The night breeze carried a faint chill.
Uchiha Ran sat atop the roof beams with Kakashi Hatake. Between them was only a wooden tray, holding two flasks of sake and three plates of pastries.
Kakashi appeared restrained, but Ran was anything but. He picked up a flask and drank directly from it.
It was sake—light, not very strong. Swallowing it in one go, the taste was cool and smooth.
Seeing this, Kakashi's throat bobbed unconsciously.
He had been eavesdropping for a long time. During that entire period, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything. Faced with fine wine and pastries, hunger and thirst gnawed at him, yet he didn't dare overstep his bounds.
"Kakashi," Ran said calmly, gazing up at the star-filled sky, "this is the first time you've come to see me since the Village was pacified."
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied immediately, moving to rise, "during this time, I've been gathering intelligence on discussions among Konoha's major clans. I've also deployed the former ANBU to monitor those clans that haven't yet pledged allegiance."
Ran reached out and caught his arm.
"Sit down. Why the rush?"
A faint smile curved at the corner of his lips. Kakashi's report genuinely surprised him.
He hadn't expected Kakashi to be this dependable.
"If it were just idle talk among civilians," Ran continued, "it wouldn't warrant the personal visit of a former ANBU captain."
He turned slightly, his eyes unreadable.
"Let me guess—this came from the Third Hokage's side?"
Kakashi's heart jumped.
He hadn't expected Ran to see through it so easily.
Ran tugged him back into place. "Alright. Tell me exactly what schemes they're planning."
Kakashi immediately laid out everything he had heard, from start to finish, without omission. When he finished, he dropped to one knee, awaiting instructions.
Ran let out a cold laugh.
"Legitimacy? Orthodoxy? Criminal records?" His tone was mocking. "They don't even know the full story, yet they're eager to stir up rumors."
"In that case, at the inauguration ceremony, I'll let them see the truth of that night with their own eyes."
Ran recalled the original events clearly.
Standing atop the Hokage Rock, he would recreate the conversation through genjutsu and present it publicly.
Let them judge for themselves.
"As for Jiraiya," Ran said flatly, "he's a talented writer, but politically, he's hopeless."
"More importantly, he has self-awareness. He won't refuse what he can handle, but anything beyond him—no matter how you trick him into returning—he won't agree."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi and Utatane Koharu are thinking far too simply."
According to Kakashi, the true mastermind behind this plan was actually Utatane Koharu.
Someone with little presence in the original flow of events, yet unexpectedly capable.
The plan itself was riddled with flaws, but its framework was complete. If Jiraiya were truly bound by the bond between master and student, it could indeed cause trouble for the inauguration.
But only trouble.
If reason failed, Ran wouldn't hesitate to activate Susanoo and send those who opposed him straight to hell.
Ran glanced sideways. "You didn't tell your teacher, Minato Namikaze?"
"There was no urgency," Kakashi replied with a small smile. "So I reported directly to Hokage-sama first."
Ran studied him in silence, then picked up a flask and held it out.
This stunned Kakashi.
"I heard your voice went hoarse during the report," Ran said evenly. "Have some sake. And you've been watching for so long—you must not have eaten. Eat the pastries."
"You've worked hard."
Kakashi stiffened.
A warmth spread from his chest, flowing through his entire body.
He hadn't expected this.
The man who could cut a Tailed Beast Ball in half with a single strike—someone on the brink of becoming Hokage—would care about something so trivial as his condition.
"I offer my loyalty to Hokage-sama!" Kakashi dropped to one knee, right hand over his chest, head lowered.
Ran shook his head with a wry smile and crouched to help him up.
"Kakashi, caring about the well-being of subordinates is the bare minimum for a leader."
He paused, eyes sharp.
"Or was the Third Hokage not like that?"
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
He didn't know whether Ran truly didn't understand—or was deliberately pretending.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't just fail to care for his subordinates.
He squeezed them dry.
They were treated like beasts of burden. Pay was delayed again and again. If anyone dared to ask, the excuse was always the same—the Village was struggling, and everyone had to endure together.
Some were even forced to pay just to work.
There were countless such cases, but with Hiruzen as Hokage, no one dared complain.
Positions were limited. If you wouldn't do it, someone else would.
The Village wouldn't stop turning just because of one person.
Kakashi shook his head, pushing those memories aside, and explained everything to Ran.
Ran listened quietly, then nodded.
"So that's how it is."
No wonder.
No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi was a politician through and through.
No wonder the Sarutobi clan could later muster a three-thousand-strong force.
So he wasn't muddled at all.
He simply calculated his accounts very clearly.
And the accounts that couldn't be calculated clearly?
Those were the ones he never wanted others to understand.
"Heh," Ran said softly. "Now I understand why Konoha went from the strongest village to a place even Kumogakure and Iwagakure look down on."
"This isn't incompetence exhausting the Village."
He corrected himself immediately.
"No—Hiruzen Sarutobi is very capable."
"Capable of forming cliques for personal gain."
"Capable of using public office for private profit."
"Capable of ceding land and paying reparations."
"And capable of suppressing dissent internally."
Every word left Kakashi stunned.
Yet he couldn't refute a single one.
Because in his memories, Hiruzen Sarutobi was exactly that kind of man.
Neither exaggerated nor understated—Ran's judgment was precise.
Suddenly, Ran raised an eyebrow.
"Have you two heard enough?"
"Get out here."
Two figures leapt down from the trees.
Originally, Ran hadn't noticed them—this was the Uchiha clan grounds.
Uchiha Shisui was alive. Uchiha Itachi hadn't been broken by deception. Within the clan, Ran hadn't been actively scanning with chakra.
But just now, Itachi had yawned.
Shisui had tried to cover it, but it still didn't escape Ran's hearing.
He had inherited the Uchiha Madara – Founding of Konoha template.
In the Warring States Era, where one misstep meant death, Madara's observational ability had been unmatched.
And now—
So was his.
------
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