Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office at the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, flipping through a stack of mission records retrieved from the Root headquarters. His expression was exceptionally grim.
The contents of these records, even for someone as experienced in politics as Hiruzen, sent a chill down his spine.
He never imagined that Danzo, his old friend and comrade, had secretly undertaken so many questionable actions.
Previously, Hiruzen believed that he and Danzo were two sides of the same coin. He thought that, while Danzo's methods might be extreme, at least the majority of his actions were for the benefit of Konoha.
But now, after reviewing these records, it was clear he had underestimated Danzo's ambition.
Out of everything Danzo had done, perhaps only a third of it could be considered beneficial to the village—if that.
Hiruzen felt a sense of relief that, upon realizing something was wrong with Root, he had immediately dispatched the ANBU to take control of its headquarters.
Otherwise, if these records had leaked, who knew what kind of chaos they would have caused within the village?
The human experiments alone were horrifying enough, but the fact that Danzo had secretly captured members of various clans to study their hereditary jutsu—this was enough to set the entire village on edge.
After skimming through the records, Hiruzen set most of them aside and focused on two specific reports.
One detailed Yamato.
When Hiruzen learned that Yamato had inherited the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju's Wood Release abilities, he was thrilled.
No one understood the power of the Wood Release better than Hiruzen. Having witnessed Hashirama in action, he knew just how overwhelming this ability could be, capable of subduing thousands—or even tens of thousands—singlehandedly.
More importantly, the Wood Release had an exceptional ability to suppress tailed beasts.
Tailed beasts were like "nuclear weapons" in the ninja world. The balance between the villages existed largely because each had its own tailed beast.
But now, with a way to counteract that power, Konoha could potentially dominate any future negotiations.
This was precisely why, in the past, the village had attempted to replicate Hashirama's abilities. However, despite many sacrifices and the deaths of countless talented shinobi, they had failed.
Eventually, they abandoned the project.
Yet Danzo and Orochimaru had persisted—and succeeded.
Hiruzen's mood darkened when he thought about Orochimaru.
If, before reading this report, he had felt a pang of guilt about choosing Minato Namikaze over Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage, that guilt was now entirely gone.
The experiments detailed in these records were proof of Orochimaru's cold-blooded nature.
He had used countless Konoha shinobi as test subjects to replicate the Wood Release.
And this wasn't the only experiment Orochimaru had conducted.
Frankly, Hiruzen could have ordered Orochimaru's arrest based on these records alone.
But Orochimaru was his student, and Hiruzen couldn't bring himself to give that order.
"Perhaps it's best to let it go and simply keep a closer eye on him once I step down," Hiruzen thought to himself as he set the report aside.
He then picked up the other report, his expression growing more serious.
This one detailed Root's actions against Qingming, as well as a thorough analysis of him.
The records were current up to the day before Danzo's final mission—the day he moved to eliminate Qingming.
Hiruzen read through it carefully.
It was evident that Danzo had been targeting Qingming since he first participated in the Chūnin Exams.
From the initial attempts to assassinate him, to leaking information to Kirigakure and allowing their forces to infiltrate the Fire Nation, to orchestrating ambushes during Qingming's missions, everything was documented in detail.
At first, Danzo's actions could be justified as eliminating a potential threat to the village.
But as soon as Danzo suspected Qingming had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, his motives changed.
Danzo's objective was no longer about protecting the village—it was about obtaining Qingming's eyes for himself.
"Mangekyō Sharingan..." Hiruzen muttered.
As Hokage and a member of the Sarutobi Clan, which had existed since the Warring States Period, he fully understood the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
There was no need to look far for examples—Uchiha Madara himself had wielded the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Madara, who had stood as an equal to the "God of Shinobi," Hashirama Senju.
Had it not been for Hashirama, Madara alone could have destroyed Konoha.
While Qingming was far from Madara's level, if Danzo's suspicions were correct, Qingming would still be an immensely dangerous figure.
Hiruzen was almost certain Qingming was responsible for Danzo's death, even though the ANBU he had sent to investigate had not yet returned.
After all, Danzo's last mission had been to lead a team to eliminate Qingming.
