After a few days off, Fujin once again became busy with his Anbu duties. Hiruzen was quite busy as well. He made arrangements for Hayami to join the 1st year in the academy.
Though the kids Renjiro brought from Kiri were talented enough to be placed in Elite batches, Hiruzen didn't do that and instead distributed them in the normal batches that had 100 students. His goal was to ensure that they made good friends in Konoha. Combined with his frequent 'motivational' speeches, the unsuspecting kids were quickly assimilated into Konoha.
Once the assimilation was complete, Hiruzen analyzed, '36 good kids. Their circumstances will make them train harder than most. And they might even motivate others to train hard. Once their strength grows beyond the normal students, I'll expand the Elite batches to include the ones that stand out.'
Seeing how good they were, Hiruzen thought, 'It'd be good if we could recruit such kids frequently from there. Unfortunately, it will be very difficult and risky. Both sides should have noticed these events. They'll be on the lookout for such operations done by other villages. Not to mention, there will be competition from other villages.'
He began analyzing to check if he could continue the operations in the Land of Water somehow. However, he could only think of one solution. He wondered, 'Should I ask Danzo to make a move there?'
Hiruzen was in a dilemma when it came to Danzo. Though he was a comrade, he had been very extreme in the past few years. The Uchiha's loss was a big blow for Konoha. In addition, unlike others, Danzo won't obediently do what Hiruzen wanted.
He thought, 'The only way Danzo would agree is if I let him induct the kids into Root. No, he will agree even if I decline and would instead secretly induct the most talented kids he finds into the Root.
But, I have already disbanded the Root. Though he still has a few dozen Root ninjas under his command, it is a far cry from what he controlled before the Uchiha Massacre. If I let him recruit kids from here, then he will begin rebuilding the Root again.'
Hiruzen began analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of such an action. After around 10 minutes, he decided, 'Though the rebels aren't lunatics like the Mizukage faction, at the end of the day, they are still a different village. I can't guarantee that they would ally with us. Even though Danzo is extreme, at the end of the day, he is still loyal to Konoha.
I'll let him take over this operation. Even if he recruits talented children now, he will need around 10 years to raise a large number of Jounins from their ranks. He will be too old by then to have any more ambitions towards the Hokage seat. Besides…'
A glint appeared in Hiruzen's eyes as he decided, 'In around 6 years, I'll pass my seat to Kakashi or Fujin. And I'll make the other the commander of Root and force Danzo to retire along with me. That would be the best outcome for Konoha.'
Though there were a lot of reasons for Hiruzen to be upset with Danzo, it was undeniable that Konoha had benefited heavily due to him. Of all the villages, Konoha was the only village where a rank S ninja willingly took over the role of Darkness and stayed away from the limelight.
One rank S ninja leading in the light and another hiding in the dark was a deadly combination. Even if Konoha didn't have any other rank S ninjas, Hiruzen was confident in defending Konoha during the Second and Third Great Ninja wars despite being surrounded by enemies on all sides.
So if Hiruzen could see any opportunity to create such a combination in the future, he would make a move towards it.
He let out a sigh and thought, 'I was hoping that the ones who replaced us would be Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Back then, my relationship with Danzo was very good. If Jiraiya had accepted the Hokage position and Orochimaru succeeded Danzo, we would have been in a stable position for another couple of generations.
Unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't take my seat. And Orochimaru wanted to become the Hokage instead of letting Minato be the one. After Minato's death, everything became a mess.
I had given up any hopes of recreating this arrangement. To think that such an opportunity would present itself once again. And unlike the ones before, Kakashi and Fujin can take the roles of both, Light and Darkness. It would provide a lot of flexibility to the village.'
After dissolving the Root, Hiruzen initially didn't intend to revive it again. There were two main obstacles to reviving the Root. The first was a capable leader to succeed Danzo. And the second was the manpower. Fujin's performance in the Land of Wind provided Hiruzen with a second possible future leader. And the orphans in the war-torn Land of Water provided him with the required manpower. Though there were some risks, the advantages far outweighed them in Hiruzen's opinion.
Having concluded his thoughts, Hiruzen decided on going forward with his plans. He disappeared from his office. A few seconds later, he appeared in a secret underground chamber.
Danzo, who was sitting in a chair and handling some work, suddenly looked up. To his surprise, Hiruzen had shown up unannounced. He asked, "What do you want?"
Hiruzen replied with a question, "Are you aware of Renjiro's mission in the Land of Water?"
Danzo looked at Hiruzen without speaking, but there was no change in his expression. He replied, "The one to rescue orphans from the Land of Water?"
Hiruzen nodded and said, "He ended up confronting the rebel faction. So I had to stop the mission. But, it's a waste if we don't act on such an opportunity. I want you to deploy your forces and rescue such orphans."
Danzo squinted his eye. He asked, "My forces? Did you forget that you disbanded Root?"
Hiruzen sighed and asked, "Do you think I'm oblivious to everything you do?"
Danzo didn't reply. He knew that Hiruzen knew about the forces still under his control. But he didn't expect Hiruzen to confront him about it.
Hiruzen said, "So, will you?"
Danzo replied, "I want my former Root ninjas back under my command."
Hiruzen shook his head and replied, "That's not negotiable. Root won't be officially started either."
A frown formed on Danzo's face. He asked, "How will I rescue the orphans?"
Hiruzen replied, "Use your current forces. You can deploy all of them if you want. In addition, the kids you recruit can be recruited into Root. But I want proper documentation on each of them, along with yearly reports on their progress. Especially if someone unlocks Kekkei Genkai."
Danzo was surprised by the offer. He thought, 'I do have enough force to undertake such a task. But why is Hiruzen being so generous? I thought I would only get to induct a few kids sneakily. But if he allows me to induct them openly, I can rebuild my Root forces in 8 to 10 years.'
Hiruzen stared at Danzo, completely understanding his thought process. He thought, 'I don't want to do something like this to an old comrade. But you left me with no choice. I can only give you false hope and take it away from you before it gives you any results.'
Not knowing Hiruzen's plan to force him to retire, Danzo replied, "Alright. I will take over this mission. But you can't change your mind in the future."
Hiruzen nodded and said, "Of course. Recruit as many orphans as you can. But be careful of the Mizukage and Rebel factions. Their fighting will intensify soon."
Danzo nodded. Hiruzen disappeared from the office as rapidly as he appeared. After he left, a frown formed on Danzo's face. He thought, 'Konoha's current condition is very stable. So why did Hiruzen give me an opportunity to reestablish my forces?'
He thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with a definite answer. He decided, 'Whatever. No matter what he is up to, I'll just counter his schemes when they pop up. Besides, even if I figured out his schemes, I would still want to recruit those orphans.'
The following day, 36 Root ninjas sneakily left Konoha. They moved into the Land of Water and began their mission of 'rescuing' a large number of orphans who were suffering due to the war.
Around the time the Root ninja reached the Land of Water, Fujin entered his basement. There were multiple scrolls in his hand. He laid the scrolls on the floor and opened them while thinking, 'In the last eight months, I have learnt all the new Fuinjutsu symbols that were in Section A of the Library. In addition, I have learnt hundreds of new seals. Finally, my basics are good enough to begin learning this jutsu.'
He sighed and muttered, "It's been such a long time since I wanted to master this seal. Finally, I can do it!"
The scrolls in front of him contained information and a training plan to learn the Four Symbols Seal!
