After getting all the information, Chou was restrained again. Hiruzen looked at the Anbu squad and Ibiki and said, "Good work. Don't tell anyone about her being taken as captive to anyone."
They nodded and left the prison. While leaving, Itachi's face was grim. Though no one noticed it under his mask. Or rather, no one apart from Hiruzen and Danzo, who observed him carefully.
Understanding the disastrous consequences of civil war made him realize the catastrophe that would fall on Konoha if the Uchiha clan were to rebel. It planted a seed to avoid a civil war at all costs inside his heart!
As he left, both Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged eye contact. Danzo understood why Hokage had assigned the squad Itachi was in on this mission. They didn't speak about Itachi as no words needed to be spoken.
Danzo looked at Hiruzen and said, "She provided a lot of information. We need to cross-check with the information provided by our spies to confirm that there were no traps hidden in the information."
Hiruzen nodded and replied, "Send a Root ninja who has the information to my office. I will have him cross-check our information with an Anbu ninja."
Danzo nodded. He looked at Hiruzen, who seemed to be in thought. Danzo asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Hiruzen looked at him and replied, "Do you remember the proposal that we received from the rebel faction before the Chunin exams?"
Danzo nodded.
Hiruzen continued, "I thought it was weird that the Terumi clan patriarch reached out to us. Now, it seems like it was the idea of Terumi Mei. She has the bloodline of both, Terumi as well as Sakai clans, and is able to use two Kekkei Genkai! Looks like she will be the next leader in Kiri."
Danzo replied, "Yes, it was likely her. Two Kekkei Genkai in the same person isn't threatening if they don't train well. But her leadership skills and charisma are good as well. She might become a threat. We should eliminate her."
Hiruzen shook his head and replied, "The Fourth Mizukage is a perfect Jinchuriki. He will be difficult to defeat. Let them exhaust each others' potential. Konoha doesn't need to involve itself and suffer any losses. After the civil war ends, we will talk with the winner."
Danzo wanted to argue, but Hiruzen had made a good point. With the losses Kiri had taken due to the civil war, Kiri would be in no position to participate in a war for over a decade at least.
Hiruzen looked at Danzo and felt something odd. Knowing Danzo, he predicted that he would have started a debate there. He asked, "Why are you here? It wouldn't be just for the information, right?"
Danzo looked at Chou and said, "I want Sakai Chou."
Hiruzen looked at Danzo in confusion. However, in less than a second, his eyes widened.
He declined, "No."
However, this time Danzo would not relent. This was the true reason why he visited the prison. He said, "Hiruzen, there are only 2 clans that have Kekkei Genkai in Konoha. And one of them is about to rebel.
With the Senju being unable to produce any Wood Kekkei Genkai ninja, we need to recruit other Kekkei Genkai into our village. And they have to be loyal to Konoha.
If we don't strengthen ourselves, then every time we have a weak moment, an incident similar to the Hyuga incident will keep repeating. Now that our forces are getting stabilized, we need to do everything to make ourselves stronger."
Danzo's argument struck a chord in Hiruzen's heart. The Hyuga incident hurt him a lot. The weak state of Konoha had made him indecisive and reluctant. And that cost Konoha an innocent life.
Danzo didn't speak anymore. He knew Hiruzen very well. Hiruzen thought for a few minutes and said, "If the other villages were to realize, they might attack Konoha together."
Danzo scoffed and replied, "In every war, we keep getting attacked by all four villages. So it doesn't make a difference. Also, I will induct the kids into the Root. So they won't be exposed to the world. Even inside Konoha, no one will know their origin.
Besides, awakening Kekkei Genkai is difficult. Very few awaken it. If someone awakens, we will expose the first one who awakens and say that he created the Kekkei Genkai by combining Fire and Water natures. If anyone awakens it after him, we will hide that person inside the Root."
If Fujin was to hear this conversation, he'd be shocked. After all, he thought that a Kekkei Genkai can only be inherited through the bloodline. Without it, there was no way to be able to use a Kekkei Genkai. After all, even talented ninjas who had mastered all elements like Hiruzen and Kakashi never learnt any Kekkei Genkai.
Hiruzen sighed. He thought, 'He has done thorough preparation. I don't think I can win this debate. So, what to do?'
He thought for a bit and finally looked at Sakai Chou. He sighed, 'She is already a waste. If we release her, she will hate Konoha with all her heart and use all her influence to make her clan take an anti-Konoha stance. If the bloodline clans win, our relationship will be sour.'
Looking at Hiruzen, Danzo understood what he was thinking. He said, "The way ahead will be to deny meeting the squad from the rebel faction. We will deny knowing their existence. Remove their mentions from the reports. If the bloodline faction wins in Kiri and asks us about it, we will feign ignorance and push the blame on the Mizukage faction.
Since the squad from the Mizukage faction died at the hands of Konoha ninjas, we can even claim that we took revenge for the bloodline faction. So we will be able to use this incident to better our relations. However, for that to happen, she needs to disappear."
Hiruzen sighed again and agreed, "Alright. But ensure that no information about her leaks out. And all the progress has to be reported to me in secret."
Danzo nodded. He was about to leave when he had a thought. He stopped and asked, "Hiruzen, which team was assigned this mission? They were very thorough!"
Danzo had rushed here in a hurry. So he wasn't aware which squad had undertaken this mission.
Hiruzen answered, "It was Senju Renjiro and his students."
Danzo's left eye widened. But it returned to normal quickly. He said, "They are efficient. I want to induct them into the Root."
Hiruzen raised his left eyebrow and looked at Danzo. However, he couldn't figure out anything from his poker face. Hiruzen replied, "One of his students is a Hyuga. They are not suitable for the Root. Another is an Uchiha who is arrogant even by their standards. Good luck convincing her into joining the Root."
Danzo scoffed in displeasure. However, that was an act. He was interested in the Wind user.
While speaking, Hiruzen realized that Danzo's target should be Fujin. The others were just spoken as a distraction.
Hiruzen continued, "The third one is a civilian orphan. He could have been inducted into the Root. Fortunately or unfortunately, it's too late."
Danzo, who was hopeful about getting Fujin, felt like Hiruzen had played with him. He asked, "Why is it late? He isn't even a teenager yet. While it's true that the Root mostly inducts 5-6 years old kids, we can still recruit older ones."
Hiruzen shook his head and said, "That boy is too headstrong. He wouldn't agree to have any seal put on him. He won't be a good match for the Root. Besides, I already have plans for him."
Danzo raised his left eyebrow and asked, "What plans?"
Hiruzen smirked and answered, "I will be inducting him into the Anbu and training him to be a negotiator for Konoha."
Danzo had a lot of thoughts about what Hiruzen might say. However, this one left him dumbfounded!
