Before the Memorial Stone, the Third Hokage delivered a solemn speech. After his words, the crowd gradually dispersed.
The members of the high command returned to the Hokage Building.
"Hiruzen, we must summon Jiraiya and the others back immediately!" Utatane Koharu said beside Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Unlike the ordinary villagers, who were still immersed in grief, the leaders were already thinking about the problems that lay ahead.
Mitokado Homura spoke as well.
"This is the village's most vulnerable moment. They cannot continue wandering outside. Hiruzen, your disciples can be far too reckless at times. If Jiraiya and the others had been here, things would never have escalated to this point."
Hiruzen's expression was heavy.
"I have already dispatched ANBU to recall them. The period ahead may be the most dangerous in Konoha's history. We cannot allow any further internal turmoil."
His words seemed intended to preempt any radical remarks aimed at a specific clan. From the outset, Hiruzen set the tone of the meeting.
Danzō let out a cold snort and said nothing.
He knew that Hiruzen had already learned that it was he who had ordered the Uchiha clan to remain confined within their district. What Danzō had never expected was that Hiruzen had secretly maintained a line of communication within the clan itself.
That boy's name was Uchiha Shisui, a descendant of their former comrade-in-arms, Uchiha Kagami.
After the Nine-Tails incident, Hiruzen summoned Shisui and, with only a few questions, understood everything.
"Secretly monitor the Uchiha clan. Find the one who controlled the Nine-Tails. That person harbors extremely dangerous intentions toward Konoha."
That was the order Hiruzen had given him.
Koharu continued,
"In the coming days, we must closely monitor the movements of Kumogakure and Kirigakure."
The other three nodded. In the current shinobi world, these two villages posed the greatest threats.
Sunagakure was no longer a serious concern. Iwagakure, after bloody clashes with both Kumo and Konoha in the previous great war, had suffered heavy losses and was unlikely to make any major moves.
Kirigakure, however, despite losing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, had preserved most of its overall strength.
As for Kumogakure, it was a highly aggressive village whose power had barely diminished. Although the Third Raikage had fallen, the Fourth Raikage stepped forward immediately, ensuring a smooth transition.
The Fourth Generation's A and B brothers had once been matched only by Minato Namikaze. Now that Minato was dead, they would hardly remain idle.
Strictly speaking, the Third Great Ninja War had not officially ended.
The conflicts between Konoha, Kumo, and Kiri had only resulted in temporary ceasefires. No formal peace treaties had ever been signed.
With Konoha gravely weakened, the likelihood of those villages launching renewed offensives was extremely high.
"Begin preparations for war as soon as possible. Stockpiling supplies and mobilizing personnel. I want the two of you to submit a plan," Hiruzen instructed the advisors.
Logistics and medical affairs had always been handled by Homura and Koharu.
Although Tsunade held immense prestige among medical ninja, the true administrative head of Konoha's medical department was Koharu.
"Root will also do its utmost to gather intelligence on the other villages," Danzō said at last, fixing Hiruzen with his single visible eye.
Hiruzen took a deep draw from his pipe. After a brief silence, he spoke firmly.
"I will lift all the restrictions Minato placed on Root. However, Danzō, from now on, I do not want your organization producing ninjas that dangerous again."
"As if this weren't the doing of your own disciple, Orochimaru…" Danzō thought irritably.
He was particularly frustrated about Hyuuga Yuzuru.
From the beginning, Yuzuru had been a direct subordinate of Orochimaru, and it was Orochimaru who had brought him into Root.
Danzō had opposed the idea. He had never liked ninjas from the Hyuuga branch family—those whose lives were bound by seals controlled by others could never be fully trusted.
Moreover, he constantly had to worry about the Byakugan exposing Root's secrets.
However, Orochimaru insisted that Yuzuru was a genius in the medical field and extremely valuable for the Hashirama Cell experiments.
After much deliberation, Danzō ultimately allowed Yuzuru to join.
Even so, he imposed strict limitations. Yuzuru was permitted to move only within a small section of Root, protected by sealing techniques specifically designed to block the Byakugan.
After that, Danzō paid him little attention.
After all, he was a Hyuuga, not an Uchiha. Danzō held no particular hostility toward the Hyuuga clan.
Like everyone else, he believed Yuzuru was merely a support-type shinobi specializing in medical ninjutsu.
The nickname "Gentle Fist failure" had followed Yuzuru for many years.
Before displaying talent in medical ninjutsu, Yuzuru had been labeled—alongside Uchiha Obito—as a disgrace among the noble clans.
One unable to master his own clan's inherited art.
The other, the first "dead last" in the history of the Uchiha clan.
"Speaking of which, Orochimaru must give an explanation," Koharu said sternly.
"What exactly did he do? How did that man free himself from the Caged Bird Seal? According to Clan Head Hiashi, he even mastered the technique to control it. Where did that come from?"
Hiruzen smoked in silence for a moment before replying,
"This matter will be put on hold for now. I will personally warn Orochimaru."
"Hiruzen, you are being far too lenient—"
Tap. Tap. Danzō knocked lightly on the table, cutting Koharu off.
"What a fool," he thought, casting her a sidelong glance.
"I support Hiruzen's decision. Given the current situation, it is not appropriate to hold Orochimaru accountable," Danzō said aloud.
With war possibly imminent, Orochimaru was far too valuable to be pressured. After all he had endured, appeasing him was a higher priority than reprimanding him.
Moreover, Danzō had not abandoned the idea of pushing Orochimaru toward the position of Hokage in the future.
"There is a critical issue," Homura said gravely.
"Is this man's sudden defection in any way connected to the Nine-Tails' rampage?"
"It was most likely a coincidence," Danzō replied immediately.
"He harbored treacherous intentions long ago. The Nine-Tails incident merely gave him the perfect opportunity."
This point had to be clarified. Yuzuru had come from Root; if he were linked to the Nine-Tails, Root itself would fall under suspicion.
"I will dispatch ANBU to investigate this matter," the Third Hokage declared.
Danzō snorted coldly but did not object, then added,
"Issue a wanted notice. Declare Hyuuga Yuzuru an extremely dangerous S-rank missing-nin."
Hiruzen nodded.
He did not want information about an internal crisis within the Hyuuga clan to become public, but the events of that night had been far too dramatic to escape the notice of foreign spies.
Since it could not be concealed, it was better to make it public—perhaps the other villages could help deal with Yuzuru.
After all, a complete and unrestricted Byakugan was an object of immense interest, especially to the leaders of the major shinobi villages.
"Should we immediately dispatch forces to hunt him down?" Homura asked.
"His existence poses a serious threat. From now on, Hyuuga shinobi may not even be able to leave the village on missions."
Hiruzen let out a deep sigh.
"At present, ANBU does not have the capacity to pursue Hyuuga Yuzuru."
He then turned his gaze toward Danzō, hoping that Root would shoulder this responsibility.
After all, Yuzuru had once belonged to Root, and hunting missing-nin had always been their task.
"Root has no suitable personnel to pursue him," Danzō replied without hesitation.
This was no exaggeration. Based on the intelligence he had received, Yuzuru was exceptionally powerful and highly skilled at concealing himself. Even Danzō himself was not confident he could face him.
Although Root had considerable numbers, it lacked true top-tier experts. There were few jōnin, and none strong enough to hunt down Yuzuru.
Silence fell over the conference room.
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