"Aaand… cut!"
Namikaze Raimon clapped his hands together as if dusting off dirt, his work clearly finished. He turned on his heel, ready to leave the now-quiet riverbank.
"What are you lot even good for?!" he muttered under his breath, taking in the chaotic scene around him.
The perimeter of the battle zone was now completely encircled by a throng of Konoha's civilians, buzzing with excitement and curiosity. Members of the Sarutobi clan, clad in their new Konoha Military Police Force vests, were forming a desperate, sweating human barricade against the surging tide of villagers.
"Everyone, please! Stay back! It's dangerous there!" a young, unknown Sarutobi clansman pleaded, his arms outstretched as he was shoved back by the press of bodies.
"Captain! I can't hold them much longer!" another Sarutobi grunted, his face currently being smushed against the sole of a particularly pungent farmer's boot.
"You will hold them! That's an order!" the squad leader barked back, his voice strained.
Ever since Hiruzen-sama's retirement and their forced appointment to the Military Police, the Sarutobi clan had been walking on eggshells. They lacked the Uchiha's infamous Sharingan, which had granted their predecessors an almost supernatural ability to perceive truth and lies.
Without it, they were fumbling in the dark, their judgments often wrong and inevitably offending everyone involved. Complaint scrolls piled up in the Hokage's office by the crate-load. The whispers were growing louder: "The Sarutobi aren't like the Uchiha," people said. "Besides the Sandaime, the rest of them are just incompetent."
"Damn it all! If they want to get themselves killed, let them! I quit! I'm not doing this stupid Military Police job anymore!" one Sarutobi finally snapped, throwing his hands up in defeat.
His resignation sparked a chain reaction. As more clansmen gave up in frustration, a large wave of villagers finally broke through the crumbling defensive line, flooding into the area where the titanic clash had just occurred.
Unfortunately for them, the show was long over. The combatants were gone, and the only signs of the battle were a few scorch marks, a lingering smell of ozone, and a massive puddle. Namikaze Raimon had already used the Flying Thunder God to vanish.
"Damn it! We missed it! It's all those Sarutobi baka's fault!""Seriously! I even bought popcorn for this! What a waste of good snacks!"
One particularly sly villager sidled up to the disgruntled snack-owner. "Hey, don't say it's a waste. Let me tell you, I heard from my cousin's friend who works in the administrative building that Hiruzen Sarutobi actually…"
And just like that, the crowd's attention shifted. Nothing spreads faster than juicy gossip. The conversation quickly descended from speculation about the battle into the deep, murky waters of Konoha's 'untold stories,' eventually birthing wild conspiracy theories about Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo's secret, shared past.
****
…In the Hokage's Office, a very different scene was unfolding. Tsunade was intently studying the probabilities on a pair of dice, while Jiraiya and Shizune were buried under a veritable mountain of paperwork, their faces pale with exhaustion.
"You're back? How'd it go?" Tsunade asked, not even looking up from her dice.
"Tsunade-hime, what's the point of playing with dice by yourself?" Raimon rolled his eyes, plopping down onto a nearby sofa.
"What else am I supposed to do? Actually work?" Tsunade shot back, finally glaring at him. She gestured at his form. "This Edo Tensei body of yours hasn't even bothered to repair the tears in your clothes. What's so fun about that?"
"By the way, that reminds me," Raimon said, shifting the topic. "You never even knew Kato Dan all that well, so what's the deal with taking in his niece, Shizune-chan?"
He had always been curious about this particular piece of history.
Tsunade glanced over at the quietly working Shizune. "Shizune? I found her all alone after… everything. Felt sorry for her. Plus, I needed a competent assistant anyway. She's turned out to be the best."
"I see…" Raimon stroked his chin. So, the entire Kato family was wiped out, leaving only this young girl. It made a grim sort of sense.
"Why are you so suspicious all the time?" Tsunade looked at him with a strange expression.
"You don't think I'm… coming out, do you?" Her expression then shifted to one of mock horror. "This old lady was saving herself for you—"
BANG!
Before she could finish her sentence, Tsunade's fist, fueled by immense chakra and sheer embarrassment, connected with the top of Raimon's head with a sound like a gong.
The loud thwack made Jiraiya jump and glance over from his paperwork.
"Oof… some things never change," Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his own head sympathetically. He had been on the receiving end of those fists more times than he could count during his 'research' trips.
"Ow! Couldn't you hit a little softer?!" Namikaze Raimon complained, his head visibly dented and slowly reforming thanks to the Edo Tensei's regeneration. Without its invulnerability, that punch would have turned his brains to mush, leaving him a drooling vegetable.
"Hmph~" Tsunade snorted, turning her head away with a flick of her hair.
