The Hokage Tower was still brightly lit late into the night, its quiet broken only by the tap of Shimura Danzo's cane on the floor.
He pushed open the office door uninvited. "Hiruzen, how can you allow the Nine-Tails jinchuriki to have contact with the Hyuga clan?"
"That child isn't worth you coming here in the middle of the night."
Sarutobi Hiruzen bit down on his pipe without looking up. He knew this old friend far too well—"Hyuga" was just an excuse.
This time, however, he was wrong. Danzo really had come for this matter. "That brat's mindset is too dangerous. Besides… the Hyuga clan may very well become the next Uchiha. In today's Konoha, we no longer need ninja who go on and on about their clan's 'honor.'"
"You're being too extreme, Danzo." Hiruzen finally raised his head, eyes narrowing slightly.
The Hyuga and Uchiha were both dōjutsu clans, but in essence, they were completely different.
"When you see a Sharingan: one-on-one, run; two-on-one, you can try." That saying was earned with the blood of countless Uchiha on the battlefield. There was even a monster like Uchiha Madara in history—powerful enough to make people despair.
But the Hyuga? In hundreds of years they'd produced only one "Hyuga Tennin." The Byakugan's uses, combined with the Hyuga's rigid main/branch family system, doomed this clan to rarely producing true top-tier fighters. They were never going to be a real threat to Konoha's stability.
That said… that kid Hyuga Kiyonari was pretty interesting. Given time, he would definitely become Naruto's friend.
"Hmph."
Danzo refused to back down, dragging a chair over to sit in front of the desk, eyes fixed on Hiruzen's silhouette behind the smoke.
To him, ninja were tools. Only tools were qualified to be ninja—just like "Root," the organization he'd painstakingly honed. He despised anyone who encouraged the jinchuriki to develop "humanity." That would only make this ultimate weapon rust and dull.
In the silence, Hiruzen suddenly spoke. "If you came here just to tell me that, you can go back."
Danzo replied slowly, "What do you think about the matter with the Cloud? Don't forget—the last time they came waving a 'peace' banner… our sensei died for it."
The single eye peeking from beneath his bandages was full of shadow. Sometimes he wondered if the real Shimura Danzo had died in the Land of Lightning back then. The man living in Konoha now was nothing but an obsession.
Everyone understood the logic in their heads—yet when it came time to act, he still wanted, no matter the cost, to prove he was better than Sarutobi.
"This time is different," Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke. "They're the ones sending an envoy to Konoha. There's nothing to worry about."
"I don't believe the barbarians of the Land of Lightning will behave themselves. Plunder, deceit, and treachery—that's engraved in their very bones."
"Prejudice will cloud your judgment."
Danzo watched him puff on his pipe. After a long pause, he said quietly, "Hiruzen, you've grown old."
"You say I'm the one with prejudice, but aren't you the same? You just want the war to end as soon as possible, so you're forcing yourself to believe they're coming with good intentions."
"Everyone wants the war to end quickly," Hiruzen sighed. "After all… we're both old now."
He tapped his pipe against the edge of the desk, knocking out the ash. "Withdraw all your Root operatives you've planted around Naruto. Don't make me say it twice."
Danzo's face tightened with displeasure. "If you keep letting the jinchuriki waste time with that shortsighted Hyuga brat, his talent will rot. Hand him over to me sooner rather than later—only I can turn him into a proper ninja."
"That's not something you need to worry about. Just do your own job."
"Hiruzen!" Danzo slammed his cane against the floor. "You'll regret this!"
"Danzo! I am the Hokage!"
Hiruzen's voice suddenly rose. He slowly picked up the Hokage hat from the desk and placed it on his head. When he reached the door, his back paused for a moment, and he raised a hand to switch off the light.
"It's late, Danzo. You should rest too."
With that, he walked out without looking back. Only when the entire Hokage Tower had fallen into darkness did the sound of an angry door-slam finally echo through the halls.
…
Somewhere in the Land of Fire.
Reeking of alcohol, Tsunade staggered inside, Shizune hurrying in after her and closing the door behind them, shutting out the winter night's chill.
The lighting inside was dim and yellow. Tsunade swayed her way to the bedside, hooked a finger under her sash, and casually tugged it loose. The robe slipped off her shoulders, pooling softly at her feet before she impatiently kicked it twice and sent it skidding aside.
The instant she crashed into the futon, a wave of cold rushed across her skin. She reflexively hissed through her teeth and curled up.
But soon enough, the down comforter Shizune had gritted her teeth and paid dearly for began earning its keep. The chill was slowly driven away, replaced by cozy warmth, like being wrapped in a fluffy, heated cloud.
Tsunade let out a long, satisfied sigh and nuzzled her face into the soft pillow, rubbing against it as her hair spilled messily over the pillowcase.
Just as she was about to drift off, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention—a glass bottle on the nightstand, with two rolled letters tucked quietly inside.
"Shizune!"
Too lazy to get up, she simply raised her voice and yelled toward the door.
"Tsunade-sama!"
Shizune practically burst back into the room the moment she heard her, only to see her teacher sunk comfortably into the down quilt. She immediately put a hand to her forehead, torn between exasperation and panic.
"You should at least take a bath first!"
With their finances, being able to afford one warm, comfortable duvet was already a luxury. So they both slept in the same bed. If Tsunade didn't bathe, it was basically like sharing a bed with a heated bottle of sake.
Shizune walked to the bed and, out of habit, began picking up the clothes Tsunade had kicked onto the floor. "Tsunade-sama, if you keep this up, I'm really going to…"
But the only response she got was Tsunade burrowing deeper under the covers, the golden hair left outside spilling over the pillow.
"Shizune, is that glass bottle by the bed yours?"
"What glass bottle?" Shizune froze for a moment, then looked up.
It wasn't Tsunade's, and it wasn't hers. That meant someone had broken in.
Her breath instinctively caught. No matter how many years she'd been wandering outside, she was still a proper ninja at her core. Just as she was about to check for traps—
A long, drawn-out snore shattered the silence.
"Hoooo…"
Tsunade rolled over, the blanket slipping to reveal half a shoulder. She was already fast asleep.
"Honestly…"
Shizune let out a helpless sigh and slowly relaxed her tense muscles.
If there were real danger, Tsunade wouldn't be reacting like this—even drunk.
She picked up the clear glass bottle and inspected it, then checked around the room. There were no obvious signs anyone had been here. That only meant the intruder's infiltration skills were incredibly good and they'd erased all traces.
As for the bottle… it was probably meant for Tsunade-sama.
Given how far this had already gone, there was nothing more to do tonight but sleep.