In the Hokage's office, Miyu could be seen incessantly rubbing her temples.
Hiruzen sat in the armchair, observing the situation while sipping a cup of tea.
"You should get some rest; getting headaches like that isn't good for you," he remarked, setting his cup aside.
"What do you expect me to do now? Besides, given how long these trips take, I have to handle future paperwork; relaxing now just means coming back to mountains of it later," the blue-haired woman complained.
"You know, I could handle some of that paperwork; after all, I'm still the Third Hokage, even if I no longer hold the top position," the old man offered sincerely.
"Heh, I'm not stupid enough to make the mistake of giving you the power to make decisions and changes in the village," Miyu told Hiruzen with a weary smile.
The old monkey simply sighed at this.
"I sometimes forget how blunt you can be; you could stand to be a little kinder—or even tell a lie now and then, you know?" Hiruzen reminded her.
"If I did that, I wouldn't be me; besides, lying is for cowards. If something goes wrong, I have the power to fix it—even by force, provided it serves the greater good," she retorted firmly, returning to her paperwork.
The Third simply sighed again and picked up his cup.
"Besides, if you had the power, the ANBU would probably convince you to lift the ban on *Icha Icha Paradise*," Miyu added.
"You really are cruel," the old monkey remarked, thinking of the poor ANBU ninjas unable to enjoy true literature. "I still don't understand why you did that."
"It was a distraction—not to mention it was rotting people's brains," she explained, signing a document and setting it aside. "There's also the fact that it annoyed Jiraiya by cutting into his royalties. "Hiruzen simply shook his head at these facts.
"Truly total tyranny," he said, taking another sip from the cup.
...
As the days went by, four individuals walked quietly along a tree-lined dirt path. And when I say "quietly," I mean they were arguing.
"I don't get the point of burning the book; it wasn't yours, and you had no right to do that," Yamato complained, practically shouting at Kurenai.
"You're still young; you shouldn't pollute your mind with things like that," the group's genjutsu expert retorted, glaring daggers at him.
Yamato and Kurenai were at the front of the group, acting as the vanguard—one on each side with some distance between them—while Miyu was a bit further back, with Hyuga Katsuki bringing up the rear.
"You think you're so pure, you two-faced woman; I imagine you harbor impure thoughts in your heart, too," Yamato countered, looking at her with a somewhat annoyed expression.
Amidst all this, Miyu watched the two young people she had seen grow up—some more than others.
Yamato had transformed from someone rather withdrawn and seemingly emotionless into a respectful, calm teenager; yet, if provoked, he would drop that persona and act like a dog that barks but never bites—essentially all talk, as he didn't yet dare to actually do what he said or thought.
Meanwhile, Kurenai had gone from a hopeful youth to a cold, lethal, and somewhat bossy young woman—someone capable of doing what she believed was right, even if it meant disregarding the opinions of others.
Each of them retained facets of their canonical selves, but thanks to Miyu's intervention, their personalities weren't exactly the same; there were details and traits that set this version apart from the original.
"Obviously, I am the purest woman you will ever see in your life," Kurenai boasted, placing a hand on her chest as if she were a wealthy young lady. All that was missing was an aristocratic, superior laugh.
"So, reading the book and touching yourself before burning it counts as something pure?" Katsuki asked, causing the whole group to stop dead in their tracks.
Yamato stared at him, eyes and mouth wide open. Kurenai glared daggers at him, her face bright red. Miyu glared too, but with a somewhat bored expression—as if to say, "So, you actually did it."
"You were spying on me," Kurenai demanded furiously, pointing a finger at him.
At that moment, Katsuki realized what she was referring to—and the broader implications of the situation—causing his ears to turn red and a look of horror to cross his face.
"That's not it—that's not what I meant, I swear," he said, frantically waving his hands to deflect the blame.
"I knew the Hyuga liked spying on people in secret, but hearing it admitted so openly..." Miyu added, looking right at him.
Katsuki had been calmly listening to the conversation between his two colleagues, but upon hearing Kurenai's words—specifically the phrase "two-faced"—he felt compelled to agree with his male colleague; in that regard, it was true. The problem was that he failed to realize he had practically admitted to the very offense he had committed.
"I was just surveying the area; it wasn't intentional. I was checking the room for spies or agents using my Byakugan and I saw him—it wasn't intentional, I swear it on my Hyuga pride," Katsuki continued, trying to defend himself.
"You pervert, you sicko, drop dead! You ought to swallow thousands of needles and choke on them," Kurenai complained, covering her body as if she were naked and cursing the Hyuga.
...
Upon arriving in the Land of Hot Springs, Miyu rented an entire suite—which naturally included its own hot spring—so the four of them could relax and get some rest.
In a few days, acting as Hokage, she would meet with the leader of Yugakure to discuss the Chunin Exams and a small proposal regarding clandestine internal trade.
The blue-haired woman walked toward the hot spring baths with a towel, specifically entering the one marked "mixed."
She quickly undressed and wrapped a towel around her body.
The bath area was completely deserted; finding herself alone, she quickly removed the towel and headed to the shower to wash up.
Once finished, she wrapped the towel around herself again and stepped into the warm waters of the bath.
"Mmm!" Miyu exclaimed with satisfaction as she felt her body relax. "You have no idea how much I needed this."
"It shows," came a man's voice.
