Both of Konoha's top leaders experienced complete mental shutdown simultaneously. Their brains simply refused to process the impossibility of what they had just heard. It took nearly ten minutes of stunned silence before either man could somehow manage to calm down enough to form coherent thoughts.
"What happened? Tell me in detail!" Sarutobi's voice had completely transformed. All the previous calm had vanished, replaced by deep confusion mixed with barely controlled panic.
The ANBU operative straightened under the intense scrutiny. "Hokage-sama, this news was sent by the spies we planted within the coalition forces and confirmed by the ANBU team which was sent to observe the incident. The report is most likely accurate, and—"
BANG!
"Fucking hell, tell me what happened, quickly!"
Danzo had suddenly hurled the remaining pieces of his broken teacup toward the ANBU messenger, his usual composed demeanor completely shattered. The masked ninja almost jumped in fright at the uncharacteristic outburst, instinctively reaching for his sword before catching himself.
"Danzo!" Sarutobi's sharp reprimand somehow managed to calm the explosive tension filling the room.
Taking a deep breath, the Third Hokage addressed the messenger more calmly. "Fox, tell me in detail what happened."
The ANBU operative swallowed hard before delivering his report. "It was a child. The young heir of the Uzumaki clan. It was single-handedly done by him..."
After explaining the entire impossible situation—how one ten-year-old boy had defeated three Kage and seven thousand elite ninja—the room fell into a deathly silence that seemed to stretch on for eternity.
"Okay, you can leave now," Sarutobi barely managed to let out the dismissal, slumping down into his chair as if the weight of this news had physically crushed him.
After the ANBU departed, the room was filled by a long, oppressive silence. Both men had been rendered speechless by the sheer impossibility of the situation.
"Do you think it's true, Sarutobi?" Danzo finally asked, his voice uncharacteristically uncertain.
"True or false, we can determine that later. Just cancel the mission for now."
"Hiruzen!" Danzo's voice carried a note of alarm. "If it was false, then we'll lose this last chance to acquire the Uzumaki clan for Konoha!"
The Third Hokage's expression remained firm despite his inner turmoil. "It doesn't matter. If the report was false, everything will just remain the same, and it's not like we don't have other options for jinchuriki containers. But if the report was true, then you can guess how much trouble it will bring if our people get caught involved in this."
Danzo's single visible eye narrowed with frustration. "Hmm, Hiruzen, how could you be so cowardly? You will regret this decision in the future."
"I am the Hokage. Do what I say."
For once, Danzo didn't argue much and simply left, though his departure radiated displeasure.
Two hours later, Danzo returned. His face was now very solemn, but more than solemnity, there was clear annoyance present in his expression—the look of a man forced to accept an unwelcome reality.
"Hiruzen, the news was true."
Sarutobi felt his heart sink even further, though he had already suspected as much.
Danzo continued, his voice carrying the weight of confirmed disaster. "His name is Elric Uzumaki, son of the current clan head. He almost single-handedly defeated the entire coalition force. Most likely, all three Kage along with the majority of the coalition forces have been captured alive."
The Third Hokage stared at his old teammate with growing dread. "What should we do now, Hiruzen?"
Even Danzo, with his notoriously firm and calculating mind, appeared genuinely confused. When he had first heard the news, his immediate thought had been that it was clearly complete bullshit. Even their teacher—the brother of the God of Shinobi himself—couldn't have accomplished something like this in his prime. So how could a random child possibly achieve such an impossible feat?
But when the detailed report had been placed in his hands, with multiple independent confirmations from different sources, he had been forced to accept the unthinkable reality.
"Do you know how he did it?" Sarutobi asked, his voice heavy with foreboding. "Is it some kind of sealing technique, or some forbidden ninjutsu?"
"No," Danzo replied grimly. "It was just plain taijutsu. He didn't seem to use any ninjutsu throughout the entire fight. Anyway, we'll have to wait for more detailed reports later, but it should be generally accurate as reported."
Danzo began pacing as his analytical mind worked through the possibilities. "There are only two explanations. Most likely, it's some kind of forbidden jutsu, like the Eight Gates technique, but that's not very probable. Our teacher was the best in that field, so as his students, we're not too far behind in knowledge of such techniques."
He paused, his expression growing more troubled. "The most important component of any ninjutsu is chakra. The more chakra someone possesses, the more powerful their techniques can be. So there would be no point in sending a child to the battlefield. No matter how strong anyone's talent might be, they're still fundamentally limited by their age and physical development."
"So there's only one possibility remaining," Danzo concluded with growing certainty. "It's most likely some kind of bloodline limit—probably comparable to the First Hokage's Wood Release. Even if it's not exactly that, it must be some combination of bloodline abilities and jutsu that produces this enormous power."
After hearing this analysis, Sarutobi fell into very deep thought. The implications were staggering and terrifying.
If it truly was some kind of bloodline limit, then the situation had become incredibly troublesome for everyone involved. Currently, the Five Great Ninja Villages maintained a somewhat delicate balance of power, because the world had been effectively divided among them—primarily dominated by the Fire Country and Konohagakure.
They were like wolves, each controlling their own territory through strength and mutual deterrence. But when a tiger suddenly appeared on the scene, everything would descend into chaos. And the more aggressive this tiger proved to be, the more trouble it would bring to the established order.
The fate of the entire shinobi world would depend entirely on this tiger's temperament and intentions.
But unfortunately, this particular tiger had not been born in Konoha.
Sarutobi stood up slowly, his decision made despite the weight of uncertainty crushing down on him.
"Let's go. We need to bother Mito-sama once again."