In the dark night.
Haruku was trying to unlock his chakra and truly begin his journey in the world of Shinobi
At the same time
A meeting was taking place in the Hokage building between the hokage and the council elders.
The newly promoted jonin commander Nara Shikaku was reporting on the recent activities of other shinobi villages.
It has been nearly 5 years since the second great ninja war ended.
Following that, every ninja village is recovering from the losses suffered during the war.
Nara Shikaku continues to report the data on other villages, everyone in the room knows that it was only a matter of time before the third great ninja war started as the previous war only ends because every village has almost depleted their resources, so after recovering, the war will undoubtedly continue as every village has many powerful ninjas of upper rank and even Ninjas at the level of kage. It is just that during the previous war, they lost many of their lower and middle rank ninjas.
Due to the scale of the war, which involved every village, they fought on multiple fronts, resulting in the loss of many genin and chunin rank ninjas, which was also one of the reasons why the war ended.
"Hokage sama, our forward base, camp tree, on the border of grass country, has reported the sightings of Iwagakure ninjas in the grass country.
Following our ninja' s investigation, it was discovered that the Damiyo of grass country has issued missions to the stone ninjas, while the number of missions issued to our village has decreased." Shikaku informs them of the increased presence of Stone shinobi in their neighboring country.
The grass nation includes the hidden village of Kusagakure.
Upon hearing this, Hamura snorted and said
"Hmm, Kusagakure again; these guys are just a group of hyenas, they are never to be believed." Hamura clearly expresses his displeasure with the hidden village of Kusagakure.
Koharu also shows disdain for them: "I know that, throughout the past, they were never loyal; they are just turncoats who are quick to switch sides; even in the previous war, they betrayed the hidden stone and sided with us."
During the first great ninja war, Kusagakure was Konoha's ally and supported them in their resistance to the force of Iwagakure, but by the end of the war, they had betrayed them and supported Iwagakure instead.
Whereas during the second great ninja war they have initially supported the hidden village of stone but in the middle of the war they betrayed them and formed an alliance with hidden leaf village
However, their recent actions indicate that they may once again switch sides.
"Hmm, that is to be expected," Danzo said coldly, his eyes containing no light but infinite darkness, "kusagakure had already betrayed us before and there is no stopping them from doing so again, I had suggested at the time taking action against them and showing them what happens when anyone backstabs us, but my proposal was rejected, saying we can not take action against a minor village, which has no strength to face the might of leaf but still betrayed us."Danzo said with his half-closed eyes, looking at Hiruzen.
Hearing this, Hamura and Koharu also look to Hiruzen, as all four of them have been together for years and have successfully led their village through every trouble that comes at them, but there are times where they have suffered, and one such time was during the first great ninja war, having lost their Sensei, second hokage, they were going through a tough time, but then Kusagakure betrayal happened, which also leads to the death of their teammate and friend 'Torifu Akimichi'
During the war, he was the commander on the front lines of Iwagakure; as an Akimichi and student of the Second Hokage, he was a powerful Shinobi; with his chakra augmentation technique, he was unstoppable and was leading Konoha to victory; however, the sudden betrayal of Kusagakure caught Konoha off guard, and he sacrificed himself for Konoha shinobi's successful retreat.
At that time Danzo proposed launching a full-fledged war on Kusagakure and completely destroying them to demonstrate that Konoha is not a village to mess with, but Hiruzen, the Hokage, refused, claiming that the war was nearing an end and that they did not need to sacrifice the lives of their shinobi. On which Danzo was dissatisfied with the Hiruzen decision but could not do anything because it was not him, who was chosen as the Hokage.
Hiruzen understanding the underlying meaning of Danzo words spoke
"Danzo, I know what you are implying, and not for a single moment did I think I had made the wrong decision." There have been some disagreements between them in recent years, as they have begun to argue most of the time, disagreeing with each other's ideas and actions.
"At that time, the war was about to end, and continuing would have resulted in more loss, and even after the war, we exacted our revenge on them."
After the war, Konoha had secretly harassed the hidden village of Kusagakure by destroying their income source, they constantly sent their ninja in disguise to create problems for the kusagakure, they sabotaged their missions, demolishing their reserves of food, and even pressurizing the Damiyo council of the land of grass, they almost crippled the entire village of Kusagakure.
Danzo sneers in response to Hiruzen's reply."Revenge? you say."
