While the war in the Land of Rivers raged on, new problems began surfacing in the village. The Third Hokage sat quietly, glancing at Danzo, his advisor. This was Danzo's mont to step up.
Typically, in these situations, the Third Hokage would lean on Danzo's advice. Danzo was ruthless and decisive-the type of man needed to handle tough problems. Unlike Koharu and Homura, who were good at running the dical and logistics departnts, they weren't cut out for making difficult decisions that required a firm hand.
They hesitated, never fully committing to either side, but Danzo? He acted swiftly.
"How dare they target my n? These fools must have a death wish," Danzo thought to himself, fuming. Whoever attacked his agents had to be spies sent by another village. They might have already infiltrated the village's inner ranks.
After a brief pause, Danzo gritted his teeth and said, "Hiruzen, we need a full internal investigation. We can't afford to let this slide. If we don't root them out now, this will co back to bite us."
"An internal investigation?" The Third Hokage was taken aback. A thorough sweep like that would ruffle feathers, and if things went wrong, it could cause chaos. Especially since ANBU would be the first to be inspected.
As for Root? There wasn't much to worry about there-Danzo had already ensured that no one in Root could spill any secrets.
"Isn't there another option?" The Hokage hesitated. A full investigation was possible, but targeting ANBU first seed risky.
Danzo, growing frustrated, slamd his hand on the table. "Hiruzen, this is no ti to be indecisive! If the location of our village's barrier nodes leaks, we're in big trouble. Or do you plan on changing the entire system?"
"..." The Third Hokage wanted to roll his eyes. Changing the barrier system? Konoha's barrier covered the entire village, and each node was fixed in place. Replacing it would require a massive overhaul, both in manpower and resources. And with the war against the Sand Village still ongoing, that wasn't an option.
"Danzo has a point," Koharu interjected. "Now's not the ti for rcy."
"I agree," Homura added. "We need to conduct a thorough sweep of our ranks. If we don't, and sothing happens while we're fighting in the Land of Rivers, it could be disastrous." Koharu and Homura may have lacked the will to take such decisive action on their own, but they had no problem backing Danzo when he did.
"I understand." The Third Hokage nodded, his expression serious. This was going to be a difficult task, but it had to be done.
"Very well. Have everyone from ANBU and Root report to the Interrogation Departnt. Notify the Yamanaka clan-they'll play a crucial role in this." The Hokage paused, then added, "And summon Tsunade."
If they were going to do this, they might as well go all the way. Enemy spies had been a constant issue in the village, and no matter how many sweeps they conducted, they couldn't seem to catch all of them. This ti, they'd be thorough.
Danzo, Koharu, and Homura left to make preparations. Root would also be subject to the investigation, though Danzo wasn't concerned. Root agents had been thoroughly conditioned to prevent any leaks, and Danzo hadn't yet committed the more unsavory deeds he'd beco infamous for later.
It was still relatively easy for him to cover his tracks at this point. If this investigation had taken place after the Third Shinobi War, things would've been much ssier for Danzo.
"Oh, and make sure Yagami Takuya cos with Tsunade," the Third Hokage added.
With so many of the village's top shinobi out on missions, ANBU and Root would be the first to be scrutinized. But the Hokage wanted to make sure that if anything went wrong, they had strong shinobi on hand to manage it.
Tsunade was an obvious choice, but the Hokage decided to include Takuya as well. If there were spies hiding in Root or ANBU, and a fight broke out, Takuya's skills would be invaluable.
ANBU was the main focus of the investigation, with Root being checked only to avoid causing unrest among ANBU operatives. Danzo and the advisors had no objections to this plan, and they all left the Hokage's office to begin.
"Danzo, you'd better hope nothing goes wrong," Koharu muttered as they walked away from the Hokage's office.
Everyone knew Root's dirty secrets. If anything ca to light, it would be hard to explain to the Hokage.
"I'm aware," Danzo replied curtly, tapping his cane as he walked away.
"I hope so," Homura sighed, watching Danzo disappear. Like Koharu, he was worried. They feared that sothing might go wrong, even if the chances were slim. Danzo was usually good at hiding his tracks, but there were no guarantees.
"Who's knocking at this ungodly hour?!" Tsunade's voice bood through her house.
Having worked late into the night, she had barely managed to fall asleep when a loud knock on the door jarred her awake. Her temper flared instantly.
Hair a ss and eyes heavy with exhaustion, Tsunade yanked open the door so hard it nearly ca off its hinges. The poor shinobi standing at her doorstep looked terrified.
"Tsunade-sama, I've been ordered to inform you that the Hokage requests your presence at the office imdiately."
"The old man wants ?" Tsunade blinked, squinting at the frightened ssenger. Am I really that scary?
Wait, sothing's off.
If the Third Hokage had sothing important, he'd usually send ANBU-not so random
shinobi.
Did sothing happen?
Tsunade's senses sharpened, her mind clearing.
"Oh, and I was also told to let you know that Yagami Takuya should co with you."
"I got it. You can go now."
Tsunade waved him off, too tired to care. She retreated to her bathroom to freshen up. Sothing's definitely wrong, she thought. ANBU wasn't mobilized, and instead, they sent a regular shinobi to call in. And now they want to bring Takuya? This isn't normal.
There wasn't much ti to think about it, so Tsunade quickly got ready, tied her hair back, and headed over to Takuya's place.
Last night's surprise windfall had left Takuya grinning in his sleep, but his peaceful dreams were rudely interrupted.
Bang!
The loud crash snapped Takuya awake. He bolted upright in bed, while Snowy, curled up beside him, yawned lazily, using her tail as a pillow.
Since it was just Tsunade, Snowy didn't bother alerting Takuya. Tsunade, Kushina, Mikoto Uchiha, Nawaki, and Minato all had permission to enter without triggering any alarms. For anyone else, Snowy would've instantly warned him.
"What the hell, Tsunade?! Don't you know how to knock? You have a key, don't you?" Takuya groaned, glaring at the busted lock.
"I forgot," Tsunade shrugged nonchalantly. Without waiting, she grabbed Takuya by the
hand and dragged him out of bed.
"Co on, we need to get to the Hokage's office. Sothing urgent."
"Urgent? Wait! I haven't even washed up yet!"
"Ugh, damn it!"
Takuya barely had ti to change out of his pajamas before Tsunade pulled him out the door,
still half-asleep.
Tsunade kicked open the Hokage's office door without hesitation and strode in confidently.
"Old man, what's the ergency?" she asked, with a grumpy-looking Takuya trailing behind
her.
Anyone would be irritated if they were woken up at the crack of dawn, dragged out of bed without being allowed to wash up, and still hadn't had breakfast.
"You two are coming with to the Interrogation Departnt," the Third Hokage said, skipping any pleasantries as he stood to leave.
Tsunade imdiately sensed sothing serious was happening. "What's going on? What could have escalated to this?"
It couldn't possibly have anything to do with Snowy knocking out those Root agents and snatching the loot, right? Surely the Third Hokage wouldn't be making such a fuss over that...
right?
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I'm receiving a one-star review because Emmanuel's fans believe I'm using bots to gain power stones. It's frustrating to be accused when you're innocent.
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