Inside the Root base, Shimura Danzo had already received the report from his subordinates.
"Useless. All of you are useless."
His anger flared.
He had sent an entire squad this time, and they had still been crushed by Kaede Kitahara.
That only confirmed something Danzo had begun to suspect.
The Root squad that had vanished earlier had not run into some accident.
They were almost certainly dead. And most likely, they had died at Kaede Kitahara's hands.
Danzo had been searching for that squad's whereabouts this entire time. He knew Root members were bound by the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. From the very foundation, betrayal was impossible.
Even if someone disobeyed an order, the seal would activate automatically, paralyzing them. They would be unable to move, unable even to form the thought of betrayal.
That was exactly why Danzo dared to command Root operatives to assassinate a Hokage.
Once you boarded his ship, there was no getting off.
In other words, betrayal was impossible. The only outcomes were death or imprisonment.
At first, Danzo had assumed that the missing squad had encountered some unfathomable powerhouse, maybe an elite ninja from another village who had wiped them out as an afterthought.
Now, it looked far more likely that this "unfathomable powerhouse" was Kaede Kitahara himself.
The strongest member of that earlier Root squad had only been a Tokubetsu Jonin, roughly the same level as the squad he had just sent. There should not have been much difference.
Yet judging from the reports, they had been completely outclassed.
That meant Kaede Kitahara's strength was at least elite Jonin level.
An elite Jonin at fifteen or sixteen years old.
Even in Konoha, a village overflowing with geniuses, that was dazzling.
If he had shown outstanding talent from childhood and steadily grown to this level by his mid-teens, he might have been taken in as a disciple by one of Sarutobi Hiruzen's students, or even a grand-disciple, absorbed into the Hokage lineage.
He might even have become a future Hokage candidate.
Danzo knew his old friend well enough to be certain of that.
Talking ideals out loud, doing business in private.
Without Danzo handling all the dirty work behind the scenes, could Hiruzen have enjoyed his current reputation?
Any truly exceptional seedling would be taken in under various pretexts. Either as Hiruzen's own student, or under one of his students, or one of their students.
In short, the Hokage line had always been a master-disciple inheritance from the very beginning.
If you were not part of that lineage, you did not even have the资格 to touch it.
That was Konoha's unspoken rule.
No, it was already an open rule.
That was why the competition for Fourth Hokage had been between Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato.
One was Sarutobi Hiruzen's direct disciple.
The other was his grand-disciple.
Only those two were qualified.
No one else was allowed to even reach for it.
If they did, they died.
Like Hatake Sakumo.
He had once been the most likely Fourth Hokage.
At his peak, even the Legendary Sannin had been forced to give him wide berth.
And what happened in the end?
He still died.
The fundamental reason was simple. He had threatened Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was still in his prime at the time.
And he was not part of the Hokage line.
Even though Danzo himself had been the one to act in the end, did Hiruzen really dare say he had not condoned it?
Had he not silently allowed it?
What made it even more infuriating was this.
If one talked about orthodoxy, about the Hokage's master-disciple lineage, then Danzo himself was also part of it.
He was orthodox too.
Hiruzen could sit in the Hokage seat. Why couldn't Shimura Danzo?
Your teacher was the Second Hokage. Mine was also the Second Hokage.
We are the same.
And yet.
Because Kaede Kitahara possessed such talent and ability, but had not shown it in school, had hidden his strength in secret, and had even approached the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Danzo saw his guilt as already proven.
Once I suspect you, you deserve to die.
Such a person had to be eliminated early.
So what if it was a mistaken killing?
How many mistaken killings had Konoha already committed?
Besides, even if it was not a mistake, with that kind of talent and age, Kaede would inevitably become one of Danzo's rivals in the struggle for Fifth Hokage.
He had to be wiped out completely.
Even Danzo himself could no longer tell whether his growing desire to kill Kaede stemmed from the first reason, or the second.
Before he could dwell on it any further, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived.
Danzo was clearly mentally prepared.
His people had failed. Hiruzen showing up was only natural.
And he was certain of one thing.
His old friend could not do anything to him.
Whether it was because of their long friendship, or because Hiruzen could not bear to lose his black glove, Danzo knew him far too well.
"Danzo, you've really gone too far this time."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smoked his pipe and dismissed the attendants before speaking.
