Konohagakure.
Hokage Building.
"Hiruzen, what is Hanzō playing at?"
"He actually came alone?"
Danzō frowned as he held a specialized intelligence-receiving communication device and said in a low voice, "I think it's a trap!"
Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe and asked: "When did the village first detect Hanzō's movements? Are we certain he's alone?"
Danzō paused. Why was Hiruzen concerned about that?
But since Hiruzen had asked, he answered honestly and professionally: "Members of the Iburi Clan reported him when he was seventeen kilometers inside the borders of the Land of Fire. Their Kekkei Genkai is extremely effective for concealment in forested terrain and has been producing excellent results lately."
"After the report came in, the patrol forces conducted further verification and confirmed that it was indeed Hanzō."
"ANBU mobile squads and Root personnel shadowed him from the rear. No supporting shinobi were found behind him, on either flank, or coming from the direction of Amegakure."
Konoha's defensive perimeter had been steadily expanding step by step.
First came the Konoha reserve forces stationed along the outer ring—the Iburi Clan and the Tsuchigumo Clan.
These two clans, which had joined Konoha later, had now been placed under Kakuzu's management by Hiruzen.
Under the guidance of the veteran Kakuzu, the two groups, once little more than irregular forces, had become increasingly professional.
As a result, bounty hunters and rogue ninja attempting to infiltrate Konoha were being discovered with remarkable speed.
This was also one of the fruits of Kakuzu's "reverse-engineering experience."
After all, who could possibly understand the tricks of that trade better than he did?
And as Konoha's economy continued to develop, fully village-funded positions such as ANBU and Root had become more numerous.
Their members now worked for the village full-time.
They no longer took missions constantly, only occasionally accepting a low-rank assignment during leave as a way to relax.
Naturally, that benefited both combat effectiveness and professional standards.
The village had not done things this way in the past simply because shinobi were too expensive. Konoha could not afford to support so many of them.
However, that created a new problem.
Since Hiruzen had become the Shōgun of the Land of Fire, relations between the nation's nobility and its shinobi had entered a rare honeymoon period. Both mission volume and mission rewards had risen significantly.
Yet there still were not enough shinobi to take all the jobs.
The childbirth subsidy program had already been implemented, but any increase in the effective population would take time to materialize.
After hearing Danzō's explanation, Hiruzen nodded.
He was fairly satisfied.
The village had spent so much money on development and public expenditures that there had to be visible improvements to show for it.
As a military organization, providing security and benefits was not meant to raise a bunch of idlers.
Otherwise, all that effort would have been for nothing.
"How's the new communication device working?"
Hiruzen pointed toward Danzō's waist, where an object resembling a walkie-talkie hung from his belt.
It was a ninja tool developed by Orochimaru, Hiruko, and others in response to the village's growing communication needs, specifically for use by the Yamanaka Clan.
Using chakra metal as its core component and reinforced with fūinjutsu formulas, it could transmit information accurately even in extremely harsh environments and under heavy chakra interference.
Its operational range was also significantly greater than the Yamanaka Clan's traditional communication formations.
"Hmph..."
Danzō snorted. He knew Orochimaru had been one of the project's leaders.
"It's acceptable, I suppose. With the amount of money poured into it, even a mediocre talent could have produced something."
Only after taking that jab did he reluctantly continue: "Still, once these are issued to the appropriate jōnin and squad leaders, intelligence transmission does become much faster."
"But Hiruzen, you still need to be careful! I'm not targeting Orochimaru specifically—"
"He may be your student, but he's always had sticky fingers when it comes to funding. He was like that back in the old Root days. You can't trust him too much!"
In the end, Danzō still couldn't resist planting a seed of doubt.
Hiruzen simply replied, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on it."
There was no need to argue with Danzō.
This was the sort of thing best listened to for amusement.
Compared to research funding, the fact that Orochimaru had voluntarily informed him about the highly sensitive kinjutsu, Living Corpse Reincarnation, already proved how much their teacher-student bond had deepened and solidified.
Even setting that bond aside, the staffing arrangement within the Research Department alone was enough to reassure Hiruzen.
Tsunade, Hiruko, and Orochimaru kept one another in check.
And recently, Hiruzen had learned something else.
His teacher Tobirama had joined the Hashirama Cell research project, and a young man had entered the Research Department.
That made things even less concerning.
The Original Darkness of the Shinobi World was no joke!
"Oh, right. How has Seisui been lately...?"
Hiruzen asked with a smile.
"Are the two of you getting along well?"
The moment Seisui's name came up, a genuine smile spread across Danzō's face without him even realizing it.
