Hokage Meeting Room.
Hiruzen Sarutobi set the Hokage hat aside and sat alone at the head of the table; the dim yellow light etched his wrinkles into even grimmer lines.
A pipe rested between his fingers, white smoke curling upward and veiling half his face —only his eyes, razor-sharp behind the haze, remained clear.
Creeeak—
The door was pushed open.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane walked in side by side.
The instant their eyes landed on Hiruzen, both of them froze mid-step.
The "familiar" Hiruzen Sarutobi before them was not the kindly, compromising Hokage of everyday life, but the Sandaime who had once strode across the Third Great Ninja War and been hailed by every nation as the "Shinobi Hero."
Homura and Koharu's hearts sank in perfect unison; they traded a quick glance —this was trouble.
Danzo had truly touched the dragon's scale this time.
Even if they wanted to mediate, Hiruzen's manner tonight made it clear the matter would not end easily.
Homura adjusted his glasses and spoke first, probing:
"Hiruzen, it's so late —did something urgent happen on the border for you to summon us?"
He steered the topic outward, hoping to soften the internal conflict.
Koharu followed his lead at once, a perfectly timed look of concern blossoming on her face:
"Yes, unless a major incident occurred, why call us out at this hour? Has some village made a move?"
Hiruzen's pipe exhaled wisps of smoke that masked his expression. He didn't answer directly; he merely pointed to the chairs beside him.
"Sit." His tone was hard. "We'll speak… once Danzo arrives."
Homura and Koharu obeyed, exchanging another heavy look.
Hiruzen's posture stripped every pre-prepared argument of its weight.
Moments later the office door opened again.
Danzo Shimura, leaning on his cane, entered slowly.
The moment his single eye crossed the threshold it locked onto the figure at the head: back straight, gaze like a torch, staring straight through the smoke.
The long-absent "Shinobi Hero" stance sent Danzo's heart plummeting.
Unpleasant memories surfaced; Danzo knew exactly how terrifying Hiruzen became in this mode —yet when his peripheral vision caught Homura and Koharu sitting rigidly nearby, his taut nerves slackened a fraction.
With those two present, at least… matters could not slide to the worst outcome; their earlier secret talks now became Danzo's sole psychological support.
With that thought he reached his seat, cane tapping the floor with a crisp "thunk."
Danzo raised his head, his lone eye meeting Hiruzen's as he feigned ignorance:
"Hiruzen, an emergency meeting? What for?"
Hiruzen finally lifted his eyelids, his gaze raking across Danzo's bandage-wrapped body and fixing on that single eye. No pleasantries —he cut straight in, voice icy:
"Good —you're here."
He paused, letting the suffocating silence hang for several seconds before continuing,
"Now that everyone's present… let's begin."
Those words instantly snagged the breath of the other three.
Homura adjusted his glasses; Koharu unconsciously straightened her spine, while Danzo's lone eye narrowed… They had assumed tonight would end in the usual scolding.
But Hiruzen's every move draped a storm-brewing heaviness across their hearts.
Without giving them further time to brace themselves, Hiruzen hurled the bombshell:
"Last night, Konoha Genin Tejima Shinichi, while carrying out a C-Rank mission within the Land of Fire, was ambushed by five unidentified, highly trained, and perfectly coordinated Ninja. The enemy employed the Yamanaka clan's secret Mind Transfer Jutsu in an attempt to capture or kill a Leaf shinobi!"
With every sentence his tone grew heavier, his eyes sharper.
"Danzo —do you have anything to explain?"
Danzo's eye flickered, his face expressionless: "Unknown assailants —what have they to do with me? Perhaps spies from another village."
"Oh? Is that so?" Hiruzen slammed a report onto the desk. "Then how do you explain the Root-standard cloth fragments left at the scene, and Yamato's statement that their tactics and use of the Yamanaka secret art mirror Root's exactly?!"
Seeing the tension, Homura intervened: "Hiruzen, there may be more to this. Danzo handles the village's darker affairs —many enemies could impersonate Root operatives."
Koharu chimed in: "Indeed, scraps and descriptions alone aren't conclusive. Besides, Tejima Shinichi returned safely —perhaps it was just a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?" Hiruzen's voice rose in fury. "Five elite Ninja —one Jonin, four Chunin —ambushing a freshly graduated Genin! A misunderstanding?! Had Shinichi's strength not far exceeded expectations and had he not fought for his life, he'd be a cold corpse now —or some unspeakable 'tool'!"
Under Hiruzen's fierce questioning Danzo's face darkened, yet he clung to his line:
"Evidence? A few scraps and subjective claims —how do they prove Root's involvement? Hiruzen, as Hokage would you condemn an elder on mere speculation? Someone could be framing us to sow internal strife."
He tried to muddy the waters and shift the issue toward an outside conspiracy.
"Speculation?" Hiruzen slammed another report on the table with a thunderous crack. "The Root-standard cloth fragments match precisely with the material and weave recorded in the Anbu's procurement logs for Root supplies!"
"Yamato personally experienced their tactics —identical to Root's coordination —and the Yamanaka clan's secret Mind Transfer Jutsu, which is impossible for outsiders to mimic! Are these all coincidences? Could anyone simply fake them?!"
Hiruzen, now resolved, pressed his attack relentlessly!
Seeing the deadlock, Homura tried again to mediate:
"Hiruzen, even if true, it might merely be unauthorized action by certain Root individuals —not necessarily Danzo's direct order. When one handles the shadows, subordinates can misinterpret…"
Koharu hastily echoed:
"Indeed, Hiruzen. Until the facts are clear, conclusions should wait. The boy did return unharmed —no irreversible damage done. An internal inquiry can decide any punishment later."