"Danzō… what do you mean by that?"
Hiruzen frowned, an uneasy feeling creeping into his chest.
Don't tell me… he already did something that worsened relations?
Danzō's gaze flickered briefly before he spoke.
"Among those three brats, one is… special. If he grows unhindered, he will not be good news for Konoha."
"Special?" Hiruzen considered it. "Does he possess some powerful kekkei genkai?"
"In a sense."
Danzō's voice dropped.
"The boy named Nagato possesses the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."
"The Rinnegan."
"…!!!"
The air in the office froze.
Hiruzen.
Koharu.
Homura.
All three inhaled sharply.
Homura couldn't hold back. "Danzō… this isn't a joke?"
Danzō shot him a cold look. "I don't have time for jokes. I can confirm with absolute certainty—the boy's eyes are the Rinnegan."
"And I've witnessed their power firsthand."
"If allowed to mature, that boy may become a figure on par with the First Hokage."
He let the implication hang in the air.
"The next leader of the Land of Rain… with the strength of Senju Hashirama."
"Tell me—would that benefit Konoha?"
Originally, Danzō had no intention of revealing the Rinnegan's existence.
He had wanted it for himself.
If Konoha obtained it officially, it would never fall into his hands.
But—
Nagato now stood under Hanzō's protection.
Danzō alone had no path to seize it.
More importantly—
Nagato aligned with Rain was a strategic nightmare.
So Danzō changed tactics.
Before the others could respond, he continued.
"After discovering the Rinnegan, my original plan was to drive a wedge between Akatsuki and Amegakure."
"If we couldn't obtain the eyes, at least we couldn't allow Rain to use them."
"But I miscalculated."
"Akatsuki and Hanzō were already aligned."
"They turned the situation into a trap."
"That is why Root suffered such catastrophic losses."
Hiruzen slammed his palm onto the desk.
"Danzō! This has gone too far!"
"You should have informed us the moment you confirmed such information!"
"You may have pushed a potential ally—someone with goodwill toward Konoha—into becoming our enemy!"
"You may have created a powerful foe for us!"
Danzō scoffed.
"Wake up, Hiruzen."
"Anyone accepted as a direct disciple by Hanzō is not harboring goodwill toward Konoha."
"The correct course is to eliminate all threats to Konoha in the cradle."
Hiruzen's brow tightened.
"Your thinking is too extreme."
"That child was trained by Jiraiya for years. There is a bond there."
"I trust Jiraiya's judgment. He would not raise someone destined to threaten Konoha."
Danzō's laugh was sharp and cold.
"Oh?"
"Then let me ask you this."
"Jiraiya trained Nagato for years. It is impossible he did not notice the Rinnegan."
"Yet he neither brought the boy back to Konoha nor informed us of the Rinnegan's existence."
"What was his intention?"
"Is he even still a Konoha shinobi?"
That struck.
Hiruzen fell silent.
On that point… he had no defense.
If Jiraiya had brought Nagato back then—
Perhaps none of this would exist.
Hiruzen knew that ever since signing the contract with Mount Myōboku, Jiraiya had become obsessed with the "Child of Prophecy."
He believed in it almost fanatically.
At times, he felt less like Konoha's shinobi—
And more like Myōboku's emissary.
After a long pause, Hiruzen spoke.
"I will speak with Jiraiya personally."
"As for this matter—Danzō, you will not interfere further."
"Rain and the Rinnegan—I will handle them."
Danzō immediately understood.
"You still intend to resolve this through diplomacy?"
"It will not work."
"The correct course is to take the Land of Rain."
"If we cannot invade outright, then we pressure them militarily."
"Force Hanzō to hand Nagato over."
"We cannot allow him time to grow."
"It has not reached that stage," Hiruzen replied calmly, smoke drifting from his pipe.
"Nothing will be decided until I speak with Jiraiya."
"The Land of Rain is a battlefield of many powers—pull one thread and everything moves."
"Sunagakure and Iwagakure will not sit idle if we act."
"Konoha cannot endure another war."
"Abandon the idea of attacking Rain."
The Third Shinobi War had dragged on for years.
Konoha had fought one enemy after another.
Peace was finally within reach.
Hiruzen would not plunge the village back into flames over a possibility.
"Hiruzen, you can't—"
"Danzō."
Hiruzen's voice cut like steel.
"I am the Hokage."
Silence.
Danzō's face darkened.
Again.
Again he was suppressed by that title.
Whenever debate failed, Hiruzen invoked authority.
It burned.
His obsession with the Hokage's seat deepened another shade.
"You'll regret this," Danzō said coldly.
"You will regret it, Hokage."
Before tension could escalate further, Koharu stepped in smoothly.
"Enough. We'll revisit this after Hiruzen speaks with Jiraiya."
She shifted the subject deliberately.
"There is another matter."
"Minato has achieved a major victory on the Kumogakure front."
"He captured the Third Raikage's son, A—"
"And the Eight-Tails jinchūriki."
"The Kumogakure diplomatic delegation has already arrived in the village."
The room fell quiet again.
Another storm was approaching.
And this one—
Would not be confined to Rain.
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