"What…!? Danzō is—!?"
Inside the Hokage's office, three figures who had gathered at Minato's emergency report froze in place.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Mitokado Homura.
Utatane Koharu.
On their aged faces, shock, disbelief, wavering, distortion—fear—layered together in an ugly mix that even they could not hide.
Minato lowered his head, voice heavy.
"I'm sorry, Third Hokage-sama. Homura-sama. Koharu-sama."
He swallowed, throat tight.
"I arrived at the scene… but I still couldn't stop Ren from killing Danzō-sama. I couldn't even retrieve Danzō-sama's body…"
Minato's impression of Shimura Danzō had never been good.
And he had always hated Root's methods—too ruthless, too devoid of humanity.
But even so, Minato still regarded Danzō and Root as comrades who fought to protect Konoha.
To watch a comrade die before his eyes and be unable even to bring the body back—
For Minato, who valued the village and his companions above all else, that kind of frustration was impossible to swallow.
Worse still, the dead man was one of the few remaining top-tier forces Konoha possessed.
"This isn't your fault, Minato," Hiruzen said at last, exhaling slowly through his pipe. His expression was complicated—far too complicated. "Forcing you to run around outside with injuries not yet healed… that alone is the failure of us old men."
He looked at Minato, eyes weary.
"If I were to blame you for something like this… I'd no longer deserve to be acknowledged as Hokage."
"Enough self-reproach, Hiruzen." Homura pushed his glasses up, his voice trembling with urgency. "What matters now is handling the aftermath Danzō left behind."
He continued, each sentence tightened by anxiety.
"Root's shinobi are indispensable combat power for the village. They also hold enormous quantities of classified intelligence and underground channels. If we can't choose a suitable successor quickly, they'll create chaos the moment they're leaderless."
Koharu nodded sharply, her tone no less grave.
"Our war with Kirigakure is far from over. If we show weakness—internal division—right now, the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone, who just signed peace, will immediately return."
Hiruzen set his pipe down.
He looked at the two comrades who had stood beside him since the Second Hokage's era and asked with little enthusiasm,
"Then… do you two already have someone in mind?"
"Orochimaru." / "Orochimaru!"
They said it almost in unison.
"Orochimaru served in Root before. He's one of the Legendary Sannin. In terms of qualification and strength, he's the most suitable to take Root."
Homura's lips tightened.
"Yes, his retreat contributed to Danzō's death—but it's wartime. If we don't use Orochimaru now, we won't find anyone who can take Root smoothly."
Koharu's voice sharpened.
"Order it quickly, Hiruzen. Danzō used the Tongue Eradication Seal to control all Root members. With him dead, that seal will be lifted. If we hesitate too long, many will lose faith in Root and defect!"
Orochimaru…
Hiruzen closed his eyes.
He remembered the moment he had refused to nominate Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage candidate—the twisted dissatisfaction he'd seen in Orochimaru's eyes.
After that, Orochimaru had drawn closer and closer to Danzō.
His actions had grown more extreme by the day.
Hiruzen inhaled deeply.
"No."
His eyes opened, hard.
"It can't be Orochimaru."
"Why!?" Homura and Koharu demanded at the same time, voices rising.
"Orochimaru may not be suited to be Hokage," Koharu snapped, "but as Root's successor, he's the most suitable person! Isn't he, Hiruzen!?"
"Precisely because he's suitable," Hiruzen said, voice steady, "I can't give it to him."
Homura stepped forward, practically looming over Hiruzen, staring him down.
"Then how do you solve Root potentially losing control, Hiruzen!?"
"I will solve the mistake I made."
Hiruzen's tone deepened.
"Personally."
Homura's eyes widened.
"Hiruzen… you mean—"
Before either advisor could react further to his rare firmness, Hiruzen turned his head and looked straight at Minato.
And for a heartbeat, his voice carried the same weight as when Senju Tobirama had entrusted the village's future to him.
"Minato. Steel your resolve."
"When the war ends, you will take the position of Fourth Hokage."
"You will protect the village in my stead."
…
"Hohoho… Danzō's worth really isn't low."
In a small underground exchange far from Konoha's light, Ren sat with his chin propped on one hand, staring at the numbers on the ledger with bright amusement.
"Even if I only took S-rank missions that pay a million ryō or more, finished each one in three days, kept every coin for myself…"
He clicked his tongue.
"I'd still have to work without sleep for ten years, complete over a thousand S-rank missions, just to make this much."
A bounty worth over thirty Sarutobi Asumas in one go.
Almost no bounty office could pay it out in raw cash—yet the people who ran these underground exchanges were always the sharpest of sharks.
When a man like Ren appeared alone with the corpse of Root's leader, who would dare let him leave empty-handed?
After a series of frantic "special privilege" operations, Ren obtained a brand-new account with a balance that had cracked ten digits.
In a good mood, he went to a nearby town, ate and drank until satisfied, then found an empty valley and began testing the Ryūchi Cave summoning he'd obtained from Manda.
In theory, summoning techniques were fundamentally the same. The only difference was which creature had signed a contract with the caster.
But this one was specifically labeled: "Ryūchi Cave."
That made Ren curious.
Was it merely restricting the random pool to Ryūchi Cave snakes?
Or had it outright stolen Orochimaru's contract, making Ren a summoner acknowledged by Ryūchi Cave itself?
Either way, the goal was the same.
Use the summoned creature to lock down Ryūchi Cave's location.
"Summoning Jutsu."
Ren bit his finger, pressed his bloody palm into the ground, and circulated chakra.
A black summoning array unfurled beneath his hand.
Smoke exploded outward.
A shadow like a hill rose from within it.
And in Ren's ear, a hoarse, furious voice erupted.
"DAMN IT, OROCHIMARU! YOU TRYING TO DIE!? You dragged me out to get beaten half to death for no reason—this time, if you don't prepare triple the sacrifices, I'll—"
"Oh?" Ren whistled softly, smiling with unhurried delight as the smoke cleared to reveal the purple, horned snake. "What were you going to do to Orochimaru, Manda?"
"Care to tell me in detail?"
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