Konoha — Sarutobi Clan Estate
Sarutobi Acting Patriarch's Mansion
"Itsuki-sama, Hokage-sama has requested your presence at the Hokage Office."
An ANBU wearing a cat mask bowed beside an old man—appearing to be around fifty—who was carefully trimming his collection of garden plants.
"Big Brother Hiruzen called for me?"
Itsuki paused for a few seconds, then placed the trimming tools back into a nearby toolbox.
"Hm. Lead the way."
"Yes"
A minute later, after the two had left the Sarutobi clan estate, Itsuki noticed something odd.
The ANBU suddenly took an unfamiliar route toward the Hokage Office.
After walking for another minute, the surroundings grew increasingly isolated. A sense of unease crept into Itsuki's heart.
"ANBU, stop."
Itsuki halted and pulled out a kunai, his body tensing ready to strike any moment.
"Identify yourself."
The masked ANBU slowly turned around. The respectful posture from before was gone, replaced by a cold, emotionless presence.
"YOUR DEATH."
Before Itsuki could react to those words, his vision blurred—and everything went black.
The masked ANBU moved silently through the shadows, heading toward the ROOT headquarters while deliberately leaving behind faint, hard-to-detect traces.
After reaching the outskirts of the ROOT compound, the ANBU slipped into a nearby forest.
There, he removed all of his clothes and burned them using a Fire Release jutsu. Then he walked into a nearby river and washed himself thoroughly.
Once finished, the ANBU stepped onto the riverbank.
Without hesitation, as if mentally unstable, he raised a kunai and stabbed himself straight through the heart.
Yet no blood flowed.
Instead, with a sound like a bursting balloon, a cloud of smoke erupted from his body.
When the smoke dispersed, the spot was completely empty.
---
Konoha — Hokage Office
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
A young man entered the office and bowed.
"Clan Leader, Itsuki-sama hasn't returned home yet. Yuzuki-sama wishes to know whether you've assigned him a mission outside Konoha—and if so, how long it will take."
The young ninja was merely conveying the question asked by the acting clan master's wife.
"Hm?" Hiruzen frowned slightly. "I haven't called Itsuki today. Heh… did that brat once again go to a brothel while lying about official duty?"
He clicked his tongue.
"Last time, your aunt scolded me for shielding that bastard. And now he dares to use my name again."
Hiruzen waved his hand dismissively.
"Go tell your aunt that Itsuki is once again indulging in debauchery at a brothel."
"Yes, Clan Leader-sama."
After the young Sarutobi ninja left, Hiruzen took out a crystal sphere. A lewd smile slowly spread across his face as he formed a few hand seals.
Telescope Technique
"Hehehe… let's see where you are, Itsuki."
His smile faded slightly.
"Hm? I can't sense him. Did he use an isolation charm?"
"Tsk. You've forced my hand—guess I'll have to check one by one."
And just like that, for the next hour, inappropriate commentary and quiet, lewd laughter echoed continuously from within the Hokage's office.
---
Three Days Later
Konoha — Hokage Office
The atmosphere inside the office was the complete opposite of what it had been three nights ago. Sarutobi Hiruzen was once again smoking incessantly.
The ANBU hidden in the shadows even felt that the reason Sarutobi Hiruzen had grown weaker wasn't due to age—but because of excessive smoking.
Just then, a blur appeared in front of the desk, and a masked ninja materialized.
"Hokage-sama, here is all the information regarding Sarutobi Itsuki and the clues we've found."
As he spoke, the ANBU handed the file to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen began reading.
The more he read, the darker his expression became. By the time he reached the final page, his face had turned grim. He slowly closed the file, then shut his eyes—as if they had seen far too much.
"Call Danzo, Homura, and Koharu for a meeting in one hour.
Leave."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
---
One hour later
Konoha — Meeting Room
After Danzo, Koharu, and Homura arrived, they found Hiruzen sitting in his seat in deathly silence. They had already heard about the disappearance of Sarutobi Itsuki, so they understood the reason for today's meeting.
Once Hiruzen confirmed that all three had arrived, he passed three files to them and fell silent again.
Danzo read the file, and his face grew even darker than Hiruzen's. Homura and Koharu also finished reading and instinctively looked at Danzo with strange expressions, subtly moving their chairs farther away from him.
"Hiruzen, this is a trap. Can't you see it?"
Danzo spoke first. "You called this meeting to discuss capturing the real enemy, right?"
Earlier, Danzo had been resting comfortably in his Root headquarters, thinking about how to eliminate the Uchiha more efficiently, when he suddenly received word that Hiruzen had convened an urgent meeting.
