After several days of preparation, Hiruzen had finally dealt with everything that needed handling. Through ANBU, he had also officially reported the matter to the Fire Daimyō.
Hikaru had cooperated very well with him on this point. He had personally sent out Snowhawk—Senju Haru—and obtained all the related details.
"So it's just me and Hiruzen heading out, and we're not even taking the main road. Looks like the old man is keeping things very low-key and very cautious."
Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Hikaru nodded lightly.
That was a good thing. Being too high-profile was not always ideal.
Although what he planned to do later would definitely be high-profile enough, before everything truly erupted, a certain degree of secrecy was absolutely necessary.
That was the only way to avoid alerting the enemy.
After all, the Daimyō had always wanted to regain direct control over the Land of Fire—not remain a mere purse-holder for Konoha.
In a certain sense, the existence of the Twelve Guardian Ninja had always been preparation for breaking free from Konoha's control.
Even though the Hokage always treated the Daimyō with great respect on the surface, the fact that Konoha did not truly take him seriously behind the scenes was something the Daimyō understood very well.
"Could it be that the collection of the Nine-Tails' chakra was backed by the Daimyō as well?"
Hikaru considered the possibility, but it was only a passing thought.
Because he truly did not care what the actual answer was.
The Daimyō might be the nominal ruler of the Land of Fire, but unfortunately, he had no control over Konoha's massive military power.
This was ultimately still a world ruled by shinobi. If you could not control shinobi, then no matter how many ordinary soldiers you had, it was all meaningless.
So breaking free of Konoha's control, restraining Konoha's economic growth, or gaining leverage over its financial lifelines—and then, once conditions matured, gradually reclaiming authority over Konoha through negotiation—
that path was not impossible.
After all, if one person controlled your food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and even your employment, how long would it take before you were effectively under their control?
Unfortunately, in the original course of events, Kazuma and the others had eventually fallen apart because of internal division.
And the Daimyō had remained little more than a purse, with nothing truly changing.
"Since it never changed anyway, destroying it ahead of time isn't exactly a big deal."
With that thought in mind, Hikaru had already made his way into the living room.
Senju Renka was there, setting out breakfast.
At this hour every day, she would already have everything prepared, waiting for Hikaru to come down, eat, and head to work.
She looked almost like a young wife—but more than that, like a proper steward.
"Morning."
Hikaru nodded lightly, greeted her, and walked over to sit down.
"Good morning, Hikaru-kun."
Renka's voice was still as cool and ethereal as ever, though she had stopped calling him "Hikaru-sama."
"Your mother went out to buy things again?" Hikaru asked with a faint smile after taking a sip of the millet porridge.
"To be precise, she went out to avoid you," Renka said bluntly. "Because Hikaru-kun's status is different now. Even if your attitude hasn't changed, the people around you can't help changing theirs."
Hikaru smiled and nodded, but did not comment.
He could indeed feel it—many people who knew his real identity had changed how they treated him. In the past, they could still joke with him a little. Now, they were unfailingly respectful.
It was only a tiny taste of what people meant by loneliness at the top.
Still, he was not too bothered by it.
After all, only a limited number of people actually knew who he was.
At the very least, his old classmates could still treat him normally, and that was enough.
Even if the persona he had used before was an act, it had brought him a great many advantages.
"I won't be home for a while," Hikaru said casually after setting down his bowl.
"You'll be in charge of the house. I've already arranged for ANBU to watch over the area, so just live normally."
"A mission serious enough to require the ANBU Minister personally?" Renka raised her head and looked at him. "That doesn't sound simple."
"It isn't," Hikaru said with a faint smile.
"I understand. I won't let anything happen here."
She was very smart. Even if she did not know what the mission was, she understood perfectly well that anything she was not supposed to ask, she simply would not ask.
As for why Hikaru—already the Minister of ANBU—was still being so cautious, that was not strange either.
His position had been seized by force. Naturally, that meant many people's interests had been damaged.
And once interests were at stake, there would always be people willing to gamble recklessly.
Those people were dangerous—terrifyingly so.
If they were not guarded against, it was hard to imagine what kind of trouble they might cause.
While Hikaru was in the village, they might fear his strength, or fear that any attempt would fail.
But if Hikaru was away from Konoha, and they acted quickly and decisively enough, retaliation might actually succeed.
