Kadoya and his group of ninja academy students were enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Laughter echoed through the training grounds, carefree and innocent.
Most of them remained blissfully unaware that the footsteps of war were already drawing near.
And when it arrived, none of them would be spared.
...
Elsewhere, in the heart of the village, the figure of Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped into the Hokage Building.
The structure loomed with quiet authority. Built on the eve of Konoha's founding, it was the village's oldest landmark, a place steeped in decisions, legacies, and the unseen weight of power.
Here, missions were handed out. Policies crafted. Futures decided.
As the Third Hokage walked the corridor toward his office, his expression was calm, but his mind was not.
There was a tension in the air. An unease.
He had learned, long ago, that even as Hokage, power did not mean freedom.Not entirely.
There were always moments that demanded compromise, even when it tasted like ash.
Today was one of those days.
The Third Hokage walked through the long corridor of the Hokage Building, his white ceremonial robe gently swaying with each step. Despite the age on his shoulders, his demeanor remained kind.
He gave a small smile to the ANBU guarding the hallway.
"How is it? Are you tired?"
The masked ninja straightened up immediately, voice brimming with loyalty.
"Thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama! I'm not tired!"
Hiruzen chuckled lightly and gave the ninja a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Relax a little. There's no need to be so tense."
Then his tone grew more purposeful.
"Have the advisors arrived?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama. They're already waiting inside."
Hiruzen nodded and offered a friendly wave as he continued on toward his office.
The Third Hokage walked slowly. He didn't know what Konoha would face this time.
He had lived through it all...
The tail end of the Warring States Period, the First Ninja World War, and the day Tobirama Senju sacrificed himself in the Land of Lightning, forcing a young Hiruzen to rise and take the mantle of Hokage.
Back then, Konoha had been on the verge of collapse. Rival clans wrestled for power.
Enemies circled like vultures.
And yet, he endured. He rose above the chaos.
He carried the will of the Second Hokage and united the village with calm wisdom and steel resolve.
But now... the ninja world was stirring again.
The balance that had held since the last war was faltering.
And peace was not something he could take for granted.
With a heavy sigh, Hiruzen pushed open the office door.
Inside sat his long-time comrades, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura.
"You've all arrived," he said quietly, stepping toward the Hokage's seat and settling in.
He looked to Homura. "What's the situation in the Land of Grass?"
Homura immediately handed him a neatly prepared report. "The two sides are maintaining restraint, but minor skirmishes have already broken out."
Hiruzen skimmed the pages and gave a slight nod, relief flickering briefly in his eyes. "As long as it doesn't escalate any further..."
"But there's a problem," Homura added grimly.
"Hanzo is accusing the Grass Village of detaining Rain-nin. He's demanding their release, threatening retaliation if they don't comply."
Danzo scoffed. "Those cowards from the Grass Village sway whichever way the wind blows. Groveling before other nations, yet daring to provoke Hanzo?"
Koharu narrowed her eyes. "Does Hanzo really intend to challenge the Five Great Nations? Does he have the courage?"
Danzo sneered. "What does he not dare? Hanzo has always believed he's on par with the Kage, perhaps even above them. He sees the Rain Village as too small for his ambitions. He's been looking for a reason, any reason, to make the Land of Rain the sixth great nation."
Homura nodded in agreement.
"And now he has that reason. Whether or not the Grass Village actually captured his men, it gives him a pretext to act. He can justify moving his forces into their land without appearing as the aggressor."
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple.
"A single misstep could spark a chain reaction. Even though we are a great nation, peace is delicate. One move, and everything unravels..."
"You're too soft, Hiruzen!" Danzo snapped.
"The Land of Grass is our vassal. If we allow Hanzo to bully them, we'll look weak in the eyes of every other village. They'll think Konoha has grown timid."
Silence fell.
Hiruzen knew Danzo had a point. It had been many years since the end of the last war. Every nation had been preparing, recovering, building strength.
The other great powers had not forgotten the fertile lands of the Fire Country.
But even so... war must be the last resort.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them with resolve.
"For now, we must buy time."
"Homura, continue sending envoys to the Land of Rain. Keep pressing Hanzo diplomatically, file formal protests, pressure him to negotiate."
"Koharu, get in contact with the Kazekage. Tell him I wish to resume talks about a potential alliance."
"And Danzo... have your Root operatives monitor the borders. I want information, movements, formations, anything unusual."
Danzo gave a short nod, though his expression remained unreadable.
Hiruzen sighed again, the weight of leadership settling on his shoulders once more.The future of Konoha hung in the balance, and the old shadows of war were starting to stir.
The office fell into a heavy silence.
Then, breaking it with a low voice, Danzo narrowed his eyes and asked, "Hiruzen… what did that old fox Fumo Uchiha want from you?"
Hiruzen leaned back slightly, exhaling through his nose. "Nothing important. Just… a discussion about Kadoya."
"Kagami's son?" Koharu stood up slightly straighter, her gaze sharpening. "The boy who's now head of the Uzumaki Clan?"
"Yes," Hiruzen replied. "He's shown great promise. Fumo simply brought up the matter of assigning a Jonin after Kadoya's graduation."
"I thought it was already decided," Koharu narrowed her eyes. "Wasn't Tsunade supposed to lead his team?"
Hiruzen nodded slowly. "That's true. But Fumo is pressing for a change. He wants Kadoya to be led by a Jonin from the Uchiha clan."
Danzo snorted. "How convenient. Now that the boy is showing potential, the clan that ignored him wants to claim him? Typical. They left Kagami's son in the cold for years, and now they suddenly remember he exists? What wishful thinking."
