Konoha Hospital.
In the days since the news of the Fourth Hokage's death spread, the entire ninja world had begun to stir.
Scout ninjas from every major village infiltrated the Land of Fire, probing for information. Whenever they were discovered, clashes erupted—quiet, bloody, and relentless.
The Nine-Tails incident had only worsened things.
Casualties were heavy. Medical-ninja wards were filled to capacity, exhaustion and grief hanging thick in the air.
With no immediate successor to take the position, Sarutobi Hiruzen had once again donned the Hokage's cloak.
For the village, he had returned.
At this moment, outside a private ward, two elderly men stood in silence.
Anyone who recognized them would be stunned.
They were Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage—
...and Shimura Danzō, elder of Konoha.
Both had once been pupils of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
The difference lay not in origin, but in burden.
Hiruzen carried the light of the village.
Danzō bore its darkness.
Through the transparent glass of the ward door, a red-haired boy could be seen lying motionless on the hospital bed.
Medical instruments surrounded him.
Namikaze Kirito had fallen into a deep coma after forcibly overdrawing his body and activating a power no one could explain. All vital signs were stable—yet he refused to wake.
In the days since, countless villagers and ninja who revered the Fourth Hokage had come to visit.
As for the newborn—
Uzumaki Naruto was being watched over in secrecy, personally arranged by Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen."
Danzō's voice was low and hoarse, echoing faintly through the corridor.
"Are you still hesitating?"
This was a restricted ward. ANBU and Root operatives guarded the area.
There was no one to overhear them.
That was why Danzō spoke without restraint.
"…Haa."
Hiruzen lowered his pipe and exhaled slowly.
He knew exactly what his old friend meant.
These past days had been relentless—stabilizing the village, suppressing intelligence leaks, countering foreign scouts, arranging memorials for the dead.
Even when his own wife, Sarutobi Biwako, had died, he hadn't allowed himself the time to mourn.
Yet the moment he was free...
He came here.
That alone said enough.
"Danzō," Hiruzen said quietly, "this matter still requires consideration."
"You saw it yourself that night."
"There is something hidden within this child—something enormous."
"If we were to… study him, it would be a matter of great importance to the village."
Danzō didn't bother hiding his intent.
There was no need.
Their roles had been divided long ago.
"He is Minato's child," Hiruzen continued, his gaze fixed on Kirito's sleeping face.
After the Nine-Tails incident, he had scoured forbidden texts and ancient records.
Nothing matched the power Kirito had displayed.
Nothing.
Unknown.
And unknowns were dangerous.
Especially when Minato and Kushina's bodies had vanished without explanation.
The Fourth Hokage's prestige among the people rivaled even Hiruzen's own.
"Hiruzen," Danzō said coldly, "I understand your hesitation."
"But if this boy wakes up… the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki plan will no longer follow your intentions."
Danzō was confident.
At present, only a handful of people knew the truth.
To the village at large, Namikaze Minato had left behind a single child—Namikaze Kirito, now lying unconscious.
The villagers were ignorant.
And ignorance needed a target.
Thus, the plan proposed by Danzō and approved by Hiruzen—had already been set in stone.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki would become the village's focus.
Hatred would be redirected.
Fear would have a name.
Uzumaki Naruto.
No...
In this plan, the blond infant with whisker-like markings would bear no trace of Minato's name.
He would be known only as the vessel of the demon fox.
The villagers' resentment would converge on him.
And in doing so, the Jinchūriki's true nature would be concealed.
Who would suspect a monster despised by all?
The masked man's appearance that night had pushed Hiruzen's vigilance to its limits.
For once, he had aligned completely with Danzō.
But there was a flaw.
Another orphan.
Namikaze Kirito.
He wasn't dead.
Only sleeping.
The moment he woke up, the entire structure of the plan would collapse.
Who would allow their own blood to shoulder the name of a demon?
Hiruzen still remembered that night clearly—
The small figure standing before the Nine-Tails' claw.
That unwavering resolve.
One Sannin had defected.
Two had left the village.
Konoha's leadership now rested almost entirely on his shoulders.
Even if Jiraiya returned, Hiruzen was confident he could persuade him—under the banner of protecting Minato's legacy.
Kirito, however...
Kirito was the variable.
"Minato died protecting the village," Hiruzen said slowly.
"Now even the Jinchūriki can no longer carry his surname."
"If this child were handed over to you…"
"…it would be far too cruel."
"Hmph."
Danzō snorted.
He had little patience for such sentiment.
Without Hiruzen's approval, none of his plans could move forward.
Now, at a moment of crisis, guilt surfaced?
Impossible.
Danzō knew Hiruzen too well.
There was guilt, yes but in the end, the village always came first.
This hesitation was merely the mask.
"Consider it," Hiruzen had said.
Not refusal.
Just delay.
That was enough.
After decades, the two understood each other perfectly.
Some decisions didn't need words.
They only needed time.
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