely informing us!"
Danzo snorted coldly. Although their relationship was beyond repair, he knew Hiruzen Sarutobi far too well and had long since seen that the man had made up his mind.
Utatane Koharu frowned, hesitation appearing on her aged face. "Then, Kakashi Hatake and Shihōin Naraku..."
"Shihōin Naraku cannot become Hokage!"
"Absolutely not Shihōin Naraku!"
Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō voiced their objections together.
If Shihōin Naraku really took power, they would suffer greatly.
Even someone as confident as Shimura Danzō did not think he could remain a match for Shihōin Naraku once the latter became Hokage.
"Then we'll choose Kakashi Hatake!"
Mitokado Homura had also been an outstanding ninja in his youth. At a critical moment, he did not lack resolve.
"Kakashi Hatake..."
Shimura Danzō frowned. This candidate was also somewhat troublesome for him.
He had, after all, played a small part behind the suicide of Kakashi Hatake's father, Hatake Sakumo. Back then, Konoha's White Fang had enjoyed an absurd degree of prominence. Even the Sannin, whose fame was rising, had been mere juniors before Konoha's White Fang.
Strength, seniority, prestige-Konoha's White Fang had truly been beyond reproach in every respect.
During the war in particular, Hatake Sakumo had rendered illustrious service to Konohagakure.
If Shimura Danzō had not stepped in to stir up trouble then, there would have been no need to choose the next Hokage. They could simply have given Hatake Sakumo the seat.
So Shimura Danzō had acted, and Hatake Sakumo had killed himself.
Otherwise, given Hatake Sakumo's prestige and seniority at the time, he would not have gone so far as to kill himself over it, even if the mission had been very important. In particular, even the comrades he had chosen to save at the cost of failing the mission had stepped forward to condemn him.
There were very few people in all of Konohagakure capable of whipping up such an uproar.
But now things were somewhat troublesome. Shimura Danzō would have to watch Kakashi Hatake become Hokage. If the man learned anything, would he let him off?
Perhaps, after so much time, Kakashi Hatake had already put the matter behind him. But Shimura Danzō would not believe that. Judging others by his own standards, his deeply suspicious and cautious nature would never let him stop doubting others!
But if he had to choose between Shihōin Naraku and Kakashi Hatake, he would still rather have Kakashi Hatake become Hokage.
Who said it had to be one of those two, though?
Becoming Hokage had long since become an obsession buried deep in Shimura Danzō's heart. He would not give up until he died.
In a pitch-black secret base, Shimura Danzō stood with his cane in hand, pondering something.
"Send the intelligence out!"
"Yes!"
A ninja answered from the darkness, then departed.
Before long, the relayed intelligence reached the Land of Grass.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."
Hearing the hissing, Orochimaru, who had just finished an experiment, looked down. A cute little white snake lay coiled beside his feet.
Though it was barely larger than a chopstick, the little white snake spat a palm-sized scroll from its mouth. Who knew how it had fit that into its stomach?
Orochimaru picked up the scroll and began reading.
Apart from the customary inquiry about the experiment's progress, the remaining news perked Orochimaru up.
"Hehehe... They're already choosing the next Hokage? Time flies. I wonder whether my teacher has missed me."
"Things are starting to get interesting."
"Something to look forward to..."
"Hehehe, hahaha..."
Orochimaru's long tongue licked the corner of his mouth, and his sinister, cold laughter echoed through the underground base.
Before you continue