Shimura Danzo spun around sharply, his one eye flashing coldly. "Kushina was in Namikaze Minato's house… and she even met with a brat from the Uchiha clan? Outrageous! What on earth is Hiruzen thinking?!"
As he spoke, Danzo slammed the tip of his cane into the floor, producing a heavy thud.
The movements of a jinchūriki were no small matter, especially when the Uchiha were involved. This was no ordinary incident. It had to be dealt with firmly.
"Show me the way! I'm going to the Hokage's residence myself!"
A short while later, Sarutobi Hiruzen, already off duty and back home, received his old teammate in the living room.
"Hiruzen! How can you be this careless with Kushina?!"
Danzo's voice trembled with suppressed anger. "Letting the jinchūriki casually enter the home of a civilian ninja, even allowing her to come into contact with an Uchiha, is gambling with the safety of the entire village! If anything goes wrong with the Nine-Tails' seal, or if the Uchiha take advantage of her, the consequences will be disastrous!"
"…Danzo, you're overthinking this."
Hiruzen took a slow pull from his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke, his tone calm. "Minato reported this gathering to me in advance. I personally approved it. Kushina is a comrade of the village, not a prisoner. A certain amount of social interaction is good for her emotional stability. Lady Mito said the same thing back then.
"As for Obito… he's still just a child. He hasn't even awakened the Sharingan yet. What threat could he possibly pose to a jinchūriki?"
"Hmph!"
Danzo sneered. "The ambitions of the Uchiha are plain for all to see. They would never let a chance like this slip by. Who's to say that boy won't awaken the Sharingan tomorrow and release the Nine-Tails the day after? Hiruzen! Your weak-willed mercy is going to destroy Konoha sooner or later!"
"That's enough, Danzo! I am the Hokage!"
Hiruzen cut him off, his voice taking on a rare edge. "How I deal with the jinchūriki, and how I manage the village clans, are matters I've already considered. I've heard your concerns, but this discussion ends here."
"Hiruzen! You'll regret this!"
Danzo stormed off with a dark expression.
Bang!
Only after the door shut did Hiruzen slowly sit back down. He rubbed his brow tiredly, staring at the drifting smoke, his deep-set eyes unreadable.
Outside the Hokage's residence, Danzo's face was dark enough to drip water.
A pair of faint gusts sounded—his two Root subordinates, who had accompanied him but never entered the house, silently rejoined him and fell into step.
"…Continue monitoring the movements of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki and the Uchiha clan. If anything unusual happens, report to me immediately."
Danzo spoke in a low voice.
Then he thought again of the students in Minato's squad.
Nohara Rin and Uchiha Obito were insignificant. The other two…
"I heard the boy named Mikami Yuu has been getting close to Tsunade lately?"
"Yes."
The Root ninja beside him replied, "That child's father was recently brought back from the border with severe injuries and is currently being treated at Konoha Hospital. Even with Tsunade's intervention, he'll most likely be left disabled and won't be able to continue serving as a ninja."
"Is that so…"
Too bad he didn't die.
That would have created enough darkness.
Still, for the breadwinner of a civilian family to be forced out of the ninja ranks was a devastating blow in its own right. That brat Mikami Yuu might look calm on the surface, but surely he was bottling up resentment and fury inside.
A young hawk with broken wings was exactly the sort of prey Root could most easily seize—and most easily forge into a claw. Perhaps it was time to make contact.
Danzo narrowed his murky eye, already plotting as he disappeared into the night.
Far over a hundred li from Konoha, in a mountain forest, a crude stronghold clung to the mountainside. Built from rough logs and piled stone, ringed by shabby fences and chevaux-de-frise, it housed a gang of bandits who robbed travelers and terrorized the region.
"Move!"
A low voice from a young boy rang out.
Before the words had even faded, two figures shot forward like arrows, smashing through the outer barricades. One of them was Kakashi, short blade in hand, cutting into the bandits like a silver whirlwind. Every stroke was clean and efficient.
Obito, unwilling to be outdone, ran while forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A huge fireball roared forward and blasted open the stronghold's gate. Burning splinters of wood flew everywhere. Firelight shattered the stillness, and panicked cries and chaotic footsteps immediately followed.
"Enemy attack! Ninja!"
"Move! Grab your weapons!"
The courtyard inside the bandit camp instantly dissolved into chaos.
Kakashi wove through the crowd with speed and swordsmanship, killing as he passed. Obito used Fire Release over and over to sow confusion, drawing waves of terrified screams. Some bandits lost their nerve, abandoned their comrades, and ran for the back exit.
But someone was already waiting there.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
Rin opened her mouth, and a powerful stream of water burst out like a pressurized hose, smashing into the fleeing bandits and knocking them sprawling.
At the same time, Yuu used Phoenix Fire Jutsu. More than ten basketball-sized fireballs—more like tracking explosive shots—shot out and slammed into the panicked bandits, setting off a chain of violent explosions!
"…It's over."
The entire fight lasted less than ten minutes.
Rin looked at the scene of blood and flames before her and drew a quiet breath, a flicker of pity crossing her eyes before resolve replaced it. This was a mission they had to complete. The hands of these bandits were soaked in innocent blood.
Afterward, the group searched the stronghold and confirmed there were no survivors left hiding. Deep inside, they found a group of boys and girls tied up with rope, along with gold, silver, some ninja tools, and a portion of stolen medical supplies.
Everything had been looted by the bandits over time.
"C-rank mission 'Exterminate the xxxx bandit gang entrenched in the xxxx Mountain region'—completed."
Kakashi took out the mission scroll, checked it, and announced the result.
"Hell yeah!"
Obito cheered. "When we get back, I'm eating ten giant bowls of Ichiraku ramen!"
"Maybe clean the cut on your arm first. If it gets infected, that won't be a small problem."
Yuu said flatly.
Only then did Obito notice the cut on his arm. He must have taken it earlier, but the adrenaline had kept him from feeling it.
Rin couldn't bear to watch. She took out iodine and bandages from her pack, made Obito sit down, and began treating the wound.
It had already been two or three weeks since the class dinner.