Reprimands and punishment

"Look at this. Just look..."

"Look at how much chaos what you did caused the village..."

"Even if you were sparring, did you need to go that far? Look, Might Guy is lying in bed now. He won't recover his full strength for at least a week. Kakashi Hatake is even worse-he still hasn't woken up..."

"And ANBU has already inspected Training Ground 19. The fire is out, but the place has been reduced to rubble. It can't be used anymore!"

"I suspect you're also responsible for those other training grounds the village had to scrap!"

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm on the desk again and again, seething with anger.

Standing to one side, Shihōin Naraku pursed his lips. Hiruzen Sarutobi really had guessed correctly, though. He had wrecked the other training grounds too.

"Well done. One fight, and you've caused this much trouble."

"Come on, tell me. How are we supposed to clean up this mess? Huh?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slapped the documents down in front of Shihōin Naraku, making him take a good look at his handiwork.

"Ahem, Lord Hokage, you can't really blame me for this."

"It was just a fight. Who could have known the consequences would be so serious? Besides, the village overreacted a little. If war really broke out, who knows what would happen in its current state?"

Shihōin Naraku spread his hands, looking helpless, indicating that he was a victim too.

"Hmph-"

Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted, but some of his displeasure really was directed at the village's response this time.

Just as Shihōin Naraku had said, if an enemy really attacked the village, its performance this time suggested that things would go terribly wrong.

It was no use saying that such a thing could never happen. Although the others did not know the future the way Shihōin Naraku did, the Shinobi World had never been peaceful, and there was never any shortage of scheming among the great nations. If something really happened, it would be too late for regrets.

"Let's set that aside for now. I'm not finished with you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi showed Shihōin Naraku no kindness whatsoever as he briskly handed down his punishment. "You turned the training ground into rubble, so you'll pay for its restoration yourself. Also, once Kakashi's condition stabilizes, you're going out on missions. Stop spending all your time in the village."

"No problem."

Shihōin Naraku agreed without hesitation. This punishment was practically nothing. The cost of restoring the training ground was insignificant. After leading the Medical Emergency Response Unit for so long, he had accumulated no small sum of money.

This also showed that Hiruzen Sarutobi still favored him.

Bang!

Shimura Danzō slammed his cane against the ground, his eyes practically blazing with anger.

"Hiruzen has gone soft again. Shihōin Naraku caused such enormous losses and threw the entire village into a panic."

"And he's just letting him off that easily?"

"What kind of punishment is that? He's shielding Shihōin Naraku."

Clearly, Shimura Danzō was extremely dissatisfied with how Hiruzen Sarutobi had handled the matter.

"You can't quite say that." This time, Mitokado Homura spoke up for Shihōin Naraku. Looking earnestly at Shimura Danzō, he said, "Might Guy said it himself. The three of them were only sparring. They simply made a little too much noise."

"Besides, they're all mainstays of the village. It wouldn't be right to punish them too harshly. They're the village's future, and they'll support its development in the years to come."

Utatane Koharu nodded in agreement. As long as their own interests were not harmed, both of them wanted Konohagakure to prosper.

Having three powerful ninja like Shihōin Naraku and the others was also good for Konohagakure. The more ninja like them the village had, the faster it would develop, and that was no bad thing for the two of them either.

"Hmph!"

Finding that his two old friends had no intention of supporting him, Shimura Danzō could only snort, turn, and leave.

Utatane Koharu frowned and said with some concern, "Danzo still hasn't given up on his plans? He really isn't suited to becoming Hokage!"

"He'll give up," Mitokado Homura said calmly. "If he goes too far with certain things, Hiruzen will warn him, just as he did back then."

In fact, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu were all firmly convinced that Shimura Danzō was unsuited to becoming Hokage.

If Shimura Danzō had been content to serve as the leader of Root or Advisor to the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have restored his position long ago. But his ambition had always been to become Hokage, so Hiruzen Sarutobi would not stop suppressing him behind the scenes.

Tap, tap, tap...

Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō walked slowly along the shadowy road, pondering something.

Clearly, no one is better suited to becoming Hokage than I am...

In that case, Hiruzen, you'd better die soon.

Looking back at the Hokage Building, Shimura Danzō resolutely made up his mind.

Had Shimura Danzō, who had spent his entire life playing with plots and schemes, ever discovered the Konoha Crush Plan that Orochimaru was secretly preparing?

No one knew.

But even if he knew, Shimura Danzō would never tell Hiruzen Sarutobi about it. Especially once he finally became certain that Hiruzen Sarutobi was the obstacle preventing him from becoming Hokage, he was even less likely to reveal it.

Kill with a borrowed blade!

It really was a good idea.

And so, before long, quite a few people gradually noticed that Shimura Danzō was keeping an increasingly low profile.

He concealed his presence in the darkness, remaining silent as he watched Konoha with his one eye.

Half a month later.

"All right, the examination is done. You're recovering well. Keep it up, and you'll be discharged in a little over another half month at most."

Shihōin Naraku put down the medical chart in his hand and looked at Kakashi Hatake, who had returned to his usual listless state.

"After lying in a hospital bed for so long, I feel like even my bones are going soft."

Kakashi Hatake touched the bandages wrapped around his body and looked at Shihōin Naraku with his dead-fish eyes, asking curiously, "I expected it, but your strength has improved a little too dramatically. How did you do it?"

"Hmm..."

Shihōin Naraku puffed out his chest without a trace of shame and said, "The strength I have today came entirely from my own hard work."

Kakashi Hatake thought Naraku meant years of constant training, so he had no particular reaction. After all, improving a ninja's strength required continuous effort.

Of course, those born with cheats were an exception.

Suddenly remembering something, Shihōin Naraku smiled and said, "Did the Third Hokage send someone to reprimand you today because he saw that you were recovering well?"

"Yeah. He removed me from my ANBU position. As of today, I'm no longer part of ANBU."

Kakashi Hatake rested his hands behind his head and gazed at the scenery outside the window. His many years in ANBU had come to an end today, but there was nothing surprising about it. It had been inevitable.

"The Hokage must have appointed you Anbu Commander, right?"

"Not only did he not, but now that I've confirmed your condition today, I have to head out on a mission right away, for at least half a month or so."

"I figure you'll be about ready to leave the hospital by the time I get back."