Even though he was the Minister of ANBU, and his whereabouts were among the best-protected secrets in the village, there was no such thing as a wall that never leaked.
"Then that's good. Hopefully this mission goes smoothly—and hopefully I can squeeze a bit more funding out for ANBU too."
After finishing all the food on the table, Hikaru stood up.
"Funding for ANBU?" Renka blinked, then seemed to understand something. "Hikaru-kun is going to meet the Daimyō? No—the Third Hokage is going to meet the Daimyō, and you're going with him?"
"Oh?" Hikaru raised a brow, then laughed. "Not bad. I only said I was going to get some money, and you already guessed I was going with the Third to meet the Daimyō."
"It's not that hard to figure out," Renka said as she brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. "I was wondering what kind of mission would require even the ANBU Minister to personally move."
"It was only after you mentioned money that it clicked. If it's a mission that both requires the ANBU Minister and could result in funding, then the only real answer is the Daimyō."
"And if someone needs a reasonable excuse to meet the Daimyō, then it must be the Third Hokage making the trip, with Hikaru-kun accompanying him."
"But the Third Hokage and Hikaru-kun aren't exactly on the same side, so you must have offered something in exchange."
"Though I doubt the price was anything that really mattered to you. It was probably something you chose to throw out on purpose."
Hikaru stood there looking at Renka, whose eyes had lit up slightly, and inwardly sighed again.
She really was terrifyingly clever.
He had felt that way months ago, but ever since he had helped eliminate her "lingering worries," her intelligence had become more and more obvious.
This time, she had genuinely impressed him.
From one line alone, she had deduced nearly everything.
If he were being honest, even he himself would probably have needed a fair bit of thought to piece it all together that neatly.
"It really is a waste to leave you at home," Hikaru said after a moment, letting out a soft sigh. "Have you ever thought about finding a place where your abilities could truly be used?"
"I'll follow whatever Hikaru-sama wishes."
This time, even her form of address changed as she lowered her head.
"If Hikaru-sama thinks it's necessary, then it is. If Hikaru-sama thinks it isn't, then it isn't."
"Is that so?" Hikaru smiled and nodded. "Understood. We'll talk about it after I get back."
With that, chakra rippled faintly from his body.
Her answer had been very clear.
And since that was the case, Hikaru did not mind seriously considering how to use her properly.
Because with intelligence like that, keeping her at home as nothing more than a decorative flower vase would be far too much of a waste.
Hiruzen had already been on the road for some time.
He was traveling alone along a narrow path leading toward the Fire Capital.
Since he had promised Senju Hikaru that only the two of them would go, he had no intention of breaking his word.
Still, he remained guarded throughout the journey.
Hikaru's strength was far too dangerous. If the boy had any ill intentions, Hiruzen would truly be in trouble.
So before leaving, he had left behind a shadow clone inside the Sarutobi clan compound and quietly informed one of the clan elders about this trip.
If Hikaru truly did something unforgivable, then the disappearance of that shadow clone would serve as a signal.
Once the original died, the shadow clone would vanish.
That would let the elder immediately expose what Hikaru had done, leaving the boy no time to counter it.
From the moment he set out, Hiruzen had constantly felt as though he was being watched.
It was a strange feeling.
Yet no matter how closely he checked, he could not find anyone.
That made him suspect that Hikaru—or someone from Hikaru's side—might already be here, only concealed.
Still, once that idea crossed his mind, Hiruzen stopped worrying too much about those hidden eyes.
As long as he remained alert, that would be enough.
"Hopefully nothing unpleasant happens."
With that thought, Hiruzen sped up slightly and continued down the road.
Nothing unexpected happened along the way.
Those faint eyes seemed to be merely observing him, with no intention of interfering.
That only strengthened his suspicion that they belonged to Hikaru or one of Hikaru's people.
What puzzled him was why Hikaru himself still had not appeared.
Could it be that he planned to wait until Hiruzen actually reached the Fire Capital and then teleport in using Flying Thunder God?
"Watch your step, Hokage-sama."
At that moment, a voice suddenly sounded beside Hiruzen's ear.
His pupils contracted slightly.
But he quickly forced himself back to calm, then turned his head to look.
A strange expression appeared on his face.
