Danzo walked slowly down the corridors of the Hokage Tower.
He had co today to discuss the staffing of Root with Hiruzen.
The Third Shinobi World War had been raging for nearly half a year, and Root had suffered heavy losses; they needed new blood.
Upon reaching the office door, he knocked twice.
There was no answer.
After waiting three seconds, he turned the handle and pushed the door open. The room was empty.
Danzo stood in the doorway, his single eye scanning the room before finally landing on the chair behind the Hokage's desk.
The afternoon sunlight stread through the window, bathing the back of the chair in a golden glow.
He walked toward it.
Without hesitation, he turned and sat down.
The back of the chair tilted slightly, supporting his weight.
Danzo reached out and swiveled the chair half a turn to face the window.
Rooftops, streets, and the distant Hokage Rock stretched out before him. From this vantage point, the entirety of the Hidden Leaf was laid bare.
This chair should have been his.
Then, he swiveled the chair back to face the desk.
Docunts were piled haphazardly; Hiruzen's half-finished notes were scattered everywhere.
To the right, a separate stack of files sat apart from the rest, topped with a handwritten sticky note: "Under Observation."
Danzo casually flipped open the top file.
A young face stared back at him.
Kitahara Kaede, Genin, fifteen years old.
Civilian-born, both parents deceased, no clan background.
Ninja Academy Evaluation: *Chakra reserves are low, lacks aptitude for ninjutsu, no standout traits. Recomnded for transfer to logistics.*
Danzo's gaze lingered on that line for a mont.
He flipped to the next page.
Dan Kato's frontline evaluation read:
*"Completed all eight B-rank missions with a zero casualty rate. Intelligence quality is exceptionally high. Recomnded for promotion to Chunin."*
The two evaluations seed to describe two completely different people.
Danzo read through the file again from the beginning.
Three missions where the entire team was wiped out—he was the sole survivor.
Once could be luck; twice could be a coincidence.
But three tis?
Danzo's single eye narrowed.
Either this boy possessed an extraordinary survival instinct and battlefield judgnt, making the correct choices before his teammates fell into a death trap...
Or, he had never intended to die with them from the very start.
Either way, it pointed to the sa conclusion.
This person was cold to the core.
A cold person isn't necessarily terrifying. What is terrifying is soone who is dismissed as trash by everyone while quietly performing work that far exceeds their rank.
Danzo tapped his finger twice on the desk.
Orphaned, no clan, no connections, no backers. He had no ties to the Hidden Leaf Village.
No one would care where a person like this went, nor would anyone question who he was working for.
A tree without roots will grow in whatever direction the soil leads it.
He was the perfect material for Root.
Danzo closed the file and returned it to its place.
There was no rush.
The boy was still in the process of being promoted to Chunin; moving too early would alert Hiruzen.
Rembering the na was enough for now.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.
Danzo stood up and stepped to the side of the desk. His movents were crisp and devoid of panic.
The door opened.
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked in, holding several new war reports. He glanced at Danzo.
"Danzo."
Hiruzen bypassed the desk and pulled out the chair to sit. The mont his seat touched the surface, he paused for a fraction of a second.
The chair was warm.
He had been gone for over half an hour; the seat should not have been this temperature.
Hiruzen pulled his pipe from his pocket. He looked up calmly at Danzo, who stood opposite him.
Danzo's expression remained unchanged as he waited for the other man to speak.
Hiruzen placed the pipe in his mouth and struck a match.
"What is it?"
"The Chunin promotion exams," Danzo replied in a businesslike tone. "There are a few promising candidates in this batch. Root has suffered heavy losses, and I need to replenish my manpower."
Hiruzen flipped through the docunts in his hand, speaking as he read.
"Every person in the warti organization must go to the front lines. We will discuss Root's affairs after the war."
Danzo's single eye contracted slightly.
"Hiruzen, the function of Root is to serve the Hidden Leaf—"
"Impossible."
