The "sacrifice" that Nara Shikaku mentioned referred to Takeshi writing a sincere handwritten letter. In that letter, he was to lower his stance, give Ōnoki enough respect, and at the same time, explain the matter regarding the Daimyō.
But just Takeshi's letter wasn't enough. Shikaku also intended to find the previous Daimyō—who had been placed under house arrest—and have him personally step forward to explain the reason for his abdication.
As for that reason, of course, it would be that the former Daimyō felt he was getting old and, overwhelmed by state affairs, decided it was time to enjoy his twilight years.
After meeting Takeshi, he supposedly realized it was time for him to retire and passed the position of Daimyō to his elder uncle.
"You think Ōnoki's stupid enough to buy that?"
Takeshi clearly didn't believe such a petty trick could fool Ōnoki.
They say wisdom comes with age—and Ōnoki, in terms of cunning and intellect, was probably even sharper than the old man in his own house.
Otherwise, how could someone like that become a Kage?
"Ōnoki may be loyal to the Daimyō, but as long as we show him respect and explain the stakes clearly—tell him the greatest threat to the shinobi world right now is still the Ōtsutsuki—I doubt he'll do anything too extreme."
"Guess we can give it a try?" Takeshi's tone was uncertain.
"Trying won't hurt anyone."
Since Shikaku had already said this much, Takeshi couldn't bring himself to argue.
...
By the riverside in Konohagakure, an unremarkable old man sat on the ground with a fishing rod in his hands.
"Well, isn't this rare, Danzō—you actually came fishing too."
The plain-looking old man suddenly spoke, but his eyes remained fixed on the surface of the river.
"Hmph. I go where I please," came Danzō's curt reply as he appeared, a fishing rod slung over his back and a fish basket in hand.
"Hahaha, among all of us from back in the day, you were always the most impatient. I still remember when we used to fish by the riverbank—you just couldn't sit still and ended up jumping straight into the water to, uh, 'battle' the fish."
Feeling the tug on his fishing rod, Hiruzen Sarutobi lifted it with a grin—only for his expression to instantly darken when he saw the empty hook.
"This is your fault—you scared the fish away!"
Hiruzen suddenly scowled, shifting all the blame for his failure onto Danzō.
"Hmph. The impatient one here is you. To be precise—the current you."
Danzō let out a cold snort, sat down not far away, didn't even bother to bait his hook, and cast the empty line straight into the water.
"You..." Seeing Danzō's behavior, Hiruzen knew immediately that the man was up to no good. He started to rise to his feet, ready to leave.
He was old now. He truly didn't want to meddle in Konoha's affairs anymore. Unless there was a battle, he had no desire to get involved.
He'd even heard that his old rival Ōnoki was suffering from severe back pain these days—clearly the result of overexertion in his youth.
"Iwagakure has mobilized its forces."
Danzō's voice was calm and deliberate as he spoke of the current situation.
"That's because you forced the Daimyō to abdicate."
"He was already preparing to move against Takeshi. I couldn't leave such a hidden danger sitting on the throne. Besides, I spared his life."
Just from Danzō's tone when he mentioned the Daimyō, it was clear he held deep resentment toward the man.
"Hmph, you're always so rash. Couldn't you have waited for things to cool down before acting?"
Hiruzen's anger was rising; even the hand holding his fishing rod began to tremble.
"With the Ōtsutsuki outside and internal factions rebelling within, Hiruzen—how do you expect me to wait?"
Now Danzō was the one angry.
This old friend of his was always the same—hesitant, indecisive, always waiting until a crisis hit before taking action.
Always dreaming of the perfect solution, but in the end, it was Danzō who had to get his hands dirty.
"Exactly because there are so many variables, you should handle things carefully! Don't you understand how one misstep affects the entire system?!"
Their conversation quickly turned into an argument again.
Hiruzen threw his fishing rod to the ground, fed up.
"You're too soft, Hiruzen!"
"And you—Takeshi is the Hokage, Danzō!"
"I'm the Hokage's father!"
"What?!"
Hiruzen froze—then his fury erupted.
Oh, so that's what you've been waiting to say, huh?!
Danzō, on the other hand, looked rather pleased with himself. Finally, he'd said it out loud.
"Danzō!"
"Hiruzen!"
And so, the two once-powerful elders began brawling right there in broad daylight.
When everything finally quieted down, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eye was swollen black and purple, while Danzō's lip had puffed up visibly.
"You bastard, your punches are still as vicious as ever."
"And you—you've learned from your son. Always going for the low blows now."
The two old men grumbled at each other for a bit before Danzō finally got to the point.
"Shikaku's already made that rebellious kid write a letter—lowering his stance to please Ōnoki and negotiate Iwagakure's retreat. He also came to me, asking that I arrange for the former Daimyō to publicly clarify a few things."
"Shikaku's thinking is sound. With him advising Takeshi, that's good." Hearing Shikaku's solution, Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"There's something even more important now. The kid wants to change Konoha's current ninjutsu distribution model—to make it easier for civilian shinobi to access higher-level techniques and the secret arts hoarded by the great clans."
Clutching his blackened eye, Hiruzen turned to look at Danzō. "You mean..."
"You know the Shimura clan's situation. Because of Root's early formation, our numbers have dwindled, so I can make my own decisions on some matters. But the Sarutobi clan… do they still follow your orders?"
Hiruzen didn't answer immediately.
The Sarutobi clan had been a prestigious shinobi family long before joining Konoha. His father, Sarutobi Sasuke, was a ninja even Hashirama himself had admired. Because of that, the Daimyō's court had established ties with them early on.
"For your sake, I've left those Daimyō supporters in your clan untouched," Danzō said coldly.
"Let me be clear—the kid's proposal is good for Konoha. So I'll support him with everything I have. Anyone who stands in my way—I won't show mercy."
Hiruzen hesitated for a long while before finally nodding.
"I understand. The Sarutobi clan… leave them to me."
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