"Did you complete the mission? You've worked hard."
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the safely returned Zoro with a gratified smile on his aged face.
On the surface, he appeared like a kind elder welcoming back one of Konoha's outstanding younger generation.
But deep within his heart, a chill had already begun spreading quietly.
Zoro's growth rate was simply too terrifying.
Terrifying enough to make even Hiruzen uneasy.
To survive an ambush from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsn and even kill three of them in return…
That level of combat strength had already surpassed ordinary jōnin by a considerable margin.
Perhaps—
He had already stepped into the realm of Kage-level combatants.
And the most frightening part was that Zoro was not even ten years old yet.
"Did you encounter any difficulties during the mission?"
Hiruzen asked with concern in his voice, as though he were genuinely worried about Zoro's safety.
Recently, the atmosphere between the Five Great Nations had beco increasingly tense.
Conflicts near the borders had grown more frequent, and hidden confrontations between villages were occurring almost constantly.
Especially after Zoro's terrifying rise to fa, Hiruzen could faintly sense that so massive storm was slowly gathering around Konoha.
"There was an error in the timing of the intelligence," Zoro replied calmly. "By the ti we arrived, the enemy had already prepared an ambush."
His tone remained flat and emotionless throughout the report.
How could he possibly not know who had arranged that trap?
Zoro sneered coldly inwardly.
He simply chose not to expose the truth openly.
At least not yet.
"Mm? I'll thoroughly investigate this matter," Hiruzen imdiately said with a serious expression. "Most likely, there was a problem within the Intelligence Division."
His answer sounded righteous and responsible.
Unfortunately, Zoro had already heard similar promises from Hiruzen many tis before.
So many tis that he had long since beco numb to them.
"You've worked hard, Zoro." Seeing that Zoro remained silent, Hiruzen's expression gradually softened. "Co to think of it, you've already been in Anbu for two years now, haven't you?"
"Two years, three months, and five days."
Beneath the cracked cat-faced mask, Zoro's expression remained indifferent.
He already knew what this old fox intended to say next.
After hearing such an exact answer, Hiruzen slowly set down the pipe in his hand.
This was actually a rather rare action for him.
He stepped forward and gently patted Zoro's shoulder, as though trying to act like a caring elder.
Then he turned around and walked toward the large window overlooking Konoha.
From the Hokage's office, the entire village could be seen clearly.
Warm sunlight bathed the streets below.
Children laughed while running through the roads.
Villagers moved busily through the bustling marketplace.
The peaceful scenery made Konoha appear calm and prosperous.
Hiruzen quietly gazed at the village before speaking in a sowhat guilty tone.
"Mm… it seems you still rember what happened back then."
"That's understandable."
"After all, during the Chūnin Exams, it was my failure as Hokage. I didn't stand up for you."
The guilt and self-reproach in his expression appeared extrely convincing.
Anyone who did not truly understand Hiruzen Sarutobi might genuinely believe he was an old man burdened by regret and responsibility.
"Ah… but the incident during the Chūnin Exams was already quite a long ti ago."
"You can openly appear in public again now."
Hiruzen sighed softly before turning back around.
"I'm sorry, Zoro. These past two years have wronged you."
"You've done so much for the village, yet almost nobody knows your contributions."
His voice sounded helpless and sincere.
But Zoro remained completely unmoved.
Because he understood very clearly—
Warm sunlight might exist within Konoha.
But Konoha itself was never warm.
Especially not toward the Uchiha.
"As for Anbu…" Hiruzen continued slowly, "there's no need for you to continue reporting there in the future."
"In the end, you're still just a child. It's better if you involve yourself less in killing and bloodshed."
At last, Hiruzen revealed his true intention.
He wanted Zoro to leave Anbu completely.
Over the past two years, Zoro's achievents within Anbu had beco far too terrifying.
And that was already after Hiruzen deliberately erased and suppressed a large portion of the reports concerning him.
But no matter how much he tried to conceal things, it was impossible to silence every Anbu mber who had worked alongside Zoro.
As a result, Zoro's prestige within Anbu had already reached an extrely frightening level.
Even the forr commander of Anbu's Operations Division had voluntarily stepped down and handed the position directly to Zoro.
For Hiruzen, this was not a good sign.
Anbu belonged to the Hokage.
It absolutely could not beco a force that admired soone else more than the Hokage himself.
"I will follow your arrangents."
Zoro answered calmly, his posture even carrying a trace of respect.
At a glance, he looked exactly like a loyal subordinate who obeyed orders without complaint.
Seeing Zoro agree so easily, Hiruzen's eyes flickered slightly.
For a brief mont, he suddenly felt as though perhaps he had misunderstood this child all along.
Maybe Danzō's suspicions had influenced him too deeply.
Perhaps Zoro truly had inherited the Will of Fire.
Perhaps he genuinely cared for Konoha.
But those thoughts only lasted an instant before Hiruzen forcibly suppressed them again.
No matter what—The current Zoro still could not receive his complete trust.
Or rather…
Hiruzen Sarutobi had never fully trusted anyone besides himself.
Even his own students had been treated with caution at various points.
Trust was sothing the Hokage could not give away easily.
"Oh, right." Hiruzen suddenly seed to recall sothing. "Recently, Orochimaru ca looking for ."
"He said he wanted to et you."
"When you have ti, go see him. It's always a good thing to have more friends."
