"She really is capable. It seems Kiyo Hyuga might be even stronger than Kakashi. His status and strength are more than enough to serve as the captain of the Konoha Police Force."
After receiving Kakashi's report on the events involving the Hyuga clan, Tsunade nodded in approval of Kiyo Hyuga.
During the jōnin meeting, Kiyo was the first to stand in support of her. Now that she had become clan head of the Hyuga, if she was willing to mobilize the clan's hidden strength for Konoha's benefit, Tsunade, as the Fifth Hokage, would not treat the Hyuga clan poorly.
At that moment, Kabuto handed Tsunade a document, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Lady Tsunade, this is the reconstruction plan for the Police Force. It largely follows the structure used by the Uchiha clan but makes minor adjustments for shinobi from the Aburame, Hyuga, and Inuzuka clans, as well as civilians. If you approve, we can convene the three clans' leaders for a discussion."
Currently, the Police Force's duties still lay under ANBU, most of whom were disobedient. Tsunade planned to have the new Police Force cooperate with ROOT to weaken or reorganize ANBU entirely.
Being disregarded by so many clan leaders had truly angered Tsunade.
"Good work, Kabuto. But why are you being so proactive this time?"
She was puzzled. Usually, Kabuto would only take initiative after being instructed.
This time, she hadn't even mentioned the Police Force yet, but Kabuto had already prepared everything.
"Kabuto, is Orochimaru up to something again? Is he trying to use this opportunity to gather intel on the Hyuga clan?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
Kabuto scratched his head and said quickly, "Well, Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru told me not to tell you anything. He said if you knew, you'd definitely sabotage his plan. But he also said he won't go back on his word to you."
"Tch, Orochimaru doesn't trust me? How infuriating."
Storming out, Tsunade tossed her unfinished paperwork onto Kabuto's desk on her way out.
Watching her leave in a fury, seemingly off to cause trouble, Kabuto breathed a small sigh of relief. But when he noticed the stack of new documents left on his desk, realization dawned.
"Lady Tsunade used this as an excuse to ditch her work again!"
Before leaving Konoha for the Daimyo's estate, Hiruzen Sarutobi paid a visit to the Shimura clan. Though called a clan estate, it was small and sparsely populated. When Danzo had trouble developing ROOT, he had drawn heavily from the Shimura clan.
As a result, the clan had greatly declined. Few ninja remained, and even fewer were jōnin.
Seeing the state of the Shimura clan, Hiruzen sighed internally. His old comrade still hadn't grasped the essence of leadership.
Blindly expanding ROOT held no value. A Hokage could revoke ROOT's authority with a single decree. Only clan power, existing outside the shinobi system, could be truly controlled.
If Danzo had focused on building the Shimura clan through ROOT, he would have posed more of a threat, and Hiruzen wouldn't have been able to dismiss him so easily.
At Danzo's house, two Sarutobi ANBU stood guard. Though they were prepared to block visitors per Kimimaro's instructions, they recognized Hiruzen and allowed him through.
They had confidence in their backing as Sarutobi clan members. Besides, who would dare stop a former Hokage from visiting Danzo?
Inside, the room was dark—curtains drawn, no lights on—just like ROOT's old base.
"Danzo."
"Hiruzen. What brings you here?" Danzo frowned slightly at the visitor.
Hiruzen lit his pipe and took a slow puff before speaking. "It's something concerning you. I need to talk to you about it."
"What is it? Has the Fifth finally decided to punish me? Go ahead—tell me what she's planning."
Danzo scoffed. Probably an excuse involving the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. But he no longer held any official position. What could Tsunade even do to him?
Hiruzen sighed. Even he struggled to ask his old friend to sacrifice himself.
"If you're having trouble, allow me to persuade Lord Danzo instead."
A voice interrupted from the doorway. In the darkness, neither Hiruzen nor Danzo could see clearly, but they found the voice familiar. When the man turned on the light, both recognized him.
"Kabuto Yakushi!"
Danzo spat out the name.
Kabuto smiled, adjusting his glasses. "It seems Lord Danzo holds quite a grudge against me. But I'm here on behalf of Lady Tsunade. The Third Hokage didn't have the heart to say it himself."
Danzo glanced at Hiruzen, who turned his head away.
"Speak. I may be down, but I won't be toyed with."
Danzo tapped his cane against the floor.
Kabuto had been a Konoha orphan taken into ROOT. Danzo had forced him into a death match with his caretaker, Nonō Yakushi. He'd planned to send Kabuto to spy on Orochimaru, but after losing contact, he thought Kabuto had failed—only to later learn that Kabuto had become Tsunade's assistant.
Now the boy was here, probably to mock him. Danzo felt only contempt.
"Since Lord Danzo is prepared, I'll speak plainly."
