"But..."
"How disgraceful." Danzo snorted coldly. "If Kakashi was deliberately planted in the village as a spy by those three, then why did Kakashi risk his life to save Jiraiya, who was gravely wounded by the Nokizaru Group, a year ago? Wouldn't it have served those three's interests better to let Jiraiya die at the hands of the Nokizaru Group mercenaries?"
Mitokado Homura finally let the matter go.
With Danzo's reminder, he realized he was overthinking.
Kakashi's suspicion was considerable, but he did risk life and limb to save one of the Sannin, Jiraiya.
As one of Konoha's high-level combatants, Jiraiya's importance was self-evident.
Kakashi, willing to throw away his own life yet refusing to abandon his comrades, sufficiently proves he inherited the will of his father, Hatake Sakumo. He is truly a ninja who cares for the village, by no means a traitor or spy.
Hiruzen nodded in agreement; on this matter, his thinking was aligned with Danzo's.
A Kakashi who could go to such lengths could never be a spy placed inside Konoha by the enemy.
However, Danzo's fierce defense of Kakashi left Hiruzen somewhat surprised.
Nevertheless, Hiruzen did not suspect anything; Danzo's ideas might be radical at times, but when it came to major concerns, he never equivocated.
"Rather than a problem arising in the Anbu's Kakashi, I think the chances of issues occurring in the hospital or school are higher. Chiba Hakushi once worked at the Ninja School and hospital—it's easy for him to plant his own informants there. Especially since the intelligence regarding the Jinchuriki's childbirth leaked out, the hospital is most likely the source."
Danzo shifted the focus of everyone's suspicion.
His analysis naturally made the three of them nod in agreement with his perspective.
Indeed, concerning Kushina's delivery, the hospital was more likely to have a leak.
After careful deduction, the Nine-Tails attack was becoming much clearer.
The mastermind was Chiba Hakushi, and Uchiha Ruri awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan with space-time Donjutsu.
There was a high probability of a spy at Konoha Hospital, informing them.
As for the Uchiha Clan, vigilance should not be relaxed; the likelihood of spies within their ranks is greater than in Konoha Hospital.
"Send Anbu to monitor Konoha Hospital, and also, further concentrate members of the Uchiha Clan for easier control. These renegade ninjas have repeatedly targeted Konoha; if we don't eliminate internal threats, incidents like the Nine-Tails attack will happen again."
This was obviously tinged with prejudice against the Uchiha, but Danzo's statement was not without reason.
On the contrary, following Danzo's train of thought, the Uchiha indeed had such problems.
"I will personally handle the Uchiha issue."
Hiruzen deliberated for a moment, still uneasy about leaving Uchiha matters to Danzo.
If Danzo were to handle it, he would surely enrage the Uchiha Clan, causing them to become irreconcilable against the village.
Even if Danzo's logic held, it only proved that certain individuals in the Uchiha had problems; the majority still remained loyal to Konoha.
"But if a similar incident occurs again, how will you take responsibility? Once, twice—but there must never be a third. Don't hesitate in matters like these."
Danzo's words carried a faint sense of pressure.
Hiruzen was unmoved, replying lightly, "Relax, I have the right person for the job. Last time I went to the Uchiha Clan Land, I met Kagami's descendant."
"Kagami..."
Danzo and the other two lost themselves in recollection, seemingly reminded of some old, bygone events, caught up in emotions.
"His name is Uchiha Shisui. Like Kagami, he is an exceptional ninja able to step outside of clan thinking, reflect on the village's Will of Fire. He will serve as a bridge for friendly communication between the village and the Uchiha Clan, as a true member of Konoha."
With Hiruzen's conviction, Danzo had nothing more to say, only mentioning his own matters at the end:
"Since that's the case, let him monitor the Uchiha Clan. However, the Root organization needs to regain its operational capabilities, and personnel must be significantly expanded. We must keep close tabs on those renegade ninjas' movements. Those three pose an enormous threat to Konoha. Is that agreeable, Hiruzen? You've already recruited the Wood Style Ninja; cultivate him well, and you won't have to worry about future Nine-Tails incidents."
Danzo's words were pointed, leaving Hiruzen silent. He sighed and nodded, agreeing to let Danzo restore Root's authority and expand its manpower.
Danzo was right; the movements of those three renegade ninjas must be tracked immediately—they can no longer be allowed to roam unchecked.
This time, they dared to use the Nine-Tails to kill the Fourth Hokage; next time, they might plan to obliterate Konoha itself.
His Anbu already had to deal with both internal Konoha and Hidden Cloud affairs; he no longer had extra manpower to focus on the renegades.
At this moment, allowing Danzo's Root to resume its function, constantly keeping track of Hakushi and his group, would let the village prepare in advance and relieve him of considerable pressure.
"That's settled, then. I will update the bounty notices for those three, and publicly declare they intend to target the Tailed Beasts of all the Great Ninja Villages, stirring up shared animosity from other villages against them."
Whether Hakushi and his companions actually intended to target the Tailed Beasts, Hiruzen was unclear.
But that didn't mean he couldn't make a big issue of it, divert attention, and incite vigilance and hostility from the other villages toward Hakushi's group.
After all, renegade ninjas are a group who have abandoned their homeland, ruthless and untrustworthy. Their voice is utterly ignored internationally—they won't speak out, and even if they did, it would be meaningless.
The personal confirmation from the Hokage, one of the Five Kage, undoubtedly gave the claim greater persuasive power.