Now Danzo was dead, and none of his men had returned. This strongly suggested that Qingming had the strength to take them all on and leave no survivors.
This also lent credibility to Danzo's suspicion that Qingming had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
If they wanted to deal with someone of Qingming's strength, Konoha would have to pay a steep price.
What made matters worse was the potential fallout with the Uchiha Clan.
If the Uchiha Clan learned that Qingming had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, they would undoubtedly protect him at all costs.
This could escalate into an internal conflict within Konoha.
After nearly three years of war, the village was already weakened. An internal conflict could give their enemies an opportunity to strike.
Hiruzen couldn't forget that Kumogakure had yet to sign a ceasefire agreement. Small skirmishes were still breaking out on the frontlines.
In such a situation, escalating tensions was out of the question.
But at the same time, Hiruzen couldn't ignore Danzo's death.
Even if Danzo's reputation was less than stellar, his position as a key figure in Konoha's leadership meant his death required an explanation.
To make matters worse, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were pressuring him for answers.
Speak of the devil—just as Hiruzen thought of them, the office door was abruptly pushed open, and the two elders walked in.
Despite their advanced age, they still carried an imposing presence.
Koharu wasted no time getting to the point. "Hiruzen, tell me—was it that Uchiha brat who killed Danzo?"
Hiruzen wasn't surprised they knew about Qingming's involvement.
After all, while Root was ostensibly loyal only to Danzo, Koharu and Homura had their own spies within its ranks.
So, it was no surprise they had traced the matter back to Qingming.
Hiruzen massaged his temples, speaking wearily. "There's no concrete evidence yet."
"No evidence? So, you're saying it's highly likely, then?" Homura interrupted, his tone sharp.
Koharu followed up immediately. "If that's the case, summon the Uchiha Clan and have them hand over the boy. We'll interrogate him and get to the bottom of this."
Hiruzen shook his head. "It's not that simple. Here, take a look at these."
He handed over several reports, including the records of Root's actions against Qingming and the experiments involving members of other clans.
From the beginning, Danzo's actions had been shady at best.
If these records were exposed, the fallout would be disastrous.
Some might suggest keeping the records hidden, but that was unrealistic.
There was no such thing as a perfect cover-up, especially when even the ANBU weren't immune to leaks.
Once the truth got out, the consequences would be catastrophic.
As for dealing with Qingming quietly...
Based on Danzo's analysis and the results of his final mission, Hiruzen estimated that few in Konoha could defeat Qingming in a direct confrontation—let alone kill him.
Moreover, Qingming had only acted in self-defense. Danzo was in the wrong from the start.
Danzo's death had left them with an enormous dilemma.
Koharu and Homura were no fools. At first, they were furious upon learning that Danzo might have been killed by an Uchiha brat.
But after reading the reports, they began to cool down.
Ultimately, maintaining the village's stability was their top priority.
Hiruzen wasn't the only one who could foresee the consequences of rash action—they could as well.
Still, the situation left them feeling deeply frustrated.
After a long silence, Koharu finally gritted her teeth and said, "So we just let that brat go unpunished?"
No one answered.
The office fell into an uneasy quiet.
Eventually, Hiruzen broke the silence. "Right now, we need to focus on cleaning up the mess Danzo left behind. We need to reassign his operatives and destroy all evidence of his experiments."
"And what about Orochimaru?" Homura asked suddenly.
He had also noticed Orochimaru's involvement in the experiments detailed in the reports.
Hiruzen paused briefly before replying, "I'll keep a close eye on him."
This was a clear indication that Hiruzen had no intention of holding Orochimaru accountable for past actions.
Homura and Koharu exchanged glances, unsurprised by Hiruzen's response.
They had known him long enough to predict his decisions.
Still, Homura added one final remark. "Orochimaru shouldn't participate in the Hokage selection this time."
Clearly, he saw Orochimaru as a potential threat—not to himself, but to the village.
Hiruzen nodded, tacitly agreeing with the suggestion.
In truth, he had already planned to exclude Orochimaru from consideration. This decision merely formalized it.
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