"By making those pathetic excuses of actions against them, you say, we have taken revenge" ,every word he utters was filled with coldness, "Even when they again allied with us, i had already warned you, that they are not to be 'trusted' but again you disregard me,- it was your words that- 'we should fogot the past and start anew, forming greater relationship, 'trusting' each other, is the first step to achieve the peace"
"Danzo, then do you think masscaring a whole village and taking the lives of many innocents will bring peace? No, it will only continue the cycle of hatred and endless war." Having had enough of Danzo, Hiruzen speaks.
"what a noble goal you have Hiruzen" Danzo again responds with a sneer
"I am very glad that you have the thought of ending the war and the vicious cycle of hatred, sharing the purpose of First Hokage Senju Hashirama." Danzo responds as if he truly believes Hiruzen.
"but"
"You should know that throughout the history of the shinobi world, peace was only achieved when one individual was so powerful that he even surpasses the entire shinobi world; no one can even look up to him; even with the combined power of the entire world, they were no match for him," his voice full of admiration and yearning, "it was only then that peace was achieved, and what a short period of peace it was." At the end, he appears disappointed.
Everyone in the room seems to remember those glorious days.
A person radiating warmth to everyone.
It was during the period of warring states—
A shinobi rises with the goal of ending the war and establishing peace.
He rises so high that no one can reach him.
His strength was so vast that everyone started calling him a "God."
Everyone naturally surrenders in the face of his might, and with that immeasurable strength, he achieves his goal: he puts an end to the hatred and creates a village where everyone lives peacefully, where the enemy of the past becomes friends.
once who were ready to kill each other at first sight, then forms a bond so strong they were ready to die for each other.
He even tries to extend that peace to the entire world, trusting others to keep it.
'Alas '
'The peace ends with him.'
-------------
Recalling those days, Hiruzen sigh~
Suddenly It seems like he have aged a few years
"Hiruzen, Shinobi have immense strength capable of changing landscapes; ordinary people cannot comprehend the scope of our power, and First Hokage Senju Hashirama was even referred to as 'God' among shinobi.
It was because of his strength that he was able to realise his dream.
He even gives bijuus as a gift to other villages, demonstrating his sincerity and hoping that there will be no more wars. He trusted them. But what happens? You all knew it very well."
Everyone in the room knows the answer.
"Just as he died, the entire world began to wage war on us; the initial peace was not because everyone began to love each other or had forgotten their hatred; that peace was achieved through strength; it was fear that caused them to hide their hatred."
Danzo showed contempt on his face.
"And the irony is that the tailed beasts that the first Hokage distributed in the hope of balancing power were used against his own village.
Tell me, Hiruzen, where is the peace you seek."
Danzo begins to speak enticing words.
"You cannot trust anyone in this world; otherwise, you will be stabbed by that trust, only strength will help you achieve your goals.
'Strength like the first hokage.'"
As Danzo speaks, every word of him seems to make Hiruzen struggle with something.
And seeing Hiruzen like this, there was a hidden smile in the depth of Danzo eyes.
-----------------
There was a somber atmosphere in the room
Hamura and Koharu were both remembering the glory of First Hokage
'The days when they were just genins and chunins
How there was not even a single conflict, every hidden village had a harmonious relationship with each other,
Chunin exams were held and every village participated in them, no village showed any hositility.
But suddenly everything changes.'
'On the other hand Nara Shikaku can only admire the invincible image of 'Senu Hashirama' , from his childhood he remembers the words spoken about First Hokage, everyone deeply admires him, his feats, which are hard to imagine but he has to believe, as the tales were spoken by his father'
'He is remembered as the image of peace and strength to every person of Konoha '
Hiruzen was in deep thought, considering the words of Danzo, he appears to be in a dilemma
And Danzo who was watching all of this knows that he has buried the seeds of doubts in Hiruzen, which will soon bloom, he just has to provide sufficient nutrients to it.
"There is also an important information i have here, that i would like everyone to know " Danzo speaks,knowing that it is the right opportunity
Hearing him, everyone shifts their attention to him, while pondering about what he was going to say next, Hiruzen has deep frown on his face, knowing that his friend has some ulterior motive behind everything he was doing today.
"what do you want to say? Danzo" Hamura asks him puzzled
Danzo closes his eyes and said,"My spies informs me that the third kazekage has a secret meeting with the Damiyo of The land of rivers, after which sand shinobi have started to make a secret base there"
"What?"