After delivering those final words, Hiruzen picked his pipe back up and slowly turned toward the window again.
anwhile, Zoro silently rose to his feet and left the office without another word.
Alone, Zoro arrived at the base of Anbu's Operations Division.
Much like Root, the Operations Division possessed its own independent underground base hidden beneath Konoha.
Within Anbu, every departnt operated separately and maintained its own headquarters.
Root was officially known as the Anbu Training Division.
Aside from that, there was also the Intelligence Division, the Torture and Interrogation Division, and the Operations Division.
And the departnt currently under Zoro's command—
Was precisely the Operations Division.
The mont he stepped inside the underground facility, the cold scent of stone and steel greeted him.
Dim lights illuminated the spacious training area.
So shinobi were sparring.
Others were sharpening blades or organizing mission equipnt.
"Captain? Did Hokage-sama say sothing?"
The first person to speak was an Uchiha clansman Zoro had quietly arranged to enter Anbu not long ago.
The mont the word "Captain" echoed through the underground base, several nearby Anbu mbers imdiately stopped what they were doing.
Swish! Swish! Swish!!
In the blink of an eye, several figures appeared before Zoro and knelt respectfully on one knee.
"Nothing important," Zoro answered calmly. "Just a mission summary."
His gaze swept across the underground training grounds.
The Operations Division base was not particularly large, but its atmosphere was cold and oppressive enough to make ordinary people uncomfortable.
Normally, the Operations Division remained extrely busy.
Most mbers were either carrying out missions or preparing for deploynt.
As a result, only three or four Anbu mbers happened to be present here right now.
"I'm preparing to leave Anbu."
The mont those words left Zoro's mouth, the expressions of the kneeling shinobi changed instantly.
"From now on, the position of captain will return to the forr commander."
"What?! Why?!"
The one who reacted most strongly was not the Uchiha clansman.
Instead, it was the shinobi who had carried the large blade during Zoro's very first Anbu mission.
His luck had been surprisingly good.
Out of countless Anbu mbers, he had already completed three missions alongside Zoro.
And every single mission had shocked him more than the last.
He truly acknowledged Zoro's strength from the bottom of his heart.
As for Zoro becoming captain—
He had never held even the slightest dissatisfaction.
Forget dissatisfaction.
Back then, when certain Anbu mbers secretly spread rumors behind Zoro's back because of his age and Uchiha identity, this sa shinobi had personally beaten several of them badly enough that they stopped gossiping afterward.
"No reason."
Zoro's calm answer caused the four kneeling shinobi to sigh inwardly.
Only after experiencing a change in leadership did they truly understand how terrifyingly capable Zoro actually was.
Putting everything else aside—
As long as they followed Zoro on missions, their survival rate beca absurdly high.
No matter how dangerous the battlefield beca, Zoro always stood at the very front.
And unlike many higher-ranking commanders, he never abused his authority recklessly.
For example, he would never deliberately send subordinates forward to die just to test an enemy's abilities.
That alone was enough to earn genuine respect within Anbu.
The four exchanged glances silently.
Each of them could clearly see helplessness in the others' eyes.
But none of them could object.
This was Hokage-sama's order.
And within Anbu, disobeying the Hokage was absolute taboo.
Most mbers of Anbu were, ultimately, loyal hounds raised by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Even though Zoro had gradually inserted so Uchiha clansn into the organization over the past two years, he still had no way to fully infiltrate or control Anbu completely.
"Understood… Captain."
The large-blade shinobi lowered his head slightly in the end.
After giving a few final instructions, Zoro left the underground base alone.
Returning to Konoha Village once more, he stepped quietly into a damp and narrow alleyway.
Then—
He slowly removed the cat-faced mask from his face.
Lifting his head slightly, Zoro looked toward the sunlight flickering above the rooftops.
Golden light poured down through the gaps between the eaves, illuminating half the dark alley.
For the first ti in a long while, he felt a faint trace of warmth against his skin.
After two entire years—
He could finally walk openly through Konoha without hiding behind a mask.
Even if he felt so displeasure toward Hiruzen's actions, it remained true that during these two years, he had done countless things for Konoha from the shadows.
Killing.
Pursuit.
Execution.
Bloodshed that ordinary villagers would never know about.
Looking down slightly, Zoro saw his reflection in a small puddle remaining on the ground after recent rain.
The figure staring back at him had already grown much taller.
The childishness from his earlier years had mostly faded away.
Beneath his sowhat ssy black hair, his brows had beco sharper and his facial features more defined.
His entire appearance now carried an edge like an unsheathed blade.
Cold, dangerous and oppressive.
But just as Zoro stepped out from the shadows of the alley and entered the sunlight—
The conversations around him quietly drifted into his ears.
"That's him…"
"So he's finally allowed outside again?"
"I heard the Hokage was protecting him…"
"Still, he's an Uchiha after all…"
"Who knows what really happened back then…"
The voices were not loud.
So were fearful.
So curious.
So carried faint hostility.
None of them dared speak openly before him, yet those whispers still existed.
The warmth that had just appeared on Zoro's face gradually faded away.
Even standing beneath sunlight. He could no longer feel any warmth from Konoha itself.
At that mont, it was as though he suddenly understood sothing completely.
Slowly, Zoro raised his head toward the sky.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
But within his eyes, cold sharpness quietly flickered.
That was right.
What was warm was the sunlight.
Not Konoha.
***
Advance chapters available on P@trè0n (Aki_sensei). Appreciate the support!
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