The Third Hokage's Suspicions

As Hiruzen Sarutobi sat deep in thought at his desk, an elderly man suddenly pushed the door open and entered.

He looked up and saw that the man wore a gray-black kimono. His brown hair and sideburns were neatly groomed, his head and right eye were wrapped in bandages, and an X-shaped scar marked his chin. The old man walked slowly to the desk and stopped.

"What can I do for you, Danzo?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked mildly, lowering his head to deal with the pile of documents before him.

Danzo was riding high at the moment. Two of his greatest worries had been resolved today.

Hatake Sakumo could no longer threaten him, thanks to his abandonment of the mission and the rumors among the villagers. There was no longer any chance of Sakumo competing with him for the Hokage Position. And today, Uchiha Fugaku had actually offered to give up control of the Military Police Force. Danzo found it incredible and had no idea what the Uchiha were plotting, but since Fugaku had given it up, he would let them off for now. The posts in the Military Police Force, however, had to be taken over by his Root.

He longed to hold all power in his hands and firmly believed that one day he would become Hokage!

"Hiruzen, Root will take over the Military Police Force." Shimura Danzō stated his purpose in a few brief words. His expression was slightly gloomy, and his deep wrinkles gave him a sinister, calculating air.

The world of shinobi in which Danzo lived was cruel and merciless, with no fairness to speak of. To safeguard peace and protect what he held dear, he sometimes had no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures.

Even if those measures could not stand the light of day and were utterly despicable, he feared nothing as long as he could protect what he wanted to protect.

That was why Danzo had founded Root, an organization hidden deep within Konoha.

Root was unknown to outsiders, and even within Konoha, few knew of it.

It existed to eliminate every threat to Konoha, and that naturally included matters that could not be brought to light.

Though these matters were not honorable, they were always undertaken to protect Konoha. Root's purpose was to serve Konoha. Root handled things that could not be dealt with openly and did the things you would not do. For Konoha's sake, I am willing to take the blame for you.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi became the Third Hokage, Danzo quietly established Root as his own organization. Like the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Great Ming Dynasty, it answered only to the emperor, and no one else could command it.

The members of Root were no different. They answered only to Danzo. Even when given an order by the Hokage, they had to ask Danzo first, and only when he approved would they carry it out.

It was a completely independent organization, but its unchanging purpose was to protect Konoha. Of that, there was no doubt.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Danzo had founded Root and had tacitly permitted it. It was not because Danzo was his close friend, but because he knew there were things he could not do himself, yet which had to be done. So he entrusted those unsavory matters to Danzo and to Root.

"You know that's impossible. The other clans won't agree either." Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped reviewing the documents, looked up at Danzo in surprise, and spoke slowly.

The many powerful clans of the Shinobi World were all in Konoha. Apart from the two renowned Dōjutsu clans, the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan, the other clans also excelled in their own ways, such as the Ino-Shika-Cho Clan, formed by the perfectly coordinated Nara, Akimichi, and Ino, as well as the Aburame Clan, the Inuzuka Clan, and others.

Now, the vacancies in the Military Police Force had drawn everyone's attention. If Danzo's Root were allowed to take over, the Hyuga would likely be the first to object.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had grown exhausted from dealing with these clans every day.

Everyone said that the Sarutobi Clan was on good terms with the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, who were regarded as unwavering supporters of the Third Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi alone knew that this was merely how things appeared.

The history of their alliance was actually quite short. It had begun because of his father, Sasuke Sarutobi. His father had been a formidable shinobi, a powerful man who had left his name in history despite living in the Warring States period, at the same time as Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

"Hmph. I'll pay the compensation in full." Danzo stared intently at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The mention of it angered Hiruzen Sarutobi. He demanded of Danzo, "Why did you agree to the compensation? You must know the village's budget was already tight this year, and the daimyō cut it even further."

