The next morning, the sunlight was bright and clear.
It was a rare, peaceful morning for the Kagutsuchi family. Morisaki Aoi had just finished clearing the dining table, while Kagutsuchi Hiroshi had already left for his shift at the hospital.
Shin had also changed into clothes suitable for training and was preparing to head out. A day off was a rare luxury, and he had no intention of wasting it lounging around at home.
He planned to spend the day at the training grounds, further mastering the newly acquired Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade and... digesting the insights he had gained from the life-and-death battle of the previous night.
Just then, a steady knock sounded at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Aoi blinked in surprise. Who would come by at this hour?
Wiping her hands, she walked toward the entrance and called out, "Coming! Who is it?"
A slightly aged voice answered from outside. "It is I, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
Aoi froze in the middle of opening the door, astonishment flashing across her face.
She hurriedly pulled it open and found herself staring at none other than the Third Hokage himself, dressed in his ceremonial robes and wearing the Hokage hat.
"Ho-Hokage-sama?!" Aoi immediately bowed. "You... why have you come here personally? Please, come in!"
She was genuinely shocked.
The Hokage handled countless affairs every day. For him to appear at her doorstep without any prior notice was practically unheard of.
Hiruzen waved a hand and smiled warmly.
"No need for formalities, Aoi. I was simply passing by and thought I would stop in. There are a few things I would like to discuss with Shin."
His gaze moved past Aoi and settled on Shin, who had stepped into the entryway after hearing the commotion.
"You're looking for me?" Shin was surprised as well, though he already had a good idea why.
Aoi's heart tightened. As a former Special Jonin, she immediately sensed that something was unusual.
The Hokage had personally come looking for Shin? Was it because something had happened during yesterday's mission?
Suppressing her unease, she quickly stepped aside. "Hokage-sama, please come in. Shin, why are you just standing there? Invite Hokage-sama inside."
Shin stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. "Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen looked at him and smiled, but made no move to enter the house. "No need to trouble yourselves, Aoi."
His gaze returned to Shin. "Shin, do you have some time? If you're free, would you accompany this old man for a walk and a chat?"
The suggestion surprised Aoi even more.
A hint of surprise flashed through Shin's eyes before he quickly regained his composure. "Of course, Hokage-sama."
Aoi watched as her son followed the Hokage out the door, and the uneasiness in her chest deepened.
Leaning against the doorframe, she frowned.
Ever since Shin graduated from the Ninja Academy, she had begun noticing subtle changes in him.
As his mother, she had wanted to ask about them more than once. But every time, the words died before they left her mouth.
Shin clearly did not want them to know. Whenever they asked, he would simply brush everything aside with a single word.
"Mission."
And now even the Hokage had personally come to speak with him.
Aoi sighed softly, helplessness and worry lingering in her heart. Just what was this child carrying on his shoulders alone?
---
Shin followed half a step behind Hiruzen in silence as the two walked slowly through the quiet residential streets.
Morning sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, scattering patches of golden light across the ground.
Hiruzen did not speak immediately; he simply puffed on his pipe, as though organizing his thoughts.
Shin remained silent as well, patiently waiting.
Finally, after arriving at a secluded park, Hiruzen came to a stop.
Turning around, he looked at Shin with a complicated expression. "Yamato has already reported everything that happened yesterday."
"You... suffered a great deal."
Shin met the Hokage's gaze and let out a faint sigh. "It was only a mission. Hokage-sama doesn't need to make it sound so serious."
His excessive calmness made Hiruzen sigh inwardly.
This child was holding back a fire. A fire made of rage... strong enough to burn everything around him to ashes.
"The people who attacked you..." Hiruzen took a slow drag from his pipe, the smoke obscuring his expression. "I have already dealt with them."
A flicker passed through Shin's eyes, but he waited for the third Hokage to continue.
"Danzo has been stripped of his authority as an Elder Advisor and is forbidden from interfering in the Village's affairs."
Hiruzen's voice carried unquestionable resolve.
"The Root organization under his command has been dissolved effective immediately. All personnel are being transferred into the Anbu under unified oversight."
Those two simple sentences struck like thunder inside Shin's mind.
The calm expression on his face shattered instantly. His dark amber eyes widened slightly, clearly reflecting Hiruzen's imposing figure.
"What?!" The shocked exclamation escaped him before he could stop it.
Had he heard correctly? Danzo's authority had been revoked? Root had been dissolved?
Was this really a decision made by the Third Hokage—the same man who often weighed every option and sometimes appeared reluctant to act decisively?
For a moment, Shin's mind went blank.
He had expected Hiruzen's visit to be little more than a warning, a lecture about Village rules, a few comforting words, or perhaps a subtle reminder not to seek revenge on his own.
He had already prepared himself for that.
What he had not expected was this. Such a decisive and earth-shattering judgment.
What did this mean?
It meant that the dark power Danzo had spent decades building had been uprooted—or at least, uprooted on the surface.
It meant that Root, which had lurked beneath Konoha like a venomous serpent, had been dragged into the light and placed under the Hokage's direct authority.
It meant that Danzo had effectively been sidelined, reduced to nothing more than a former Elder with a title but no real influence.
Shin could practically picture the expression on Danzo's face when he heard the news.
This punishment would hurt that paranoid old man far more than losing a few subordinates—or even being attacked directly.
After all, this was the complete rejection of the ideals and power he had spent his entire life pursuing.
Shin stared blankly at the Third Hokage as smoke drifted from his pipe.
At that moment, the image of Hiruzen in Shin's eyes slowly overlapped with the legendary "Professor" and "God of Shinobi" who had once stood atop the Hokage Monument and led Konoha through the Third Great Ninja War.
The decisiveness, the authority, and the will belong to a true Hokage. It felt as though it had returned.
Taking a deep breath, Shin forcibly suppressed the shock surging through him, though a trace of disbelief still remained in his voice.
"...Hokage-sama, are you serious?"
Hiruzen looked at the rare expression of shock on Shin's face and slowly exhaled a ring of smoke.
"I am not so senile that I would joke about something like this."
He paused, and when he spoke again, his tone carried the weight of finality. "The orders have already been issued."
"At this very moment... they should already be in the process of being carried out."
Shin fell silent.