[Read advance Chapters on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/SlytherinManor]
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Hokage Office—
By the time Sakumo arrived, Hiruzen had already tucked away the Crystal Ball.
Sakumo, who didn't know that he was spied on by the Crystal Ball, stepped in through the door, straightened, and offered the customary bow. "Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen turned from the window, smoke drifting from the pipe between his fingers. "Sakumo… you are here."
"I wonder why Hokage-sama called for me?" Sakumo asked. He already had a fair idea, yet he still put the question forward.
Hiruzen did not reach the real subject at once. He studied the man in front of him first.
"How have you been recovering?"
"It's alright. I wasn't injured in the first place, so there isn't a problem." Sakumo pressed his lips together, then added with a trace of hesitation, "By the way… Hokage-sama… has the Elder Council come to a decision?"
"We are still in the middle of the discussion." Hiruzen exhaled another thin stream of smoke.
The discussion, of course, concerned the failed operation. Sakumo had abandoned the mission to pull his people out alive, and the village had paid for that choice. Accountability had to land somewhere. Because he had been the one in command, and because he had been the one who gave the order to withdraw, the weight sat on his shoulders. Even his position as the ANBU commander was now being questioned; voices were already calling for his resignation.
The loudest among them belonged to Shimura Danzō. Danzō wanted Sakumo stripped of the post and a younger, more pliable name, perhaps Orochimaru, put in his place.
Hiruzen is a bit uncertain about that. He wants Sakumo to remain the ANBU commander... but Danzō isn't budging. To make matters worse, on this occasion, Koharu, who is very angry at him because of the rumor case and other things, is also supporting Danzō.
Sakumo is bearing the pressure of it all. And its effect had begun to tell on his somewhat haggard face. Responsibility Sakumo could have borne. What cut deeper was the way men from his own squad had turned the blame on him as well, stepping back from their share and leaving him to carry the whole of it. Seeing the very shinobi whose lives he had chosen over the mission now criticise him made the choice feel suddenly hollow. He had expected some criticism. He had not expected it to come from the people he had saved, or to cut this deep.
Still, he tried to keep the thought off his face and simply answered, "I see… Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen gave words of assurance, "Don't worry... I am more than aware of all the work you have done for the village... and I am vouching for you. You have my back..."
Sakumo was moved and bowed, "I am grateful, Hokage-sama..."
Satisfied with that, Hiruzen drew on the pipe again before shifting the subject. "By the way, I received a report that Uchiha Kanzou visited you and the two of you immediately left the village briefly. Did something happen? Is there any problem with him?"
Sakumo was not surprised by the question. "Nothing problematic. Uchiha Kanzou just wanted to spar."
He left out the threat against Kakashi and everything else that had passed between them. Hokage was already going so much for him. It was better not to make things difficult for him.
"…Spar, is it?" Hiruzen nodded; that much had been within his expectations. "How did it go?"
This part mattered more. Until now he had only fragments of Kanzou's true depth. A clash with Sakumo could give him something solid.
Sakumo did not hide what he had felt. His expression stayed solemn. "Very strong. Stronger than me."
"Stronger than you?" Hiruzen's hand tightened around the pipe.
Sakumo had been one of Konoha's sharpest blades for years, close enough to Hiruzen's own level that the two of them had sparred more than once. Orochimaru and Jiraiya still sat a step behind him. For that man to give such an assessment of a seventeen-year-old Uchiha was not a small thing.
"Are you sure?"
Sakumo nodded. "Yes. Throughout the spar, he was at ease. I wasn't able to pressure him at all. We only used Kenjutsu, and I can be certain that his skills are as good as mine." He paused, then corrected himself. "No. His kenjutsu is superior to mine. I didn't even manage to make him use everything, and he copied my clan's style with his Sharingan."
The words only deepened Hiruzen's caution. Kanzou was seventeen. His growth had not finished. If he already stood above Sakumo, the distance between them would only widen. Surpassing Hiruzen himself no longer sounded impossible.
Sakumo recalled another critical detail and added, "And... his Katana. It's also something to look out for..."
"His Katana?" Hiruzen questioned.
Sakumo nodded. He took out his own chipped White Fang and showed it to Hiruzen, "My White Fang was chipped by his Katana... It's definitely a very well-forged katana..."
Hiruzen examined Sakumo's White Fang, which is also a special Blade. For Kanzou's Katana to have damaged Sakumo's blade, it really had to be an extraordinary Katana. "Could it be one of the Kusanagi Swords?"
