"Hiruzen!"
Minato led the four of them to the door of the Hokage's office. Before he could even knock, a roar of pure fury erupted from within.
"Are you really going to let her run wild like this?! Today, she dares to attack members of my Root for no reason—tomorrow, will she be coming for the Anbu under your direct command?!"
Knock, knock, knock.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was nursing a massive headache while dealing with Danzo's outburst when the knock finally came.
"Enter," he called out. Hoping it was his secretary coming to rescue him, he quickly suppressed his relief and projected an authoritative tone.
But the moment he saw Minato walk in, his relief curdled into a mix of resignation and more headaches.
Predictably, Akimichi Choza, Yamanaka Inoichi, Namikaze Hatani, and Nawaki followed behind in a somber procession.
"Lord Third, Namikaze Minato reporting for duty."
Despite his usual respect for his elders, Minato was currently seething with resentment toward Danzo for attempting to seize his dear otouto the moment they stepped foot in the village. He pointedly ignored the advisor, walking straight to Hiruzen's desk and bowing.
"Mm."
Hiruzen nodded, but as he prepared to speak, his brow furrowed. "Where is Tsunade?"
Thinking she was trailing behind, he looked at the door—which Hatani had just thoughtfully and securely closed—and felt a sudden, sinking premonition.
"Hmph!"
Before Minato could answer, Danzo spotted Hatani at the back of the group and let out a cold snort. His icy gaze swept briefly over Nawaki before locking onto Hatani with the intensity of a predator staring at a high-value criminal who posed an existential threat to the village.
Hatani met his gaze. In those eyes, he didn't just see suppressed anger; he saw a flickering light of excitement and... greed.
The pieces clicked into place. They had only just reached the office, yet Danzo already knew about Tsunade kicking his two luckless Root operatives into the specialty shop. He was already here, applying pressure to Hiruzen. Hatani realized that from the moment they crossed the village threshold, they had walked into a trap Danzo had meticulously laid.
Even if Danzo truly wanted to bring him in for questioning, he could have waited until they arrived at the office and requested it from the Hokage with formal justification. Instead, he purposely sent two goons to intercept them the moment they arrived, demanding an arrest right in front of Tsunade.
It was a provocation. He wanted Tsunade to lash out.
By doing so, Danzo could use her "unprovoked assault" as an excuse to force Hiruzen to sideline her from the proceedings. And without the protection of the legendary Sannin, Danzo would be free to do whatever he pleased with Hatani.
Heh.
I knew this old bastard was up to no good.
Hatani sneered inwardly as he unraveled the political maneuvering.
Lucky for me, I saw this coming. Time to play my own card.
"Lord Third," Hatani said, stepping past Nawaki and the others to stand before Hiruzen. He bowed with an expression of deep respect and admiration. "Jiraiya Sensei asked me to convey his regards and his apologies to you."
He made sure to put a very specific emphasis on the word "Sensei."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had his flaws—chief among them being his tendency to be "short-protective" and soft-hearted toward his own students. If he hadn't let Orochimaru escape out of sentimentality, the "Konoha Crush" might never have happened, and Hiruzen wouldn't have become a laughingstock for "dying just to seal a pair of hands."
But today, Hatani planned to be the direct beneficiary of that protective streak. He was practically praying for Hiruzen to be as biased as possible.
Sure enough, Hiruzen blinked in surprise, and a flash of delight crossed his eyes.
Aside from Tsunade, Nawaki, and Jiraiya himself, Hiruzen was the one most aware of the fact that Hatani had created an original Wind Style jutsu that was at least A-rank. As established before, Hiruzen had a profound appreciation for geniuses—especially those from civilian backgrounds with no clan baggage. He had been eager to bring Hatani into his own faction.
A master-disciple relationship was the strongest bond in the shinobi world. He had been wondering which of his students he should assign Hatani to once the boy returned; now that Jiraiya had "taken the initiative" to claim him, Hiruzen felt nothing but satisfaction.
"Oh? That 'Teacher' of yours actually remembered to check on this old man? If that's the case, why hasn't he returned yet? Doesn't he know that helping the village is the best way to show he cares?"
Looking at the two brothers, Hatani and Minato, Hiruzen felt a surge of fatherly pride and feigned a grumble of annoyance.
"Lord Third, you've misunderstood Sensei," Hatani replied, playing along perfectly. He knew Hiruzen was always fond of Jiraiya. "Even though Sensei isn't in Konoha, his heart is always with the village, and he is constantly working to support it."
He gestured toward Minato and lowered his voice. "On that note, Minato is the best person to speak on the matter. If you're interested, perhaps you could have a private word with him later?"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Hiruzen looked at the slightly bewildered Minato, his curiosity piqued.
"Hiruzen!"
Watching the harmonious, almost familial interaction between the Hokage and Hatani, Danzo finally lost his patience. He let out a low, frustrated growl.
"It's one thing for Jiraiya to act like a fool, but have you lost your sense of priority as well? You're entertaining his nonsense!"
Danzo hadn't expected Hatani to have successfully climbed the social ladder to become Jiraiya's student, but he wasn't about to abandon a plan he had spent so much time crafting.
"This boy is a suspect," Danzo hissed. "He is suspected of colluding with enemy spies, leaking classified intelligence, and causing the death of a comrade. Are you really going to let him go just because Jiraiya was too blind to see the danger before taking him as a student?"
Upon hearing Danzo's "justification" for the frame-up, Hatani actually started to laugh.
They say that when a man reaches a certain level of shamelessness, he becomes invincible. Today, Hatani was seeing a master at work.
Danzo was taking his own dirty laundry—the very things he was responsible for—and pinning them on a kid without even a hint of a blush.
Truly, the man was like an old lady drinking porridge against a wall: despicable, toothless, and absolutely base.
"You still dare to laugh?!"
Seeing Hatani's reaction, Danzo immediately assumed a posture of righteous indignation, glaring at the boy and barking out a stern interrogation.
"Well, Lord Danzo," Hatani said, looking at him with a face full of mock wonder and innocence. "Your jokes are just so funny. Weren't you trying to make us laugh?"
The room went silent. Not just Danzo, but everyone—including Hiruzen—turned to look at Hatani with very strange expressions.
A joke?
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