Late at night in Konoha Village, everything was as peaceful as ever.
Rokuro walked up to the main gate, and the two night-watch ninjas didn't stop him.
They even smiled and greeted him.
It was obvious—
they had already received news of his return.
Rokuro wasn't in the mood to chat with the two Chūnin.
He headed straight back to his residence in the village—a house on the commercial street near the academy.
This land belonged to him.
Naturally, he had kept a place for himself to live.
When the houses were being built, he had his own room constructed first, even moving part of his belongings from the underground base.
From time to time, he would stay here.
In truth, he wanted to live here permanently.
But in Root, there were ninjutsu scrolls below A-rank available to study, along with training resources.
Because of that, he had to stay there often and couldn't live above ground full-time.
Lying in bed at home, he thought for a while about how to deal with Hiruzen tomorrow.
With a sigh, he drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Hokage building, Uchiha Itachi was reporting Rokuro's situation to Hiruzen.
After hearing everything, Hiruzen rubbed his temples.
"Good thing Tsunade sent word in advance. That brat is far too arrogant. Looks like I need to properly rein him in."
Uchiha Itachi said calmly,
"Lord Hokage, Rokuro has already become Lady Tsunade's disciple. I believe the members of my clan won't act against him so easily anymore."
Hiruzen nodded.
"That may be true, but we still can't lower our guard. At a time like this, I hope we can set aside our prejudices and have a proper dialogue. Inform your father—let's meet in three days."
"I will pass on the message," Itachi replied. "I believe Father also wishes to speak with you."
"Good." Hiruzen sighed. "You must be tired. Go get some rest."
Itachi hesitated for a moment and remained where he stood.
Hiruzen looked at him curiously.
"What is it? Do you have something else to say?"
After a brief pause, Itachi spoke.
"Lord Hokage… could you send Rokuro out of the village for a period of time? Judging by his behavior, he won't let things go easily. I suggest letting him leave for now and only allowing him to return after your negotiations with my father are complete—to prevent him from causing trouble that might disrupt our plans."
Hiruzen froze, then looked at Itachi with interest.
"You're certain that brat will cause trouble?"
Itachi shook his head slightly.
"I can't be completely sure. But based on his attitude, I'd estimate a seventy to eighty percent chance that he'll do something unfavorable to us."
Hiruzen clicked his tongue.
"That troublesome brat. I'll talk to him tomorrow. If he won't listen, I'll send him out of the village for a while."
Itachi immediately bowed.
"Lord Hokage, I spoke out of turn."
Hiruzen patted his shoulder.
"You're a good kid. No need to apologize. Him leaving for a while might be good for all of us."
Itachi nodded and cupped his hands.
"Then I'll take my leave and go see my father."
"Go ahead."
After watching Itachi leave, Hiruzen let out a long sigh.
"Kakashi… tell me, is what I'm doing right or wrong?"
Kakashi's figure appeared.
"For the sake of Konoha, it's the right decision. With him monitoring the Uchiha clan, we can respond immediately if anything happens."
Hiruzen shook his head.
"Let's set Itachi aside. About what he just said—do you think we should send that brat out of the village?"
Kakashi thought for a moment.
"With his strength—even Uchiha Itachi finds it difficult to subdue him—going out alone shouldn't be a problem. And now that he's Lady Tsunade's disciple, his loyalty shouldn't be an issue. Sending him on missions could serve as good experience."
Hiruzen's expression twitched.
"I'm not worried about his safety. I'm worried about Konoha's reputation. If that kid goes out alone, he'll definitely cause trouble—and everything he does will be blamed on Konoha."
Kakashi's face twitched slightly as well.
He coughed awkwardly.
"Lord Hokage… you can't have it both ways. For the village's stability, it's more appropriate to send him out."
Hiruzen fell silent, then sighed.
"You're right. Tomorrow morning, go bring him to me. I'll give him a proper scolding first."
"Yes."
Kakashi accepted the order, and Hiruzen waved him off to rest.
Kakashi nodded and vanished from the office.
Hiruzen remained for a while longer, looking over his documents before rubbing his forehead and finally retiring for the night.
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