Chapter 54 (Patreon)

Even though Hiruzen had prepared himself for this, the moment Yugito Nii was brought before him, he found himself at a complete loss over what to do with her.

There had never been a precedent for this kind of hostage in the shinobi world.

Ordinarily, when a shinobi from another village was captured, they were handed over to the Intelligence Division so that every scrap of useful information could be extracted from them. Whether the prisoner survived the process was rarely considered important.

Shinobi were weapons of their villages, expected to sacrifice their lives at any moment.

How could someone like that be used to threaten their village?

The captured shinobi might not even be willing to serve as a hostage in the first place.

Being killed by the enemy would at least allow them to be remembered as someone who had sacrificed themselves for their village. Becoming a hostage was entirely different. Even setting aside the possibility that the village’s leadership might suspect them of being brainwashed or turned against their own people, others would inevitably accuse them of cowardice—of allowing themselves to be captured alive because they were afraid to die.

At times, words could cut deeper than any blade.

That was why prisoners of war existed in the shinobi world, but a hostage being held as a direct bargaining chip between villages was unheard of.

Now Konoha had been placed in an extremely awkward position.

The terms of the written agreement explicitly required them to guarantee Yugito’s safety. Konoha was even obligated to provide half of the supplies necessary for her training.

Rather than a prisoner, Yugito had become a troublesome responsibility that no one knew how to handle.

They could not interrogate her for intelligence. Doing so would violate the agreement and destroy Konoha’s standing, even if Kumogakure committed an offense first. At the same time, they had to prevent Yugito from gathering intelligence on Konoha during her stay.

Hiruzen simply could not understand why Kushina had proposed such a condition.

Even if killing an enemy jinchūriki after capturing them would have been difficult, they could have simply returned Yugito once the negotiations on the front line had concluded.

Then, if Kumogakure broke its word and violated the agreement, the fault would have rested entirely with them.

Why insist on bringing Yugito back to Konoha?

Did the village not have enough problems already?

Ever since Flame and the other ANBU had brought Yugito into the Hokage’s office, the room had remained silent.

No one was willing to speak first.

Hiruzen sat behind his desk, smoking one pipe after another as he struggled to decide how to address the situation.

Yugito frowned as she studied the man who had once been hailed as the strongest Hokage.

He was nothing like the figure she had imagined.

Although she was a hostage, she still possessed her pride. Speaking first would feel as though she were lowering herself before him.

Hiruzen remained silent for an entirely different reason.

He had no idea how to begin.

Was he supposed to welcome her to Konoha as a guest?

Or should he point a finger at her and condemn her for the Konoha shinobi she had killed on the battlefield?

Had Hiruzen not trusted Kushina’s character, he might even have suspected that she had deliberately brought Yugito back simply to make his life more difficult.

Just as the situation was beginning to give him a headache, something even more troublesome happened.

Bang!

The office door was thrown open from the outside.

Leaning on his cane, Danzō strode into the room with remarkable vigor.

“Danzō, unless my memory is failing me, I did not summon you,” Hiruzen said sharply. “You were also ordered to remain confined to the Shimura compound. Who gave you permission to leave?”

Danzō did not even look at him.

His lone visible eye remained fixed on Yugito as he examined her from head to toe.

“Hand her over to me,” he said in a low voice. “I guarantee that I will extract useful intelligence from her.”

Yugito’s heart tightened.

This was the first time she had met Shimura Danzō, but she had heard more than enough about his reputation.

At present, both she and Matatabi were restrained by powerful sealing techniques. Even if she chose to fight to the death, she had no means of resisting.

“It seems we placed far too much faith in Konoha’s reputation,” Yugito muttered inwardly to Matatabi.

“And then what?” Hiruzen demanded. “We violate the agreement and completely enrage Kumogakure? Do you believe the village does not have enough trouble already?”

Under ordinary circumstances, if Konoha captured an enemy jinchūriki on the battlefield, eliminating them would have been the simplest solution.

However, the agreement had already been signed.

Konoha had formally guaranteed Yugito’s safety throughout the three years she would remain in the village as a hostage. That single condition had tied their hands.

“The agreement only states that she must remain in Konoha for three years,” Danzō replied calmly. “Three years is more than enough time. Whatever damage she suffers can be treated before she is returned.”

His gaze remained fixed on Yugito.

“Rest assured, I will not take her life. Once the three years are over, she can return to Kumogakure as one of our operatives and continue gathering intelligence from within.”

