Late at night, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, finally finished handling the day's work. After handing a letter addressed to the daimyo to an ANBU shinobi, he leaned back in his chair inside the Hokage's office and let out a long sigh.
Although the battlefield in the Land of Rivers was under the command of his two disciples, Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo, intelligence from every direction continued to flow back into Konoha without pause.
It could be said that aside from the commanders on the front lines, no one understood the current strategic situation better than him.
And yet, the situation was far from optimistic.
The war in the Land of Rivers was gradually sinking into a stalemate. Casualties were rising at an alarming rate, forcing the village to send more and more shinobi to reinforce the front. The situation had deteriorated to the point where even large numbers of genin were now being dispatched to the battlefield.
On top of that, the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Stone Village had unexpectedly entered a ceasefire, clearly showing signs of observing from the sidelines.
This did not match Hiruzen's understanding of the Third Raikage at all. Even though the Eight Tails had gone on a rampage, it had not caused irreparable damage to the Hidden Cloud Village. Under normal circumstances, they should have seized the opportunity to press the Hidden Stone Village harder, not given them room to recover.
Unless the Raikage had another objective in mind.
With a trace of unease, Hiruzen gazed out the window at the Hokage Rock and carefully reviewed the situation again in his mind. No matter how he looked at it, he could not find any obvious oversight.
With Orochimaru overseeing the battlefield, there should not be any immediate problems. And with Danzo remaining in the village to handle internal security, he felt reassured having his old companion there.
Perhaps the pressure had simply been getting to him lately.
The Third Hokage reached out, picked up the pipe on his desk, took a slow puff, and sighed again.
Who would have thought that a single mission could trigger such massive upheaval? Still, he could not blame Sakumo. If killing enemies in war was wrong, then the existence of shinobi villages themselves would be meaningless.
Yet this incident was also a grim reminder. Even Chiyo's son and daughter in law had fallen. On the battlefield, who could truly claim to be safe?
Hiruzen had only one son, Asuma. Unfortunately, not to mention grandchildren, Asuma had not even settled down yet, and Konohamaru was still young.
If something unexpected were to happen in a few years, would the Sarutobi bloodline be cut short?
The Third Hokage stroked his chin and thought to himself that if his son was unreliable, perhaps having another child himself was not such a bad idea. At the very least, it might keep Biwako from constantly worrying about her appearance.
After resting for a short while, he opened another battle report that had been delivered earlier and began reading it under the bright lamplight.
"Konoha Recent Newly Promoted Jonin Intelligence"
The handwriting was familiar, clearly written by his disciple Orochimaru.
Normally, promotions to Chunin were decided by the front lines. However, promotions to Special Jonin and Jonin required the Hokage's personal approval.
Hiruzen opened the sealed report. It was thin, only about ten pages, indicating that there had not been many Jonin promotions recently.
The first page immediately revealed a familiar photograph.
Hayashi
Rank: Jonin
Chakra Nature: Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water
Bloodline Limit: Sharingan, three tomoe in both eyes
Abilities: Summoning Technique
Mission Record:
D Rank: 0
C Rank: 4
B Rank: 16
A Rank: 9
S Rank: 6
Hiruzen fell silent as he read the promotion report.
He was not surprised that Hayashi had become a Jonin. Based on his battlefield achievements alone, he could have been promoted long ago. The only reason his advancement had been delayed was his age. Until now, Hiruzen had only approved him for Special Jonin.
What truly gave him pause was Hayashi's talent.
Most Jonin only mastered two chakra natures. Hayashi had already mastered all five at the age of eleven.
Even that could still be explained. At worst, it meant he was another prodigy on par with Hiruzen himself in his youth.
But the growth speed of his Sharingan was frightening.
Strong emotions were the source of power for the Sharingan. But what if that emotional intensity went too far? Especially for someone from the Uchiha clan. If care was not taken, awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan was not an impossible outcome.
After all, love and hatred were two sides of the same coin.
With that thought, the Third Hokage turned to the next page.
This section detailed the ninjutsu Hayashi had already displayed in combat.
At the top of the list was the S Rank Lightning Release technique Kirin, which he had used in the Land of Rain. Below that were several variations of Chidori.
Then Hiruzen saw a familiar technique name.
Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags.
There was even a modified formation based on it.
"The range of his research is astonishing," Hiruzen murmured. "In a few more years, calling him Konoha's top technical shinobi would not be an exaggeration."
He continued reading.
The third page detailed various missions Hayashi had completed. Some of the content was unfamiliar even to Hiruzen, written specifically to give him a full understanding of Hayashi's capabilities.
Yet the more he read, the more unreal it felt.
Since his debut, Hayashi had encountered tailed beasts four times and survived every single encounter.
No one else could claim such a record.
In the end, the entire report felt less like intelligence and more like Orochimaru praising his own disciple.
After finishing the report, Hiruzen closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. If not for the smoke slowly rising from his pipe, one might have thought he had fallen asleep.
Orochimaru's intention was clear. He believed Hayashi was one of them, a talent that appeared once in a century, deserving of full support and promotion.
Hiruzen sighed softly.
How could he not want to nurture such talent? Hayashi was the child of his old friend and his own grand disciple. Their connection ran deep.
And yet, the same question remained.
He was an Uchiha.
For a long while, the Third Hokage remained lost in thought.
...
Elsewhere, in a sealed chamber, another man was also deep in contemplation.
He had dark skin and a powerful physique. A lightning shaped scar crossed his chest, and a bold Lightning tattoo was marked on his right shoulder.
"Third Raikage sama?"
The Third Raikage snapped back to attention. "Hmm? Has there been any issue with the Amber Purifying Pot?"
The middle aged shinobi standing before him smiled confidently. "There is no issue at all. The Amber Purifying Pot is a legendary artifact left by the Sage of Six Paths. It has sealed the Eight Tails many times without a single failure."
The Third Raikage nodded. He already knew this, it had merely been a reflexive question.
Since the Eight Tails' last rampage, which resulted in the death of his cousin Fukai, he had become far more sensitive.
"Have you discovered the cause?" the Raikage asked.
"It appears that Fukai sama failed to fully suppress the Eight Tails," the shinobi replied.
"Impossible," the Third Raikage said, frowning. "In past rampages, Fukai was injured at most. The Eight Tails never exceeded six tails. This time, all eight tails manifested."
He paused, his expression darkening.
"The feeling I had was that someone forcibly extracted the Eight Tails from the Jinchuriki."
"That cannot be," the shinobi exclaimed in shock. "Is there really someone capable of infiltrating the Hidden Cloud Village and extracting the Eight Tails without detection?"
The Third Raikage did not answer. He did not know if such a person existed, but he hoped this was merely his own suspicion.
"How is the Jinchuriki plan progressing?" he asked instead.
"It is going very smoothly," the shinobi replied. "Our agent in Konoha has already obtained detailed information on that Uzumaki shinobi."
The Third Raikage nodded. If the plan succeeded, they would obtain the most suitable vessel for the Eight Tails.
After all, Mito Uzumaki, the very first Jinchuriki in history, had never once lost control.
Who could have imagined that the Uzumaki clan, long thought extinct, possessed such extraordinary sealing capabilities?
If only they had secured more of them earlier, things would not be so troublesome now.
...