"Embarrassing thing?" This actually made Sarutobi Hiruzen interested. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What embarrassing thing was it?"
"It was the incident that happened in the afternoon the day before yesterday. Arata accidentally saw Teacher Mizuki bend down and perform some aerobic b-breathing on... a fish."
Even though he was not there when the whole incident happened, Iruka still felt embarrassed and even blushed when talking about it. "Arata is at that age, and he might be curious, so without thinking too much, he asked Teacher Mizuki what he was doing in public..."
Bang!
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened, the pipe in his hand slipped and hit the table. "He did that... to a fish?"
"Yes, Arata said it was a red carp."
"Is this story really true?"
"Although he denied it afterward, the first thing that came out of Teacher Mizuki's mouth when he heard Arata's question was, 'How did you know?'"
Hiss!
Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and held the corner of the table with one hand. After a few moments, he took a deep breath.
Fish...
Someone actually had the gall to perform "aerobic acts" on a poor little fish?! Did their Konoha actually have such talents? 'Where did people get these weird ideas from?'
…
As the night grew darker, Iruka said his farewell and left the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not leave immediately, his mind drifting into his imagination. With a cigarette in his mouth, Hiruzen kept thinking about the love between the man and the fish.
'How can someone do it? What kind of brain circuit went off that can make this guy Mizuki do that kind of heinous act? I can't figure it out!'
Sarutobi Hiruzen was really stumped! He even forgot the huge paperwork and the troubles of the village at that time.
He had heard and seen all kinds of weird hobbies with the help of his stalking jutsu, but the truth of Mizuki's actions shocked him for a whole year.
Knock!
A low knock on the door brought the Hokage back from the depths of the abyss.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, seeing the time, before responding calmly, "Come in."
The door opened, and the person who walked in was holding a cane, his head, right eye, and entire right arm wrapped in bandages. His face had deep wrinkles, and he exuded a gloomy temperament.
"It's you, Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen called out the other person's name with a puzzled expression, "It's so late, did something happen?"
Danzo didn't waste any more nonsense and went straight to the topic: "You know very well what I am here for, Hiruzen?"
"You also know this matter?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened a little in surprise. He did not think the news would travel so fast.
"Hmph, don't underestimate the intelligence capabilities of my organization!" Danzo held his head high with pride and looked arrogant.
"You even have an organization to search around the village for this kind of information?"
"Intelligence is not about size, but about being able to grasp the current situation."
"Well, what does this kind of matter have to do with the current situation?" Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth with surprise on his face, "Is it possible that this kind of thing is already common in the ninja world?"
Danzo sat down opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi and said calmly, "It's hard to say if it's common in the entire ninja world, but it does happen often in the small countries around us. I have seen a lot of such things till now."
"Hiss! Seriously?!" Sarutobi Hiruzen took in a sharp breath of cold air and couldn't understand, "This world is really..."
Desperate!
Apart from people going crazy from desperation, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not know how to describe the current situation. 'I thought that Mizuki was the most desperate person there could ever be, but I didn't expect that it was a trend among neighboring small countries!'
If that was really the case, he would never dare to eat fish in his life ever again!
"Give me the order to act, Hiruzen! I will immediately make a move." Danzo said calmly, his eyes narrowed, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Wha-what? Opportunity?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was confused and even a little scared; even then, he took a deep breath and asked in a tentative tone, "This incident can only be regarded as a personal behavior. Isn't it a bit too much to issue an order to prohibit it?"
Danzo was silent for a moment and frowned in confusion, "Hiruzen, what are you saying?"
"Could it be we are not talking about the same thing?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was also confused.
"There is turmoil in the Land of Waves!" Danzo clarified, and Hiruzen also spoke up at the same time, "Ninja Mizuki did... that to a fish!"
…
The two revealed the topics they were talking about at the same time, and the atmosphere in the office instantly froze. They looked at each other in a daze for a while.
"Did... that to a fish?" Even Danzo showed an expression of disbelief when he heard this; his mouth was slightly open.
"Ahem, there's turmoil?" Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed dryly, pretending to be nonchalant and turning his face away, "What happened in the Land of Waves?"
"The fishermen and boats of the Land of Waves were overwhelmed from not receiving pay for their work, so they launched a resistance against the major ocean and fishing companies." Danzo paused slightly when he said this, his voice was low: "Hiruzen, is there really someone in our village who did... that to fishes?"
"This, we can basically think that this is true." Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his cigarette and nodded, "But the turmoil in the Land of Waves has nothing to do with us, right? What order do you want me to give?"
"Send Konoha ninjas to come forward and completely control the entire country of Waves! We can gain a lot out of this." Danzo raised his left hand and clenched his five fingers.
"No, this kind of thing is absolutely impossible!" Sarutobi Hiruzen decisively refused, his eyes firm: "If the other ninja villages get a whiff of this, it will definitely cause serious international problems! It may even trigger a war!"
"As long as we use decisive means to control the country of Waves as soon as possible, will those idiots even have the time to react?"