Hearing this every one in the room was shocked, knowing that Sunagakure was building a secret base in the land of rivers, which indicate that the river was not with them and it was in favour of Hidden sand, which will surely affect them if a war was to break out, having a base there means the easy access of supplies , which will heavily impact the result of war.
"Danzo, how did you find about this" Koharu asked in surprise, knowing that a secret meeting between The Damiyo and Kazekage is a 'secret' and even knowing about the formation of the secret base of Sunagakure, implies that Danzo have someone high level informant in the council of Damiyo.
"I have my ways" he replies
"Danzo, don't try to do anything stupid, you should know there will be trouble if you make any mistake" Hiruzen warns him
And why Hiruzen was warning Danzo, instead of focusing on the information he provides
It is because of the position of Damiyo, the political leader of civilans who governs the entire nation,
As for why they have to be careful of a common person who doesn't even have the combat power to face the genin.
It is because they wield significant power to influence the hidden villages
A large number of missions to shinobi are commissioned by Damiyo and then most of the resources are also provided by Him to the Shinobi villages
Even during the Second great ninja war, it was the Damiyo of every nation, which together forced the war to end
Because of the scale of war which involves every major hidden village, it heavily affects the life of common people, many civilians had lost their life during the war, villages were massacred and seeing this state, Damiyo of every nation makes the decision to stop the war.
Which every hidden village complies with after all humans are the most important resource, every year a large number of civilians are successful in unlocking their chakra and make the decision to become a shinobi, it is from where a significant number of njnja comes.
"Hiruzen, you are again worried about the wrong, and it is because of your attitude that even minor villages have begun to believe they can mess with us." Danzo said in a displeased tone, "That is why I tell you to make a hard move against these dilusional guys who think they can contend with our power."
"Danzo, how many times did I have to tell you that the action you mentioned is too harsh? If we wage war on every minor village that interacts with another major hidden village, it will only cause every other minor village to become our opposite and side with the other major hidden village." Hiruzen speaks harshly, having a headache today; after all, it is usually him who forces Danzo, but it appears that Danzo was in control today.
Nara Shikaku looks at the clock, seeing that it was already too late and knowing that their argument was not going to end soon, which would only delay his sweet time to sleep, decided to intervene.
"Hokage sama, perhaps we should send a diplomatic team to each minor shinobi village on our border to learn about their stance and who they support." He knew his proposal was nothing special, but he said it so they could stop arguing and finish today's meeting as soon as possible so he could go home and get a good night's sleep.
And it works, as they stop arguing and he starts to finish his reports.
After a while, it was the end of meeting
"Hokage sama, the last report is about the promotion of Jonin Yagami and Jonin Takuya Yuhi to elite Jonin ranks, and Chunin Minato to Jonin rank."
After hearing about their jonin rank ninja's promotion to elite rank, their mood improved; after all, an elite jonin rank ninja is considered a S rank ninja, and the number of S rank ninja in a village indicates their strength.
Having more elite jonin means more strength, which means their village is getting stronger. Konoha alone has more than 50 official S rank ninjas, demonstrating why they are the strongest hidden village.
"Hmm, Yagami and Yuhi, both of them are veterans of the previous war, and I know that both of them have just completed a dangerous mission in the land of stone, after which they have sufficient merits to become an elite rank," Hiruzen finally smiled, "it is actually Minato that surprises me; if I recall correctly, he is only 15 years old this year, and being a joinn at this age means he will undoubtedly have a bright future ahead."
Koharu also commented on the promotion of Minato.
"He will surely have a bright future after all he is the Jiraya's student and your grand student"
"I have also heard that he recently defeated an entire squad of kumo shinobi. He single-handedly takes out a squad that includes a jonin and three chunins, which will even trouble many of the experienced jonins. And given his age, he will undoubtedly become a strong ninja."
Hearing compliments from his friends improves Hiruzen's mood, as Minato is his grand student.
Soon the meeting ended and as everyone left the room, only Hiruzen and Danzo were left there.
"Danzo, what do you want to talk about"
Hiruzen instantly asks Danzo about his intentions, after all, he knows him very well, and seeing his way of speaking today indicates that there is something brewing in his mind,
Danzo also gives a snort "Hmm"
"Hiruzen, you have become soft, you didn't have the same fire in you as there was in the previous war, you aren't as heavy handed as you were before, you even let those minor villages jump around us,"
Hiruzen finally speaks in a tired voice, massaging his temple.
