"Who goes there?"
Outside the Root base, two Root ninja assumed defensive stances, warily eyeing the three figures approaching.
"Insolence! This is the Hokage!"
Leading the group, the ANBU operative responsible for Hiruzen's protection stepped forward sharply, loudly rebuking their disrespect.
"Hehe, no matter."
Wearing a benevolent smile, Hiruzen showed no offense at the Root ninja's behavior. Instead, he voluntarily halted and spoke gently: "Go inform Danzō that his old friend has come to visit."
Hiruzen could certainly force entry through other means, but that would contradict his purpose for coming here.
Inside the base, Danzō—who had just been planning to find time to destroy evidence at the final two locations—displayed incredulous shock upon receiving the news.
What impeccable timing. He'd barely decided to depart when Hiruzen arrived seeking him out. Had this fellow somehow mastered the Yamanaka Clan's mind-reading techniques?
Adjusting his mindset, Danzō suppressed his astonishment and replied coldly to his reporting subordinate: "Since the Hokage visits personally, let them enter."
Following Danzō's orders, the Root ninja at the entrance finally admitted Hiruzen's party into the base.
"Hiruzen, I'm busy. If you lack important business, please leave promptly."
Meeting Hiruzen in the base's main hall, Danzō immediately issued a dismissal.
"What's this, Danzō? An old friend visits, and we'll converse here?"
Completely ignoring the antipathy in Danzō's tone, Hiruzen adopted the demeanor of a longtime friend, revealing nothing of his intentions.
"You..."
Frowning as he scrutinized Hiruzen, Danzō couldn't determine his purpose. However, judging by his attitude, he wasn't here for accusations, so Danzō softened his tone slightly, gesturing for Hiruzen to follow: "Very well, come along."
"You two, wait here."
Seeing Danzō prepare to lead the way, Hiruzen quietly instructed his accompanying ANBU.
"Hokage-sama, this..."
The ANBU beside him worried for the Hokage's safety and attempted protest, but Hiruzen had already followed Danzō deeper into Root.
Bringing Hiruzen to his office, Danzō dismissed surrounding subordinates, leaving only the two of them in the room and vicinity.
"So you hung this calligraphy here—no wonder I couldn't locate it at your residence." Examining Danzō's office layout with interest, Hiruzen's steps ultimately stopped before his own handwritten scroll.
"Did you come here merely to admire your own work?"
Seeing Hiruzen continuously evading the main topic, Danzō—having worked alongside him for years—immediately realized Hiruzen must need something and wasn't here about those secrets. His confidence increased somewhat.
Walking to his seat, Danzō simply ignored Hiruzen and began handling his work.
"Hehehe, Danzō, after so many years of friendship, why such formality?" Seeing Danzō had already guessed his purpose, Hiruzen abandoned pretense. About to sit, he discovered Danzō's office contained no seating besides his work chair.
The Hokage himself, forced to stand while conversing with a subordinate...
"Summoning Jutsu."
Naturally, such minor inconvenience couldn't stump our Third Hokage. With a crisp sound, Hiruzen summoned his own chair and seated himself directly before Danzō.
[Next time, I'll install sealing barriers in the base.]
Observing Hiruzen's smug expression, Danzō maintained a cold face, saying nothing while mentally designing barrier formulas to prevent summoning.
"I heard from Jiraiya that Feng Bai's talent is exceptional—superior even to you as his father." Seated and lighting his pipe, Hiruzen completely ignored Danzō's sour expression.
"Hmph, so my son receives guidance from your disciple, and this makes you proud?"
In Danzō's view, Hiruzen's behavior was pure showing off—demonstrating how excellent his trained disciple was, that even Danzō's own son required instruction from Hiruzen's student.
Honestly, if Minato weren't the only ninja in Konoha with exceptional space-time ninjutsu talent, Danzō wouldn't have personally approached Jiraiya for negotiations.
"Hehe, you always think so poorly of me. Remember when we were children..."
Hiruzen was getting carried away reminiscing, but seeing Danzō's increasingly dark expression, he stopped mid-sentence.
"I'm seeking an excellent Wind Release instructor for Asuma." Finally, Hiruzen revealed his true purpose.
"I'm busy, Hiruzen. The war is about to—" Danzō intended immediate refusal, but Hiruzen's next proposal made him reconsider.
Because Hiruzen continued: "Feng Bai's talent is remarkable. I intend to accept him as my disciple."
Everyone knew Danzō had always sought a Hokage lineage teacher for Feng Bai to pave his future succession path.
With Hiruzen's proposal, Danzō no longer needed to seek Hokage lineage connections—the Hokage himself was personally endorsing Feng Bai's legitimacy, while Danzō's cost remained minimal...
Whether Hiruzen would actually have time to personally instruct Feng Bai was irrelevant.
As long as Hiruzen acknowledged Feng Bai as his disciple among the jōnin, Feng Bai would become a legitimate member of the Third—no, the First Hokage's lineage.
Danzō felt annoyed.
He was annoyed that Hiruzen had once again outmaneuvered him, perceiving his thoughts.
"You..." Danzō glared darkly at Hiruzen sitting opposite, suppressing the urge to blast him with Wind Release, ultimately choosing compromise. After all, this was for Feng Bai, and he sensed Hiruzen's genuine attitude in this matter: "Have Asuma come tomorrow. I'll make time to instruct him."
"Hehe, excellent. Also tell Feng Bai to visit me at the Hokage Tower tomorrow morning." Seeing the matter settled, Hiruzen rose cheerfully: "Don't worry—despite my busy schedule, I'll pass on my complete knowledge to Feng Bai."
"We shall see." Danzō didn't even spare Hiruzen a glance, continuing his work.
Seeing Danzō's disbelief, Hiruzen could only smile wryly and shake his head.
Though he'd trained the renowned "Legendary Sannin," Hiruzen felt none had truly inherited his legacy.
Orochimaru devoted himself entirely to research, Tsunade's techniques mostly derived from Senju Clan traditions, and as for Jiraiya—he'd only inherited one aspect of Hiruzen's teachings...
Hopefully Feng Bai won't disappoint me.
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