"Hikaru?" Hiruzen asked oddly. "Your mask… why are you wearing Kakashi's?"
ANBU were not allowed to switch masks.
A mask followed its owner for life.
And yet Hikaru had now openly broken that rule.
He was wearing Kakashi's mask and standing right in front of Hiruzen.
The worst part was that, dressed in ANBU uniform and wearing that mask, he really did look somewhat like Kakashi.
They both had white hair.
Hikaru was also skilled with a blade.
Without Kakashi's Sharingan or his signature Lightning Release, it really was difficult to tell them apart while masked.
"The name Nightingale is too famous now," Hikaru said with a helpless shrug. "To avoid trouble, I figured it was better not to move around openly under that identity."
Hiruzen's brow twitched.
"Last time I went to the Land of Hot Water, Cloud's ANBU saw me and turned around and ran. It almost kept me from finishing the mission."
"Looks like Hikaru-kun really has grown to the point that the whole world can only sigh in amazement," Hiruzen replied dryly.
But once he finished saying it, even he fell silent for a moment.
Because the words were true.
Hikaru really had grown into someone who made the world stare in shock.
A year ago, he had only been seen as a highly talented ANBU, a prodigy who had become a squad captain at a very young age.
Impressive, yes.
But not enough to strike true fear into the world.
Now, however, he had risen to terrifying heights—not just in strength, but in status as well.
He had leapt straight into the unprecedented position of Minister of ANBU.
Fourteen years old.
Minister of ANBU.
That was unprecedented not just in Konoha, but in the shinobi world.
Unless someone else became a Kage at that age—or younger than him became Minister of ANBU—it would be almost impossible to surpass him.
And the moment Hiruzen thought of that, he shook his head.
Becoming ANBU Minister at thirteen or a Kage at fourteen was simply unrealistic.
If such absurd things really happened, then there were only one or two conclusions to draw.
Either the village itself was already in decline, reduced to thrusting a child to the front lines—
or there had been a compromise of interests, where allowing that young person onto the stage somehow benefited the village.
And if it was the latter, then that young person was pitiful in a different way, since he would almost certainly just become a puppet with no real authority of his own.
"Enough of that," Hiruzen said after a moment, cutting off his own thoughts. "Then I'll be relying on you, White Fang."
"Of course, Hokage-sama."
Hikaru let out a soft laugh, bowed slightly, and asked in a gentle voice,
"Shall we?"
With that, he stepped forward and walked ahead.
Hiruzen followed behind him.
As Hikaru moved, however, his gaze swept lightly across the surroundings, and beneath the mask, a faint smile touched his lips.
"So cautious," he thought. "Was he really afraid I'd kill him?"
"Or…"
"Was he waiting for an opportunity to kill me instead?"
"If it's the latter, then this is going to be very interesting indeed…"
"Was that… Flying Thunder God just now?"
On a tree branch some distance away, a ROOT shinobi stared into the distance, a trace of sweat on his brow.
He knew perfectly well how terrifying the Flying Thunder God Technique was.
The current ANBU Minister had used it to slaughter more than a few ROOT members.
But what confused him was this:
the mask on the newcomer's face was not the ANBU Minister's.
Wood Release Nightingale was already famous throughout the world.
His mask was just as well known.
Inside Konoha, it was even more distinctive. There was no way a ROOT operative would mistake it.
"That mask belongs to White Fang—Hatake Kakashi. But how did that guy end up learning Flying Thunder God too?"
He could not make sense of it, but he had no intention of dwelling on it too much.
He had been tailing Hiruzen for some time now.
Until now, he had seen no sign of any ANBU escort at all, which had only deepened his suspicion.
But now he had finally seen one.
He had also confirmed both the escort and the route.
That meant it was time to report in and begin the next phase of the operation.
With that thought, he formed a one-handed seal.
His body turned into smoke and vanished on the spot.
Farther away, he reappeared, closed his eyes briefly to sense his comrades, then opened them again.
"It's confirmed," he reported quickly. "Only one escort. White Fang."
"The route is unchanged. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll be here in twenty minutes."
"Only one?" another ROOT shinobi asked suspiciously. "Are you sure? Last I heard, White Fang was busy rebuilding the Second Division. Is it really him?"
