"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Enough, enough! You are all the backbone of Konoha Village. What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket!" Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the table three times and spoke with a stern expression.
The people of Konoha immediately stopped arguing. Although they had the right to discuss and make suggestions, the true decision-maker was still Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. As long as the Hokage made a decision, their opposition would be meaningless.
Isamu glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi and instantly guessed what choice he would make. With the Third Hokage's personality, he would most likely avoid launching a full-scale war. As time passed, his sharpness had gradually worn away, and he was never the hawkish type to begin with.
Sure enough, Hiruzen Sarutobi's next words confirmed Isamu's thoughts.
"Although Elder Danzo's reasoning makes sense, the nations have not officially gone to war yet. We must not become the first to break the peace. Therefore, we will guard the borders and wait for now!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly after a brief moment of thought.
"Hiruzen, you're confused! If we don't strike first, Konoha will be the one to suffer. On this matter, I absolutely will not compromise!" Danzo immediately stood up after hearing the decision. He disagreed completely with the idea of sitting back and waiting.
"Hmph! Danzo, do you know how many innocent families would suffer once the flames of war are lit? Starting a war recklessly is absolutely unacceptable. I will not compromise on this either!" Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly and directly confronted Danzo.
With Konoha's two highest-ranking figures openly clashing, everyone else wisely fell silent and watched the confrontation unfold.
Damn, this is entertaining. A direct clash between Konoha's top brass is way more exciting than I expected. If these two actually started fighting, it would be even better. Watching former teammates throw hands would be amazing!
Isamu watched the argument with growing excitement.
Unfortunately, the fight never happened.
Danzo was instantly crushed by Hiruzen Sarutobi's simple sentence:
"I am the Hokage."
That one line completely shut him down.
Danzo's face darkened in fury as he stormed out of the meeting room, slamming the door behind him. It had to be said—those four words, I am the Hokage, were devastatingly effective against Danzo.
In the end, the discussion concluded with Konoha adopting a defensive strategy.
Isamu quietly followed Danzo back to the Root headquarters.
Crash! Smash! Bang!
"Damn Hiruzen Sarutobi! If it weren't for his position as Hokage, how could he keep suppressing me? Hokage, Hokage—it's always about that damned Hokage position!"
After returning to Root, Danzo began smashing everything in sight while cursing Hiruzen Sarutobi nonstop. His obsession with the Hokage title had clearly grown deeper over the years.
"Enough already. Stop smashing things around like an idiot." Isamu looked at Danzo with obvious disdain. "The Hokage position was decided by your teacher, Tobirama Senju. If you want to blame someone, blame him. Besides, if you hadn't hesitated back then, you wouldn't have missed your chance at becoming Hokage in the first place."
"My teacher? He…" Danzo suddenly froze midway through his sentence.
Then he immediately caught the important part.
Very few people knew what had happened back then. Aside from the people directly involved, no outsiders should have known.
So how did Isamu know?
Danzo narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"How do you know about that? Did Hiruzen tell you?"
"That?" Isamu smirked. "You mean the part where you chickened out at the critical moment? I happened to be nearby back then, and I also saw Tobirama Senju for the last time."
Chickened out? Danzo's expression twitched.
This bastard really had no filter.
Still, hearing that Isamu had witnessed the final battle brought back memories from more than ten years ago. Back when he and Hiruzen returned to camp, Isamu truly hadn't been there.
"So you went to watch the battle back then." Danzo narrowed his eyes further. "You probably didn't help the teacher at all, did you?"
"Heh, of course not." Isamu sneered coldly. "They confiscated my clan's property, prevented me from attending school, and indirectly caused my mother's death. Why the hell would I help him?"
Danzo fell silent for a moment.
"You really know how to hold a grudge," he finally muttered. "But the past is the past now. Talking about it changes nothing. I spent years recruiting clans and building influence, yet I still can't compare to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Truly pathetic."
"That's normal," Isamu replied indifferently. "The Kage of each village is the highest authority. It's not easy to challenge a Hokage through political influence alone. But you don't need to rush. Hiruzen Sarutobi is already beginning to decline. Your opportunity will come sooner or later."
"Of course I know that," Danzo said while clenching his fists. "But the waiting is unbearable. I'm afraid I won't live long enough to see it."
"Waiting is your only option." Isamu stood up and walked toward the exit. "If you don't even have the patience for that, then you truly have no chance of becoming Hokage."
As he reached the doorway, Isamu suddenly stopped and looked back.
"And don't say I didn't warn you. Making a move against Hiruzen Sarutobi right now would be incredibly stupid. If something happens to him and Konoha falls into chaos, there won't be any chance of winning the coming war."
With that warning, Isamu left the Root headquarters.
"Hiruzen can't die? Hah! The Hokage position will definitely be mine!" Danzo roared furiously as he kicked over another table.
Walking back home, Isamu's expression gradually became serious again.
I didn't expect the war to arrive this quickly. Even if a full-scale war hasn't officially begun yet, it probably isn't far off.
And the Main Body still hasn't recovered enough…
Without enough power, how am I supposed to protect the children? This damned war came far earlier than I expected.
Lost in thought, Isamu eventually returned home and pushed open the front gate.
Inside the courtyard, Senba and Mikoto Uchiha were sitting together chatting happily.
But Isamu barely noticed them as he walked straight past, still deep in thought.
"Father?"
"Uncle Isamu?"
Neither greeting reached his ears.
He continued walking absentmindedly until he entered the main hall and sat down silently.
"What's wrong with the old man? He looks like he lost his soul," Senba muttered in confusion while glancing at Mikoto.
"I'm not sure," Mikoto replied softly. "I heard Hokage-sama held a meeting today, and many important people attended. Maybe something serious happened."
"Something big probably did happen." Senba frowned slightly. "Come on, Mikoto. Let's go ask him."
Pulling Mikoto along, Senba headed toward the main hall.