Hiruzen Sarutobi was enjoying his day by drowning in the frustration of paperwork. But today was special. He had gotten several reports about a certain boy of great importance to the village doing something not great for the village's image.
And Hiruzen had no idea how to solve that problem.
It wasn't as if he could just order him... Well, he could, but... No, that would have been stupid. But on the other hand... Then again, it was the political repercussions to him versus the hit to the village's image... Argh! Hiruzen got a headache thinking about it.
The situation was the picture perfect example of 'Damned if you do and damned if you do not'.
And just when his frustration started getting to the boiling point, the door to his office suddenly opened, and Danzo Shimura walked in as if he owned the place.
Hiruzen slowly raised his head toward his old friend and gave him a gimlet eye.
He and Danzo went way back. But he felt their friendship also stayed way back. Hiruzen was willing to forgive a lot. But the first time his 'old friend' tried to assassinate him, their friendship was done. They were done.
Sadly, things are seldom as simple in politics.
Sure, he could have Danzo arrested and even executed on the spot. He was the Hokage. He could give the order, and his ninjas would follow it.
The problem was what would come later.
Not only did he have no idea how many ROOT operatives Danzo had, and if the man died, they could do some major damage to the village, but Danzo also had many connections to the nobles and ministers in the Daimyo's court.
Connections that would definitely question his death. And if it was only he who would suffer the consequences, Hiruzen would gladly accept that. But unfortunately, it was the village as a whole that would gain their ire, not just the Hokage.
Hiruzen had to give it to his old friend. He knew how to make killing him very inconvenient.
He also had to admit that he didn't have the will to play these political games anymore when he took the hat after the Kyuubi's attack. He was old. And he got his well-deserved retirement only to have it ripped away from him.
It made him furious just thinking about it. He'd prefer being the one to seal the demon to... this. Why couldn't Minato wait just a few minutes more?
Hiruzen inwardly sighed. He knew he was being unreasonable. Hesitation during a battle meant death and loss. Minato could not hesitate. But that doesn't change anything about the fact that Hiruzen had to deal with the whole mess left behind and try to put the pieces together so Konoha would not get curb-stomped by the other four villages in the next war.
He was busier than ever. And the blows just didn't stop coming. Hyuga incident. Kurama clan massacre. Uchiha clan massacre. Whenever Hiruzen finally had a breather and could divert some of his attention to dealing with Danzo, he instantly got another golden plate full of shit served to him.
Because of that, he had to tolerate Danzo in his court. At least the Uchiha massacre allowed him to order the dissolution of the ROOT, not that it was much of a consolation prize. Hiruzen wasn't stupid. He knew that Danzo just went to the ground with his organization.
Obviously, he didn't dissolve shit.
The academy reforms were Hiruzen's last banzai. He fully expected them to kill his career. He expected that he would have to resign from his position.
And things looked very shaky for the first year. Hiruzen had his resignation letter already prepared inside of his desk, naming Shikaku Nara as his designated successor despite knowing that Shikaku was nowhere near ready to lead the village. The man didn't want the position and was not strong enough for it.
But what other choice did Hiruzen have?
His remaining 'loyal' students were not an option for various reasons. They would probably run the village into desolation within a year. Kakashi was strong, but excuse Hiruzen if he didn't feel like leaving the village in the hands of a man whose mental issues could fill up an entire book. Gai was... yes, moving on.
The only other candidate was Danzo, which was why Hiruzen clung to his chair with both hands.
He didn't take Itachi into the ANBU to turn him against his clan. He took him there to gain the necessary experience. Hiruzen was subtly grooming the boy to be his successor.
But, of course, Danzo just had to ruin it. The Uchiha clan couldn't be patient and waited for five more years. His elder advisors couldn't put a half-assed effort into the negotiation with the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan couldn't at least pretend that the negotiations were anything other than them stalling for time to gather their forces.
It was all just a massive mess. Hiruzen was about to order the ANBU to execute the majority of the rebellious Uchiha ninja himself. And Danzo knew that, so he beat him to the punch. To this day, Hiruzen was baffled that Itachi went through with the fake orders. Clearly, he was giving the boy too much credit when he decided to groom him as his successor.
Yes, people make mistakes, but that… was something else. The orders were so retarded that Hiruzen had a hard time coming to terms that the thirteen year old boy actually decided to fulfill them.
Hiruzen's solutions might have created a lot of tension between the Konoha's leadership and the clans, but at least the Uchiha clan would have had a future. The children, civilians, and loyal ninjas would have been spared.