Sakumo shook his head. "It's not a Kusanagi Sword. He called that Katana Ryujin Jakka..." and added, "But I thought that it's not inferior to a Kusanagi Sword... perhaps it's even superior..."
"Ryujin Jakka?!" Hiruzen repeated. "I haven't heard of that before..."
They'd need to investigate that. But this isn't bad... they have some information on Kanzou now. It's just that this information made Hiruzen sigh.
Silence sat between them for a short while. Then Hiruzen asked, "Did anything else happen with Uchiha Kanzou?"
"…No." Sakumo shook his head.
Hiruzen accepted the answer without a doubt. "I see. Well… you can go back and rest," and added, "When we have concluded with the discussion... I'll send you a message..."
"I understand, Hokage-sama." Sakumo bowed and left.
Throughout the conversation, he said nothing of the threat against Kakashi or of the offers Kanzou had given. Those words were difficult to speak, and he had never considered them in the first place. His loyalty still belonged to the Hokage, and that was enough in his opinion.
Not everything needed to be spoken
But perhaps that was a mistake. He should have spoken of it to Hiruzen, because the matter was going to reach the old man's ears anyway, not through him, but through Kurama Uroko who stepped into the Hokage office a minute or two after Sakumo had left.
"Kurama Uroko… how come you are here?" Hiruzen pretended to be confused by her sudden arrival.
Uroko dropped to one knee. "Hokage-sama… I followed Uchiha Kanzou and Sakumo-sama earlier."
She knew Hiruzen must already be aware of that much, so she said it anyway. "Ohh? Were you there as well? Then… what did you witness? Tell me."
Hiruzen was interested in a second set of eyes. Even if the account matched Sakumo's, another angle never hurt. He did not expect any real difference.
That was why the details that followed left him still.
The fight itself lined up with what Sakumo had already described. The conversation between the two men did not.
"Kurama Uroko… are you absolutely certain about what you are saying?" His voice had gone solemn.
Uroko nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I heard them very clearly. Sakumo-sama was offered a place in the Police Force… and he was also promised the position of the next Hokage by the Uchiha Patriarch."
"..." Hiruzen was silent for a long moment.
"What response did Sakumo give?"
Sakumo should have refused, right?
Uroko answered, "He didn't give any response."
What she said was indeed true. Sakumo had snorted and chosen to ignore the offer rather than refuse or accept. So, Uroko was not lying.
So what if the context and the interpretation of the silence were intentionally changed by her as per her master's order? The fact remains that she wasn't lying.
Hearing her answer, Hiruzen was silent again. Then he waved his hand, "I see. Good work. You can retreat and return to the Police Force. Keep bringing me intelligence like that."
"As you command, Hokage-sama." Uroko rose, turned, and walked out. Once the door closed behind her, her lips curved. 'Stupid Hokagay… you don't even know that my master is playing with you.'
Hiruzen didn't know Uroko's condescending thoughts towards him. He felt quite satisfied with her report. Sending her to Kanzou's side was beginning to look like one of his better decisions.
But putting that aside. Now left alone in his office, he pursed his lips. "…Sakumo didn't give a response to Uchiha Kanzou, huh…?"
Silence could mean many things. It could be refusal. It could also mean Sakumo was holding the offer instead of answering it on the spot.
With his own experience, Hiruzen leaned towards the latter. Because if Sakumo intended to refuse, then he could have given a flat refusal immediately. It would have cost him nothing to speak aloud. There had been no need for quiet unless he intended to keep the door open.
That thought sat poorly. What sat worse was that Sakumo had not mentioned any of it to him. He mentioned the fight, but not the offer that Kanzou gave to him. Which clearly meant Sakumo did not want him to know.
Here Hiruzen had been vouching for the man in front of the Elder Council. And all the while Sakumo was already weighing a deal with Uchiha Kanzou to oust him aside?
Was Sakumo hungry for the seat of Hokage? He had never shown that hunger, which was precisely why Hiruzen had left him in command of the ANBU.
But just because Sakumo didn't appear to be ambitious, does that mean he really is unambitious?
What lived under the surface was harder to read. What if Sakumo was like Danzō? No, being like Danzō would be manageable. What if Sakumo was like Hiruzen himself?
As soon as that thought appeared in his mind, Hiruzen became suspicious of Sakumo.
Suspicion stacked on suspicion until the question became simple: had Sakumo been working toward the hat the entire time?