Behind Miyu stood Jiraiya, also covered only by a towel; he was writing in a notebook, paying no attention to her.
"I imagine you've been working yourself to death," the Toad Sage stated matter-of-factly, closing his notebook to look at Miyu like a normal person.
To Jiraiya, Miyu was practically a daughter; despite being a massive pervert, he would never look at the blue-haired woman that way—and she knew it, which is why she didn't mind sharing the bath with the Sage.
"I don't have a choice; even if I use Shadow Clones, the information feedback gets worse the more clones I use, so I never really make much headway," the Hokage complained, tilting her head back to look at the white-haired man.
"I thought having a Tailed Beast inside you would help with that," Jiraiya remarked, stepping into the water and settling down beside her. "That thing helps out when it suits her; I can barely even use its chakra—though I never really needed it anyway," said the blue-haired girl, unsurprised that Jiraiya knew about it. "I'm even running out of story ideas to keep her entertained so she doesn't bother me."
"You should show her *Icha Icha Paradise*; that'll satisfy her," the super-pervert gloated.
"I think I'd bore her to sleep if I did that," Miyu scoffed.
"Why do you say that?" the white-haired man asked indignantly.
"I read your 'great' romance story, and there isn't much romance to it; the writing is mediocre, the plot relies entirely on cheap titillation, and the sex scenes are repetitive. It feels like there's no emotion—they only do it because the script says so, not because they actually *want* to have sex," she began critiquing the work.
"SHUT UP ALREADY! DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD!" Jiraiya exclaimed, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.
After a few moments of quiet, Miyu spoke.
"So? How is the situation with your fellow Sannin going?" she asked.
Jiraiya remained silent for a few seconds.
"According to my spy network, he's joined a group of mercenaries," he reported seriously.
"Hmm, I really wonder why he'd do that. Could it be for money?" the blue-haired woman suggested.
"Money?" Jiraiya questioned.
"Even though that pedophile snake defected, his nature hasn't changed; he must still be conducting experiments, and that requires funds. But he could easily do that by joining any organization, so there must be an ulterior motive. If he joined *them*, then there has to be someone there who is just as strong as him—or stronger," Miyu explained.
That gave the Toad Sage food for thought.
"It makes sense; Orochimaru wouldn't join forces with someone he considers inferior or weaker than himself. If he needed something from someone, he'd try to take it by force if necessary—or, in a case where he couldn't do that easily..." Jiraiya added, building upon Miyu's deduction.
The blue-haired woman simply listened while playing with the water in the hot spring.
"Well, anything else to report?" the Hokage asked.
"The Land of Grass is planning to establish its own Hidden Village," the white-haired man announced, causing Miyu to raise an eyebrow. "During your last trip to meet with other minor nations, they noticed you didn't visit them. They assumed it was because they lacked a Hidden Village, so now they're trying to create one to join the group."
Upon hearing this, Miyu couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha... those arrogant nobles certainly have quite the imagination."
...
While the Hokage was away from the village...
The schemers, driven by a hunger for power and prestige, gathered to advance their plans.
Five Uchiha arrived at the village's underground passages—the very conduits Root used to move covertly throughout the village, undetected by anyone.
Leading the group was Uchiha Setsuna, the radical elder of the Uchiha extremists.
The clan was becoming increasingly fractured: on one side were the pacifists, led by Fugaku, who sought peaceful solutions to avert a massacre; on the other were the extremists, who believed the Uchiha should seize what was rightfully theirs, even if it meant resorting to extreme violence.
A Root ANBU stood waiting to receive them.
"Follow me; Lord Danzo is expecting you," the operative said in a monotone voice, devoid of any emotion. The Uchiha exchanged glances, hesitating for a moment before stepping into the clutches of this hawk of war.
...
Uchiha Setsuna slammed his fist onto the table—nearly shattering it—as he glared at the fabricated evidence Danzo had laid out before them.
In truth, several of the incidents presented had actually occurred during Hiruzen's tenure—many orchestrated by Danzo himself—but altering the records to make it appear as though they happened under Miyu's leadership had been a simple task.
Blinded by rage, they failed to notice the inconsistencies in the war hawk's twisted narrative, walking right into the trap he had set for them.
"That damned Senju," the elderly Uchiha growled through gritted teeth.
In fact, every Uchiha in the room was seething with fury; Danzo watched them calmly, for this was exactly the reaction he had anticipated.
"So, what do you have in mind?" Danzo asked.
"To bring that Senju down and secure justice for the Uchiha, of course," declared one of the clan members present.
"Yes, but given the clan's current situation, I don't suppose that's possible, is it?" the war hawk remarked, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.
Setsuna looked up at the bandaged man standing beside him.
"What are you suggesting?" the elder asked.
At this, Danzo couldn't help but offer a faint smile.
"It is easy enough to suppress the pacifists," he explained smoothly.
"But they are led by the current clan leader," another Uchiha objected.
"Then perhaps it is time to replace the clan leader, don't you think?" At this suggestion, it was as if everyone's breathing—save for Danzo's—came to a halt. "You need only remove the leader of the pacifists, and their faction will begin to crumble little by little."
Setsuna narrowed his eyes.
"Are you suggesting we betray one of our own?" he asked dangerously.
"I am suggesting you do whatever is necessary to bring justice and prestige to your clan. And rest assured, you will have the full backing of Root to achieve this," Danzo said with a smile.