"Sigh, Danzo, you have become too extreme, and do not think that I do not know that your root shinobi were deliberately making things difficult for the land of River, which forced them to take the protection of Sunagakure."
Hearing this, Danzo was shocked.
"And it was also you who planted the idea of building the secret base in Damiyo's mind, after which you learned every detail of their base,which will allow you to easily destroy them; you will kill three birds with one stone.
Eliminating the enemy, instilling fear in the land of the river, compelling them to follow our lead, and gaining reputation in Konoha."
Hearing his full plan from the mouth of Hiruzen gives him a shock, after which he even doubts if his subordinate either has betrayed him and gives information to Hiruzen but he quickly eliminates that thought, knowing that even his subordinate doesn't know about his full plan.
So there was only one option: Hiruzen had a spy in the council of the Damiyo of the River, from whom he learned about the involvement of root shinobi, and he connected the dots to understand his full plan without his knowledge.
Danzo gazes deeply into Hiruzen's eyes, knowing why he was not chosen as the Hokage.
"Even so, I only did things that would benefit the village; destroying Sunagakure base camps would be a huge loss for them, and their morale would suffer as well. It will also teach the land of rivers a valuable lesson not to betray us."
"Benefiting the village?" Hiruzen gives a questioning look,
" I also know that you are creating problems for Uchiha, your subordinates are spreading misleading rumors about them, and you are even interfering with the work of the Uchiha police force, Danzo, you will have to stop all of this, otherwise it will cause unrest within the village." Hearing about the Uchiha, Danzo's mood turns sour
"Hiruzen, Have you forgotten what sensei taught us, that every uchiha is an evil"
"Danzo, did you only learn that, can't you see yourself, how much Uchiha have contributed during war, there are part of the village, you can't see them as evil" Hiruzen headache only worsen while talking to him
" what are you saying Hiruzen, even their dojutsu is cursed ,which feeds on the power of hatred, they're full of evilness, even first Hokage Senju Hashirama had to die because of that Madara Uchiha who poses those cursed eyes"
"Danzo, it is your hatred against them that will create trouble, you have become too extreme."
"I am not extreme, Hiruzen, it is you who have gone senile, you even let that evil bloodline goes out" Danzo was full of displeasure against Hiruzen
"we can't judge someone because of the action of their Ancestor,"
As they continue to bicker with each other, which does not seem to end today.
An event was taking place that would change the future of the Shinobi world.
In Haruku's room.
He was sitting cross-legged in a meditation position, attempting to unlock his chakra.
And in order to do that, a person has to mix his physical energy, spiritual and inner energy(chakra) together, which will produce the chakra through which a shinobi can use ninjutsu.
After placing his hand just below his naval region, he began to empty his mind
And focuses in his inner body, trying to feel the energies present in his body.
Just like that he sits in the same position for nearly an hour ,after which, he clearly starts to perceive them
His physical energy feels warm, which was abundant then his cold spiritual energy
And his inner chakra was like a flame burning in his body.
Just then, as he begins to mix them, they begin to blend together on their own; he does not even have to actively mix them; everything feels natural.
Soon, new energy began to appear in his body.
And feeling this new energy, Haruku was excited, knowing that he could now truly begin his journey as a shinobi.
He began to move his chakra throughout his body, testing it's effect on his physical aspect; having assimilated many animals, he was already far stronger than ordinary humans, and with chakra, he feels even more powerful
His strength nearly doubled, and even his sense of smell and hearing have become more sensitive
Only now can he feels the desired effect of the system
As he circulate chakra towards his eyes, intending to see how chakra effects his vision but just then he suddenly lost control of his chakra and a large amount of it moves towards his eyes
A sudden terrible headache hit him which knocked him out
After a few moments he wakes up
'ugrh'
His head was spinning
'my eyes sting'
There was also a warm liquid on his face
After a few moments of gathering his bearing
He moves towards the mirror with difficulty, every step he takes unsteady
Finally as he reach infront of the mirror
-he saw that his face was covered in blood-
His eyes were glowing ominous red
And a single tear shaped black tome was spinning in them
"…Fuckkk!!!!"