Was it possible the recent failure had been meant to make things difficult for the Hokage?
Hiruzen couldn't be certain, but his trust in Sakumo dropped instantly. He suddenly felt less comfortable keeping the man in power.
The reason was not complicated. Even shinobi from other villages flinched at the name White Fang. Inside Konoha, the villagers and the ninja held him in high regard. Plenty of them believed he would be the next Hokage.
The failed mission had quieted some of those voices, yet as the hero of the Second Great Shinobi War, he remained the strongest candidate to succeed him. Even his own disciple Orochimaru and Jiraiya aren't as favored as Sakumo.
Hiruzen had even entertained the idea of setting Sakumo up as a puppet.
But that was in the past. Now, with this recent information that he had received, that idea no longer looked safe. A man who might share the same appetite for power, and who might already be considering a secret deal with Uchiha Kanzou, would not leave the real authority in Hiruzen's hands once the hat was on his head.
'Looks like Sakumo might be inflating too much. I really need to bring him down a few notches to ensure that he doesn't become too ambitious.'
Hiruzen set the pipe aside and walked to the window, looking out toward the Hatake residence.
Just because he isn't able to do much to Uchiha Kanzou doesn't mean he can't solve the others. He is the Hokage... and he hasn't remained in power for more than two decades without some political maneuvering.
Fortunately, this time, he would not have to act himself. Someone else was already eager to do the work.
Shimura Danzō had been pressing against Sakumo for days. Until now Hiruzen had been trying to blunt that pressure. There was no longer any need. All he had to do was look the other way while still appearing supportive in public.
"Don't blame me, Sakumo… this is something you are bringing upon yourself."
At the Hatake compound, Sakumo sat alone with a cup, trying to ease the weight of the day, and had no idea that the three most powerful men in Konoha were already moving pieces around him.
...
[Ding! Alienated the relationship between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hatake Sakumo. Reward: 10,000 Evil Points]
"Fufu~" Kanzou, who had returned to the smirked. He was very satisfied with the gain. It also meant that his plan worked. 'Well... you ignored me completely... now deal with this...'
Perhaps now Hatake Sakumo's suicide would quicken.
But Kanzou didn't care about that. He was already focusing on the other matter...
"Uzumaki Kushina is in Konoha... I wonder where she is?" he murmured, and wondered where she would be. 'Should I go to her home directly?'
'First, let's sense where she is...' he thought. With her large Chakra reserves, she'd be pretty easy to find for him.
He used the Sensory Jutsu and was able to locate several large Chakra reserves rather easily, and two of those reserves caught his attention. One was a Chakra mixed with suppressed violence and evil within it, while the other Chakra was quite similar to his.
And it just so happens that the two of them were together.
Genetically close people have a closer frequency of Chakra. So, obviously the other Chakra was that of an Uchiha. And Kanzou knew who that person was.
"Unexpectedly... Mikoto has already met up with her..." he smirked. The reason is, of course, that the person with Mikoto is Kushina. Only she who carries the Nine-tails can have that type of Chakra in Konoha.
"Fufu... maybe this will make things easier..." he murmured and made his way towards them.
Before long, he arrived in front of a tea shop. The two women were inside the tea shop, sitting opposite to each other. Kanzou walked in unceremoniously.
"U-Uchiha Kanzou-sama?!" The shopkeeper's eyes widened upon seeing him arrive, and he humbly bowed to Kanzou, not daring to appear rude. He didn't want his business to be shut down.
Kanzou waved his hand and stepped inside, making his way towards the two women.
The people around scrambled to the side, also not wanting to offend him. All of this attracted attention; as a result, Mikoto and the red-haired woman chatting with her naturally also turned their heads to see what was going on.
As soon as Mikoto noticed Kanzou, her eyes widened. "K-Kan-sama!!" she exclaimed, her tone a bit loud, as if panicked about something. She stood up as he arrived inside the tea shop... and with Mikoto stood the Kunoichi.
"Well Mikoto... I didn't expect to encounter you here," said Kanzou, casually walking to her side.
"I was just... out to buy a few things..." Mikoto answered.
"...Hmm, but you seem to have some company..." he said, turning his attention to the beautiful woman with vibrant red hair.
Red hair was a rare sight in Konoha. In the entire village, there was only one woman with such hair. So, there was no mistaking her identity.
Without a doubt, she was Uzumaki Kushina!
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Double Chapter, be sure to drop loads of power Stonessssssssss!
[Read advance Chapters on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/SlytherinManor]