The sincerity of that smile startled even Hiruzen.
Could a smile from Danzō actually look... sunny?
"Hiruzen, this isn't me boasting..."
Danzō's tone carried a trace of pride.
"My disciple Seisui has the makings of a Hokage!"
Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with that statement.
There was no arguing against it.
The boy genuinely had the makings of a Hokage.
"You think so too, Hiruzen?"
Danzō burst into laughter.
His old friend's recognition of his disciple somehow made him happier than receiving praise himself.
After all, this was the direct descendant of Tobirama-sensei.
Even Danzō himself had been surprised when he realized that.
Every day, as he stared at the photograph of the Original Darkness of the Shinobi World, Danzō found himself wondering:
Why exactly had he pursued the position of Hokage in the first place?
"Of course. Seisui is outstanding in every regard. We both know that."
"But don't put too much pressure on him. He's still just a boy."
Hiruzen emphasized the point.
No matter what, Tobirama had done him a great kindness.
Without him, Hiruzen would not even be alive today.
If he was going to summon his teacher back from the Pure Land and have him working for him, he could hardly squeeze him too hard.
There had to be some humanity in the arrangement.
Of course, if Tobirama himself couldn't sit still and wanted to contribute to the village voluntarily, that was another matter entirely.
"And another thing—regarding Seisui's private life."
"Even if you're his sensei, don't interfere too much..."
Hiruzen spoke tactfully: "I know you want to grow closer to Isshin and the Uchiha, but there's no need to make moves that far ahead of their time."
Although Hiruzen handled countless affairs every day, he still paid relatively close attention to matters involving Tobirama.
Through channels such as Hizashi, he had learned about Danzō and Isshin trying to arrange matchmaking opportunities for Tobirama...
When he heard they were looking for an Uchiha woman for Tobirama, Hiruzen had nearly lost his composure.
Was that really appropriate?!
It wasn't that Hiruzen objected to Tobirama experiencing something new in his second life.
But the Hokage knew his former teacher had... certain personality issues.
While chatting with Mito, Hiruzen had heard plenty of stories about Tobirama's matchmaking disasters, and every one of them had left him laughing.
In Hiruzen's view, Tobirama would be better off finding someone suited to a peaceful domestic life.
As for who he ultimately chose, however, that was his teacher's private business. As long as it didn't violate village regulations, Hiruzen had no intention of interfering.
Others did not know Seisui's true identity.
But Hiruzen did.
After all, he was the mastermind who had turned Tobirama into an Uchiha.
"You're too soft, Hiruzen!"
For once, Danzō slipped back into the tone he used in their younger days.
"Seisui may be an Uchiha, but..."
Danzō paused.
Even when only the two of them were present, they needed to maintain proper secrecy. They could not reveal Seisui's bloodline.
So he changed his wording.
"He has the bones of the Will of Fire!"
"A talent like that would be a waste if he wasn't used for a political marriage!"
Danzō spoke with complete seriousness.
"Hiruzen, you're the Hokage! But you're also the Shōgun of the Land of Fire now. There are things we can learn from the way the nobility thinks."
"Seisui was saved by the village. He ought to do his part for the village. Some things aren't his choice to make!"
"Looking at it through a noble's perspective, Seisui is the perfect tool for a marriage alliance between us and the Uchiha!"
Naturally, Hiruzen understood exactly what Danzō meant.
Political marriages among nobles were never driven by emotion.
Their core purpose was the consolidation of power and the balancing of risks.
By linking bloodlines, two independent factions could be transformed into a community of shared interests, avoiding conflict and strengthening ties at minimal cost.
The key prerequisite for a successful alliance marriage was finding a suitable intermediary.
There had to be someone both sides could accept—an individual who represented the interests of one side while also earning the trust of the other.
Seisui's dual identity fit that requirement perfectly.
The problem was that if Seisui were truly just Tobirama's descendant, such an arrangement would be entirely reasonable.
Even the grandson of a Hokage enjoyed abundant resources from the village. When the time came, he was expected to step forward and shoulder responsibility.
Hiruzen himself had once been no different.
Back during the First Shinobi World War, if the Second Raikage or the Second Tsuchikage had proposed a marriage alliance with him to end the conflict...
Hiruzen would not have been able to refuse.
Politics was not a game.
There was never that much freedom.
But the problem was...
Seisui was actually Senju Tobirama himself!
Even among nobles, whose standards could be remarkably flexible, it was common for members of the royal family to be married off for political purposes.
But no one had ever heard of sending the retired emperor himself to do it!
That felt a little too flexible.