Kabuto's smile widened. "Konoha cannot afford another war. At the jōnin meeting, Lady Tsunade agreed to peace talks with the Sand Federation. But to calm the Fifth Kazekage's fury, someone must take responsibility. Since a ROOT agent killed one of their top advisors, we need a scapegoat. With your devotion to Konoha, I'm sure you'll agree."
"A scapegoat?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes.
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Exactly. Just like Hizashi Hyuga. In exchange for peace, you'll offer yourself. It will preserve your name and protect Konoha from war. A perfect solution."
"What do you say, Lord Danzo?"
Just like Hizashi? They're forcing me to die?
Danzo looked at Hiruzen, but he turned away.
"Hiruzen, is this really Tsunade's will?"
"Danzo… Konoha truly can't endure another war," Hiruzen sighed, not answering directly but making the village's stance clear.
Danzo had no options. Unless he personally raised a force and funds to fight the Federation, his fate was sealed.
"…Fine."
He heaved with fury, his chest rising and falling like bellows. ROOT was gone. His dream of becoming Hokage was shattered. Now he was being pushed to die for the village.
He gripped his cane tightly, eyes filled with murderous intent as he glared at Kabuto.
Suddenly, there were two muffled groans outside. Kimimaro stepped into the room.
Kabuto asked, "Already used the cursed mark?"
"Yes. ROOT operations must be secret. They didn't follow protocol," Kimimaro said calmly. The cursed mark had been taught by Orochimaru and allowed Kimimaro to kill any marked individual at will.
This was his first test on two Sarutobi ninja. Soon, all ROOT members would be branded. The new mark would override the original tongue-sealing curse, stripping Danzo of all control.
"Kimimaro, how could you harm fellow villagers—"
"ROOT shinobi were always cursed, weren't they? Lord Third?" Kabuto cut in with a grin. "The cursed mark rule was established by Lord Danzo himself."
But those were Sarutobi clan ninja! Hiruzen seethed silently. He couldn't speak up, or it would ruin the clan's future. If they couldn't even bear a cursed mark for the village, they had no business being shinobi.
Kabuto said cheerfully, "Well, the message has been delivered. With Lord Danzo's devotion, I'm sure he'll accept. The negotiation team leaves in two days. I'll leave the rest to you, Kimimaro."
"I'll assign ROOT agents to escort him," Kimimaro said calmly—his words sealing Danzo's fate. Before departure, Danzo's chakra points and brain would be sealed.
If the Kazekage agreed to peace, Danzo would be killed and his body presented. If not, they risked being ambushed by Sand shinobi.
As he left, Kimimaro turned to Hiruzen. "Lord Third, if you wish to see ROOT guards in the future, submit a request. All matters must follow proper protocol—except Lady Tsunade."
And Orochimaru… and the future Lord, Kimimaro added in his heart. He then left, and the guards were replaced by a new team of ROOT shinobi, all branded with cursed marks.
From now on, their lives were fully under Kimimaro's control. The cursed mark had been researched by Ayaka Uzumaki at Orochimaru's request.
After they left, Hiruzen didn't know what to say to his old comrade. When the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was harmed, he had wanted Danzo dead. But seeing him like this, all anger faded.
"Danzo, take care of yourself."
He turned to leave. He too had to depart for the Daimyo's estate to discuss funding.
"Hiruzen, wait." Just as he was leaving, Danzo called out quietly. "Help me one last time."
Although Kikyo Castle was still under Konoha's control, without reinforcements it would eventually fall to the Sand.
Upon hearing of the peace talks, the commander at Kikyo Castle finally relaxed. If the fighting continued, he'd have to hold the line with every last shinobi.
He quickly sent envoys to the Sand Federation, requesting a temporary ceasefire.
After some thought, Pakura agreed, but warned that if Konoha didn't offer satisfactory terms, she would make them pay dearly—even at the cost of her own authority.
Hyuga Mirai ignored the war front. Instead, he infiltrated the Federation to extract some tailed beast chakra from Gaara.
Gaara, now a third-year at the Federation Ninja Academy, would be classmates with Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki when they enrolled. Without Rasa's interference, the three siblings were well cared for despite losing their parents.
Yashamaru, no matter how busy, always returned home to make dinner. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were also the Kazekage's disciples and never bullied. Since Gaara's seal had been reinforced, no one dared insult him over Shukaku.
But Gaara was too kind—like a young Obito—often helping others at the expense of his own training.
The ANBU guarding him posed no challenge to Mirai. Surveillance on the Federation was second only to Roran. Mirai could track the guards' blinks with ease.
After casting a genjutsu on the siblings, she extracted half of Shukaku's chakra from Gaara.
Though this would leave Gaara weakened for a while, Mirai used Yang Release to heal him, restoring his condition quickly. Only Shukaku would remain weakened for some time.
(End of Chapter)