Southwest of Konohagakure—
This area bordered the great Konoha Forest, and it was also the territory of the Nara Clan.
Since the Warring States Period, the Nara Clan had been renowned for their skill in crafting secret medicines. Their collection of medicinal formulas was so vast that it surpassed even the reserves of Konoha's medical corps.
Because they had to manage their herb businesses and raise herds of deer, the Nara Clan had no choice but to live close to the forest. Thus, when Konoha was founded, they chose this relatively remote area for their settlement.
At the very center of the Nara Clan's territory stood the residence of their current clan head, Nara Shikajō.
It was a traditional wooden house, a single-story structure surrounded by open verandas that let in the wind, carrying away the heat and leaving a cool breeze behind.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't feel the slightest bit of coolness right now.
Being ambushed during what was supposed to be a simple alliance-signing mission was bad enough — but the moment he returned to the village, he was greeted by a storm of malicious rumors.
In front of Hiruzen sat a shogi board, the pieces representing his side slaughtered beyond recognition.
The Nara Clan had many virtues — but this was one thing Hiruzen despised about them:
no conversation could happen without a game of shogi on the side.
("You guys keep playing all you want — it's not like anyone can actually beat you," he thought bitterly.)
Still, despite playing absentmindedly, Nara Shikajō's brilliant mind never slowed down.
"You mean," Hiruzen said, frowning as he pinched a shogi piece between his fingers, "someone was already spreading rumors against me before I even returned?"
He pretended to think for a moment, then placed the piece haphazardly on the board.
As expected, it was instantly captured.
Hiruzen wasn't actually bad at the game — in fact, he was quite skilled, and on good days could even win against Shikajō once in a while.
But now his mind was a mess — full of thoughts about the suddenly revoked position of Hokage. How could he possibly focus on a game of shogi right now?
So he moved another piece randomly.
Shikajō didn't mind his reckless play, but he had no intention of going easy, either. After a moment's thought, he placed a piece — not to capture Hiruzen's, but elsewhere on the board.
"That's right," Shikajō said calmly. "And it's very likely they had agents stationed in the Land of Lightning as well. Based on what you've told me, the very day you were ambushed in Kumogakure, there were already rumors spreading in Konoha."
"In the entire shinobi world, the only way to transmit news that quickly would be through summoning techniques."
"To be honest, when those rumors first spread — about the Hokage possibly having been killed — I didn't take them seriously. I even thought it was the work of enemy spies trying to sow chaos."
"You know how it is: ever since the Hokage established both the Anbu and the Police Force as dual safeguards, such foolish infiltrations almost never succeed. I didn't expect—"
Hiruzen's frown deepened. Shikajō's meaning was unmistakable: someone had deliberately targeted him — someone who'd planned ahead, even going so far as to plant agents inside the Land of Lightning.
"Have you found out who's behind the rumors? Or at least narrowed it down? You understand as well as I do — whoever went to such lengths to scheme like this must be after one thing: the title of Third Hokage."
"But aside from a few within the Uchiha, I can't even think of anyone else who'd dare to compete with me for it."
Nara Shikajō picked up a shogi piece between two fingers and dropped it again, effortlessly capturing yet another of Sarutobi Hiruzen's pieces.
At this point, there were barely any pieces left on Hiruzen's side of the board. Yet the man himself seemed completely unaware — still frowning, lost in thought, idly fiddling with a piece in his right hand.
"Checkmate,"
Shikajō's calm voice snapped Hiruzen out of his thoughts. Startled, he looked down and realized, to his dismay, that he had already lost. Then he heard the Nara clan head say evenly:
"You don't even need to investigate. Just wait a few more days — once someone steps forward to compete with you for the Hokage seat, you'll know who it is."
"After all, Lord Tobirama was extremely sensitive to these things. If the other party doesn't want to end up like the Uchiha — targeted at every turn — they won't be foolish enough to expose their motives too early."
"They probably only dared to stir up trouble because Lord Tobirama happened to leave the village. Still, I suspect even his sudden death wasn't something they anticipated."
"The way they started — spreading vague, ambiguous rumors at first, then abruptly shifting to open slander against you and Danzō — that reeks of an improvised change in plans."
"Whoever's behind all this is quick-witted and frighteningly responsive. Even if it were me, I'm not sure I could have executed such a scheme any better."
Having already lost the game, Hiruzen stopped paying attention to the board altogether. He pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"This isn't the time to admire our enemy, Shikajō. We're in the open while they're in the shadows. If we wait until the jonin confidence vote to start planning, it'll be far too late."
Shikajō gave a quiet chuckle.
"Heh… well, if we ignore motives and look purely at strength and influence, there are only a handful of factions in the village capable of both challenging you for the Hokage title and orchestrating such an elaborate plan."
"Of course, we can rule out the Uchiha right away — they'd never use such complicated methods."
At that, Nara Shikajō couldn't help but laugh.
"You know, Hiruzen… right after the last council meeting, Uchiha Aoba publicly announced his intent to nominate their clan head for the position of Third Hokage. How many votes do you think they'll actually get?"
"If only the Uchiha vote for themselves, it'll be downright embarrassing, don't you think?"
"The Uchiha, huh…"
Just hearing the name made Hiruzen's temples ache.
He knew very well that Uchiha Kagami, though born of that clan, had truly inherited the Will of Fire. Even Danzō had admitted that much.
There was no way Hiruzen could ever do something as malicious as the rumors claimed — to deliberately sacrifice Kagami, a loyal comrade.
Thinking back to that day of the ambush, his expression darkened.
After Lord Tobirama drew away the strongest enemies — the Gold and Silver Brothers — the rest of the Kinkaku Force had continued to pursue them relentlessly.
Unfamiliar with the terrain of the Land of Lightning, their group had quickly been cornered again.
It was then that Kagami volunteered to stay behind and hold off the enemy alone — revealing to them, for the first time, his Mangekyō Sharingan.
According to Kagami, those eyes once belonged to none other than Uchiha Madara himself.
Hiruzen still remembered the pang of regret he'd felt — if only he'd known Kagami possessed such power earlier, he would have stayed behind as well and fought alongside his teacher.
But he forced himself to shake those thoughts away. Now wasn't the time for sentiment.
No matter what, both Kagami and Lord Tobirama had perished during that mission to Kumogakure.
He had no choice but to pull himself together — to focus all his energy on overcoming the political crisis now threatening to engulf the village.
Lifting his head, Hiruzen looked straight at the man across from him and said firmly:
"Shikajō, I think we have to—"