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Chapter 23: The Shadow of the Hokage
Hokage's Office
"No. That boy will not join Root. Ragnar is not an option, and neither is Namikaze Minato. Let this be the end of it, Danzo."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood before the large window of his office, his back to the room, his voice carrying a solemn and unyielding finality. Beside him, the spiky-haired Danzo wore an expression of cold disdain. Others might tremble before the Hokage's authority, but he did not.
They were both disciples of the Second Hokage, both inheritors of his legacy. Yet, where Hiruzen embodied the Will of Fire's nurturing light, Danzo embraced the necessary, ruthless shadow. One was the gentle sun, the other the cold, hidden blade. They were meant to complement, but now they only clashed.
"Ragnar is a refugee from a minor village," Danzo countered, his voice a low rasp. "Joining Root is the highest purpose for one like him. RootĀ needsĀ such material. Surely you understand this, Hiruzen."
In Danzo's mind, the matter was already decided. Ragnar would become a sword in his hand, a weapon to be aimed and unleashed. That was the true fate of a shinobiāto be a tool for the village's survival, stripped of individual will.
"Danzo, do not think I am blind to your intentions," Hiruzen said, finally turning to face his old friend, his eyes sharp. "Using Ragnar as a blunt instrument against the Uchiha? You would corrupt his entire shinobi path before it even begins. He has a greater future. The world trembles on the brink of war, and Konoha will need talents like his."
"So what if he is corrupted? So what if he is sacrificed?" Danzo shot back, utterly unmoved. "He is a child from a nameless village. His value lies in his utility. If you deny me Ragnar, then Namikaze Minato. One of the twoĀ mustĀ join Root."
His tone brooked no argument. It was an ultimatum from the darkness to the light.
"No." Hiruzen's voice dropped, but it gained a density, a weight that filled the room. "I will not permit it. Do not speak of this again. Remember your place, Danzo. It is I who sits in this chair."
He did not shout, but the full, quiet majesty of the Hokage settled upon him, an aura of command that even Danzo could not directly challenge.
Danzo's single visible eye narrowed. His hands, clasped behind his back, clenched until the knuckles turned white, a fine tremor of suppressed rage running through his frame. The bitterness was a familiar poison.Ā HeĀ should be the one sitting there. It was the Second's will that had placed Hiruzen on the throne, forcing Danzo himself into the depths to become Konoha's unseen, hated necessity. The injustice of it fueled his every action.
"You are making a mistake, Hiruzen," Danzo hissed, the anger leaking through his icy control. "Not only Namikaze Minato. That boy Ragnarā¦ he has the eyes of a wolf, not a loyal hound. You saw how calmly he executed Uchiha Shirou. Do you believe you can truly control such a creature? If you cannot leash him now, what hope will you have in the future?"
The killing of Uchiha Shirou was an open secret among the village's black ops. ANBU and Root had both observed the encounter. Danzo had reviewed the reports himself. The cold efficiency, the lack of hesitation or remorseāit was not the action of a normal child. It was the making of a perfect, dangerous weapon, and Danzo was desperate to be the one to wield it.
"Danzo, you are wrong," Hiruzen said, his voice weary but firm. "You ask why Konoha has endured? It is not through control and fear. It is through bonds. Trust. That is our true strength."
"Ridiculous sentimentality," Danzo spat. With a final, contemptuous snort, he turned on his heel and strode from the office, the door closing with a soft, definitive click.
Hiruzen watched him go, the ghost of a sigh escaping his lips. The chasm between them grew wider every day. When the silence had stretched long enough, he spoke to the empty room. "You may come out."
POOF.
A puff of white smoke erupted in the center of the office. When it cleared, a ninja stood at attention. He wore a jounin vest, and his features were sharp, etched with the focused intensity of a honed blade. A head of distinctive, spiky white hair marked his identity.
Hatake Sakumo. The head of the Hatake Clan. A man whose skill with the blade had earned him the fearful title "Konoha's White Fang" in foreign villagesāa shinobi so renowned that enemies would abandon their missions outright rather than face him.
"Sakumo," Hiruzen said, returning to his seat. "Your thoughts?"
Hatake Sakumo bowed respectfully. "Lord Danzo's methods areā¦ extreme. The boy Ragnar would be better served in ANBU. It is a place of discipline and sharpening, but it does not seek to erase the self as Root does. It would be a more suitable forge for his talents."