"There's no doubt they see Kagami's shadow in him now," Hiruzen said. "Fumo's reasoning was… sound. Kadoya carries the Uchiha bloodline, regardless of the rumors about him being Senju, or the new whispers tying him to the Uzumaki. And, as Fumo said… only an Uchiha truly understands the Sharingan."
"A Sharingan he never uses," Koharu shot back. "Kadoya specializes in Water Release. Having an Uchiha Jonin won't do anything for his development."
Danzo folded his arms, voice deep and resolute. "Then let him join Root. Under my guidance, he'll be safe. We'll monitor him closely. And when the time is right… I'll take him in as a personal disciple."
"Danzo, we talked about this before." Hiruzen said with a tired sigh.
Frowning, Danzo didn't give up.
"Hiruzen, you should reconsider. Kagami's orphan is a young rising talent, he needs to be control before-"
Bang!
The sharp crack of Hiruzen's palm slamming into the table echoed through the room.
The advisors tensed.
"Enough!" Hiruzen's voice thundered. "Danzo, how many times must we have this conversation? I've turned a blind eye to your work in Root because we are comrades. But Lady Mito has personally acknowledged Kadoya as the heir of the Uzumaki. The least you can do is show some respect!"
Danzo clenched his jaw, his hand instinctively tugging at his collar. Rage simmered behind his eyes, but he didn't let it explode.
He couldn't. Not when Mito Uzumaki was involved. She was more than just the First Hokage's wife or the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she was a symbol, revered even more than the current Hokage himself by many in Konoha.
Danzo's voice dropped to a growl. "Then what do you propose we do? Kagami is gone. And now his orphan is being pulled between clans and bloodlines. You can't just hand him over to that manipulative relic Fumo Uchiha!"
He leaned forward.
"Root offers safety. Structure. Control. If he stays under my command, we can shape him into something worthy of Konoha's future. This is not sentiment, Hiruzen, it's necessity."
Hiruzen's gaze hardened.
"This again..." He stood slowly. "Danzo, listen carefully: he is not suited for Root. And Lady Mito has made her stance crystal clear: no Senju or Uzumaki will ever be handed over to Root or Anbu. Not now, not ever."
"I have made my decision as the Hokage! This matter is closed."
Danzo's face flushed with barely contained fury.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
Hiruzen's eyes remained locked on his old comrade, calm, unshaken, firm as stone.
The two men stared each other down.
Danzo's gaze slowly shifted to the Hokage's hat resting on the table.
A dangerous glint sparked in his eye.
Then, without another word, he turned sharply on his heel and stormed out of the room. The door slammed behind him, echoing like a final warning.
Danzo strode down the corridor, his face like thunder. The deeper he walked, the darker his expression became, as if each step was peeling away the layers of restraint he'd built over the years.
"You are the Leaf bathed in sunlight, and I am the Root in the darkness..."The words echoed in his mind, the same words he had once spoken to Hiruzen, full of conviction, back when he founded Root.
He had believed in them.
But now? Now they felt hollow.
A sharp pang twisted in his chest as he recalled the moment Tobirama chose Hiruzen over him. He had said nothing at the time, not even a word of protest. Instead, he buried the disappointment, the bitterness, deep underground, just like the Root itself.
He told himself he had moved on. That he had let it go.
But today made it clear: he hadn't. Not truly.
All these years… all he had done was suppress it.
"I only hesitated for a second…" he thought bitterly. "Just one second… and Hiruzen became Hokage."
His hands clenched into fists.
"Why not me? What makes me less deserving? Why do they all look down on me?"
His thoughts twisted darker.
"Power… That's what I lack. That's why the Hokage title was never mine. If I had the strength of the First Hokage, or even Madara Uchiha, I wouldn't have needed anyone's approval. I could've taken what was mine."
He descended into the Root headquarters, deep beneath the earth.Sunlight caught his back one last time before the shadows swallowed him whole. He didn't look back.
Aboveground, the mood in the Hokage's office remained heavy.
Hiruzen rubbed his temples, sighing wearily.
He was a master of countless jutsu, hailed as the Professor, but when it came to navigating the mess of personal feelings, he felt like a genin again.
Teammates. Friends. Rivals. Emotions tangled like ninja wire traps.
"How the hell am I supposed to fix all this?" he muttered to himself.
If only there were a jutsu that could control people's thoughts, he mused wryly.
Then he could just make Danzo happy. Make everyone love each other.
Force peace through sheer will.
Sacrifice his own dignity for everyone's emotional stability.
First, make Danzo fall in love with me. Then make everyone else fall in love with me too. Problem solved.
He chuckled dryly.
Too bad that jutsu doesn't exist.
He let out a long sigh.
"Fumo Uchiha's reasoning was hard to refute… but don't worry." He glanced at Homura and Koharu with a faint smile. "I turned him down on the spot. Even gave him a good scolding for overstepping."
Bragging wasn't a crime, after all.
"But…" He leaned back in his chair, voice turning serious.
"Fumo made a second proposal, one I couldn't refuse."
Homura raised an eyebrow. Koharu frowned.
"He suggested Orochimaru as Kadoya's Jonin sensei."
"Orochimaru?" Koharu echoed in surprise.
Hiruzen nodded.
"His argument was... sound. Tsunade's skills lie in taijutsu and medical ninjutsu, but Kadoya shows remarkable talent in elemental ninjutsu. Orochimaru is more suited to his growth."
He paused, then added quietly,
"I agreed. Fumo is the Uchiha clan head. I can refuse once, but twice would spark unnecessary tension."
A sudden gust of wind swept against the window. The panes rattled faintly, as if the village itself were whispering in warning.
Hiruzen stood and waved his hand, bringing the meeting to a close.
"This matter ends here. Recall the original Jonin team assignments and prepare the new arrangement."