Hiruzen's voice wasn't loud, but the rejection was absolute.
He put down the docunts and looked Danzo straight in the eye.
"People are dying on the front lines every day. I have no spare shinobi to give you."
Two seconds of silence followed.
Danzo took a half-step forward.
"Don't you think you're being shortsighted? The very purpose of Root's existence—"
"Do not forget," Hiruzen interrupted him.
His voice was still quiet, but it now carried an unquestionable weight.
"I am the Hokage."
Those words hung heavy between them.
Danzo's lips thinned into a straight line, his single eye locked onto Hiruzen. Hiruzen t the gaze without flinching.
On opposite sides of the desk, two n who had stood against each other since their youth locked eyes in a silent confrontation for several seconds.
Danzo was the first to look away.
He took a step back.
"Fine!"
"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
*Bang.*
Danzo stord out of the room.
Hiruzen sat in the chair for a while, raising a hand to rub his temples.
*This door will need to be replaced sooner or later.*
His gaze then drifted down to the desk.
In the "Under Observation" stack of files, the top folder was slightly misaligned.
Hiruzen opened the file and glanced at the na inside.
Kitahara Kaede.
He closed the file and put it back. He took a drag from his pipe and slowly exhaled.
The light in his eyes dimd.
...
At Kushina's house.
Tsunade sat cross-legged before a low table, opposite Kushina, who was hugging a cushion. A teapot, so dorayaki, and a deck of cards were laid out on the table.
Kushina spoke first.
"Tsunade-sama, you don't look very well today. Who did you lose a bet to this ti?"
"Who says I don't look well?"
"You have dark circles under your eyes, and the corners of your mouth are drooping." Kushina tilted her head. "I look at my own face in the mirror every day; I have enough intuition to notice that."
Tsunade took a sip of tea and didn't respond.
Kushina didn't press further and pushed the cards forward.
"Let's play this. Whoever loses has to stick a piece of paper on their face."
"You think I'm afraid?"
Five rounds later.
Tsunade had four slips of paper stuck to her face. One was across her forehead, and another was hanging crookedly over the bridge of her nose.
Kushina laughed so hard she slapped the floor.
Tsunade reached up to peel off the one on her forehead, but Kushina slapped her hand away.
"No taking them off! Rules are rules!"
"...Don't get ahead of yourself."
The sixth round.
Tsunade drew a great hand. Just as she was about to play, her hand paused.
She stared at a card for two seconds.
A blue suit.
The color of that necklace flashed through her mind.
"Tsunade-sama?"
"Huh?"
"It's your turn to play."
Tsunade snapped back to reality and haphazardly threw a card. Only after she did, she realized she had played the wrong one.
Kushina blinked, looked down at the table, and then looked back up at Tsunade.
"...Did you just throw the ga on purpose?"
"Who threw the ga! I just misread the card!"
Tsunade stuck a sixth piece of paper onto her chin, her movents tinged with petulance.
Kushina stopped laughing.
She remained quiet for a mont, then pushed a piece of dorayaki toward Tsunade.
"Eat sothing."
Tsunade took the dorayaki and took a bite. As she chewed, her shoulders slowly relaxed.
By the ti the tea had been refilled for the third pot, only two pieces of dorayaki remained on the table.
Tsunade didn't even bother to peel off the papers on her face, chatting aimlessly with Kushina while wearing them.
They talked about the hospital, the recent rise in prices, and how Kushina was so bored at ho she felt like she was growing mushrooms.
Kushina reached for the teapot, but her hand stopped halfway.
Her gaze fixed on Tsunade's collar.
To be precise, it was a glimpse of a silver chain and a hint of blue luster peeking out from beneath her collarbone.
"Lady Tsunade, that's a lovely necklace."
Kushina set down the teapot and leaned in closer.
"I don't think I've seen you wear it before."
Tsunade's hand, still holding her teacup, didn't budge.
"Did you buy it yourself... or was it a gift from soone special?"
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