Now that he had read the contents of the file, Danzo understood one thing clearly—he had to prove his innocence, or his dream of becoming Hokage would end here.
As for what was written in the file—
On October 17th, an imposter ANBU ninja invited Sarutobi Itsuki to the Hokage Office. However, instead of taking the usual route, they chose an isolated path.
Midway through the route, all traces of both individuals disappeared. After deep and precise investigation with the assistance of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, traces of a single individual with extremely high stealth capability were discovered.
When the traces of the imposter were followed, they ended at the forest surrounding the Root headquarters.
" Hiruzen someone is deliberately targeting you and me and wants us to fight. At times like this we must unite against the common enemy. Hiruzen you have to believe me. "
Hearing Danzo's passionate speech even koharu and hamura felt that maybe Danzo didn't do it.
" Danzo, three days ago, you said I will regret it and I indeed regret it. "
Hiruzen spoke in a sorrowful tone, but Danzo felt no relief upon hearing it. Before he could say another word, Hiruzen continued.
"Danzo, the working styles of ANBU and ROOT are fundamentally different from those of ordinary shinobi.
Do you truly believe Itsuki would foolishly follow just anyone? His only mistake was failing to distinguish between ROOT and ANBU."
Hiruzen's voice hardened.
"Even if you insist that Itsuki was careless, the locations of ROOT headquarters and ANBU facilities are classified secrets.
Not even the patriarchs of minor clans are aware of them. Do you expect me to believe that some outsider knew this information?"
Danzo clenched his fists.
"Hiruzen, last time you blamed me even though I did nothing. You said the mere presence of ROOT was suspicious," he snapped
"Now there isn't even ROOT involved—only a trail. Any enemy familiar with ANBU and ROOT could fabricate such evidence."
His eyes narrowed as excitement crept into his voice.
"Someone like ITACHI. He has worked in both organizations. This could easily be an Uchiha scheme tied to their rebellion."
The room fell silent for a moment before Hiruzen replied coldly.
"At that time, Itachi was with Sasuke, attending the half-yearly meeting at the Ninja Academy. Are you suggesting there are two Itachi's?"
He leaned forward.
"And what a coincidence—that on the very same day, Itachi supposedly attacked Itsuki."
Hiruzen's tone shifted, no longer calm but sharp with suppressed fury.
"Danzo, in the past, you attacked other clans, kidnapped their talented shinobi, and provoked internal conflict. Every time, I protected you. But now I see the truth."
His eyes burned as he spoke.
"In these past three days, I've thought deeply. And I've realized something, Danzo—you have harmed this village far more than you have ever protected it."
Danzo felt as though a thunderbolt had struck him.
"HIRUZEN!" he roared. "Everything I've done has been for the village! If you dare question my loyalty again, then there is no need for us to remain friends!"
Hiruzen stood abruptly, slamming his hand on the table.
"FOR THE VILLAGE?" he shouted.
"Was the conspiracy against Hatake Sakumo for the village?"
"Was allowing the Cloud Village to kidnap Kushina for the village?"
His voice trembled with restrained rage.
"Was driving Orochimaru away from me, turning my disciple into an enemy, for the village?"
"Was kidnapping gifted shinobi and forcing them to fight each other until they became emotionless tools for the village?"
"Was plotting to kill me using Yamato for the village?"
His voice cracked.
"Was killing my son—and now my cousin—for the village?"
Hiruzen stared directly into Danzo's eyes, his gaze heavy with grief and fury.
"TELL ME, DANZO.
Is this what you call protecting the village?"
Silence.
" DAMN IT,
"WHY ARE YOU SILENT?"
---
INFO DUMP
{ This is my interpretation of the Kushina kidnapping incident.
I believe Danzo deliberately allowed Kushina to be kidnapped by the Hidden Cloud. His goal was political gain.
If Kushina had been taken, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have been blamed for failing to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, severely damaging his reputation as Hokage.
Danzo's plan likely had two benefits:
Hiruzen's credibility as Hokage would be shaken, increasing Danzo's chances of ascending to the position.
By "rescuing" Kushina afterward, Danzo could either gain her loyalty or secure control over the responsibility of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, proving Hiruzen unfit to protect such an asset.
However, I believe Hiruzen noticed Danzo's scheme in time and countered it by acting through Minato Namikaze, disrupting Danzo's plan before it could fully unfold.
This interpretation frames the incident not as a simple enemy action, but as part of a deeper internal power struggle within Konoha's leadership. }