"The mask matches, and the appearance matches," the first operative said after thinking a moment. "But there's one problem. White Fang appears to know Flying Thunder God."
"Flying Thunder God?"
At those words, every ROOT shinobi present showed some degree of surprise.
It was not some ordinary jutsu.
Across Konoha's history, only three people were publicly known to have mastered it:
the Second Hokage,
the Fourth Hokage,
and the current ANBU Minister, Nightingale.
Could it be that, as the Fourth's disciple and Nightingale's classmate and close friend, Kakashi had learned it from one—or both—of them?
Or…
was that not White Fang at all, but Nightingale in disguise?
If it really was Nightingale, then things had just become troublesome.
The man's display on the night of the Nine-Tails had spoken for itself.
And his hostility toward ROOT was no secret.
There was not a single ROOT member who wanted to tangle with him if it could be avoided.
"Enough," one of the slightly shorter ROOT members said suddenly. "Don't overthink it."
"Nightingale is ANBU Minister now. Unless there's some extraordinary circumstance, he won't leave his post casually."
"And even if it is him, we still have to complete Danzō-sama's mission."
"That's true. Nightingale's already the Minister, and it's common knowledge that his relationship with the Third Hokage isn't exactly good."
The moment that was said, the others quieted.
That much was true. Everyone in Konoha, whether in the Hokage's forces or in ANBU, more or less knew that the current relationship between ANBU and the Hokage's office was not ideal.
The reason these ROOT members had become so nervous was simple:
the mission they had received was far beyond ordinary,
and the opponent they might have to face was also beyond what they had expected.
Senju Hikaru was no ordinary enemy.
He was monstrously strong, and his methods were frightening.
Even now, they still remembered the heads that had been sent back—their dead comrades' severed heads, eyes wide open in death.
That image had left a deep impression.
They had long since been trained to suppress fear and emotion, reduced nearly to tools.
But the reason they had become like that in the first place was because they believed in "protecting Konoha."
And yet Hikaru had slaughtered them openly, then humiliated them afterward—and suffered no punishment for it.
On top of that, what they were doing now had begun to shake even them, just a little.
Otherwise, they would never have spent this much time whispering among themselves.
Still, they quickly regained their focus.
The mission had been accepted.
It had to be completed.
They must not doubt Danzō-sama.
They had to trust Danzō-sama's judgment.
Everything they did was for Konoha.
With that thought, they dispersed silently and began making their final preparations.
"Hm? They disappeared?"
Hikaru and Hiruzen continued moving forward at a steady pace.
Neither of them was hurrying.
For both of them, this journey was not so urgent that they had to rush recklessly.
If they needed to speed up later, they still could.
Taking it slow now gave Hikaru time to think through what to do next.
What surprised him, though, was that the people tailing Hiruzen had vanished.
That felt odd.
Had Hiruzen decided there was no need for them anymore?
Or had he begun trusting that Hikaru was not planning to attack him?
Hikaru had no idea.
He had not been constantly using his sensory ability to monitor those people, so he did not know what exactly they had been doing.
That said, he had found them strange from the start.
Their chakra seemed normal enough, but if examined closely, they did not quite feel like complete human beings.
He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
He was more interested in seeing what exactly the Third Hokage intended to do.
Ironically, Hiruzen's thoughts at that moment were not so different.
"That feeling of being watched is gone," Hiruzen thought. "So they really were ANBU."
He did not voice this aloud.
In his mind, the timing was obvious: the sense of surveillance had vanished almost exactly when Hikaru appeared.
That meant he had most likely been tailed—and the watchers had indeed been from ANBU.
But from the look of things, they had not been waiting to attack him. They had been there to provide Flying Thunder God markers.
That realization was unexpectedly interesting.
"So I really misjudged him."
"Though, thinking about it, it would actually make sense for him not to attack me."
Hiruzen relaxed slightly.
He had been genuinely worried.
After all, the one beside him was Senju Hikaru.
"Hokage-sama."
Just then, Hikaru spoke up on his own.
"Should we pick up the pace? We both have plenty to do."
"That sounds like a good idea."
Hiruzen smiled and nodded.
"Then let's speed things up."
"But White Fang, you'll have to go easy on me. I'm an old man, after all."
At those words, both of them let chakra stir through their bodies.