"Too far?" Danzo countered coolly. "Hiruzen, your Anbu should have reported to you as well. The four members of the Root squad I sent were dealt with effortlessly by him."
"That means his strength has reached elite Jonin level. Who knew that?"
"If not for my people forcing him out, would his strength ever have been exposed?"
"Why did he hide it? He clearly harbored ill intent."
"I told you last time that he was a spy sent by another village. You didn't believe me."
Danzo turned the accusation back on him.
Hiruzen laughed in anger.
His old friend really knew how to twist words.
If this had been earlier, he might have had similar concerns.
But after Hatake Kakashi reported that Kaede Kitahara carried Uchiha blood, and had even awakened the Sharingan, everything suddenly made sense.
Or rather, Hiruzen believed it did.
Why had Kaede hidden his strength from childhood?
Just think about what had happened back then.
Uchiha Itachi had slaughtered the entire Uchiha Clan, leaving only a single survivor.
How deep was the water in that incident?
How much darkness lay hidden beneath it?
Just the fact that Uchiha Itachi was still wandering free was enough to terrify countless people.
If Hiruzen were in Kaede's place, would he easily reveal his Sharingan?
Of course not.
And then Kaede had encountered Root squads afterward.
Such blatant suppression from Konoha's upper levels.
Anyone in his position would completely hide their edge until they were strong enough to protect themselves.
That kind of caution was understandable.
Fortunately, Kaede had not gone to extremes.
From every intelligence report, he appeared to be a good child who had inherited the Will of Fire.
He simply wanted to protect himself.
What was wrong with that?
As for being a spy from another village, that was laughable.
What village would send a fifteen or sixteen-year-old elite Jonin to be a spy?
And more importantly, what village's spy would have Uchiha blood?
In Hiruzen's eyes, having convinced himself he understood the whole truth, Danzo's speculation collapsed completely.
"If you were a village leader," Hiruzen said calmly, looking at him, "would you send a talent like that out as a spy?"
The question choked Danzo.
It was true.
If it were him, he would never waste such a talent that way.
"Even so, his malicious intent is undeniable," Danzo said coldly. "Otherwise, why would he deliberately approach the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"Very few people know Naruto's true identity," Hiruzen replied. "I've already checked the entire network of possible connections. Kaede Kitahara is not among them."
"That means he simply became friends with Naruto by coincidence."
"And Naruto needs friends like that."
How could Hiruzen not be concerned about what Danzo worried about?
That was precisely why he had investigated from the very beginning.
Anyone qualified to become Uzumaki Naruto's friend or teacher had already been thoroughly vetted.
Ancestry for three generations. Personal beliefs. Even their parents.
Without that level of scrutiny, no one would ever be placed near someone as important as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Iruka was the same.
Anyone who could influence Naruto's personality, values, or worldview had been examined in detail.
The people involved never knew this.
From their perspective, they had simply gathered around Naruto for various reasons.
They did not realize that as they approached him, they were already passing through layers of screening.
Kaede Kitahara was no exception.
By tracing the relationship networks of those who knew Naruto's identity, Hiruzen had confirmed that Kaede had no possible way of knowing that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
In other words, their friendship itself was an accident.
Once that conclusion was reached, everything else followed naturally.
Yes, Kaede had Uchiha blood.
Yes, he had the Sharingan.
And yes, Sarutobi Hiruzen had once deeply feared the Uchiha Clan.
But what he feared was a powerful clan with multiple Jonin, vast influence, and the potential to threaten the Hokage line.
He did not fear individual members.
Had not the Uchiha survivor been taken in by Hatake Kakashi himself?
Who said the Uchiha could not join the Hokage line?
The Uchiha could join it very well.
They wanted to join it more than anyone.
And now, was this not the perfect opportunity?
Hiruzen believed his own heart was far broader than Danzo's.
So what if he was an Uchiha?
He could still be used.
Just like when their teacher had taken in Uchiha Kagami as a disciple.
This was the difference between those who became Hokage and those who remained advisors.
And beyond all that, there was also a fundamental disagreement between him and Danzo regarding how the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should be treated.
[A/N: Enjoying the story? You can read more chapters early and support me here:patreon.com/Aeroscissors]