Iruka froze for a moment when he heard the ninja's words.
As a chunin, he knew a thing or two about the Root and the Anbu. After all, he was qualified to try out for either group, though he'd never been interested. Once he passed the chunin exam, he chose to become a teacher at the Ninja Academy instead.
So, this guy was probably from the Root, huh?
But why would Elder Danzo want to see Ito Hirofumi?
Iruka stepped forward, planting himself in front of the Root ninja.
"What does Elder Danzo want with my student? Does Lord Third Hokage know about this?"
"Iruka, this is none of your business!" the Root ninja snapped. "Elder Danzo doesn't need the Hokage's permission to summon someone. I don't know anything else—I'm just here to bring Ito Hirofumi back!"
The ninja's harsh tone set Iruka on edge. Something about this felt off.
Last time Hirofumi used his reverse summoning, Danzo had shown up at the Ninja Academy right away. Back then, the Third Hokage was there too, but now Danzo was sending someone directly to take Hirofumi?
"I'm Hirofumi's teacher!" Iruka said firmly. "I'm responsible for my students. Without the Hokage's orders, no one's taking him anywhere—not even Elder Danzo!"
"Enough talk!" the Root ninja growled. "Are you defying Elder Danzo's orders?!"
With that, he shoved Iruka aside.
"Ito Hirofumi! Come with me!"
"I said," Iruka roared, "no one's taking my student without the Hokage's orders—not even Danzo!"
Iruka's shout turned the classroom's atmosphere heavy in an instant. The students sensed something was wrong.
The nine members of the Konoha 12 exchanged quick glances.
Sasuke Uchiha gripped a kunai, his eyes narrowing with hostility at the masked ninja.
Naruto Uzumaki frowned, staring at the doorway.
Choji Akimichi set down his bag of chips.
Shikamaru Nara's shadow stretched subtly across the floor.
Kiba Inuzuka patted Akamaru's head.
A few bugs buzzed out from Shino Aburame's body.
Ino Yamanaka swallowed hard.
Sakura Haruno watched nervously.
Even Hinata Hyuga, who'd been keeping her head down, took a few deep breaths and lifted her gaze.
Meanwhile, in the summoning space:
Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and the others watched the scene with furrowed brows.
Uchiha Madara, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered.
"What's Danzo up to?" Tobirama muttered under his breath.
Hashirama glanced at his brother curiously. "Tobirama, you know this Danzo guy?"
Tobirama nodded. "Yeah… one of my disciples. Looks like he's become an elder in the Leaf Village now, and probably the head of some department."
Mito Uzumaki frowned slightly but stayed quiet. She'd lived longer than most, passing away later than Hashirama and Tobirama. She knew about some of the things Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo had done. By then, she was too old to stop them.
The destruction of the Uzumaki clan, for example, was a thorn in her heart. And the Leaf Village's policies toward the Senju indirectly led to their clan's complete disappearance.
Sure, Tobirama had encouraged the Senju to marry commoners, but he never intended for the clan to vanish entirely!
Fugaku Uchiha let out a cold scoff at the mention of Danzo's name.
Just moments ago, both Fugaku and Minato had seen their sons in the classroom, which had made them happy…
Back in the classroom:
Hirofumi stretched lazily and stood up, glancing at the Konoha 12, who were all glaring at the Root ninja with shared defiance.
"Whoa, what's with you guys?" he said lightly. "This is a Root ninja we're talking about. What, you planning to pick a fight? Careful, or Elder Danzo might slap a 'traitor' label on you!
It's just a quick trip to the Root. No big deal, I'll go. Don't worry, it'll be fine!"
Hirofumi gave them a reassuring look as he headed for the classroom door.
The Root ninja snorted. "Hmph! Smart kid."
"You talk too damn much," Hirofumi shot back. "You coming or not? If not, I'm heading back."
"Hmph!"
Iruka watched Hirofumi and the Root ninja leave, his brow furrowed with worry. "Hirofumi!"
"It's fine, Iruka-sensei!" Hirofumi called back. "Danzo's an elder of the Leaf Village. What's he gonna do, kill me?"
As their figures disappeared, Iruka rushed back into the classroom, gave a quick instruction, and then bolted toward the Hokage Building.
He had to report this to the Third Hokage!
Hirofumi, meanwhile, wasn't worried at all. Forget his own strength—he had a whole squad of heavy hitters in his summoning space!
If Danzo, that scheming old snake, tried anything funny, Hirofumi could just summon Uchiha Madara with a snap of his fingers.
And knowing Madara, he'd probably be thrilled to turn Shimura Danzo into ash!
Hirofumi knew Danzo's strength inside and out. The guy's reputation far outweighed his actual power. His only real trump card? Shisui's eye.
But now that Hirofumi had his own Mangekyo Sharingan, he didn't have to worry about Danzo using Kotoamatsukami on him.
In fact, if Danzo did try using Kotoamatsukami, it might actually be a good thing!
Hirofumi could study how it worked. His own Mangekyo Sharingan didn't have any special abilities yet, and Kotoamatsukami was a pretty badass power.
Sure, it couldn't control true powerhouses—Kage-level shinobi had mental fortitude too strong for that. If it was that easy, Danzo would've just controlled the Third Hokage and called it a day!
So, Hirofumi figured strong enough willpower could resist Kotoamatsukami.
Still, it was a terrifying ability. If he could learn it, he could control a few jonin or elite jonin as lackeys—how cool would that be?!
The more he thought about it, the more eager Hirofumi was to meet Danzo. Hell, he was practically hoping Danzo would try Kotoamatsukami on him…