In the next moment, they accelerated forward together.
Hikaru did not go full speed.
He knew Hiruzen could not keep up if he did.
On that point, the old man had been right:
he really was old.
Hikaru, though still young and not yet fully at his physical peak, had consumed enough foundational fruits and trained himself deliberately enough that his speed was already astonishing.
They ran on.
And as they did, Hikaru suddenly sensed something wrong.
A fluctuation in chakra.
Hiruzen sensed it too.
As a Kage and a veteran of countless battles, anyone less sharp would already be dead.
The moment both of them noticed that strange chakra presence gathering nearby, they turned toward each other.
And just as their eyes met, both of them arrived at the exact same thought.
"That damned bastard… he really intends to make a move?"
There was no time to think further.
In the next instant, several earth dragons burst from the ground and roared straight toward Hikaru and Hiruzen.
To ordinary shinobi, the attack would have been terrifying.
To these two, it was almost laughable.
Their bodies only paused for the briefest instant before Body Flicker activated.
Both of them slipped past the attack with ease.
But when they landed and looked at each other again, the expressions in their eyes turned distinctly strange.
Not wounded betrayal.
Not disbelieving rage.
But certainly unmistakable surprise.
"So, the Minister truly intends to kill me after all?"
"So, the Hokage is this ruthless after all?"
They spoke at the same time.
Then both froze.
And in perfect unintentional sync, they both asked:
"It wasn't your men?"
The question left both of them silent again.
Even so, they still evaded another incoming Earth Release attack at the same time.
And now they had clearly identified their attackers.
They wore ANBU uniforms.
But their dead, numb, machine-like aura gave them away immediately.
"ROOT?" Hikaru glanced at them, then turned toward Hiruzen. "Care to explain, Hokage-sama?"
"You want me to explain?" Hiruzen's face was ugly. "Who's going to give me an explanation?"
He truly had never expected the attackers to be ROOT.
Had Danzō completely lost his mind?
Why would he do something so stupid, so irrational?
Was he targeting Hikaru?
Or was he targeting him?
Those thoughts whirled in Hiruzen's mind.
But the ROOT shinobi showed no intention of stopping.
They launched another wave of attacks—
and this time, their main target was clearly Hiruzen.
At that sight, Hiruzen's face turned livid.
Beneath his mask, however, Hikaru smiled.
It was obvious now.
These ROOT operatives were here for Hiruzen.
And Hikaru was reminded instantly of a certain scene from the original story.
In the original timeline, Danzō had grown dissatisfied with Hiruzen reclaiming the Hokage's authority, and had chosen to assassinate him.
The only reason he failed there was because Kakashi sold him out.
What Hikaru had never expected was that after pushing Danzō this hard himself, the old bastard would still dare to attempt something like this.
"Or did I push him too hard, and leave him feeling like he had no choice but to fight back?"
Hikaru could not be bothered to dig any deeper into Danzō's motives.
His eyes were already fixed on a brown-haired boy not far off.
He knew that, if there were no surprises, that boy had to be Yamato—still going by Kō in ROOT.
Because on that boy's body, Hikaru could clearly sense the same type of chakra power he himself possessed:
Wood Release.
That child was Danzō's trump card for dealing with Hiruzen.
But his existence absolutely could not be exposed.
"Well now," Hikaru thought, smiling faintly beneath the mask. "I didn't expect him to deliver himself right to my door."
"Danzō… you really are a good man."
"If Hiruzen realizes this too, his expression should become even more entertaining, shouldn't it?"
With that thought, Hikaru used Body Flicker and appeared directly in front of Hiruzen.
He did not draw his sword.
He simply flicked his hand forward.
Two figures crossed in an instant.
The ROOT operative in front of him was blasted backward—
his body skewered clean through by wooden spikes.
Scarlet blood splashed through the air, scattering across Hikaru's white mask.
At that moment, he looked strangely demonic.
"You—"
Hiruzen had already been preparing to move.
Seeing Hikaru act so suddenly, he was momentarily caught off guard.
"Honestly," Hikaru said softly, shaking a few drops of blood from his hand, his voice still maddeningly gentle, "I did think just standing here and watching might be a pretty good option…"
"But…"
"I found something interesting."
"Very interesting."
"I think Hokage-sama is going to find it interesting too."
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