"Uchiha Fugaku finally agreed to give up control of the Military Police Force. If we don't pay him, who knows whether he'll change his mind? Enough, Hiruzen. I'll pay the money." Danzo could not stand how stingy Hiruzen Sarutobi was being and snorted disdainfully.

"I understand." Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, tapping his fingertips lightly on the desk. Amid the swirling smoke, he spoke slowly. "Do you still have enough men?"

"It's no problem. I'll have the major clans send people over." Also, it's time to speed up the experiments.

Smoke filled the office, and for a time, the two men faced each other in silence.

After a long while, Danzo suddenly spoke. "According to our intelligence, Uchiha Fugaku's son, Uchiha Kōki, has awakened his Sharingan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart jolted, but his expression did not change. "So what? What's wrong with a member of the Uchiha Clan awakening the Sharingan?"

If he remembered correctly, Uchiha Kōki was only four, wasn't he? He had already awakened the Sharingan? It seemed he was another genius. Were Fugaku's genes that good?

Danzo's single eye was turbulent with hidden emotion. "It's a Mitsudomoe, too!" he said darkly. "And that's not all! Shisui Uchiha at the Ninja Academy has also awakened the Mitsudomoe! It seems the Uchiha have produced two more peerless geniuses. Surely you must have noticed?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression remained unchanged.

Danzo was not impatient at the sight. He and Hiruzen Sarutobi had known each other since childhood, studied under the Second Hokage together, faced life and death, and governed Konoha together.

He knew his old friend's character all too well.

He watched Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression at his leisure. Sure enough, just as he had expected, a trace of doubt and coldness flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.

"How did Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Kōki awaken their Sharingan? When did they awaken them? Why didn't the Anbu obtain this intelligence? Could it be that your Root already knew?" Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, a string of questions spilling out.

They were even Mitsudomoe!? If Koki was the clan head's son and had yet to attend school, it was understandable that there was no intelligence on him. But what about Shisui Uchiha? Why was there no intelligence on him either?

What on earth were the Anbu doing, letting Root learn of this first? When had Danzo found out, and why had he waited until now to tell him?

"Hmph, you're really wronging me. I only learned of it yesterday myself." Danzo sneered. He could tell at a glance what Hiruzen was thinking.

He truly had been wronged. Every one of the people he had sent to monitor the Uchiha Clan had been discovered, and even two of his operatives who had been undercover for years had suddenly vanished, their fates unknown.

It was only yesterday that he had learned of it from the people he had sent to spread the news of Hatake Sakumo's failed mission.

That was right. He was the one who had spread the news. Even if a top-secret S-rank mission failed, how many people could know about it? Apart from members of the Konoha High Command, others did not even know those S-rank missions existed.

Hatake Sakumo's mission failure had also been his doing. Those two teammates had been his people. Who would have thought that fool would actually choose to save his teammates? He could not blame Danzo for what followed.

Now every villager in Konoha knew that Hatake Sakumo's mission had failed. No matter how strong he was, what could he do?

Danzo had originally planned to spread the rumors more aggressively and use public opinion to drive him to his death, while also getting rid of his genius son Kakashi.

But Sakumo had been sensible enough to resign of his own accord today. Judging by his dejected expression, he probably would no longer covet power and position that did not belong to him. Danzo would spare him for now.

Becoming Hokage was his lifelong obsession. Anyone who stood in his way had to be eliminated, even... Danzo's gaze shifted to the man across from him.

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply around the pipe in his mouth and took several hard draws before speaking hesitantly. "You only found out yesterday? Perhaps they awakened their eyes in the past couple of days... and we simply hadn't had time to discover it."

Danzo neither confirmed nor denied it, smiling knowingly.

He knew full well that the seed of suspicion had quietly been planted in Hiruzen's heart. All he had to do was wait for it to take root and sprout.

Who, having spent a long time in the sunlight, would willingly return to the darkness?

It was understandable to conceal the darkness in one's heart.