"Go, bring Danzo to me."
Hiruzen Sarutobi his Danzo on the table and ordered his men to bring Danzo to him.
Before long, a hooded man arrived at the Hokage's office. It was none other than Shimura Danzō. He took off his hood, revealing his weathered face and his cloudy single eye.
" Monkey, what do you want with this old man?"
Upon hearing Danzo's questioning tone, Hiruzen Sarutobi burst into laughter in anger.
Before he could even question Danzo, Danzo preemptively attacked him, questioning him directly.
"Heh, Danzo, you really are something. Didn't you want to ask me why I called you here? Someone, bring that person in."
At Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, an Anbu led the men Kakashi had brought that day. When Danzo saw the man, his brow twitched. This person looked familiar. Although he was dressed in Anbu attire, his silly, dazed appearance clearly indicated that he was one of his own Root members.
" Danzo, you surely know better than I who this person is, don't you?"
Listening to Hiruzen Sarutobi's ambiguous words, Danzo's small eyes darted around as he pondered the meaning behind Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.
The Monkey seems to be questioning him. Has he been discovered again? Wait, that's strange, why did I use the word "again"?
However, one can only say that Danzo up to his Shimura surname; he was incredibly clever.
He shook his head in denial.
"Don't know him, Monkey. Why are you pushing out someone from the Anbu?"
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless. Although he knew his old friend's shamelessness, it seemed he hadn't known him nearly enough.
Looking at Danzo, whose eyes were firm and whose expression was serious as he Danzo, Danzo might have actually been deceived by his old friend if he didn't know the truth.
He could only suppress his anger.
"Hmph, Danzo, don't play dumb with me. You think you don't recognize this person? Didn't I tell you? Don't you dare mess with Naruto Uzumaki. He's Minato and Kushina's child..."
Upon hearing this, Danzo scoffed at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, "How dare you talk about yourself like that? You make it sound like you're really good to Jinchūriki."
"Alright, Monkey, I did all that for Konoha's sake. Stop nagging."
"Heh, for Konoha? For whose Konoha? Yours?"
Danzo was immediately displeased Danzo Hiruzen Sarutobi's words. What kind of talk was that? Was he implying that Danzo wasn't the Hokage?
Danzo, growing angrier the more he thought about it, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with some displeasure.
If I hadn't slipped and taken that half-step back, you wouldn't have become Hokage.
"Tch, Monkey, I don't want to argue with you about this nonsense."
"Hmph, Danzo, you better behave yourself lately. The Chunin Ninja Exams are about to begin, so stay put. If I find out you're messing around again, you'll be in jail."
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't finished speaking; he pointed to the Root ninja beside him.
"Since you don't recognize Danzo, he must be a spy sent by the enemy village. Kill him."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke lightly, but to Danzo it sounded like a challenge. Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly knew this was someone from his Root, yet he insisted on killing him. What did that mean? Was he making an example of him? Or was he giving Danzo a warning?
Danzo couldn't understand what his old friend was up to.
"Hmph, Monkey, you'll regret this."
After Danzo finished speaking, he slammed the door and left, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi alone in the office, feeling lonely and dejected.
He smoked his pipe, watching the door slam shut.
"Ha, you think I'd regret it? Don't forget, I am the Hokage, the head of this village. Danzo, you Danzo surpassing me."
Danzo was in the corridor, naturally heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, but he didn't make a sound. He simply quickened his pace to leave, afraid that he might not be able to resist killing the Monkey sitting inside, even though he had done things like assassinating the Hokage before.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already planning for the Chunin Ninja Exams. He intended to take this opportunity to show the villages the strength of Konoha's new generation and flex his muscles to dispel any unwarranted thoughts they might have.
"Someone, send a notice to all Jonin, informing them of a meeting tonight. The details of the meeting are related to the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
After receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi's order, the ANBU Anbu quickly left, as he needed to relay the message as soon as possible.
That evening, Kakashi looked at his group of friends around him, somewhat speechless. They'd just gotten back, and they really didn't want him to rest at all, did they?
"Yo, Kakashi, long time no see! How about a thrilling sparring match?"
Kakashi stared at the two rows of teeth the man in front of him revealed, finding them rather dazzling, and speechlessly pushed him aside.
"Kai, I just got back from a mission, I'm exhausted, and I really don't want to spar with you."
If Naruto and the other two heard Kakashi say that, they would definitely scold him. Seriously, what did Kakashi do to be so exhausted?
But Kai didn't know the specifics of the mission; he was just comforting him, and in doing so, he flashed his two rows of teeth once again, which were sparkling.
"Alright then, Kakashi, make sure you get plenty of rest so you can be full of energy."
"Okay, got it, Kai."
Just as the group was chatting, the village's Jonin ) arrived one by one.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly began to speak.
"The reason I called everyone here today is to say a few words. It's related to our Chunin Ninja Exams. This Chunin Ninja Exams will be held in Konoha, so many people from other villages will be coming to Konoha. The daily security of Konoha will depend on the Uchiha Clan."
As Hiruzen Sarutobi said this, he also looked at Fugaku.
"Thank you for your help, Clan Chief Fugaku."
Fugaku waved his hand.
" Lord Hokage, this is what we, as members of the Police Force, should do."
Next, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained the specifics of the Chunin Ninja Exams to everyone.
Blah blah blah, by the time Hiruzen Sarutobi speaking, it was already quite deep.
The next day, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared speechlessly at Iruka, who was unleashing his full power.
" Lord Hokage, how can you hold the Chunin Ninja Exams so early? These kids have only graduated from the Ninja Academy a few days ago! They're completely out of their depth to handle the Chunin Ninja Exams..."
" Lord Hokage, this is really not right."
" Iruka, I know you care about those children, but they are not as fragile as you think. Besides, even indoor flowers need to face the wind and rain."
" Lord Hokage, I..."
"Alright, Iruka, things are already absolutely settled. Do you want the entire Konoha to be humiliated because of you?"