Konoha. Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen, have you decided on the Fourth Hokage yet?"
Homura's simple question made the air in the office turn strange.
Hiruzen's head snapped up, eyes sharp and guarded.
"No need to look at me like that. After the Third War you're stepping down. Other people might not know it, but we do."
Homura's explanation eased some of the tension in Hiruzen's shoulders.
True enough. He'd already discussed it with Danzo, so it made sense that Koharu and Homura knew too.
Still… why bring it up now? Was he worried Hiruzen didn't trust him and was trying to back his own choice for the next Hokage?
Before Hiruzen could finish the thought, Homura dropped something even bigger.
"Have you considered making Matsushita Taiichi the Fourth Hokage?"
Even Koharu turned to stare at him. The idea was bold as hell.
"Taiichi? He's still way too young!"
The words left Hiruzen's mouth before he could stop them.
Then he paused, and the real meaning behind Homura's question hit him.
Sure enough, Homura kept going.
"Since you don't want Taiichi as the Fourth, you need to start thinking about how to rein him in."
"The Third War had four fronts. Taiichi was on every single one of them, and he played a critical role in each."
"Before I wasn't sure, but ever since I took over Root and started looking at the intelligence they've gathered, Taiichi's reputation inside Konoha has reached a level that's almost as high as Sakumo's was back in the day."
Homura's tone was serious. Hiruzen's brow tightened.
It didn't add up. Taiichi had only really been active since the war started—less than a year. How the hell had his name spread that far?
Koharu had the same question and asked it outright.
Homura answered without hesitation.
"It's not hard to understand if you think about it. Don't forget Taiichi is also one of the best medical-nin we have. On all three active fronts, nearly half the shinobi who fought have been treated by him at some point. Those are life-saving debts."
The room went quiet as the pieces clicked into place.
His strength already commanded respect. Add in the fact that he'd saved so many lives, and of course his reputation was sky-high. Anything less would have been strange.
But that brought the problem right back to Hiruzen. Taiichi was young now, so it was manageable. In a few years, when he was older and still racking up achievements on the front lines, would they still be able to keep him in check?
In Hiruzen's mind, he already had his choice for Fourth Hokage.
He had hoped it would be Jiraiya or Orochimaru. But recent conversations with both of them had made it clear neither was interested in the position.
That had been a problem… until he looked elsewhere.
After watching and thinking it over, he'd settled on Namikaze Minato—Jiraiya's student.
Minato was his grand-student, proper Hokage lineage through and through.
Bright personality, excellent relations with the other jonin, and strength that put him at the very top. The "Yellow Flash." One half of Konoha's "Twin Demons."
Most importantly, Kushina Uzumaki—the Nine-Tails jinchuriki—was his girlfriend.
People loved to underestimate jinchuriki. Even Shukaku, the weakest of them, wasn't something a normal Kage could handle alone. The Nine-Tails was on another level entirely—power that could level mountains and burn villages to ash.
Having that kind of backing would be a massive advantage for Minato if he became Hokage.
Right now the only thing Minato lacked compared to Taiichi was raw, widespread reputation.
Hiruzen glanced at Homura. The man's timing was good. If he'd waited much longer, creating space for Minato might have become impossible.
"Once the Mist front is fully stabilized, recall him to the village."
Hiruzen's words set the tone and sent a clear message to both advisors: he had already chosen the Fourth Hokage and was laying the groundwork.
Homura had expected nothing less. He knew exactly how Hiruzen would play this. His earlier comments had just been testing the waters.
"Hiruzen, remember when you asked me to look into who killed Danzo?"
Hiruzen blinked at the sudden shift, but the topic was important enough that he couldn't ignore it.
"Any leads? Or do you have a suspect in mind?"
Homura didn't answer right away. He reached into his robe, pulled out a report, and handed it over without a word.
Hiruzen took it with a frown and opened it.
The beginning was straightforward—physical traces at the scene and which jutsu could have left them.
Earth Style techniques like Earth Core Turnover and Earth Mountain Rise. Classic Rock Village moves.
Wind-cutting marks that lined up with Danzo's Vacuum Series.
Traces of his summoning Baku and signs of a skilled swordsman.
Given the location of the body, the obvious conclusion was Rock ninja. They had motive, power, and opportunity.
But when Hiruzen reached the final name on Root's list of possible suspects, his eyes narrowed sharply.
The last name listed was Matsushita Taiichi.
"Homura, you're not joking with me." Hiruzen used his full name. He rarely did that unless he was genuinely pissed.
Homura stayed calm. The analysis was based on the evidence they had. Even if some of it came from his own dislike of Taiichi.
"Hiruzen, this is just an objective breakdown. I listed everyone who could have had the means, motive, and opportunity based on the intelligence. We'd need a real investigation to confirm anything."
One clean sentence to wash his hands of responsibility.
Out of all the names, Taiichi was the only Leaf shinobi. The rest were mostly Rock, with a couple of Grass ninja mixed in.
It was obvious where he was pointing.
Koharu had been watching the exchange. She picked up the report, skimmed it quickly, and her expression changed when she saw Taiichi's name.
