"Do you still want to become Hokage again?"
"Do you?"
Slowly regaining his composure, Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a deep drag.
After a long silence, four words left his lips.
"I once did."
Once did? Meaning he no longer does?
Danzō frowned, slightly taken aback. Based on his understanding of this old comrade, Hiruzen was not someone who would easily relinquish power. By all logic, he should feel envy toward the beloved Minato Namikaze and that young man known as "Konoha's Kenpachi."
Yet his reaction now was far beyond what Danzō had expected.
Hiruzen wasn't deceiving him. Those four words were sincere.
"Perhaps before that negotiation, I truly did think about taking back power. But after that, the thought disappeared.
I'm old. Konoha should be left in the hands of the young.
And I believe Minato can do even better."
As he spoke, Hiruzen lifted his gaze to look at his old comrade. These were companions who had walked beside him through life—Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Kagami Uchiha, and Torifu Akimichi.
They were teammates from the same generation and the bodyguards of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. The days spent carrying out missions together had forged an inseparable bond between them.
Decades had passed. Those old comrades had all changed.
The two Hokage advisors had become consumed by comfort and vanity, offering little real help in times of need. The only one with whom Hiruzen could truly speak his heart had been Kagami Uchiha—and he was long gone.
But when it came to change, no one had changed more than the man before him. Koharu and Homura had merely grown vain, but Danzō—he, like Hiruzen himself, had become obsessed with power.
The creation of Root was a mistake.
Konoha only needed one ANBU. The ANBU were already steeped in darkness, but Root went even deeper into that abyss—a darkness that did not belong to Konoha.
Hiruzen had never voiced these thoughts aloud.
Perhaps when Danzō first established Root, it did bring some merit to the village. But as his authority grew, Danzō became increasingly reckless. He thought Hiruzen couldn't see it, when in truth, Hiruzen simply chose not to speak.
Even Danzō's collaboration with Orochimaru—he had turned a blind eye.
In recent days, Hiruzen had spent much time in quiet reflection at home. Looking back on his life, he believed he had done no wrong. Yet as Hakken once described, there was nothing he could point to—no deed worthy of being carved into the Wall of Honor.
For Konoha, he had given everything. But mediocrity was still an undeniable truth.
Now that the position of Hokage had been passed on to Minato, Hiruzen had slowly let go of his desire for control.
Only that wall of achievements remained his one regret.
If possible, he wished to use the rest of his life to do something meaningful—to make up for that regret.
That was his only remaining wish.
"Understood."
Staring at Hiruzen's face for a full minute, Danzō seemed to search for a crack in that calm facade, hoping to find a trace of falsehood.
But to his disappointment, there was none.
This time, the old comrade he thought he knew had completely exceeded his expectations.
Rising to his feet, Danzō turned and headed for the door.
"Danzō, I advise you not to do anything. I've already stepped down. The current Hokage of Konoha is Minato."
Hiruzen's voice followed, carrying a clear warning.
There was no mistaking Danzō's purpose in coming here today. His very first question—whether Hiruzen wanted to be Hokage again—said enough.
Hiruzen didn't know what Danzō planned, but he was certain it wasn't anything good. Just like those hidden, questionable "achievements" Danzō always boasted of, this too reeked of the same nature.
"Those of Root have no names, no emotions, no past, no future," Danzō murmured to himself, ignoring Hiruzen's words. "There is only the mission in our hearts. What supports Konoha's great tree from beneath the surface is the will of us—the Root buried deep in the earth."
"Konoha has completely fallen out of control. The only salvation is to restore order. The ideals of the current Hokage and that boy are utterly mistaken."
"As Root, we must eliminate every threat."
Without another word or a hint of hesitation, Danzō left Hiruzen's home, leaving the old man sitting silently in place.
"Once, you told me those same words," Hiruzen muttered quietly. "But what you've done, Danzō...
This time... I won't let you do as you please."
...
"Getting a bit lax, aren't we?"
Stepping out of the Hokage's office, Hakken glanced at his system panel with mild exasperation. It wasn't that he had been neglecting his daily sword practice—rather, that sudden mission remained incomplete.
His original plan had been to put the ANBU through special training, select the best of the best, and lead them to completely eradicate the remaining spies within the Land of Fire—sweeping across the borders to establish the might of his unit.
That way, he could continue reaping lives, eventually unlocking his Zanpakutō and becoming a true Shinigami.
But now, he realized he had been too idealistic.
Even among elites, talent had its limits. After all, this was a world where lineage mattered. Some awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and soared to near-Kage level strength, while others spent their entire lives as mere chūnin.
Though his training methods were effective, it would take at least another month to achieve the results he wanted.
So, this mission would have to wait.
Still, the ANBU's pace of improvement wasn't his main concern. With time, quality would follow.
Right now, he was focused on only one thing.
The Nine-Tails Incident—just one month away.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as Hakken's figure vanished from sight.
"I never thought you'd actually make it into ANBU."
On the familiar rooftop of the Fourth Hokage's home, Kakashi looked helplessly at Guy, whose wild aura couldn't be hidden no matter what mask he wore—or how much hair covered it.
Yeah.
Might Guy had joined ANBU.
Who could've seen that coming?
It had to be a joke. His straightforward, hot-blooded nature was suited for open combat, not the shadowy work of covert missions.
Even the original story had shown that much.
When Kakashi had been assigned to ANBU, Guy—wanting to understand his friend's struggles—had eagerly applied to the Third Hokage for the same position, only to be rejected.
Frustrated and confused, he'd crossed paths with Danzō, and in a fit of impulsive determination, declared he wanted to join Root.
Danzō dismissed him instantly.
"Your heart isn't dark enough."
That had been his only explanation.
And indeed, the mind of a rare beast like Guy was something no one else could comprehend.
Just like now—balancing upside down on one hand mid-training—he casually asked Kakashi if he wanted to spar.
Bro.
We're on a mission.
Watching the two, Itachi and Shisui could barely hold back their laughter, though they dared not show it. New members always took time to adjust.
Whoosh!
A figure landed on the rooftop—Hakken, arriving straight from the Hokage's office.
He scanned the group.
Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, and himself—five in total.
"From this moment on, we'll maintain 24-hour rotating shifts to protect Kushina Uzumaki's safety."
At that instant, Night Owl Squad reassembled once more.
Their mission was simple.
Protect the safety of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.