Danzō’s proposal caused Hiruzen to hesitate.

For a brief moment, he began weighing the possible advantages against the risks.

Yugito, meanwhile, felt a chill run through her entire body.

With the degree of control she possessed over Matatabi’s chakra, ordinary genjutsu posed little threat to her.

But genjutsu was not the only way to break or control a person’s mind.

When Hiruzen failed to reject the idea immediately, Danzō realized that his words had reached him.

He promptly continued his attempt to persuade him.

For the time being, there was no opportunity for him to seize control of the Nine-Tails. However, obtaining the Two-Tails would still be more than sufficient.

Just as Hiruzen was on the verge of allowing Danzō to take Yugito away, another thought suddenly entered his mind.

Danzō’s ambition.

Even without a Tailed Beast under his command, Danzō was already capable of causing an endless series of problems.

What would happen if he were truly allowed to control one?

With Danzō’s nature, it was entirely possible that he would use its power to launch a coup against the Hokage.

There was also Kushina’s insistence on taking Yugito as a hostage.

Had she truly made that demand without any deeper reason?

According to Shikaku’s report, Kushina had clearly stated that the other conditions could be negotiated, but keeping Yugito as a hostage was the one point on which Konoha could not yield.

Hiruzen rubbed his brow.

For the first time, he felt as though he could no longer follow the way the younger generation thought.

“Flame, take Yugito to Minato’s residence,” he ordered. “From this moment onward, Kushina will be responsible for overseeing her.”

Compared to Danzō, Kushina was far more deserving of his trust.

She had inherited Minato’s will, held the Hokage in deep respect, and genuinely loved the village.

How could Danzō possibly compare to her?

“Yes, Lord Hokage.”

Once Hiruzen made his decision, Flame offered no objection. He immediately turned and escorted Yugito out of the office.

“Wait!”

Danzō’s expression darkened.

“Hiruzen, what is the meaning of this?”

Flame did not slow down by even a single step.

Whether as an ANBU or on a personal level, he stood firmly on Hiruzen’s side.

“It means exactly what you just witnessed, Danzō,” Hiruzen answered coldly. “You are no longer the Hokage’s adviser. Return home and remain there as you were ordered.”

“You—!”

Danzō gripped his cane more tightly.

“Hiruzen, you will regret this!”

“Danzō, I am the Hokage! I do not need you to tell me how to lead this village!”

A moment later, the familiar sound of a door being slammed echoed through the building.

Flame, who had already reached the lower floor with Yugito, heard it clearly.

His thoughts drifted back to ten years earlier.

At that time, his father had still been full of strength, while Danzō had devoted himself tirelessly to the village.

But over the years, Danzō’s actions had become increasingly difficult to tolerate.

“The divisions among Konoha’s leadership appear to be quite serious,” Matatabi’s cool voice observed within Yugito’s mind.

Yugito remained silent for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.

“And yet Konoha continues producing one exceptional shinobi after another,” she replied. “If its leadership were still completely united, it is difficult to imagine what the balance of power in the shinobi world would look like now.”

There was both admiration and concern in her voice.

Elsewhere in the village, the shinobi returning from the front lines naturally gathered with their friends to eat, drink, and finally relax.

Taverns, barbecue restaurants, hot springs, and similar establishments were soon crowded with their presence.

As they spoke about the war, the conversation inevitably turned toward Kushina’s achievements on the front line.

She had faced three of Kumogakure’s strongest shinobi alone, defeated them, and captured two of them alive.

Her victory had directly forced Kumogakure to surrender and withdraw its forces.

Even when looking back through Konoha’s entire history, there were few shinobi capable of accomplishing something so extraordinary.

Naturally, the returning shinobi were not the only ones present in those establishments.

Many ordinary villagers and off-duty shinobi were also there, and the stories from the battlefield quickly captured their interest.

One after another, they approached acquaintances who had returned from the front and asked for a more detailed account of what had happened.

In less than half a day, Kushina had acquired several new titles in addition to being known as the Fourth Hokage’s wife and the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki.

Even women who had barely known her before began to look upon her as someone worthy of admiration.

Then, during one of those conversations, someone unintentionally revealed that the bounty placed on Konoha’s shinobi had been caused by Danzō.

The atmosphere across the village changed almost at once.

Before long, the taverns, barbecue restaurants, hot springs, and other places of leisure had all emptied.