Chapter 21: Shadows in the Tower
Danzo got straight to the point. He fixed Sarutobi Hiruzen with a severe look, his voice low and insistent. "Hiruzen. Capturing the Six-Tails is imperative this time."
"Minato is already handling the matter," Hiruzen replied, his tone even. "Since the beast has entered our territory, we will not let the opportunity pass. It will serve as a valuable bargaining chip with Kirigakure."
Danzo stepped closer to the Hokage's desk, leaning forward. "Hiruzen. Are you still considering returning it to Kirigakure?"
Hiruzen met his old friend's—and sometimes rival's—gaze. "That will depend on the negotiations. It depends on what concessions Kiri is willing to make."
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted, derision plain on his face. "What right does Kirigakure have to negotiate now? The Three-Tails is gone. Their Six-Tails Jinchuriki is dead. What can a single, aging Mizukage accomplish?" He planted his hands on the desk. "I say once we have the beast, we keep it. Root is perfectly capable of containing and utilizing it. Konoha will gain a new, powerful deterrent."
Sarutobi Hiruzen merely lifted his eyelids. "Whether we can retain it depends on the reactions of the other villages, Danzo. It is not a decision we can make unilaterally. Do you believe Iwagakure, Kumogakure, or Sunagakure will sit idly by while Konoha acquires a second tailed beast?" He rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, his gaze steady and weary. "The political reality is not so simple."
"Hah!" Danzo's laugh was cold. "The solution is simple. I have more than enough methods to make Kirigakure 'voluntarily' relinquish all claim to the beast."
"You will do no such thing." Hiruzen's voice hardened, his eyes turning cold. "Remain in your lane, Danzo. Do not create complications for me. The war is ending. We cannot prolong it. Konoha has bled enough through these successive conflicts. We need peace, and we need to recover."
"Hiruzen, it is precisely in times like these that we must consolidate our strength!" Danzo retorted, his expression souring. "The stronger we are, the more 'peaceful' they will be!" He stared suspiciously at the man seated in the Hokage's chair. "If you hand the Six-Tails back, you will regret it. Mark my words."
"Heh… Danzo, your perspective remains regrettably narrow," Hiruzen said, a hint of a cold smile touching his lips. "I am the Hokage."
"You—!" Danzo was cut off, rendered speechless by the finality in Hiruzen's tone. His face darkened with fury. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the office.
Watching Danzo's retreating back, Hiruzen shook his head slowly. Danzo was a useful tool for handling dirty, discreet tasks, but his vision was myopic. He lacked the broader, strategic sense required for true leadership. Swallowing a tailed beast now would be a provocation that could reignite a continent-wide war. Konoha was strong, but not invincible against a united front. This was no longer the era of Hashirama Senju, who could single-handedly dictate terms to the world.
Despite the surface appearance of vitality—the emergence of powerful new shinobi like Minato and the Uchiha prodigies—Hiruzen knew the truth. The backbone of Konoha, its chunin and genin corps, had been stretched to the breaking point by years of multi-front warfare. The ninja academy could not replace losses fast enough. If fighting continued, Konoha would face a critical shortage of manpower.
"But the Uchiha clan…" Hiruzen's fingers tapped a thoughtful rhythm on his desk. "That clan… truly overflows with talent. First Fugaku, then Shisui, and now this Akira…"
Trust had never come easily to Hiruzen regarding the Uchiha. The clan's history—an attempted coup during Tobirama's reign—cast a long shadow. While an Uchiha, Kagami, had served as a trusted guard under Tobirama, by Hiruzen's time, the clan had been systematically edged out of Konoha's core power structures. Old lessons died hard.
"They have thrown their full support behind Minato…" Hiruzen mused, his gaze distant. "Very well. If Minato is elected, the… 'Uchiha situation' will be his to manage." Minato was a shinobi of remarkable character. Barring surprises, the succession would be between him and Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru… he grows too close to Danzo and his Root," Hiruzen thought, a frown creasing his brow. Danzo's shadowy machinations were a constant concern. Nothing good ever came from his proximity. 'I must speak to Orochimaru. If he desires the hat, he must walk in the sun, not lurk in the shadows.'
Meanwhile, back in the Uchiha district, Uchiha Akira had wasted no time. He performed a summoning jutsu, and in a puff of smoke, a sleek ninja cat appeared. These felines were long-time partners and intelligence conduits for the Uchiha clan, also serving as procurers of specialized tools.
Akira's objective was specific: to acquire, through the cat's network, specialized cultivation containers for the chunk of Six-Tails flesh he had sealed. Such advanced biotech equipment was not readily available in Konoha's open markets.
Cultivating tissue and chakra from a tailed beast was not an unheard-of secret. Orochimaru had famously cultivated a horn from a scraping of the Eight-Tails' substance. One of the former Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kazuma, had used leaked Nine-Tails chakra to create a pseudo-Jinchuriki. The principle was known. The true challenge was obtaining viable material from a tailed beast in the first place—a challenge Akira had already overcome.
In a hidden, lightless cavern deep underground, a different conversation was underway.
Uchiha Obito, shrouded in the identity of "Madara" behind his spiraled mask, listened as his subordinate, White Zetsu, finished a report on the war's developments.
Black Zetsu, his form oozing from the cave wall, spoke up. "Obito… should we not acquire the Six-Tails? This is a prime opportunity."
"I am Uchiha Madara," Obito corrected, his voice filtered through the mask into a deeper, colder tone. He fixed his single visible eye on Black Zetsu. "Do you know its location?"
A smile split Black Zetsu's dark face. "Lord Madara, White Zetsu has already pinpointed the beast's hiding place."
"Good," Obito nodded, a plan solidifying in his mind. "The Six-Tails… it will serve as a suitable meeting gift for Nagato. One should not visit the supposed leader of the Akatsuki empty-handed."
(End of Chapter)
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