Maybe they would resent the village for it. Maybe they would rebel later on. But killing an entire clan of their village because of 'what-ifs' was a very slippery slope, and it showed why Hiruzen just could not, under any circumstances, allow Danzo anywhere near the Hokage position as long as he lived.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Hiruzen flatly asked, knowing it was pointless to reprimand Danzo. You can't teach new tricks to an old dog without beating him within an inch of his life. Danzo had political armor safeguarding him against such a hands-on lecture.
"Uchiha Sasuke had met with Ren, the bomber." Danzo spoke.
Because Ren didn't care for picking a last name, the village gave him a nickname. A designation that could be used to know which 'Ren' they were talking about.
Much to Ren's utter embarrassment, they picked 'the bomber' because of his exploding seals. Honestly, Hiruzen knew that Ren regretted not picking a last name right there and then when he gleefully informed him of his new nickname.
Hiruzen enjoyed that meeting a lot.
"And? Is there a problem? My ninjas are allowed to meet with each other, Danzo." The 'unlike yours' went unsaid but was understood.
They might be polite about it, but both of them knew that Danzo still had his forces safely tucked away for the rainy days. And if Hiruzen knew where their hideout was, he would personally wipe them out with extreme prejudice.
Alas, no such luck.
"Hiruzen, don't you see it? Ren, the bomber, is a dangerous individual who needs to be coraled. He is clearly hiding something. If we let such a person approach the clans and garner influence-" Danzo tried to 'share his concerns' but Hiruzen was not having it.
"Yeah, yeah. You are just butthurt that you can't deal with him yourself, so you came to complain and whine to me like a little crybaby, hoping that I would go against my ninja for you. Get over yourself." He rolled his eyes and inwardly grinned in satisfaction when his 'old friend' gritted his teeth.
"Hiruzen. Are you really not going to do anything about such an obvious threat to Konoha? Who knows what he might be telling the Uchiha boy? We can't let him turn the boy against us!"
Danzo found Hiruzen's obtuse behavior frustrating. Partly because, yes, he was afraid of trying to strike at Ren again. The last time he got his base bombed, many of his senior operatives died in the blast.
Not that he could share that tidbit with Hiruzen.
His ROOT operative who tailed the Uchiha boy was also knocked unconscious before Sasuke met Ren. Which made Danzo uneasy. If Ren could somehow find his secret hideout and strike at him there, wouldn't he know about his Sharingan collection? Or the real reason behind the Uchiha massacre?
Danzo had no idea. The chance of that was slim. But it still existed, and it ate at Danzo that he didn't have a way to deal with somebody who could know these secrets.
His ranks were slowly reformed. Soon, a year at best, Danzo might get enough forces to throw at Ren to hopefully end him. But maybe if he could persuade Hiruzen to see a reason...
"Maybe. But I am Hokage, and what I say goes. I say that Ren is under my protection. He will be a good influence on the boy." Hiruzen raised his eyebrow at Danzo, daring him to say otherwise.
Alas, it was just not to be. It was a long shot, but Hiruzen was clearly not going to see his point.
But the meeting was not for nothing. Hearing what Hiruzen said, Danzo's eyes slightly widened as he understood something very vital.
The old monkey was evaluating Ren.
It made a disgusting amount of sense. Defeating the Fourth Mizukage, who was a jinchuuriki. Managing to run away from Itachi, Kisame, and Orochimaru. Bringing an Uzumaki girl with several active bloodline abilities. Training two daughters of the clan heads.
All of that, and Ren was a ninja for not even two whole years yet.
Danzo suddenly realized that Ren was not only his enemy. He was his mortal enemy who might snatch the position of Hokage from him! Hiruzen was measuring the boy for the position of his next successor.
Maybe it wouldn't be relevant anytime soon. Ren needed time to grow in strength and reputation to be eligible for the position. But that fact just made it all the more important for Danzo to kill Ren as soon as possible.
"As you wish, Lord Hokage." He begrudgingly said, knowing there was nothing he could accomplish here. He turned on his heel and took his leave from the office without waiting to be dismissed.
Hiruzen snorted at the audacity of this bitch. He couldn't wait for the day Danzo tripped and allowed him to get the necessary evidence that would make separating his head from his body justifiable.
The very next moment after the door closed behind Danzo, an ANBU suddenly landed in front of Hiruzen's desk and knelt as he gave a report.
"Lord Hokage, Sasuke Uchiha had just been witnessed with bowl-cut hairstyle running across the village while wearing green spandex while shouting he shall be known as Sasugai Uchiha from now on. People are getting... restless. One pink-haired girl had a mental breakdown."
The man might have said it in a bland tone, but Hiruzen gave him a small glare because he just knew the ANBU was laughing like a loon in his head.
Letting out an exasperated groan, Hiruzen mumbled under his nose.
"Good influence, my wrinkled ass."