Konoha Village.
Hokage's Office.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood alone by the window, enjoying the serene moonlight.
The friction between the village and the Kumo ninja had finally come to an end today.
It was a perfect conclusion.
"With the threat from the Hidden Cloud Village gone, I can finally focus on uniting the village internally," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself.
Ever since the Nine-Tails Incident, the village had grown distant from the Uchiha clan.
"If this gap can't be resolved, the Uchiha clan will be a ticking time bomb within the village."
While there were excellent ninjas in the Uchiha clan, like Shisui and Itachi, who carried the Will of Fire, they were a drop in the ocean compared to the vast clan.
However...
As Sarutobi Hiruzen was lost in these thoughts, the door to his office was knocked on.
His thoughts returned to the present as he acknowledged the visitor. "Come in."
After receiving the confirmation, the person pushed open the door and, upon entering, knelt on one knee, lowering their head.
"Hokage-sama."
"Speak." Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the incoming Anbu ninja and casually returned to his seat.
"The ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village attempted to kidnap Hyuga Hinata..."
Before the Anbu could finish explaining, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock. With a loud thud, he jumped up from his seat.
"What?!"
In an instant, Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind went blank.
Didn't they just sign a peace treaty with the Hidden Cloud Village?
Why, did they suddenly resort to such tactics in the blink of an eye?
Did they view the peace treaty as nothing more than a piece of scrap paper?
(T/N: Of course, to them, it was just that—a scrap of paper. After all, Konoha is now a tiger without its fangs, thanks to the hard work of you and your boyfriend.)
Moreover, Hinata's status is not trivial.
On a smaller scale, she is the daughter of the Hyuga clan leader.
On a larger scale, she is the future heir of the Hyuga main family, a ninja with the purest Byakugan!
If she were taken to the Hidden Cloud Village for human experimentation, the secret of the Hyuga's Byakugan could very well be uncovered, turning it into a power for the Hidden Cloud Village!
"What about Hinata?"
"Has she been recovered?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen asked urgently.
"Not only has she been recovered, but the ninjas who took her have been killed, it's just…"
"Just what?" Sarutobi Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "Speak."
"The one who killed those ninjas… seems to be Uchiha Kaze."
When these words left the ANBU's mouth, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood frozen.
He was no stranger to the name Kaze.
Just a couple of days ago, Uchiha Shisui had reported on the movements of the Uchiha clan.
He claimed that the ninja who destroyed the rooftop of Fugaku's house was none other than Kaze.
It was an accident caused by him while developing a new ninjutsu.
He initially thought it was just a trivial incident.
But little did he know, just two days later, he would hear the name Kaze again!
The Anbu ninja then went on to explain the entire sequence of events in detail.
Although they hadn't witnessed the battle firsthand, based on the words of Hinata Hiashi, it was clear that Kaze single-handedly wiped out one Jōnin, four Chunin, and rescued Hinata.
The most critical detail was that...
Kaze was not even scratched. Not a speck of dust or a trace of blood on him.
"The only body left was the one ninja who was killed by a shuriken…"
"The others were completely reduced to ashes. There were even traces of lightning ninjutsu in the area."
As the direct Anbu of the Hokage, they had dealt with corpses plenty of times.
When it came to investigating the cause of death, they were never wrong.
"You're telling me that the Chunin named Kaze effortlessly defeated the entire squad?!"
Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but gasp.
If it had been Shisui or Itachi, he wouldn't have been as surprised.
But it was Kaze...
He clearly remembered that during the Third Great Ninja War, when Kaze was only five years old, he went to the battlefield with his parents, who sacrificed themselves for the village. Despite Kaze being an average ninja with few accomplishments in his early years, when Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage, he recommended promoting Kaze to Chunin as a recognition of his parents' sacrifice.
In other words, if you judged Kaze by his strength, he would be nothing more than a low-ranking ninja in the village.
Yet this very Kaze, whom he remembered as just an ordinary ninja, had developed a lightning-based jutsu, awakened the Sharingan, and even defeated a Jōnin from Kumo.
Strange...
It was really, really strange.
'And the Uchiha compound is on the outskirts of the village. If he didn't have a clear objective, why would Kaze end up in such a place?'
Could it be...
That Kaze had been hiding his true power all along?
(T/N: Yep, he doesn't want to be a part of the love affair between you and Danzo.)
But why show it now, at this very moment?
For a time, Sarutobi Hiruzen racked his brain, unable to figure out Kaze's motives.
But before he could settle his thoughts, another figure rushed into the Hokage's office.
Short, jet-black hair, with his right eye wrapped tightly in a white bandage.
It was Danzo!
Danzo had already planted his own informants within the Hokage's direct Anbu unit.
When he learned about the night's major incident, he immediately dropped everything and came to see Hiruzen.
"You've heard about it, right?" Danzo asked.
"Danzo," Hiruzen squinted his eyes, surprised at how quickly his old friend had gathered information.
"So, what do you think the truth is?"
Danzo met Hiruzen's gaze directly, skipping the formalities.
In his eyes, tonight's events had the potential to pose a serious threat to Konoha.
"The first possibility," Danzo began, raising his index finger, "is that Hyuga Hiashi killed the Kumo ninjas, then pinned the blame on the Uchiha clan to clear his own family's name."
"But why would Kaze be there?"
"This part doesn't add up."
As he spoke, Danzo raised his middle finger.
(T/N: Hahahaha! I'm definitely leaving this here.)
"Secondly, the story Hiashi told is true. By the time he arrived at the scene, Kaze had already wiped out all the Kumo ninjas."
"But the Uchiha clan... they think their lives are worth more than anyone else's. Why would they bother saving Hinata?"
"Where did they even get their information?"
"What exactly are you trying to say, Danzo?" Hiruzen furrowed his brows.
He knew exactly what Danzo was trying to imply.
But he needed Danzo to say it out loud.
"I'm saying..."
"Kaze might have been hiding his true abilities all along."
"He was there because of the Evil Uchiha's Sharingan. They secretly cast a genjutsu on the Kumo ninjas, gaining insight into their plans."
"But they never reported this to us."
"Instead, they sent Kaze to rescue Hinata."
"I'm sure it was Fugaku who wanted to win over the Hyuga clan."
"Even though he withdrew from the Fourth Hokage election back then, the support for him becoming Hokage has never diminished over the years."
"In fact, it's only grown stronger."
"But you and I both know, the Evil Uchiha's can't be trusted."
(T/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter.)