Chapter 9: Shadows in the Hokage's Office
While one pursued and the other fled in the murky depths beneath the village, a different kind of tension filled the Hokage's office. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was dealing with the mountain of paperwork that had reclaimed his desk. The brief tenure of the Fourth Hokage had ended in the tragedy of the Nine-Tails attack, forcing the old leader to shoulder the mantle once more, his heart heavy.
To outlive one's students… a white-haired man sending a golden-haired one to the grave. A sorrowful duty.
Knock. Knock.
Footsteps halted at the door, and it opened without waiting for a summons. The man who entered was old, with half his face and one eye shrouded in bandages, a forked scar on his chin.
Shimura Danzo. Hiruzen's oldest… friend? Rival? The leader of the Foundation, the 'Root' of the village.
Before Hiruzen could speak, Danzo's single, sharp eye fixed on him. He wasted no time on pleasantries. "Hiruzen. Hand the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki over to me."
Sarutobi didn't answer immediately. He took a slow, deliberate draw from his pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke that hung in the air between them. His gaze, when it met Danzo's, was weary but firm. "I have told you many times, Danzo. Naruto will not be handed over to you. He must grow up in the sunlight of Konoha."
Danzo had come for this, again and again. Each time, Hiruzen had refused. And each time, Danzo returned, undeterred. On this, Hiruzen would not yield. Naruto was Minato's son. That alone made the matter non-negotiable.
Danzo's expression darkened further. But if he were so easily dissuaded, he would not be Danzo. "The Jinchuriki will only reach its full potential under my control! Your softness will turn him into a useless, emotional liability! You plan to send the Nine-Tails to the Academy? You are crippling him—and endangering the village!"
"Enough, Danzo." Hiruzen's voice hardened, cutting through the diatribe. "My decision is final. Naruto stays."
"Hiruzen, I offer you one final warning. Your choice will bring ruin upon the Jinchuriki and the entire village!"
"I am the Hokage, Danzo!"
"You will live to regret this!"
Yet, today, Danzo did not storm out in impotent fury as usual. He simply stood there, his single eye boring into Hiruzen. Hiruzen met the gaze, unblinking. A tense, silent stalemate stretched for half a minute.
Is he not giving up? Hiruzen's mind raced. He needed to redirect this.
He pulled a specific file from the pile on his desk and laid it flat before Danzo. "Danzo. Last night, several ordinary villagers vanished without a trace. Was this your doing?"
He used the question to shift the topic, but he was also genuinely curious. He knew of Danzo's… experiments. They required materials. If Danzo had begun sourcing those materials from within the village walls…
"Hmph! Do I look like a man who would engage in such crude, obvious work?" Danzo scoffed, his tone insulted.
Hiruzen didn't reply. He simply looked at Danzo, his own expression one of profound skepticism.
"What is that look?! You doubt me?!" Danzo's face twisted, anger and a flicker of something else—indignation?—flaring. Even if he had done it, the sacrifices would have been for the village's strength! But more importantly, this particular incident wasn't his work. Hiruzen was growing paranoid in his old age. Perhaps it was time for a new Hokage to sit in this seat.
Hiruzen studied him for a long moment. He saw no telltale signs of deception in the man's rigid posture. "It is better that it was not you."
"Hmph! Of course it wasn't me!" Danzo's shoulders relaxed marginally. He hadn't even glanced at the file. No information escaped the Root's network; a report on the incident would already be on his desk. He'd deemed it a trivial matter, unworthy of immediate attention. But Hiruzen's focus on it piqued his interest. Perhaps there was more to it. He made a mental note to review the file upon his return.
"Hiruzen," Danzo said, his voice dropping to a low, ominous tone. "When you finally lose control of the Nine-Tails' power, it will be too late for regrets. I hope you see reason before that day comes." With this final 'admonition,' he turned and left, the door closing softly behind him.
Alone again, Hiruzen lifted his pipe, his gaze distant and thoughtful.
If not Danzo… then who? He couldn't imagine a shinobi powerful enough to evade the village's sensory barrier bothering to target random civilians. For what purpose? If it were a simple murder, the skilled trackers of the Konoha Police or the Hunter-nin would have found a body by now.
It was puzzling.
He reached for the next file, but was interrupted.
"Hokage-sama." A masked ANBU operative materialized in the center of the room. Hiruzen, accustomed to such entrances, merely laced his fingers together on the desk.
"Report."
"Regarding the disappearance case you prioritized: new developments. Several residents reported hearing cries for help emanating from the sewer system earlier today. Search teams are currently being organized. It should be noted that prior to these reports, two Konoha chunin entered the sewers to investigate of their own volition. They have not yet checked in or returned."
"The sewers…" Hiruzen murmured. The sewer network was within the village's protective barrier. Any significant chakra fluctuation should have triggered an alarm. None had.
"The Barrier Team has been dispatched for a diagnostic check," the ANBU added, anticipating the question. "In this sensitive period, the integrity of the village's defenses is paramount."
Hiruzen nodded. Even the slightest vulnerability had to be addressed.
His mind worked through the puzzle. A foe capable of completely masking their chakra from the barrier… why would such an individual allow a victim to cry out? Why let one of two chunin escape long enough to be heard? It made no tactical sense.
Unless it was intentional. A distraction? A taunt?
The mystery deepened, leaving a cold, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Outside, the last rays of the setting sun painted the rooftops in shades of orange and gold. Night was approaching.
Inside his apartment, Shuichi Mayumi finally let out a breath he felt he'd been holding all day. Since the incident with Dry Arrow, he'd maintained a constant, wary watch through their shared vision, ready to sever the connection and annihilate his creation at the first sign of its capture.
Fortunately, while Dry Arrow was no genius, it possessed a crude, animal cunning for evasion. Its complete lack of chakra signature was its greatest asset, allowing it to hide in places sensory ninjas would overlook. Its overwhelming stench ironically made tracking by ninken nearly impossible; the dogs were overwhelmed, confused.
Several close calls had stretched Shuichi's nerves, but each time, the demon had managed to slink into a deeper shadow, a filthier crevice.
Now, as true darkness finally began to fall, he watched through Dry Arrow's eyes as it expertly found an outflow pipe and slipped out of the sewer system, melting into the gathering night.
The tension in Shuichi's shoulders eased. The energy he'd invested in creating the demon had been replenished through its grim harvests. Destroying a functional, if revolting, asset now would be a net loss.
He severed the visual link and stood, stretching his limbs. The apartment was dark, the only light the faint glow from the streetlamps outside seeping around the edges of the blackout curtains.
Night had fallen.
It was time to attend to his own affairs.
(End of Chapter)
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