"Homura, even if you have your issues with Taiichi… do you actually have more evidence than this?"
"No. Like I said, it's just analysis based on motive, capability, and timing. The real answer would require further investigation."
Homura looked completely open about it. Every word was technically true. That was exactly why it worked.
He didn't need to prove Taiichi killed Danzo. He just needed to plant the idea in their heads. Later, whenever Taiichi became a problem, that seed would already be there.
The more questions they asked, the more it sank in.
"Tell me then," Hiruzen said, voice deceptively calm. "How exactly is Taiichi a suspect?"
Homura answered steadily, like he was just laying out facts.
"First, motive. We all know Danzo went after Taiichi and his team more than once—threats, leaking intel, even sending people to assassinate them. That's more than enough reason for Taiichi to want him dead."
It was a strong point. If it had been any of them in Taiichi's place, they probably would have wanted Danzo gone too.
"Next, capability. Taiichi's strength doesn't need explaining. Even if he's only shown Fire, Water, Wind, and now Ice Release, with his talent it's safe to assume his Earth and Lightning are just as advanced. And he's an extremely skilled swordsman."
"Finally, timing. With Flying Thunder God, he could leave shadow clones to maintain his presence while using the technique to travel back and forth. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
Hiruzen and Koharu exchanged a look. Even they had to admit the logic made Taiichi a plausible suspect.
But they both pushed the thought away almost immediately.
Even if it turned out to be true, they couldn't move against Taiichi right now.
It was the same situation as when Danzo had tried to have Uchiha Yohei killed. The evidence had been clear, yet nothing had come of it.
Taiichi had become too important to Konoha. At a time like this, they couldn't afford to cut off one of their own pillars.
"Homura, destroy that report. I don't want to hear anything like this again. Taiichi is loyal to Konoha. Don't bring baseless accusations against him."
Hiruzen's tone left no room for argument.
Homura smiled faintly on the inside. "Loyal to Konoha" was a nice phrase. Danzo had been loyal too, and that hadn't stopped him from going after Yohei.
No solid evidence? Then next time he'd make sure there was some.
"Understood," Homura said smoothly. "I'll be more careful next time."
The meeting ended on that uneasy note.
Outside Konoha, the impact of Mist's defeat was already rippling through the ninja world.
In the Land of Earth, inside Cloud's forward camp, the Third Raikage crushed the latest intel scroll in his fist and swore loudly.
"Mist's a bunch of worthless trash. They got their asses handed to them in a single month? And they call themselves one of the Five Great Villages? Embarrassing."
His anger was justified. If Mist had managed to hold their own against Leaf—or even gain ground—Cloud would have doubled down on their own war against Konoha. Everyone attacking Leaf wanted the same thing: profit. If one village saw weakness, the rest would swarm.
But now they were all fighting Leaf while also fighting each other. For Cloud, the war with Leaf was about gains. The war with Rock was personal.
Mist's quick collapse made the situation clear. Since the Third War began, Leaf had been fighting four villages at once and still hadn't lost their own territory. That said a lot about their remaining strength.
Cloud needed to shift focus. If they couldn't bleed Leaf effectively, then they'd go after their old enemy instead.
"Karui, send word to the village. Execute Plan Two. Have them send another thousand shinobi to the Land of Earth. Our next target is Rock."
Karui's expression sharpened. He knew the Raikage had made up his mind and answered immediately.
Before this, the whole ninja world had been watching and waiting.
Would the wolves team up on the tiger, or keep tearing at each other? The answer had depended on how Mist fared against Leaf.
The result wasn't what some had hoped for.
"Onoki's been planning his move against Leaf for a long time, but his village won't be able to pivot quickly. We need to use this window to hit Rock harder."
The Third Raikage was already shifting gears, mind turning over the next phase of the war.
While Cloud turned its attention toward Rock, Mist wasn't sitting idle either.
The battle report from the front caused chaos the moment it reached the village.
In just one month, Mist had suffered a devastating defeat.
Five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were dead. Five of their legendary blades were gone.
Worse, the deaths of the Kaguya and Ghost Lantern clan heads had thrown the village into turmoil. Both clans were now demanding blood and revenge.
At the residence of the village elder.
The Third Mizukage had come in person to speak with the last surviving elder from Mist's founding days.
"Elder, I'm sure you've heard what's been happening in the village these past two days."
The Mizukage still had some pride and didn't launch straight into accusations.
The elder struggled to open his narrowed eyes and turned his head slowly toward him. He looked like death was already waiting in the next room.
"Third, I've heard plenty of rumors. Which one are you talking about?"
The Mizukage stayed silent for a long moment. He knew he couldn't win a battle of patience against this old monster, so he gave in.
"The defeat on the front lines. The deaths of the Kaguya and Ghost Lantern clan heads. Now both clans are stirring up trouble in the village, demanding revenge for their leaders."
"Oh, that." The elder's eyes narrowed again like he was drifting off. Half a minute later his voice drifted out, slow and almost sleepy. "Wanting revenge for their clan head is only natural. So, Third… what's your view on it?"
"These people are putting clan interests above the village's. They're tying the two together and disrupting stability. They deserve to die for it."