Danzo got straight to the point, his face grave as he looked at Hiruzen. In a low voice, he said,
"Hiruzen, we must capture the Six-Tails this time!"
"We're already working on it," Hiruzen replied calmly, glancing at Danzo. "Since the Six-Tails has practically landed in our hands, we're certainly not going to pass up the opportunity. It'll also make for a useful bargaining chip in negotiations with Kirigakure."
Danzo stepped up to Hiruzen's desk, his face stern. "Are you really planning to return the Six-Tails to Kirigakure?"
Hiruzen looked deeply into Danzo's eyes and replied, "We'll see. It depends on how much Kirigakure is willing to concede."
"Hmph," Danzo scoffed. "Kirigakure has no grounds to negotiate anymore. The Three-Tails is dead, the Six-Tails jinchuriki is gone too—what can their Third Mizukage possibly accomplish?"
He leaned in, his voice confident. "If we capture the Six-Tails, there's no need to return it. I'll keep it under my control. With the Six-Tails in my custody, Konoha would gain another ace."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, replying evenly, "Whether or not we keep it depends on the stance of the other hidden villages. Keeping a tailed beast isn't simply a matter of wanting it."
"Do you think Iwagakure, Kumogakure, or even Sunagakure would allow Konoha to gain another tailed beast?" Hiruzen asked, resting his chin on his hand thoughtfully.
Danzo scowled, but Hiruzen's point was undeniable. Tailed beasts served as ultimate assets for the great villages; the others would never allow Konoha to monopolize another.
Danzo let out a cold laugh. "That's easily handled. I have ways to make Kirigakure 'voluntarily' relinquish the Six-Tails."
Hiruzen's gaze hardened, glaring at Danzo. "Don't get reckless and stir up more trouble for us. We're in the final stages of this war—it can't be dragged on any longer. After such relentless battles, Konoha needs time to recover."
"Precisely why we should keep the tailed beast! The stronger we are, the less likely they'll cause trouble!"
Danzo's expression soured as he looked at Hiruzen, who was seated in the Hokage's chair.
"If you give the Six-Tails back to Kirigakure, you'll regret it!"
"Hmph… Danzo, your vision is too narrow," Hiruzen replied with a cold smile. "I'm the Hokage here."
Danzo opened his mouth but quickly fell silent, his face twisting in frustration. He spun on his heel and stormed out, leaving Hiruzen shaking his head as he watched him go. Danzo's perspective was indeed limited—useful for handling unsavory tasks, but lacking in any true vision for Konoha's future.
Right now, simply holding onto a tailed beast wasn't feasible, the other villages would never allow it. Mishandling the situation could easily lead to another all-out Shinobi World War. Konoha might be strong, but standing alone against an alliance of the other villages would be no easy feat.
Hiruzen knew all too well that these weren't the days when the First Hokage could single-handedly subdue the entire shinobi world. While Konoha appeared to thrive with elite shinobi rising, Hiruzen understood the deeper issues: the constant warfare had thinned their ranks of chunin and genin, the foundation of Konoha's power. The endless fighting had taken a heavy toll, and the Academy simply couldn't produce new ninjas fast enough.
The war had seen Konoha go up against Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure in succession, leaving many lower-ranking shinobi either dead or injured. If things continued this way, Konoha would soon face a critical shortage of forces.
Hiruzen's thoughts then drifted to the Uchiha Clan. He tapped his fingers on the desk absent-mindedly, muttering,
"The Uchiha Clan has produced quite the talent—first Fugaku, then Shisui, and now this new one, Akira..."
Since assuming office, Hiruzen had never fully trusted the Uchiha Clan. The attempted coup during Tobirama's era left scars that ran deep. Though it had been suppressed quickly, the ramifications endured, and the Uchiha remained under scrutiny by Konoha's leadership.
Under the Second Hokage, there was even an Uchiha, Kagami, who served as one of Tobirama's trusted bodyguards, allowing the clan a tentative place in Konoha's inner circle. But by Hiruzen's time, they were completely excluded. The Uchiha's past transgressions left Hiruzen wary.
"They're putting all their support behind Minato now..." Hiruzen mused, his gaze sharpening. "Fine. If Minato becomes Hokage, he can handle whatever arises with the Uchiha."
Namikaze Minato was one of the most promising ninja of his generation, and it seemed likely that Konoha's Fourth Hokage would be either Minato or Orochimaru.
Hiruzen frowned slightly, thinking of his talented yet unpredictable student.
"Orochimaru has been getting far too close to Danzo."
Danzo was constantly scheming, and if Orochimaru was in league with him, nothing good would come of it. Hiruzen resolved to have a word with him.
"If Orochimaru wants to be Hokage, he'll need to operate in the light, not in the shadows."
Meanwhile, upon returning home, Uchiha Akira summoned one of the clan's ninja cats, a long-time partner and intelligence source for the Uchiha Clan, as well as their supplier for specialized weapons. Akira's objective was to acquire containers capable of storing chakra-laden flesh from the Six-Tails.
Such medical-grade equipment was hard to obtain within Konoha. Many knew that flesh and chakra extracted from a tailed beast could be nurtured and cultivated—a fact that wasn't exactly a secret. Orochimaru had previously succeeded in growing part of the Eight-Tails' horn by scraping powdered bone from it, and another shinobi, Sora, a monk, had collected Nine-Tails chakra during the Nine-Tails' attack and used it to fashion a pseudo-jinchuriki.
The challenge wasn't cultivating tailed beast flesh or chakra, it was securing a sample in the first place. Once solidified, tailed beast chakra would remain stable rather than dissipating.
As Akira awaited the arrival of the containers, deep within a secret underground cave, another conversation was taking place.
Tobi, now assuming the identity of Uchiha Madara, listened quietly as White Zetsu reported on the war's progress. Black Zetsu, looking at Obito in his tiger-striped mask, asked,
"Obito, should we go capture the Six-Tails? This would be an ideal opportunity."
"I am Uchiha Madara now," Obito replied coldly, giving Black Zetsu a sidelong glance. "Do you know where the Six-Tails is hiding?"
A sly smile crossed Black Zetsu's face.
"Yes, Madara-sama. White Zetsu has located its hiding spot."
"Good," Obito nodded. "Then let's capture it. We'll offer the Six-Tails as a gift to Nagato—it's always better not to show up empty-handed."
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