"I am of the same mind," Hiruzen nodded, steepling his fingers. "You are a captain of ANBU, Sakumo. I would trust you to guide such a raw talent. In Danzo's hands, a promising seedling would be warped into a thorn bush, useful only to wound."
"Understood, Hokage-sama. I will see to the matter," Sakumo replied with unwavering loyalty.
"Good. But before any formal assignmentā¦ I wish to see this boy for myself."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes held a contemplative glint. He would pay an informal visit, to see the truth of Ragnar when no one of authority was meant to be watching.
...
The Border of the Land of Fire
Deep within a dense, rain-slicked jungle, a squad of Konoha shinobi moved with practiced silence. They were a reconnaissance team, tasked with a dangerous infiltration toward the ever-stormy Land of Rain, where tensions between great villages were already simmering into open conflict.
Among them, clinging to the high branch of a massive tree, was Ragnar's former academy instructor, Yamada. He would never know that his most troubled student had just won the academy championship.
"Yamada," whispered the ninja beside him, a man with keen eyes named Shiranuiāan ANBU tracker assigned to the team. "We must avoid engagement at all costs. Our mission is eyes and ears only."
"I know," Yamada replied, his smile grim. They were chunin, pawns on a board played by Kage. If they encountered a patrol from Iwa or Suna, survival would be a matter of luck, not skill. This was the reality of the coming warāknowing your likely fate and advancing anyway, for the sake of the order and the village. It was the shinobi's lot.
The team paused in a sheltered thicket for a brief, wary rest. Yamada's gaze turned longingly northwest, toward the distant, unseen safety of Konoha's walls, his thoughts a silent, unanswered prayer.
Unnoticed by any of them, thirty meters away, a small, cleverly carved wooden lizard puppet, its joints articulated with chakra threads, cocked its head. It observed them for a moment longer before silently burrowing into the soft, wet earth, leaving no trace of its passage.
...
Konoha Village, The Training Grounds Behind the Mountain
The wind whispered through the tall trees of the secluded forest, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. The peaceful sound was punctuated by a steady, brutal rhythm.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The powerful, metronomic impacts echoed like a war drum.
Ragnar stood before a training post thicker than his own torso. It was no ordinary log; its surface was sheathed in a layer of hammered iron plating, over two centimeters thick. The center of the plate was deformed into a deep, fist-shaped crater.
Ragnar's fists, wrapped in blood-stained bandages, drove into that same crater again and again. Each impact was precise, pouring all his weight and focus into the point of contact. The bandages were soaked through with a mixture of old blood and fresh sweat, the fabric grinding against torn knuckles with every strike.
Hundreds of punches. Then thousands.
His eyes, visible between sweat-drenched strands of hair, held no pain, only a relentless, burning focus. Even with the Three Colored Haki and the power of a Mythical Zoan fruit humming in his veins, his training never ceased. This was the second day since the tournament. While others celebrated or licked their wounds, he was here, engaged in a devil's regimen, dissecting every moment of his fight with Minato, searching for micro-improvements, forging his will against unyielding iron.
Huh?
His Observation Haki, constantly active at a low level, prickled at the edge of his perception. Someone was there. Not a sudden arrival, but someone who had been present long enough for his senses to finally, belatedly, take note.
He ceased his punching, the sudden silence louder than the noise had been, and turned in one fluid motion.
There, leaning casually against a tree as if he had always been part of the scenery, was a short, older man in a simple gray kimono.
The Third Hokage.
A cold shock, sharper than any punch, shot down Ragnar's spine. The Hokage had been watching him, and he hadn't sensed his approach at all. The sheer, silent power of a Kage-level shinobi was a terrifying, tangible force.
He mastered the surge of alarm in a heartbeat, locking his emotions behind the familiar wall of ice. He bowed, the motion crisp and formal.
"Hokage-sama."
"Hah! No need for such formality, boy. Relax," Hiruzen said with a warm, grandfatherly chuckle, pushing off from the tree.
But as his gaze traveled from Ragnar's bloody fists to the deeply dented iron plate on the post, the cheerful glint in his eyes was replaced by a spark of profound, serious assessment. The casual demeanor remained, but behind it, the mind of the God of Shinobi was working.
So,Ā Hiruzen thought, the truth settling in his gut.Ā This is the reason. This is the price paid for
(End of Chapter)
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