Chapter 59: Being Targeted?
Before the door to the Hokage Office had even been pushed open, Danzo's voice rang out.
"Hiruzen! What is going on with your Anbu!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up, watching his old friend storm in, and set down his pipe.
"Danzo, calm down."
"Calm down? Uchiha Itachi is currently a high-priority surveillance target for the Village! That brat named Haruko is in frequent contact with him; we must know what they discussed."
"Danzo, the duty of Root is to protect Konoha, not to monitor our own comrades in the Village. Besides—"
The Third Hokage pulled a document from his drawer and pushed it toward Danzo.
"—we already know. Look at this."
Danzo frowned, picked up the document, and glanced at it.
His furious expression instantly froze, and his pupils constricted sharply.
"Uchiha... Madara?"
"This is intelligence Itachi reported last night. He encountered someone claiming to be Uchiha Madara. The individual not only possesses the Sharingan but also knows the secrets of the Uchiha Clan."
"That's impossible," Danzo said decisively. "Madara was killed by Shodai(1st)-sama himself, and the Teacher (the Second) personally examined the corpse. The body was studied thoroughly!"
"I think so too," the Third nodded. "Madara is dead; I don't believe he could have deceived Shodai(1st)-sama and the Teacher. Given that premise, it must be an impostor, or perhaps the " Edo Tensei " invented by the Teacher."
"But the question is, who is this person? And what is their purpose?"
Danzo was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "The Uchiha Clan."
"Hm?"
"The Uchiha Clan is currently on the verge of rebellion. If someone were to appear under the banner of " Uchiha Madara " at this time, what kind of effect would that have?"
The Third narrowed his eyes.
"The former strongest clan leader. Once that banner is raised, it would be enough to instantly unite the hearts of the entire Uchiha Clan. And—"
Danzo paused, his tone becoming even darker.
"Konoha was founded by Shodai(1st)-sama and Madara together; seizing the position of Hokage would also have a legitimate pretext."
The office fell into a brief silence.
"You're saying... the other party wants to incite an Uchiha coup?"
"I believe this 'Madara' is something the Uchiha Clan cooked up. They are already making final preparations for the coup. Hiruzen, we must also be prepared."
The Third took a deep breath and picked up his pipe again.
"We can prepare, but you are absolutely not allowed to strike first."
"You still harbor illusions?" Danzo's voice carried mockery. "It's come to this, and you still—"
"If this isn't the work of the Uchiha Clan, then the other party is hoping to see internal strife in Konoha. Do not strike first, Danzo; that is an order."
The Third made his final decision.
Danzo stared fixedly at the Third for a long time before looking away.
"I understand."
He turned to leave, but stopped when he reached the door.
"And there is the matter of Haruko."
"What about Haruko?"
"He is getting too close to Uchiha Itachi," Danzo turned around. "And Itachi clearly listens to him. It was likely Haruko's idea for Itachi to voluntarily report the intelligence this time."
"Isn't that a good thing? He persuaded Itachi to report it, isn't that to avoid deepening misunderstandings? If he truly had ulterior motives, he could have easily told Itachi to hide it, or even used this intelligence to stir up trouble."
"You are too naive, Hiruzen. Haruko can sway Itachi's decisions with just a few words; this kind of influence is too dangerous. Can you guarantee he won't change his mind and side with the Uchiha?"
"...So what do you want to do?"
"Take him into custody." Danzo did not hide his thoughts. "At least until the Uchiha matter is resolved, we cannot let him continue to influence Itachi's judgment."
"No." The Third refused flatly. "Haruko has already shown goodwill; using strong-arm tactics will only be counterproductive. I have my own arrangements for him. As long as he does not harm the Village, no one is allowed to touch him."
The two stared at each other, the air seemingly frozen.
After a long while, Danzo snorted coldly.
"Your naivety will harm Konoha sooner or later. Hiruzen, you will regret this."
He turned and left, not stopping this time.
Bang!
The Third watched the closed door and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Danzo, I am the Hokage."
...
"Achoo—who is thinking about me?"
Haruko, who was typing away at home, suddenly felt his nose itch and an inexplicable chill run down his back.
Feng appeared beside Haruko as if she had flashed there.
"My dear, are you okay? Do you want to add another layer of clothing? Or perhaps take a hot bath? If you need anything, I..."
"Stop, stop, stop! Cut it out! I'm fine!"
Ever since Haruko returned, Feng had been like this, clinging to him whenever she had the chance.
In her words, this was "a short separation is better than a new honeymoon."
Haruko reached out to block Feng, who was trying to press against him, but Feng took the opportunity to pull his arm into her embrace.
"Don't be so cold. Working so hard, don't you want a little... re·ward?"
Haruko's mouth twitched. He wanted to push Feng away, but the soft sensation made his body stiffen for a moment.
Feng took the opportunity to lean in, her warm body soft and boneless, a faint, lingering fragrance rushing straight into his nostrils.
'This is testing the willpower of a cadre... Hmm, it seems bigger than before?"
Although his reason told him this woman was off-limits for now.
But as a fully developed male, pushing away such delivered benefits too often was also a form of torture.
Just as Haruko's reason and instinct were wrestling over whether to be a gentleman or to "unleash the gentleman"—
"Brother Haruko, tea."
A cup of hot tea was steadily inserted between the two.
Kin had appeared by the table at some point, staring at Feng expressionlessly.
Her long, straight black hair hung by the side of her face, and her cold eyes looked as if she were staring at a pile of non-recyclable trash: "I think I came at a bad time."
"No, you came at just the right time." Feng not only didn't get up but reached out to make an invitation, "Kin-chan, come join us."
???
'This isn't right, is it?"
Haruko was completely bewildered by this move.
Kin showed a tempted expression for a moment, then immediately returned to her cold demeanor.
"Brother Haruko needs to write his book; this is important business."
"Tsk."
Feng clicked her tongue in regret and straightened up slightly, but her hand remained on Haruko's shoulder, not letting go.
"Kin-chan, you're really something. Being a third wheel will get you kicked by a donkey, you know."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tayuya's frantic roar came from the next room:
"What, what, what kind of character is this! Why does this stroke have to turn! This crappy homework is so annoying, I should just tear it up!"
Haruko took the opportunity to stand up, shook off the hand Feng had placed on his shoulder, and put on a righteous face:
"It seems Tayuya is having trouble with her homework. Feng, since you're so free, go teach Tayuya how to read."
"Ha... alright, since you've asked."
Feng started walking toward the next room, but after one step, she suddenly turned back, hugged Haruko, and pecked him on the cheek.
"If you want to continue, you can come find me anytime~"
Whispering into Haruko's ear, Feng finally let go of him and walked out of the room.
Haruko sat back down at his desk and took a sip of the tea Kin had brought.
The slightly bitter tea suppressed the surging heat, and Haruko then noticed that Kin was still standing to the side.
"What's wrong, Kin?"
"Um..." Kin leaned over, fidgeting, "Brother Haruko, I'm sorry..."
"?"
Before Haruko could figure out the situation, Kin pecked him on the other side of his face, then covered her flushed face and ran away.
"...Damn, this life is getting increasingly 'punishable'."
Haruko drank the rest of the tea in one gulp.
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