To protect the daimyo's palace, villages are always situated near the country's capital—this holds for both the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. Thanks to Hiruzen Sarutobi and his team's swift journey, by afternoon, Hattori returned to Konoha with them.
Upon returning to the village, Kakashi and another Anbu member left, while Hattori followed Hiruzen to the Hokage's office to discuss his plans to open a shop.
To their surprise, someone was already in the office when they entered. It was a man with a bandage wrapped around his head, even covering one eye, seated comfortably in Hiruzen's chair, looking quite pleased.
Seeing this, Hiruzen's face darkened, and he said, "I wasn't planning on giving that chair up just yet!"
Hearing Hiruzen's voice, the man in the chair looked up in shock. Hiruzen pulled his Hokage hat down slightly, his eyes flashing with a sharp glint.
"Surprised I'm still alive?" he asked.
"N-no…," stammered the man, standing up quickly. "I only heard you went to the daimyo's palace this morning."
"Someone tipped me off about an ambush along the way."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the man's nervous demeanor. "Of course, it will be easy to track down the traitor, and when I do, the penalty will be… severe."
At this, the man's face went pale, and sweat began to bead on his cheeks.
"But," Hiruzen continued, "I don't want any more unnecessary sacrifice. Should we encounter this person, I would tell him… Konoha will not pursue this incident further. In return, I would hope that, for the sake of the village, he might serve it wholeheartedly in the future."
The man hesitated a moment before responding, "You're as committed to peace as ever. That naivety may burn you someday, Hiruzen."
"Perhaps," Hiruzen replied nonchalantly, turning his back on the man.
The man turned to leave but paused at the door, looking back at Hiruzen. "You're always the light, and I am the shadow."
"Where there is light, there must also be darkness," Hiruzen replied.
The man gave a dark chuckle, then exited, casting a long, hard look at Hattori as he did.
Hattori smiled and bowed slightly. "A pleasure to meet you, King of Scapegoats in Konoha."
The man scowled, clearly puzzled, but said nothing as he left, closing the door behind him.
Hiruzen sighed and apologized to Hattori. "I'm sorry you had to witness that… Every village has its unsavory secrets."
Hattori chuckled. "I didn't expect you'd remember my earlier, immature remarks."
"No, I think they're quite true," Hiruzen replied, looking back at Hattori. "By the way, why did you call him the 'King of Scapegoats in Konoha'?"
"Oh, just what it sounds like." Hattori shrugged. "He's the so-called 'Darkness of Ninja World,' right? That means he's held accountable for every disaster in Konoha, big or small…"
Hattori snapped his fingers. "Basically, whenever there's trouble, blame him! Every mishap and mistake can be pinned on him. He's practically Konoha's official scapegoat—Danzo Shimura,King of Scapegoats!"
"Pfft…cough, cough…" Hiruzen, who was smoking, choked, erupting in a fit of coughing.
At that moment, there was a thud outside the door.
"Hm?" Hattori opened the door to see who was outside but found no one. When he closed his eyes and activated his Sensory Perception, he saw Danzo stumbling away.
Deactivating his perception, he turned to Hiruzen. "Looks like our scapegoat king was eavesdropping!"
Hiruzen laughed heartily. "You've probably made an enemy of Danzo now, but rest assured, he'll be more likely to recruit you than retaliate once he investigates your background."
"Yeah, I figured," Hattori chuckled. "And if I make it clear I'd support him as the Sixth Hokage, we might even become friends. What do you think?"
"I think it's possible," Hiruzen replied with a smile. "But isn't a friendship with the current Hokage a safer investment?"
"We'll see. Time will tell," Hattori replied with a grin.
After their lighthearted banter, Hattori and Hiruzen moved on to serious matters. Konoha was undergoing reconstruction after the Nine-Tails incident, so Hiruzen suggested that Hattori's puppet shop could be built in the south district, which needed a complete overhaul.
In exchange, Hattori offered to cover fifty million ryō for the reconstruction, while Konoha would provide materials and labor.
Hattori agreed right away, even proposing a more ambitious deal.
"I'll put in one billion ryō to rebuild the entire south district," he said, "in exchange for 80% of the district's shop revenue for the next sixty years."
"Eighty percent is too high," Hiruzen countered after some thought. "I can offer you 40% for thirty years at most."
Hattori gasped. "Come on, Lord Hokage! One billion for one small street, and you still want to cut my share? You have no shame!"
Hiruzen: (╬￣皿￣)