Seeing Uchiha Hikari truly about to make a move on him, Jiraiya hurriedly resumed his usual playful demeanor, chuckling as he said that he would consult the Mount Myōboku for their opinion, which caused Uchiha Hikari to dispel the killing intent around her.
When she saw the other party voluntarily step aside, Jiraiya knew that she had accepted his suggestion. With her thoughts of rest now gone, he quickly made his way to the Hokage office to prepare to explain the situation to Sakumo.
Uchiha Hikari squinted her eyes, watching Jiraiya's retreating figure, before closing her Mangekyō Sharingan.
As she turned around, she saw Danzo leaning on his cane, quietly standing by the utility pole at the street corner. His single eye was half-closed, as though deep in thought.
Uchiha Hikari wanted to ignore him, but Danzo, to her surprise, took the same approach. Just as she was about to pass by, he moved into the center of the road.
"He's at Mount Myōboku," she said coldly.
"Why should I care?" Danzo finally opened his eyes, speaking casually, before stepping aside to let her pass.
"Tch, insincere old man," Uchiha Hikari muttered under her breath, making her way past Danzo, heading toward the distance.
"Uchiha..." Danzo turned his head, watching her departing figure, his gaze complex.
There was admiration, wariness, and even a trace of disgust mixed in.
"Hmph, inform them. I'll be going to the Uchiha clan estate soon," Danzo ordered the air around him, then leaned on his cane, heading toward the commercial district.
It was still early, so he thought he'd have breakfast at the commercial district.
...
At this moment, in the Hokage Building.
Sakumo had arrived early at his office and instructed Uchiha Itachi, who had also arrived early, to take care of the returning troops' logistics.
"The coal-powered engine can be tested using chakra as an energy source to drive the machinery. This task can be handed over to the civilian ninja tool department at the Research Bureau."
Uchiha Itachi, true to his reputation, handled various matters methodically.
"As for the chakra armor, it should be sent to Hiruko-sama so he can begin the replication and optimization process."
"By the way, the armor on Kazahana Dotō needs further research. Though it's been damaged, its performance is clearly superior to that of the standard snow ninja's equipment," Nara Shikaku added.
He greatly admired Sakumo's governance style.
While Takeshi was the leader who led Konoha toward prosperity, his ideas were often risky and filled with unpredictability. He would sometimes issue multiple orders in a single day, which, though beneficial for Konoha, also planted some hidden dangers.
For example, if not for Danzo's influence behind the scenes, Konoha might have been on the verge of a direct conflict with the Daimyo's house.
So, Nara Shikaku preferred the more steady-handed approach of Sakumo.
"Jiraiya, why are you squatting outside the window?"
While signing some documents, Sakumo suddenly turned and looked out the window.
Hearing Sakumo's voice, Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Itachi finally noticed Jiraiya squatting outside.
"Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Hikari is getting a bit too dangerous."
Jiraiya opened the window from the outside, jumped into the room, and immediately began recounting the events he had just experienced.
After hearing Jiraiya's account, Sakumo quickly understood his concern.
"When she joined Konoha, I was still unconscious in the hospital. But I've heard a lot about her," Sakumo said, waving for Jiraiya to sit. When Jiraiya refused, he leisurely shared his thoughts.
"She's only been in the village for a short time. It's normal that she doesn't feel a sense of belonging."
Sakumo thought for a moment, then tentatively asked Jiraiya,
"Do you think Mount Myōboku would approve of her going there?"
Jiraiya understood that Sakumo was suggesting sending her to Mount Myōboku, where at least she wouldn't pose a threat to Konoha.
"Sigh, I understand. I'll have to ask the boss and the others for their opinion," Jiraiya said with a sigh before turning and leaving the Hokage office.
"Should we send the ANBU or Internal Affairs to monitor her?" Once Jiraiya left, Uchiha Itachi looked at Sakumo, who had already put away his smile, and quietly asked.
When Takeshi was in the village, he had given Uchiha Hikari a lot of trust, which is why no one had been assigned to monitor her.
"Don't provoke her further. We'll do things the way Takeshi did," Sakumo shook his head, rejecting Itachi's suggestion.
Nara Shikaku shook his head and chuckled bitterly.
"I didn't expect that with the Fifth Hokage only gone for such a short time, so many issues would come up."
His words were not without reason.
Aside from the Uchiha Hikari situation, Danzo had also been stirring up trouble.
It seemed he had used various means to control the upper echelons of the Daimyo's house. After the former Daimyo stepped down, the two former advisors didn't return to the village but instead stayed in the Daimyo's house, taking on important government positions and maintaining close communication with Danzo.
Recently, rumors of a unification movement had surfaced within the Land of Fire, and the current Daimyo even sent a message, requesting Konoha's protection from the movement.
"This unification movement is a bit strange," Nara Shikaku remarked.
On how to handle the unification movement, everyone in the room had an unusually consistent attitude: it was very likely not an enemy of Konoha.
"I've had people investigate their movements and financial transactions. The result..."
As Konoha's intelligence officer, Nara Shikaku quickly discovered that the so-called unification movement seemed to be closely tied to Konoha's upper echelons.
He strongly suspected that the movement was actually a new organization formed by Danzo after the dissolution of ROOT, gathering his loyal subordinates.
Sakumo deeply agreed.
Only Uchiha Itachi had other suspicions.
"Let's deal with the unification movement after the Fifth Hokage returns," Sakumo decided, influenced by many factors. For now, he chose to ignore the group claiming to "remove oppression."