"Hey, hey, hey! There are other people in this room, you know!" Jiraiya interjected, his voice thick with envy, jealousy, and a distinct sourness. "If you want to flirt, take it outside! Some of us are trying to run a village here!"
"Ahem! Let's get down to business," Tsunade declared, coughing formally and sitting up straight in the Hokage's chair, her demeanor shifting instantly.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Raimon played along with a cheerful salute.
"Well? Report. I heard Sasuke and Kakashi were hit by Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu. And you know," she said, her voice softening slightly, "my Naruto doesn't have many close friends."
The implication was clear. She wanted Raimon to convince her to personally heal Sasuke.
As for Kakashi? Raimon thought the Copy Ninja could stand to suffer a little longer. Team Seven's mission would be postponed for a few days, and he had half a mind to lead it himself.
****
Meanwhile, far from Konoha, Shimura Danzo had finally reached his destination.
"Clan Head, are we… are we really leaving Konoha for good like this?" one of his clansmen asked, his voice filled with a palpable sense of loss. Back in Konoha, under Danzo's shadow and his close ties to the Sandaime, their status had been formidable. Now, they felt like stray dogs, skulking in the wilderness.
"What? Having second thoughts?" Danzo's single visible eye narrowed, radiating a sinister chill that promised a kunai to the kidney for any sign of dissent.
"N-No! Not at all!" the man stammered, quickly bowing his head.
Danzo's daily visits to the Hokage's Office hadn't been solely due to his friendship with Hiruzen; they were backed by his own ruthless strength and ambition.
"Hmph! Pathetic," Danzo said domineeringly. "If Konoha exiles us, then I will simply create a new Konoha! And you," he gestured to his loyalists, "will all be my Hokage Advisors!"
Having left Konoha's borders, Danzo led his followers toward the Village Hidden in a Waterfall (Takigakure). To be considered a true Great Shinobi Village, one needed a Tailed Beast. Takigakure, which possessed the Seven-Tails but was militarily weak, was the perfect target.
For years, Danzo had been planting his agents within its structure. With a single command, the village would fall into his hands like a ripe fruit. A Tailed Beast? His collection of Sharingan in his right arm was a power not to be underestimated either!
As they approached the village outskirts, two masked Takigakure shinobi dropped silently from the trees.
"Lord Danzo!" they knelt in unison, their postures showing absolute deference. The infiltration was clearly complete.
"Report. Are the preparations in order?" Danzo asked, his confidence unshaken even by the loss of his left arm.
"Lord Danzo, Takigakure is now full of your people!" one operative reported. Years of careful planning had borne fruit; every key position was filled with a ROOT agent. Those who had resisted had long since been 'retired'—fed to the catfish in the great lake.
"Hmm… You have done well. From this day forward, you are the Captain of the Takigakure Anbu," Danzo declared.
"Thank you, Lord Danzo!" Joy was evident in the man's voice, even through the mask. "I knew it! Following Lord Danzo means a promotion is guaranteed!"
"Now, into the village! Prepare for my Hokage inauguration ceremony!" Danzo commanded.
Finally, he would have a village of his own. He could be whatever 'Kage' he wished!
"Uhm… Lord Danzo, is that… entirely appropriate?" Shimura Kiharu, a senior clansman, ventured cautiously.
He didn't object to Danzo taking a Kage title, but 'Hokage' was Konoha's specific title. Using it was like spitting in the Leaf's face! They could be surrounded by Konoha's forces the day after their founding!
"Are you… questioning my judgment?" Danzo's lone eye locked onto Kiharu, radiating pure murderous intent. If not for their blood relation, Kiharu would already be a corpse on the ground.
"I wouldn't dare! My apologies!" Kiharu immediately prostrated himself, a cold sweat drenching his back. Years of instinct screamed that his name had just been ticked off the list of the living.
Soon, Danzo stood in the central tower of Takigakure, looking down at the assembled crowd of his followers.
"From this day forward," Danzo announced, his voice echoing with triumph, "Takigakure shall be renamed Konoha! And I, Shimura Danzo, will humbly accept the role of… First Hokage!"
A thrill ran through him. So this is the feeling Hiruzen had all those years… this power…
He closed his eyes, savoring the moment, wanting to spread his arms wide to embrace the adulation… but then he remembered he only had one arm.
Namikaze Raimon… you deserve a thousand deaths! he cursed internally, shaking off the bitter memory.
He stood there, waiting, expecting a thunderous ovation. But after a long moment, only a profound, awkward silence greeted him.
He opened his eye. The sea of faces below him wasn't cheering. They were staring back in a mixture of shock, confusion, and sheer disbelief.
People were whispering to each other, their voices a hushed, incredulous murmur."Did… did I hear that right?""Lord Danzo… the First Hokage?"