The passing ninja didn't find it strange to see Shimura Danzo with a gloomy expression.
After all, that's typical for an assistant like Danzo. If one day he suddenly smiled as brightly as Mokgetsu or Minato, they'd think Danzo's pressure had driven him mad.
Walking up to the wooden door of the Hokage Office, Danzo prepared to enter as usual but suddenly remembered something. He stopped, pulled back the half-opened door, retracted his extended foot, and knocked on the door with his knuckles.
Danzo wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but as he knocked, he seemed to hear a slightly regretful sigh from inside.
"Enter," Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice rang out from within the Hokage Office.
Only then did Danzo push the door open and enter the Hokage Office.
"Danzo, what do you want?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"Hi..." Danzo, about to call Hiruzen by name, suddenly recalled certain memories and quickly corrected himself, "Third Hokage."
Inwardly, Hiruzen felt a bit regretful; Danzo was being too cautious today.
Earlier, he deliberately called Danzo by name, hoping Danzo would reciprocate, but Danzo showed no weakness, preventing Hiruzen from releasing the pent-up emotions he had accumulated during the high-level meetings.
"I want to transfer Mokgetsu back to the Root. Mokgetsu's educational abilities would be best utilized there, improving both the Root Ninja and Anbu Ninja's qualities," Danzo spoke after carefully deliberating.
When the Root was first established, Danzo used the excuse of training the Anbu, so there's no issue with what he's saying. Mokgetsu would indeed enhance the educational efforts upon returning to the Root.
Of course, Danzo knew this request wouldn't gain Hiruzen's approval, but he said it to maintain his "persona."
He always worked meticulously to strengthen the Root's power, and trying to reclaim talent taken away from the Root was the normal behavior, ensuring Hiruzen wouldn't question his connection to Mokgetsu.
"Combining the Root and Anbu, how many ninja are there? How many ninja are there after the Ninja Academy? And overall in Konoha? Mokgetsu can't return to the Root," Hiruzen decisively refused.
Hiruzen wouldn't let Mokgetsu return to the Root; its darkness was too deep for someone like Mokgetsu.
"Danzo, if you focused the energy you use to strengthen the Root elsewhere, Konoha might be even better," Hiruzen said bluntly.
"Why do I strengthen the Root, if not for Konoha?" Danzo retorted, unwilling to concede.
"If I didn't know that, do you think the Root would still exist today?" Hiruzen calmly stated while exhaling white smoke from his pipe.
It's because Danzo is genuinely contributing to Konoha that Hiruzen allows the Root's existence; that bit of camaraderie from school isn't enough reason alone.
As Hokage, Konoha is Hiruzen's top priority; everything else must yield to it.
"Since you know this, why keep hindering me?" Danzo asked seriously.
"Some things you've overdone, and others you shouldn't have done at all," Hiruzen replied, picking up his pipe again.
Whether Danzo is wholly committed to Konoha, Hiruzen can't say, but there's undoubtedly genuine contribution.
Yet Danzo doesn't know his limits; he has almost none.
"It's okay to train the Root; I'll arrange that, but don't think about anything else," Hiruzen directly announced.
Hiruzen won't allow Mokgetsu back to the Root, but training the Root Ninja is fine—as if Mokgetsu were training Anbu and conveniently including the Root.
Danzo's expression turned grim, clearly dissatisfied with Hiruzen's arrangement.
With a darkened face, Danzo silently turned and headed towards the wooden door of the Hokage Office.
"Hi..., Third Hokage, you'll regret this!"
Bang!
A muffled thud was heard as Danzo forcefully slammed the wooden door shut.
Hiruzen couldn't help but smile.
He had been holding back laughter; Danzo speaking cautiously was just too amusing. He'd never seen Danzo like this before.
"If I hadn't reacted a bit slowly back then, things definitely wouldn't be like this now," Danzo thought angrily as he stormed out.
Though he flawlessly avoided any mistakes and didn't give Hiruzen an opportunity to retaliate, Danzo was still infuriated—why did he have to be so cautious?
If only he'd been the first to volunteer to cover the rear back then, today, it'd be Hiruzen speaking cautiously to him.
...
Bang!
Obito kept imagining an invisible armor on his fist and suddenly punched with full force. A crack appeared on the tree trunk before him, but the tree didn't fall.
"Damn, why is the Armament Secret Technique so tough?" Obito grumbled, scratching his head.
Actually, if he used the Breath Technique and gathered a bit more Chakra, he could break the tree, but his goal was cultivation, not chopping trees; he was just trying hard to utilize Armament.
"Just a week until the internal competition, what should I do?" Obito looked at the others, feeling anxious.
The scheduled internal competition was originally every three months, but due to war, this one was delayed.
Obito thought he could seize this chance to overtake others, but the others improved even more.
Might Guy mastered the Breath of Rock Chakra Mode, and Shisui mastered the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode.
Obito didn't aim to defeat Might Guy, as the combination of Breath of Rock Chakra Mode and Eight Gates Five and Six Gates was too overpowering; it wasn't something he could beat.
Obito's goal was to firmly defeat Kakashi and Shisui for a high chance to progress to the second round without punishment.
Here's the problem: Obito has the Breath of Flame Mode like Shisui, has the Three Tomoe Sharingan like Shisui, but Shisui mastered the Armament Secret Technique while Obito hasn't, assessing Obito's chances against Shisui.
Actually, Obito's Breath of Flame is stronger than Shisui's, but he feels that advantage doesn't match Armament Secret Technique's strength.
"It seems my best chance is against Kakashi," Obito can only hope to draw Kakashi in the internal competition.
Kakashi possesses the Transparent World, while Obito has the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode; Kakashi has the Armament Secret Technique, Obito has the Three Tomoe Sharingan—they're pretty evenly matched.
Crack!
A bolt of lightning flashed, and several trees fell before Kakashi.
"It's not the same feeling—still far off," recalling Mokgetsu's blade that cuts through everything, Kakashi sheathed his sword and shook his head.
Mokgetsu's move with Lighting Release Blade Technique far exceeded Kakashi's expectations; he doubted he'd master it by the next internal competition and hoped to grasp it by the one after.
"Then I have a greater chance against Obito," Kakashi briefly analyzed the combat power of Mokgetsu's four disciples.
After the East Coast Battlefield, each made varying degrees of progress; Might Guy improved the most, followed by Shisui, while Kakashi and Obito were on the same level.
"Great Flame Ring: Flame Emperor!"
In the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode, Shisui launched a Fire Release on the river surface.
With the internal competition looming, Shisui had to pause his plan to expand his influence, resuming intense training; he must master the Breath of Flame Chakra Mode thoroughly before the competition starts.
Might Guy pushed himself to the limit, conducting intense training under heavy weights. Even as the strongest, he wouldn't slack off; he aims to keep progressing until becoming the strongest in Konoha Taijutsu and Ninja World Taijutsu.
Motivated by Might Guy's passion, Riolu couldn't help but join in the training.